Editing Newt Gingrich (section)

=== Legislation ===

==== Welfare reform ====
A central pledge of President [[Bill Clinton]]'s campaign was to reform the welfare system, adding changes such as work requirements for recipients. However, by 1994, the [[Presidency of Bill Clinton|Clinton administration]] appeared to be more concerned with pursuing a [[universal health care]] program. Gingrich accused Clinton of stalling on welfare, and proclaimed that Congress could pass a welfare reform bill in as little as 90 days. He insisted that the Republican Party would continue to apply political pressure on the President to approve their welfare legislation.<ref>{{cite news |title=Clinton Puzzle: How to Delay Welfare Reform Yet Seem to Pursue It |first=Jason |last=DeParle |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=January 5, 1994 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/01/05/us/clinton-puzzle-how-to-delay-welfare-reform-yet-seem-to-pursue-it.html |access-date=October 28, 2010 |archive-date=May 15, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130515112326/http://www.nytimes.com/1994/01/05/us/clinton-puzzle-how-to-delay-welfare-reform-yet-seem-to-pursue-it.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 1996, after constructing two welfare reform bills that Clinton vetoed,<ref name="Gillon">{{cite book |title=The Pact: Bill Clinton, Newt Gingrich, and the Rivalry that Defined a Generation |last=Gillon |first=Steven |year=2008 |publisher=Oxford University Press, United States |isbn=978-0-19-532278-1 |page=[https://archive.org/details/pactbillclintonn00gill/page/177 177] |url=https://archive.org/details/pactbillclintonn00gill/page/177 }}</ref> Gingrich and his supporters pushed for passage of the [[Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act]], which was intended to reconstruct the welfare system. The act gave state governments more autonomy over welfare delivery, while also reducing the federal government's responsibilities. It instituted the [[Temporary Assistance for Needy Families]] program, which placed time limits on welfare assistance and replaced the longstanding [[Aid to Families with Dependent Children]] program. Other changes to the welfare system included stricter conditions for food stamp eligibility, reductions in immigrant welfare assistance, and work requirements for recipients.<ref>{{cite journal |last=O'Connor |first=Brendan |title=The protagonists and ideas behind the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996: The enactment of a conservative welfare system |journal=Social Justice |date=Winter 2001}}</ref> The bill was signed into law by President Clinton on August 22, 1996.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Glass |first1=Andrew |title=Clinton signs 'Welfare to Work' bill, Aug. 22, 1996 |url=https://www.politico.com/story/2018/08/22/clinton-signs-welfare-to-work-bill-aug-22-1996-790321 |date=August 22, 2018 |work=[[Politico]] |access-date=March 4, 2020 |archive-date=March 4, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200304010642/https://www.politico.com/story/2018/08/22/clinton-signs-welfare-to-work-bill-aug-22-1996-790321 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In his 1998 book ''Lessons Learned the Hard Way'', Gingrich encouraged volunteerism and spiritual renewal, placing more importance on families, creating tax incentives and reducing regulations for businesses in poor neighborhoods, and increasing property ownership by low-income families. He also praised [[Habitat for Humanity]] for sparking the movement to improve people's lives by helping them build their own homes.<ref>{{cite book |title=Lessons Learned the Hard Way: A Personal Report |last=Gingrich |first=Newt |year=1998 |publisher=HarperCollins Publishers |isbn=978-0-06-019106-1 |pages=74–85 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=34J4AAAAMAAJ |access-date=March 18, 2014 |archive-date=August 6, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200806184804/https://books.google.com/books?id=34J4AAAAMAAJ |url-status=live }}</ref>

==== Balancing the federal budget ====
[[File:President Bill Clinton and Newt Gingrich in Congressional budget meeting.jpg|thumb|right|Gingrich and President [[Bill Clinton]] during a congressional budget negotiation meeting in December 1995]]

A key aspect of the 1994 [[Contract with America]] was the promise of a [[United States federal budget|balanced federal budget]]. After the end of the government shutdown, Gingrich and other Republican leaders acknowledged that Congress would not be able to draft a balanced budget in 1996. Instead, they opted to approve some small reductions that were already approved by the White House and to wait until the next election season.<ref>{{cite news|title=Gingrich concedes he can't force balanced budget in 1996 |first=Ceci |last=Connolly |newspaper=St. Petersburg Times|date=January 25, 1996}}</ref>

By May 1997, Republican congressional leaders reached a compromise with Democrats and President Clinton on the federal budget. The agreement called for a federal spending plan designed to reduce the federal deficit and achieve a balanced budget by 2002. The plan included a total of $152&nbsp;billion in bipartisan tax cuts over five years.<ref name=taxcuts>{{cite news|title=Clinton Lauds Bipartisanship Behind Budget; He Signs Bills That Will Cut Taxes For Many.|first=Marsha|last=Mercer|agency=Media General News Service|newspaper=Richmond Times Dispatch|date=August 6, 1997}}</ref> Other major parts of the spending plan called for $115&nbsp;billion to be saved through a restructuring of Medicare, $24&nbsp;billion set aside to extend health insurance to children of the [[working poor]], tax credits for college tuition, and a $2&nbsp;billion welfare-to-work jobs initiative.<ref>{{cite news|title=Clinton, GOP leaders craft budget package; Deal would erase shortfall by 2002, cut taxes by $ 85b |first=Brian |last=McGrory |newspaper=[[The Boston Globe]]|date=May 3, 1997}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Clinton signs balanced budget, tax break law.|first=Sonya|last=Ross|newspaper=Chicago Sun-Times|date=August 5, 1997}}</ref>

