1992: United States: Congress

By the time the 102nd Congress left Washington in October 1992, it was an institution wracked by internal scandals and bloodied, in an election year, by its battles with President George Bush over domestic issues. The same body that had distinguished itself with its dignified debate of the Persian Gulf War in 1991, prior to voting to authorize the use of force against Iraq, spent much of the 1992 session gridlocked by partisan politics and presidential vetoes, budget constraints, and the House bank and post office scandals. The result was a rather meager legislative record, although Congress passed comprehensive energy legislation, overrode the president's veto of a bill regulating the cable television industry, and expanded aid programs for middle-class college students. But lost among the Senate filibusters and presidential vetoes were bills dealing with family leave, abortion rights, congressional campaign finance, urban enterprise zones, gun control, and restrictions on trade with China. And on the key issue of reform of the healthcare system, Democrats and Republicans could not even reach consensus within their own parties.

House Bank Scandal.

Even though the House had closed its controversial bank — an institution that permitted members routinely to bounce checks — and ordered an investigation in 1991, the issue haunted members in 1992 and played a role in the record number of resignations and defeats among incumbent representatives. In April the House released the names of 325 current and former members who had overdrawn their checking accounts. Although Democrats had wanted to identify only the 24 worst offenders, Republicans pressed for full disclosure, and the Democrats capitulated. Just as the House debate over naming names began in March, Sergeant-at-Arms Jack Russ, whose office ran the bank, resigned.

About a week later, Attorney General William Barr appointed retired Federal Appeals Judge Malcolm Wilkey as special counsel to investigate whether any crimes had been committed. Wilkey then subpoenaed the House bank's records, setting off a protracted debate over whether the House should disclose its internal records. Republicans again won over Democratic objections. Wilkey's final report in December, based on an examination of 329 accounts, cleared all but a handful of present or former members of criminal wrongdoing. Those cases were referred to Justice Department prosecutors for further investigation.

House Post Office Investigation.

As the House bank scandal was brewing, another scandal, this one at the House post office, boiled over. It started in 1991 with a criminal investigation of stamp clerks suspected of embezzlement and drug dealing. Eventually four clerks, a supervisor, and the post office's chief of staff pleaded guilty to various charges. Postmaster Robert V. Rota resigned in March 1992.

Then, in May, a grand jury subpoenaed expense account records from three Democratic representatives who claimed to have purchased large quantities of stamps in recent years. News reports said a postal supervisor had told investigators that some House members converted expense vouchers or campaign checks to cash through transactions disguised as stamp purchases. The three — Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dan Rostenkowski of Illinois and Pennsylvania Representatives Joe Kolter and Austin J. Murphy — denied any wrongdoing. In July they invoked the Fifth Amendment to avoid testifying before the grand jury. Late in the year prosecutors subpoenaed a number of aides to Rostenkowski, whose congressional and campaign offices reported purchasing some $55,000 worth of stamps.

Ethics.

In August the Senate Ethics Committee formally rebuked Senator Mark Hatfield for accepting and delaying the reporting of gifts totaling nearly $43,000 between 1983 and 1988. But the committee did not discipline the Oregon Republican (a rebuke by the panel required no further action by the Senate as a whole), and the senator accepted the committee's judgment. The rebuke came after a 15-month investigation, sparked by news reports about gifts and loans from those who could have had an interest in Hatfield's action's, particularly when he was Appropriations Committee chairman. The ethics panel noted, however, that it had no evidence that Hatfield had been swayed by the gifts.

Late in the year the committee was preparing to investigate sexual harassment charges against Oregon's other senator, Republican Bob Packwood. At least 16 women accused Packwood of making unwanted sexual advances. Packwood expressed regret for his 'unwelcome and offensive' conduct toward the women but refused to resign his seat. The charges had come to light just after the 60-year-old senator was elected to his fifth term. The Ethics Committee had never before conducted a sexual harassment inquiry; in May it decided not to investigate sexual misconduct allegations against Brock Adams (D, Wash.), saying that all but one of the alleged incidents had occurred before Adams became a senator, in January 1987, and that the remaining charge had been found by a U.S. attorney to lack merit. (However, in the wake of the charges, Adams decided not to run for reelection in November 1992.)

Campaign Finance.

