Domestic Policies and Affairs

Policies related to a country's internal affairs
The Americans with Disabilities Act
Clean Air Act
a limited agenda


a limited agenda

When Bush became the President the federal budget dept was $2.8 trillion. With such big depts comes constraints, Bush decided to use a limited agenda. The limited agenda involved volunteerism, education reform, and anti-drug efforts. Bush pledged not to raise taxes but maintaining this while balancing the budget and reduce the deficit without having to increase taxes.
This was a problem because the democrats wanted the richer americans to have a hgher tax and the republicans wanted to drastically cut the domestic spending.
In 1990, Bush had to go back on his no taxes pledge and raised them, he called them revenue increases. During this time the saving and loans industry was failing. Bush spent alot of money to bail them out but this made the difficult financial environment harder.


The Americans with Disabilities Act

in 1990 Bush signed the Americans with Disabilities Act. He didn't want disabled people to be discriminated, weather in employment, public accommodations, and transportation. All Bush actually did was agree on the bill, Congress has brought it from the Civil Rights Act in 1964. Bush thought this bill would grant the disabled more independence. The Democrats and Republicans approved of the bill but the Conservatives think of it as Bush's betrayal of the Reagan Revolution.


Clean Air Act

The second Act that Bush signed was the Clean Air Act of 1990. Previously the Exxon Valde,an oil tanker had a spill. More than 10 million gallons of oil was poured into Prince William Sound in Alaska. This helped Bush because the public suddenly grew more aware of the environment and the need to protect it. In 1989 Bush had chosen William Reilly as the head of EPA, Environmental Protection Agency. This bill focused on reducing urban smog, curbing acid rain, and eliminating industrial emission of toxic chemicals.