The Clinton Years

1992-2001

Campaign Issues

• Get America Working again

• Reduce the size of government and make it more responsive

• Several scandals• “The Comeback Kid”

Healthcare Reform

• Clinton Tried to pass legislation that would reform the Healthcare system to make it more affordable

• He put his wife, Hilary, in charge of the effort

• Despite initial success, it ultimately failed.

NAFTA

• NAFTA removes tariff barriers between Canada, Mexico, and the U.S.

• many fear NAFTA will lower wages and encourage foreign job replacement.

Contract With America• Led by Newt

Gringrich, Republicans called for a smaller government, deregulation, tax cuts, and a balanced budget

• In the 1994 Mid-Term elections, republicans gained many seats in the House and Senate, which gave them the ability to block Clinton Legislation

Government Shutdown!

• Clashing over budget issues, Clinton and Congress allowed the U.S. Government to close it’s doors from late 1995 to the spring of 1996.

Welfare Reform• Eliminated federal guarantees of cash• Allowed states to run their own programs• Established a 5 year lifetime limit on benefits• Reversed welfare policy going back to the New

Deal

Economic Improvements

• During his second term, the U.S. economy saw strong growth

Repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act• The Gramm-Leach-Bliley bill was signed into law in

November of 1999 by President Clinton.• The law deregulated the banking sector and lead to collapse

of the Housing market and the Banking Sector in 2008.

Sen. Phil Gramm (R, Texas), Rep. Jim Leach (R, Iowa), and Rep. Thomas J. Bliley, Jr. (R, Virginia), the co-sponsors of the Gramm–Leach–Bliley Act.

Budget Improvements• Combined with Bush (41) tax increases and budget

cuts and an improving economy, the Clinton administration saw budget SURPLESES in 1998!

Second Term Scandals

• Whitewater – Real Estate• Illegal campaign contributions

The Lewinsky Scandal!

• Clinton had an affair with then 22 year old Whitehouse intern Monica Lewinsky.

• When the information became public, Clinton denied it repeatedly, including while under oath.

• As physical details began to emerge Clinton finally admitted to the affair.

• The House of Representatives voted to impeach Clinton, but he was acquitted of “high crimes and misdemeanors by the Senate.

• On thing that probably saved Clinton was the fact that the economy of the late 1990’s was so strong!

• Despite the many scandals, Clinton’s popularity never really takes a hit, and he leaves office with an approval rating of 66%!

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-rboN6F2g-k

• February 26, 1993: WTC Attack• A car bomb detonates at the World Trade Center, killing six and injuring more than 1,000 people. Radical Kuwaiti religious

leader Ramzi Yousef takes responsibility for the plot. Yousef will later develop ties to Osama bin Laden and Al-Qaeda• April 19, 1993: Waco• October 3, 1993: Somalia

• April 19. 1995: Oklahoma City Bombing• April 20, 1999: Columbine