Newt Gingrich in Living History, by Hillary Rodham Clinton
On Government Reform:
Contract With America: deep cuts in Medicare/Medicaid/taxes
Conventional wisdom says that the party in control of the White House usually loses congressional seats in the midterm elections. Newt Gingrich and his cohort of self-described Republican "revolutionaries" appeared eager to capitalize on the trend. In
September, Gingrich stood on the steps of the Capitol, surrounded by like-minded members, to unveil his game plan for midterm victory: a "Contract With America." The Contract provided the basis for Republican proposals to abolish the Dept. of Education,
make deep spending cuts in Medicare, Medicaid, education and the environment and slash tax credits for the working poor. The Contract was a strategy to nationalize local elections and turn congressional races into a referendum on Republican terms.
Newt Gingrich's glee [was unmoderated on election] night. He would become the next Speaker of the House, the first Republican since 1954. He magnanimously offered to work with Democrats to push the Contract with American through Congress in record time.
Source: Living History, by Hillary Rodham Clinton, p.249-257
Nov 1, 2003
On Health Care:
1994: Declined gov't insurance but gov't paid 75% anyway
Health care reform represented a steep learning curve for more than a few members of Congress. Given the volume of bills they are expected to vote on, most members focus on legislation related to their committee assignments and don't have time to learn
the intricacies of every issue before the House or Senate. But I was surprised to encounter more than one Congressman who didn't know the difference between Medicare and Medicaid, both federally funded health insurance programs.
Others had no idea what kind of health insurance coverage they received from the government. Newt Gingrich contended during an appearance on Meet the Press in 1994 that he didn't have a government health insurance but bought it from Blue Cross-Blue
Shield. In fact, his policy was one of many offered to federal employees through the Federal Employees Health Benefits Plan. And the government covered 75% of the $400 monthly bill for Gingrich and other members of Congress.
Source: Living History, by Hillary Rodham Clinton, p.232
Nov 1, 2003
On Principles & Values:
3 out of 14 planks of Contract With America passed by 1996
In 1995, as Congress recessed for Xmas break on Dec. 22, Gingrich Republicans passed a radical welfare reform act that, if left to stand, would imperil millions of vulnerable women & children. The President vetoed the GOP welfare bill as promised.The
Republicans finally were being held accountable for both the budget impasse and the shutdowns, and the drop in their approval ratings led to a fracturing of the party's united front. By January, Sen. Bob Dole, likely looking ahead to the launch of his
presidential campaign, started talking compromise. Gingrich's strategy of "playing chicken" with Bill had failed, and I felt great relief that we could reopen the government and get workers back on the payroll now that Bill had prevailed.
As
Congress opened on Jan. 3, 1996, only three minor pieces of the Gingrich Contract had been signed into law. Bill had sustained 11 vetoes. He had managed to stave off disastrous cuts to Medicare and to save programs like AmeriCorps and Legal Aid services
Source: Living History, by Hillary Rodham Clinton, p.326
Nov 1, 2003
On Welfare & Poverty:
Boys Town-style orphanages better than kids on welfare
Newt Gingrich, the soon-to-be Republican Speaker of the House, was eager to flex his muscle. Minor controversy erupted over remarks he made about welfare reform and orphanages. Some Republicans had suggested that the nation could reduce welfare rolls by
placing the children of welfare mothers in orphanages. The idea was to prohibit states from paying welfare benefits for two groups of children: Those whose paternity was not established and those born out of wedlock to women under 18.
The savings, according to this proposal, would be used to establish and operate orphanages and group homes for unwed mothers.I thought this was a horrible idea. In a speech before the New York Women's Agenda on Nov. 30, 1994, I criticized
Gingrich.
Gingrich swung back: "I'd ask her to go to Blockbuster and rent the Mickey Rooney movie about Boys Town [an orphanage]. I don't understand liberals who live in enclaves of safety who say, 'Oh, this would be a terrible thing.'"
Source: Living History, by Hillary Rodham Clinton, p.262-263
Nov 1, 2003
Page last updated: Feb 14, 2019