The Contract with America

Some historians view the Contract with America as "one of the most significant developments in the political history of the United States." 1994 was a meaningful year. For the first time in 40 years, Republicans won a majority in Congress. This victory became a possibility through one important document: the Contract with America. The contract was put forward by Newt Gingrich, who promised to completely reshape government. The main idea was the decentralization of federal authority. This included deregulation, tax cuts, reform of social programs, increased power for states, and a balanced federal budget. The three core values of the document are stated as accountability, responsibility, and opportunity.

The Contract with America was composed of ten points:

1. The Fiscal Responsibility Act required Congress to live under the same budget constraints as families and businesses.
2. The Taking Back Our Streets Act was an anti-crime package which promoted the death penalty and funding of prison construction. 
3. The Personal Responsibility Act cut funding for welfare and attempted to discourage teen pregnancy by denying welfare to minor mothers. 
4. The Family Reinforcement Act instated tax incentives for adoption, stronger child pornography laws, and stronger rights for parents in the education of their children. 
5. The American Dream Restoration Act sought to relieve the middle class of their tax burden by providing $500 tax credit per child and repealing the marriage tax penalty. 
6. The National Security Restoration Act was intended to strengthen national defense and maintain America's credibility throughout the world. 
7. The Senior Citizens Fairness Act raised the Social Security earnings limit and provided tax incentives for long-term private care insurance. 
8. The Job Creation and Wage Enhancement Act provided small business incentives in order to create jobs and raise wages. 
9. The Common Sense Legal Reform Act created reasonable limits on punitive damages and reform of product liability. 
10. The Citizen Legislature Act was a first-ever vote on term limits to replace career politicians with citizen legislators. 

Congress promised to vote on each of these bills within the first 100 days. Never before had Congress taken such fast-paced action. Nine of the ten items passed the House, but Senate Republicans were slow to embrace the contract. Democrats across the nation were quick to denounce it. Only three of the least controversial acts had become law by the end of 1995, but the Contract with America still stands as a statement of Republican values and goals.  

https://www.heritage.org/political-process/report/the-contract-america-implementing-new-ideas-the-us
https://www.encyclopedia.com/social-sciences-and-law/law/law/contract-america
http://wps.prenhall.com/wps/media/objects/434/445252/DocumentsLibrary/docs/contract.htm