A bill to limit spending in congressional elections was vetoed by President Bush in May. The bill had been hailed by some as the most comprehensive effort to reform federal election law in nearly 20 years. The president said the measure was too expensive, too skewed against challengers, and too lenient on special interests. Under the legislation, candidates who agreed to spending limits and other restrictions would have received federal campaign funds. The bill would have restricted political action committee contributions and so-called soft money (funds raised and spent by political parties, as a way around campaign spending ceilings for candidates).

Budget and Taxes.

In its last major act of the 1992 session, Congress passed a bill providing tax benefits to businesses to help revitalize inner cities, restoring the tax deductibility of Individual Retirement Account contributions for many middle-class taxpayers, and extending popular tax breaks such as credits for low-income housing. The bill included revenue-raising measures totaling $27 billion, to offset a total of $27 billion in tax cuts. But President Bush, making good on his reelection campaign pledge of no more new taxes ever, vetoed the measure (a day after losing the election). The president objected to what he characterized as numerous tax increases and said the bill would have destroyed jobs and undermined small businesses. Proposed after the Los Angeles riots, the bill would have created 50 urban and rural enterprise zones and given businesses tax incentives to invest in these areas. The bill also would have repealed the 10 percent luxury tax imposed in 1990 on yachts, airplanes, and expensive jewelry.

Within days of the start of the new fiscal year, on October 1, Congress approved all 13 of its regular appropriations bills, keeping spending within the limits set by the 1990 congressional-White House budget agreement and President Bush's January proposed budget. Total discretionary spending in the 13 bills was $16.2 billion below the 1990 spending limits, as a result of the cuts needed to meet Bush's limit and additional cuts in defense and foreign aid.

Energy Policy.

Congress passed a comprehensive energy bill aimed at decreasing U.S. dependence on foreign oil. The measure, signed by President Bush in October, will restructure the electricity industry to promote competition; make it easier for utilities to obtain licenses to build and operate nuclear power plants; and encourage conservation, use of renewable energy sources (such as wind and solar power), and use of alternative fuels for cars and light trucks. The bill also included tax breaks for independent gas and oil drillers. But it sidestepped controversial issues, such as whether to allow drilling in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge or force Detroit to build more fuel-efficient cars. Some environmental groups opposed the measure because of a provision that could weaken safety standards for a proposed nuclear waste dump at Yucca Mountain, Nev.

Just before adjournment Congress cleared the way for the Energy Department to open the nation's first permanent burial ground for defense-related nuclear waste, at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant near Carlsbad, N.M. The $1 billion facility is carved out of salt beds more than 2,000 feet beneath the desert floor. But the act required approval from several agencies and a ten-month waiting period before any waste can be stored at the facility.

Cable Television Regulation.

On October 5 a defiant Congress ended Bush's string of 35 successful vetoes since the beginning of his presidency when it overrode his veto of a bill aimed at regulating the cable television industry. Under the measure, the Federal Communications Commission would oversee rates for basic cable service. The government would also regulate prices for cable equipment and set up minimum customer service standards. Supporters said the measure was aimed at lowering rates, improving service, and spurring competition, but the cable industry argued that the legislation would end up raising rates.

Unemployment Benefits.

In July, Congress passed and President Bush signed a bill extending emergency unemployment benefits for the third time in the past year. It also permanently changed the unemployment insurance system by allowing extended benefits to kick in more easily during times of high joblessness, without Congress having to act on an emergency basis. Until the new system went into effect, in March 1993, workers in the 15 hardest-hit states would get an extra 26 weeks of benefits, and workers in all other states and the District of Columbia an additional 20 weeks, beyond the usual 26 weeks of state compensation.

Education Loans.

A new higher education bill expanded student access to financial aid grants and subsidized student loans. By removing a family's house or farm equity from the assets included in calculating need for aid, the bill made aid programs available to more middle-class students. It also created an unsubsidized loan program for all students, regardless of their income.

Abortion.

Repeated vetoes by President Bush stymied efforts by pro-choice forces in Congress to weaken federal abortion restrictions. In October the House fell ten votes short of overriding Bush's veto of a bill that would have overturned the so-called gag rule, barring most abortion counseling in family planning clinics receiving federal funds. (In November, however, a federal appeals court invalidated the gag rule on procedural grounds.) A bill that would have reversed an administration ban on federal funding for medical research using fetal tissue obtained during elective abortions was also vetoed.

Crime.

