The Republican "Contract with America" has proven the ability of government to move quickly when one party holds a majority of Congressional seats and feels compelled to act on a mandate of the people. In the November 1994 election, Republicans gained 51 seats in the House of Representatives and eight seats in the Senate. Republicans enjoy a majority in the House for the first time in 40 years; Senate Republicans hold a three-vote edge.
House of Representatives Republicans, under the leadership of Speaker Newt Gingrich of Georgia, outlined a bold, ten-point "Contract with America." Most newly elected GOP members signed the contract during their campaigns. House Republicans vowed to pass the ten points of their contract during their first 100 days of the 1995 legislative session. The House convened on January 4. The end of the 100-day period was set to end shortly before Easter; however, House Republicans accomplished their mission a week early. On April 4, 1995, Republicans pushed their $189 billion tax cut package through the House, thus passing 9 of 10 bills in their "Contract."
Republicans feel that the ten points in their "Contract with America" address long-standing citizen complaints about the quality of life and government in America: "Jobs too insecure, wages too sluggish, families too fragmented, streets too dangerous, government too big, taxes too high, lobbyists too powerful, welfare too cushy, illegal aliens too costly, campaigns too nasty, politicians too arrogant" (U.S. News & World Report, 1994, p. 39). Republicans believe that their stunning victories in the last election give them a mandate to pass sweeping government reforms aimed at fixing what is wrong with this country.
The preface to the ten-point "Contract with America" was a series of Congressional reforms. Republicans vowed to make Congress "live under the laws that it passes for the rest of the country," cut one out of three Congressiona...