1996: United States: Congress

The freshman class of the Republican-controlled 104th Congress that entered Washington in January 1995 like a corps of revolutionaries bent on radically altering federal government adjourned in October 1996 as a more realistic group, better versed in the art of compromise. In fact, the second session of the 104th Congress, in 1996, compiled a list of solid achievements, after a first session that had produced strident political rhetoric but not a great deal of concrete results.

Republicans appeared chastened by the contentious partisan battles that culminated in two shutdowns of the federal government (the second ending in early January 1996) before a budget for the 1996 fiscal year (ending September 30, 1996) could finally be worked out. The budget that was ultimately adopted involved substantial Republican concessions. Once Republican leaders decided on compromise, Congress was also able to enact landmark legislation that overhauled the nation's welfare system, diminished agricultural reliance on federal subsidies, and rewrote telecommunications law. Other results included measures that guaranteed most workers health insurance in the event of changing or losing jobs, raised the minimum wage, curbed illegal immigration, established new environmental standards, modernized the booming securities and mutual fund industries, and gave the president the so-called line-item veto.

President Bill Clinton and congressional Democrats, after initially struggling with their new minority party status, dealt more effectively with Republican initiatives in 1996, though not without making important concessions of their own. In addition to his budget battle victories, the president made good on his promise to 'end welfare as we know it' when he signed a welfare reform measure after vetoing two earlier versions of the bill; however, the version he finally signed still contained provisions he disliked. Congress passed and Clinton signed a health insurance bill — one that was much smaller in scope than the president's failed 1994 initiative. Passage of an increase in the minimum wage gave Democrats a key victory.

Congress also passed bills banning so-called partial-birth abortions and limiting the liability of manufacturers of faulty products. However, both bills met with vetoes, which Congress failed to override. Other measures stalled in Congress, including congressional term limits, changes in campaign finance laws, a balanced-budget amendment, and reauthorization of the Superfund program for hazardous-waste cleanup financed by industry-paid taxes.

Despite its successes the 104th Congress remained distinctly partisan, and many members complained about an erosion of comity, a perception that apparently contributed to the unusually large number of retirements. Republicans attacked President Clinton and his administration in hearings dealing with everything from White House handling of FBI background files and travel-office firings to the Clintons' involvement in the failed Whitewater project. Democrats retaliated with ethics probes of House Speaker Newt Gingrich's use of tax-exempt organizations to finance a college course he taught, as well as other activities. Polarization of the parties led to the growing influence of a small group of Republican moderates and Democratic conservatives, who became brokers of legislative compromise.

Welfare Reform.

In August, President Clinton signed into law historic legislation that swept away 60 years of federal welfare policy. The measure terminated the federal government's guarantee of cash assistance to eligible low-income mothers and children — known as Aid to Families With Dependent Children — and turned welfare programs over to the states. The law also required heads of households receiving welfare benefits (with exceptions for those who could not find child care for preschool children) to get work within two years, generally limited lifetime benefits to five years, cut benefits to legal immigrants not yet U.S. citizens, and stipulated that unmarried teenage parents receiving welfare must live with an adult and stay in school. Under the bill states were to run their own welfare programs, receiving a limited amount of federal funds annually. The legislation also created a comprehensive child-support collection system and provided child-care funding for working welfare parents.

The new legislation was expected to save about $54 billion over six years, almost half coming from reductions in the food stamp program. The decision whether to continue Medicaid and cash payments to poor immigrants would rest with the states.

Telecommunications.

The telecommunications bill, signed into law in February, represented one of the biggest changes in the government's role in communications since 1934. Aimed at creating a giant marketplace for telecommunications services, the measure removed competitive barriers between local telephone companies and long-distance companies and cable companies. The bill also deregulated most cable prices within a period of three and a half years and required manufacturers to include 'V-chips' in television sets with 13-inch or larger screens. (The 'V-chip' allows parents to block programming they consider inappropriate for their children.)

Health Insurance.

