Contract With America
1994
As Republican Members of the House of Representatives and as citizens seeking to join that body we propose not just to change its policies, but even more important, to restore the bonds of trust between the people and their elected representatives.
That is why, in this era of official evasion and posturing, we offer instead a detailed agenda for national renewal, a written commitment with no fine print.
This year's election offers the chance, after four decades of one-party control, to bring to the House a new majority that will transform the way Congress works. That historic change would be the end of government that is too big, too intrusive, and too easy with the public's money. It can be the beginning of a Congress that respects the values and shares the faith of the American family.
Like Lincoln, our first Republican president, we intend to act "with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right." To restore accountability to Congress. To end its cycle of scandal and disgrace. To make us all proud again of the way free people govern themselves.
On the first day of the 104th Congress, the new Republican majority will immediately pass the following major reforms, aimed at restoring the faith and trust of the American people in their government:
FIRST, require all laws that apply to the rest of the country also apply equally to the Congress;
SECOND, select a major, independent auditing firm to conduct a comprehensive audit of Congress for waste, fraud or abuse;
THIRD, cut the number of House committees, and cut committee staff by one-third;
FOURTH, limit the terms of all committee chairs;
FIFTH, ban the casting of proxy votes in committee;
SIXTH, require committee meetings to be open to the public;
SEVENTH, require a three-fifths majority vote to pass a tax increase;
EIGHTH, guarantee an honest accounting of our Federal Budget by implementing zero base-line budgeting.
Thereafter, within the first 100 days of the 104th Congress, we shall bring to the House Floor the following bills, each to be given full and open debate, each to be given a clear and fair vote and each to be immediately available this day for public inspection and scrutiny.
1. The Fiscal Responsibility Act
A balanced budget/tax limitation amendment and a legislative line-item veto to restore fiscal responsibility to an out-of-control Congress, requiring them to live under the same budget constraints as families and businesses.
2. The Taking Back Our Streets Act
An anti-crime package including stronger truth-in-sentencing, "good faith" exclusionary rule exemptions, effective death penalty provisions, and cuts in social spending from this summer's "crime" bill to fund prison construction and additional law enforcement to keep people secure in their neighborhoods and kids safe in their schools.
3. The Personal Responsibility Act
Discourage illegitimacy and teen pregnancy by prohibiting welfare to minor mothers and denying increased AFDC for additional children while on welfare, cut spending for welfare programs, and enact a tough two-years-and-out provision with work requirements to promote individual responsibility.
4. The Family Reinforcement Act
Child support enforcement, tax incentives for adoption, strengthening rights of parents in their children's education, stronger child pornography laws, and an elderly dependent care tax credit to reinforce the central role of families in American society.
5. The American Dream Restoration Act
A $500 per child tax credit, begin repeal of the marriage tax penalty, and creation of American Dream Savings Accounts to provide middle class tax relief.
6. The National Security Restoration Act
No U.S. troops under U.N. command and restoration of the essential parts of our national security funding to strengthen our national defense and maintain our credibility around the world.
7. The Senior Citizens Fairness Act
Raise the Social Security earnings limit which currently forces seniors out of the work force, repeal the 1993 tax hikes on Social Security benefits and provide tax incentives for private long-term care insurance to let Older Americans keep more of what they have earned over the years.
8. The Job Creation and Wage Enhancement Act
Small business incentives, capital gains cut and indexation, neutral cost recovery, risk assessment/cost-benefit analysis, strengthening the Regulatory Flexibility Act and unfunded mandate reform to create jobs and raise worker wages.
9. The Common Sense Legal Reform Act
"Loser pays" laws, reasonable limits on punitive damages and reform of product liability laws to stem the endless tide of litigation.
10. The Citizen Legislature Act
A first-ever vote on term limits to replace career politicians with citizen legislators.
Further, we will instruct the House Budget Committee to report to the floor and we will work to enact additional budget savings, beyond the budget cuts specifically included in the legislation described above, to ensure that the Federal budget deficit will be less than it would have been without the enactment of these bills.
Respecting the judgment of our fellow citizens as we seek their mandate for reform, we hereby pledge our names to this Contract with America.
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History of the contract with America
The Contract with America had early antecedents. In the 1980 Congressional campaign, the Republican National Chairman Bill Brock organised all Republican federal candidates to assembles on the steps of the Capitol building and pledge themselves to a common policy platform. This image of a party united behind a reform agenda was intended to contrast against the policy confusion of the Carter Presidency and the wider Democrat Party. In October 1980, the Republican candidates gathered in Wasington DC and endorsed a common policy of stronger national defence, tax cuts and public spending cut. That campaign produced a Senate majority for the Republicans and a gain of 33 House seats.
Because the Republican gains in Congress coincided with the election of Ronald Reagan as President, it was hard to discern if the congressional victories had been primarily due to the Reagan seachange, or more a result of the common platform.
For the next six Congressional elections, the Republican Party leaders could not agree to repeat the 1980 tactic. But in the 1994 campaign, three favourable factors had combined - the emergence of a shambolic Democratic Presidency; unity among Republican candidates; and the emergence of a popular platform.
Initially in 1993, party leaders noticed an influx of new recruits disgusted with the Clinton Presidency - many of these new party activists were young, professional and educated. Many made ideal candidates and campaign workers. In January 1994, some Republican House members engaged in a weekend brain storm at which pollster Frank Luntz advocated they quietly develop a bold refomist platform to seize attention. The product was named the "Salisbury Statement."
Confidence increased among Congressional campaign leaders when, in May 1994, the Republicans captured two safe Democrat Party seats, with unexpectedly strong swings. As Republican leaders began to appreciate that they had real prospects of regaining control of Congress, they realised that they needed a positive platform. There were two main reasons for releasing such a document.
1. Without a blueprint to give them a sense of purpose, new Republican Congressmend could easily fall under the influence of the established Wasington lobbyists and journalists. This would mean that Republican Congressmen would be wooed into supporting the status quo of a bloated tax-and-spend government.
2. Democrat nervousness was expected to impel them into running a very negative campaign against the Republican challengers. Negative campaigning tactics by both sides would potentially disgust the swinging voters who had backed Ross Perot in 1992. These swingers were disillusioned by conventional political "mudslinging" and tended not to stay at home during elections. One way to entice these voters to turn out would be to lure them with a positive agenda.
By June 1994, the "Salisbury Statement" had been developed into ten commitments for major change. Each commitment originated was a response to particular desires within the electorate and reflected basic conservative values. Ten task forces were appointed to enable all party candidates to comment and make suggestions. The "Contract with America" was then adapted into targetted contracts at the state, county and local level.
The launch of a national "Contract with America" was scheduled for 27 September 1994 - a little over a month before the elections on Tuesday 8 November 1994. The Clinton White House blundered by launching a major attack on this new platform, thereby guaranteeing saturation media coverage for the launch. The media elites were critical of the promised initiatives, but the platform struck a chord - opinion polls revealed that every element of it was supported by between 60 to 90% of the American people.
When election day came, the Republican Party won 52 House seats, 8 Senate seats and 12 governorships. This landslide win had been achieved without the assistance of a simultaneous Presdential campaign. Instead the platform strategy - involving a contract with the people - had delivered victory in its own right.
Related Pages
How to Write a Party Platform
The APDY's draft "We Believe" statement