As the 109th Congress settles into its normal rhythms, Republican
leaders face crucial decisions on the policy direction of their
party. After 10 years in power, the exact things that Republicans
said were wrong with prior Congresses have become worse under
their control. The GOP is responsible for record high deficits
and their policies have intruded even more into state, local, and
private activities. Now many Republicans are saying that even the
limited spending restraints in the new Bush budget are dead on
arrival.
The reformist spirit of 1994 has been lost on many careerist GOP
politicians who have burrowed into the Washington power structure
and now resist change. The GOP's Contract with America promised
the "end of government that is too big, too intrusive, and too
easy with the public's money." But such sentiments sound quaint
after the 31 percent increase in federal spending during the past
four years.
Other declarations of the incoming Republicans have been long
forgotten. In 1995, Bill Frist of Tennessee went to Senate floor
to denounce Bill Clinton's budget policies, arguing for
"adjustment, reform, and downsizing the federal government." He
charged that "without a balanced budget agreement...there will be
profoundly negative consequences." Today, Majority Leader Frist
and his party preside over a deficit that is twice as big as in
1995.
The GOP now works directly against many of their original reform
goals:
Federalism. In his first speech as the new
Senate majority leader, Bob Dole said that his main goal was to
"dust of the Tenth Amendment and restore it to its rightful place
in our Constitution." But contrary to the Tenth Amendment, the
federal government continues to invade state policy areas and
criminal law enforcement. The number of federal criminal laws
soared 33 percent in the past decade;
Term Limits. The Contract with America promised
congressional term limits to create "citizen legislators." But
the GOP has long abandoned that goal in favor of incumbency
protection. The 2004 election produced a 98 percent reelection
rate;
Cutting Programs. In 1995, House Republicans
proposed abolishing more than 200 programs and three federal
departments, including the Department of Education. But no
substantial program has been terminated, and federal education
spending has doubled in the past six years;
Pork Barrel Politics. Republicans used to
denounce Democratic pork barrel spending, but recent omnibus
spending bills have contained twice as many earmarked spending
projects as Democratic bills used to contain;
Government Health Care. Former House Majority
Leader Dick Armey attributed the GOP's 1994 victory to public
distaste for Hillary Clinton's big government health care plan.
But the Republicans closed out their decade in power by passing
the largest expansion in government health care since the 1960s
with the prescription drug bill.
The GOP's sell-out on reform is particularly sad given that the
public supported much of the Republican agenda. Voters strongly
supported term limits, and they did not revolt when the House
pushed for cuts to Medicare, education, housing, Amtrak, and
other sensitive programs. Indeed, voters returned Republicans to
the majority in subsequent elections, and polls showed that
public approval of Congress soared in the years after the GOP
taking control.
Republicans also had a sympathetic Supreme Court to buttress
their reform efforts. On federalism, the 1995 Lopez
decision struck down a federal law on guns near schools,
affirming that there are constitutional limits to federal
intrusions into state and local affairs. The GOP could have used
the landmark ruling to eliminate other unconstitutional programs,
but they missed the opportunity.
When the GOP does follow through on reform, it achieved positive
and enduring results. Welfare reform in 1996 is the best example.
Initially, the GOP's welfare proposals were denounced by
opponents in vicious terms, with a number of House members even
comparing the Republicans to the Nazis. But the GOP stuck to its
guns and achieved dramatic results -- welfare rolls dropped 60
percent, earnings of low-income single mothers rose, and the
percentage of U.S. children living in poverty fell after reform.
This is where the 109th Congress comes in. President Bush wants
to revive the spirit of 1994 and get Congress to think big on
reform. Most importantly, he wants to upgrade the old-fashioned
Social Security program with a retirement plan based on personal
savings. Shifting from federal handouts to personal
responsibility worked for welfare, and it should work for
retirement as well.
Predictably, some weak-kneed Republicans are saying that such
changes are too politically risky. But that's not how we read the
policy lessons of the past decade. If the party sticks together
on pro-market reforms, it achieves successes that pay lasting
political dividends. GOP veterans -- and former President Clinton
-- still proudly trumpet the success of welfare reform. That
should not be forgotten as Congress ponders further reforms to
the welfare state with Social Security.
topics:
Education, Health Care, Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, Social Security, Constitution, Law, Supreme Court, Medicare