President Clinton signed the budget legislation in August 1997. At the signing, Gingrich gave credit to ordinary Americans stating, "It was their political will that brought the two parties together."<ref name=taxcuts />
[[File:1995 State of the Union Address.jpg|thumb|Gingrich as Speaker during the 1995 State of the Union Address]]
In early 1998, with the economy performing better than expected, increased tax revenues helped reduce the federal budget deficit to below $25&nbsp;billion. Clinton submitted a balanced budget for 1999, three years ahead of schedule originally proposed, making it the first time the federal budget had been balanced since 1969.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/special/budget/stories/010698.htm|title=Washingtonpost.com: Clinton to Propose '99 Balanced Budget|website=www.washingtonpost.com|access-date=September 22, 2019|archive-date=September 22, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190922074403/https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/special/budget/stories/010698.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>

==== Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997 ====
In 1997, President Clinton signed into effect the [[Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997]], which included the largest [[Capital gains tax in the United States|capital gains tax]] cut in U.S. history. Under the act, the profits on the sale of a personal residence ($500,000 for married couples, $250,000 for singles) were exempted if lived in for at least two of the previous five years. (This had previously been limited to a $125,000 once-in-a-lifetime exemption for those over the age of 55.)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.filetax.com/97taxact.html#home |title=Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997 |publisher=Filetax.com |access-date=May 12, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080712205931/http://www.filetax.com/97taxact.html |archive-date=July 12, 2008 }}</ref> There were also reductions in a number of other taxes on investment gains.<ref>{{cite news|title=Reaganomics: What We Learned|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704364004576132473777840938|first=Arthur B.|last=Laffer|newspaper=[[The Wall Street Journal]]|date=February 10, 2011|access-date=August 8, 2017|archive-date=August 27, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170827125915/https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704364004576132473777840938|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=FindLaw>{{cite web|title=The Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997: An Overview of Selected Provisions|url=http://library.findlaw.com/1997/Jan/1/126242.html|author1=Buchanan Ingersoll|author2=Rooney PC|name-list-style=amp|work=FindLaw|access-date=May 5, 2011|archive-date=April 25, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110425045452/http://library.findlaw.com/1997/Jan/1/126242.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Additionally, the act raised the value of inherited [[Estate (law)|estates]] and gifts that could be sheltered from taxation.<ref name=FindLaw /> Gingrich has been credited with creating the agenda for the reduction in capital gains tax, especially in the Contract with America, which set out to balance the budget and implement decreases in estate and capital gains tax. Some Republicans felt that the compromise reached with Clinton on the budget and tax act was inadequate;<ref>{{cite news |title=Like him or not, Gingrich deserves credit for budget |first=John |last=Farmer |newspaper=The Star-Ledger |location=Newark, New Jersey |date=August 4, 1997}}</ref> however, Gingrich stated that the tax cuts were a significant accomplishment for the Republican Congress in the face of opposition from the Clinton administration.<ref>{{cite news |title=Gingrich sees life in GOP revolution|first=John|last=Marelius|newspaper=[[The San Diego Union-Tribune]]|date=August 19, 1997}}</ref> Gingrich along with [[Bob Dole]] had earlier set-up the [[Kemp Commission]], headed by former US Secretary of Housing and Urban Development [[Jack Kemp]], a tax reform commission that made several recommendations including that dividends, interest, and capital gains should be untaxed.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1042061 |title=Kemp Commission |publisher=Npr.org |date=January 17, 1996 |access-date=January 26, 2012 |archive-date=June 18, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120618104408/http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1042061 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=two>{{cite report |url=http://www.brookings.edu/~/media/Files/rc/articles/1996/0205taxes_gale/19960205.pdf |title=The Kemp Commission and the Future of Tax Reform |first=William |last=Gale |publisher=[[Brookings Institution]] |date=February 5, 1996|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071103100614/http://www3.brookings.edu/~/media/Files/rc/articles/1996/0205taxes_gale/19960205.pdf |archive-date=November 3, 2007}}</ref>

==== Other legislation ====
Among the first pieces of legislation passed by the new Congress under Gingrich was the [[Congressional Accountability Act of 1995]], which subjected members of Congress to the same laws that apply to businesses and their employees, including the [[Civil Rights Act of 1964]] and the [[Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990]]. As a provision of the Contract with America, the law was symbolic of the new Republican majority's goal to remove some of the entitlements enjoyed by Congress. The bill received near universal acceptance from the House and Senate and was signed into law on January 23, 1995.<ref>{{cite news |title='Contract' fulfilled, but job isn't finished; GOP keeps up fast pace in Congress |first=Laurie |last=Kellman |newspaper=The Washington Times |date=April 7, 1995}}</ref>

Gingrich shut down the highly regarded [[Office of Technology Assessment]], and relied instead on what the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists called "self-interested lobbyists and think tanks".<ref>{{cite web |author=Schwellenbach, Nick |url=http://pogoblog.typepad.com/pogo/2011/12/renowned-physicists-cast-doubt-on-gingrichs-far-fetched-emp-scenario.html |title=Renowned physicists cast doubt on Gingrich's far-fetched EMP scenario |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160226005217/http://pogoblog.typepad.com/pogo/2011/12/renowned-physicists-cast-doubt-on-gingrichs-far-fetched-emp-scenario.html |archive-date=February 26, 2016 |series=Project on Government Oversight |date=December 13, 2011}}</ref>