Efforts to pass a comprehensive anticrime bill failed. In October the Senate could not muster the votes to cut off a threatened Republican filibuster of a House-passed bill that would have extended the death penalty to more than 50 crimes, imposed new penalties for crimes committed with guns, and restricted death row inmates' ability to challenge their sentences. The measure included the so-called Brady bill calling for a five-day waiting period for handgun purchases to allow for a police background check.

Congress did pass a separate measure making carjacking, or stealing cars from drivers at gunpoint, a federal crime — and imposing the death penalty if the victim dies during a carjacking. Congressional action followed an apparent rise in fatal carjackings, especially in some big cities, and growing public concern about the crime. President Bush signed the measure into law on October 25.

Family Leave.

A family and medical leave bill once again fell victim to President Bush's veto pen, as the House came up 27 votes short of the two-thirds margin needed to override. (A similar measure had been vetoed in 1990.) Under the 1992 bill, employers would have been required to give all but their highest-paid employees up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave to care for a new baby, a newly adopted child, or an ill family member. Since the legislation applied only to businesses with 50 or more employees, about 95 percent of employers would have been exempt.

Voter Registration.

President Bush vetoed a bill that would have required states to allow people to register to vote when they come to state agencies for a driver's license or welfare check. Supporters said the measure would boost voter registration, while opponents argued that it would increase voter fraud. Both chambers passed the bill with sizable margins, but neither the House nor the Senate could override the president's July veto.

Healthcare.

Although broad healthcare policy proposals made little headway, Congress did pass a measure to assist community health centers burdened by high malpractice insurance premiums. Nonprofit community health centers serve some 6 million low-income people, but many centers have curtailed such services as prenatal and obstetric care because of the cost of malpractice insurance. Under the new law, the federal government will defend the clinics' professional staff in malpractice cases and pay any resulting claims, saving the clinics tens of millions of dollars a year in insurance premiums.

Military Spending.

Congress appropriated $254 billion for Defense Department spending in fiscal 1993, $16 billion less than it had appropriated for the previous year. The bill trimmed the number of active-duty military personnel to 1.77 million, a reduction of nearly 99,000 from the fiscal 1992 ceiling. To help defense contractors, military personnel, and local communities deal with the cuts, the measure included funding to help companies retool, temporarily allow military personnel to retire early and collect pensions, and provide job training and transitional health insurance. The bill also allocated $2.69 billion for four B-2 Stealth bombers (completion of the weapons would be subject to a congressional go-ahead in 1993) and $3.8 billion for the Strategic Defense Initiative, the antimissile defense system popularly known as Star Wars.

Foreign Aid.

Congress passed President Bush's multibillion dollar aid package for republics of the former Soviet Union. The legislation authorized $410 million in humanitarian, economic, and other types of aid for Russia and 11 other republics and $800 million to help dismantle elements of the former Soviet nuclear arsenal. Provisions in another piece of legislation, the foreign operations appropriations bill, provided $417 million in economic and technical assistance to former Soviet republics — contingent on progress in removing Soviet troops from the Baltic states.

Congress cleared its first general foreign aid bill in two years during the final days of the 1992 session. (In 1991 the foreign aid bill was defeated; funding for 1992 was provided for in a continuing resolution.) The new measure provided $12.3 billion in new funding for the International Monetary Fund and $14 billion for other international assistance programs. The measure also provided $10 billion in loan guarantees to Israel over the next five years to help with the resettlement of immigrants from the former Soviet Union.

Trade With China.

President Bush's decision to renew most-favored-nation trade status for China drew strong opposition from Congress, but lawmakers twice failed to override his veto of legislation restricting trade. In March and again in October the Senate sustained his veto of bills that tied extension of MFN status to improvements in China's record on human rights, trade, and weapons proliferation.

Clinton Appointees.

In December, President-elect Bill Clinton named four members of Congress, including three committee chairmen, for key posts in his administration. Slated to leave Congress (in addition to Tennessee Senator Al Gore, who was elected vice president) were Senator Lloyd Bentsen (D, Texas), influential chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, to become treasury secretary; Representative Les Aspin (D, Wis.), head of the House Armed Services Committee, to become defense secretary; Representative Leon E. Panetta (D, Calif.), chairman of the House Budget Committee, to become director of the Office of Management and Budget; and Mississippi Representative Mike Espy (D), to become secretary of agriculture (the first black elected from Mississippi since Reconstruction, Espy would also be the first black to head the Agriculture Department).