A bill signed into law in August made it easier for workers to carry their health care insurance from job to job and more difficult for insurance companies to deny coverage to those with existing health problems. The measure also provided for setting up a pilot program for tax-free Medical Savings Accounts, for defraying medical expenses. Among other provisions, the bill increased the health-insurance tax deduction for self-employed workers from 30 percent to 80 percent by 2006, made long-term-care insurance and expenses deductible like other health-related costs, and allowed terminally ill patients to draw on life insurance benefits. A provision that would have required equivalent coverage for mental and physical disorders was dropped, as was a proposed limitation on damage awards in medical malpractice suits.

Farm Bill.

The farm bill passed in March and signed into law in April gave farmers more flexibility in planting while still receiving federal subsidies. The measure, called the Freedom to Farm program, replaced the decades-old commodity subsidy programs that paid farmers when market prices fell and they planted the same crops year after year. The new program offered farmers fixed but declining payments regardless of their planting decisions or market prices. The lawmakers aimed at increasing production for expanding markets and boosting both U.S. exports and feed grain supplies for livestock producers. Under the measure dairy price supports would be phased out over four years, while peanut and sugar price-support programs would be scaled back. The bill authorized some $47 billion over seven years for core farm programs and an additional $20 billion or more for conservation and insurance programs.

Minimum Wage.

For the first time in five years Congress voted to raise the minimum wage. The legislation, passed in early August and signed by the president later that month, increased the minimum wage from $4.25 to $4.75 an hour starting in October and to $5.15 an hour in September 1997.

Although largely a Democratic initiative, the measure included a Republican-generated package of business tax cuts, amounting to about $10 billion over five years. The tax cuts included provisions for expanding Individual Retirement Accounts to allow nonworking spouses to save up to $2,000 a year; extending the Generalized System of Preferences, permitting products from developing countries to enter the United States duty-free; increasing the amount new small businesses could deduct for equipment; and allowing a $5,000 tax credit for adopting a child. In addition, the new law incorporated changes in pension policy that made it easier for small businesses to create pension plans with less bureaucratic oversight.

Line-item Veto.

Congress relinquished some of its power through legislation giving the president the right (subject to congressional override) to strike specific items from certain tax and spending bills, not including existing entitlement programs. The measure, signed by President Clinton in April, provided the functional equivalent of the line-item veto allowed to many state governors, without amending the federal Constitution. A suit challenging the law, filed by a government-employee union, was dismissed by a federal appeals court in December.

Appropriations.

The Republican-dominated Congress was seven months late in finalizing fiscal 1996 appropriations bills, with members quarreling among themselves and with President Clinton over spending and policy. Two government shutdowns occurred in late 1995 and early 1996 before the warring factions finally came to terms in April.

Passage of fiscal 1997 appropriations bills provided a sharp contrast. Congress managed to get all 13 of the 1997 spending bills passed before the September 30 deadline. Influenced by members anxious to get home and campaign, Republican leaders resisted attaching an array of controversial policy riders to the bills. The final legislation included a compromise version of the disputed immigration bill, funding for antiterrorism initiatives, disaster aid for areas devastated by Hurricane Fran and Western wildfires, and a White House antidrug program.

Safe Drinking Water.

A major revision of federal drinking-water legislation was signed into law in August. The Safe Drinking Water Act, which received strong bipartisan support, included a $9.6 billion loan fund to help communities upgrade their water systems. The measure also gave regulators more flexibility in revising health standards, provided water customers with more information on contaminants in tap water, and allowed smaller systems exemptions from some expensive regulations. Since lawmakers missed the August 1 deadline for reauthorization of the Safe Drinking Water Act, a $725 million appropriation intended to help states with drinking-water projects reverted to an Environmental Protection Agency wastewater fund.

Pesticide Regulations.

Congress completed a major bipartisan revision of federal pesticide regulations during the summer, and President Clinton signed the measure in August. The new regulations created a unified 'reasonable risk' health standard for both raw and processed foods and included guidelines for protecting children from pesticides. The measure also replaced the so-called Delaney Clause, enacted in 1958, which had barred from processed foods even minute traces of any chemical ever found to cause cancer in laboratory animals. Unanimous passage of the bill broke a nearly 20-year deadlock between industry and environmental advocates.

Securities Regulation.

