c. Newt Gingrich
In November 1994, Republicans won a majority in both houses of Congress for the first time in forty years. Clinton and the New
Democrats had achieved major spending cuts and beefed up law enforcement, but the Republican agenda championed by House
Speaker Newt Gingrich went much further. Gingrich's Contract with America, issued before the election, had promised to produce
balanced budgets, low taxes, welfare reform, tort reform, and congressional term limits. Republicans also sought to overturn gun control laws, expand prisons and policing programs, roll back affirmative action, and cut both Social Security and Medicare.