Congress enacted legislation modernizing regulation of securities and mutual funds, shifting oversight of large investment-adviser companies from the states to the Securities and Exchange Commission. The measure, signed by President Clinton in October, was intended to make it easier for investors to discover if a financial planner had been disciplined by regulators. Other provisions eased the way for wealthy individuals to invest in 'hedge funds' (somewhat risky investment pools similar to but less regulated than mutual funds), lowered SEC stock registration fees, and preempted state regulation of mutual funds.

Thrift Deposit Insurance.

In an attempt to shore up the federal fund that insures thrift deposits, Congress included recapitalization of the Savings Association Insurance Fund in the fiscal 1997 appropriations package. Bipartisan congressional action came after federal regulators agreed that the SAIF did not provide adequate protection to taxpayers. The measure also tried to address the disparity between deposit insurance premiums paid by banks and thrifts. In addition, the law set the stage for a possible future bill to convert thrifts into banks.

Immigration.

Legislation aimed especially at curbing illegal immigration cleared Congress as part of the giant spending bill and was signed by the president in September. The immigration measure authorized funds for more Border Patrol agents and construction of a fence along part of the Mexican border. Other provisions speeded up detention and deportation procedures, added new penalties for alien smuggling, and set up programs for identifying illegal immigrants in the workplace. Income requirements for sponsors of legal immigrants were tightened. Opposition from religious, ethnic, and business groups defeated attempts to place other restrictions on legal immigration, and a provision that would have allowed states to deny public schooling to the children of illegal immigrants also was dropped.

Antiterrorism.

Congress stepped up efforts to deal with domestic and foreign terrorism, amid memories of such incidents as the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing. In April, Clinton signed into law a measure intended to prevent certain suspected terrorist groups from raising money in the United States. The law also provided new authority to deny entry to undocumented foreigners seeking asylum. The measure added restrictions on federal appeals by death-row inmates and other prisoners. In fall 1996, Congress included $1.1 billion in funds for combating terrorism in its major spending packages.

Sanctions.

Congress passed bills imposing sanctions on foreign companies investing in Cuba, Iran, and Libya — legislation that drew criticism from U.S. allies and trading partners. Early in the year Congress passed legislation tightening the U.S. economic embargo against Cuba; the measure, the Helms-Burton Act, was in reaction to an incident in February, when Cuba shot down two unarmed U.S. civilian aircraft owned by a Cuban exile organization that rescued refugees seeking to flee Cuba and distributed materials promoting civil disobedience. Among other provisions, this measure added tough restrictions barring executives who traffic in expropriated properties from entering the United States. The Iran-Libya bill, signed by Clinton in August, penalized foreign firms assisting the oil industries of Iran or Libya, countries considered prime supporters of international terrorism.

Same-sex Marriages.

Congress defined marriage as the union between a man and a woman, thereby precluding gay couples from receiving federal spousal benefits. Legislation enacted by Congress also exempted states from any obligation to honor homosexual marriages sanctioned in other states.

1996 Congressional Changes.

In November 1996, Republicans retained their majority in the House of Representatives, with some losses, and increased by two seats their majority in the Senate. In the Senate the ideological balance shifted notably to the right with the addition of such conservatives as Wayne Allard of Colorado, Pat Roberts and Sam Brownback of Kansas, Jeff Sessions of Alabama, Tim Hutchinson of Arkansas, and Chuck Hagel of Nebraska.

After Bob Dole resigned from the Senate to devote himself to his presidential campaign, Trent Lott of Mississippi won the Senate majority leadership. Lott, while more ideologically conservative, proved effective in shepherding legislation through Congress.

In late December a House ethics subcommittee composed of two Democrats and two Republicans charged that Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich had used tax-exempt funds for political purposes and subsequently provided false information about his actions. Gingrich himself admitted that he had provided subcommittee investigators 'inaccurate, incomplete, and unreliable' information about use of tax-exempt funds for a college course he had taught. Gingrich narrowly won reelection as Speaker in a vote held, over Democratic (and a few Republican) protests, before the special counsel investigating charges against him had presented his final report to the subcommittee and before a decision on an appropriate punishment had been made.