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78th Congress 1944-1945 Unified Party control, President Roosevelt (D)

Statute

Related Endeavor Summaries
1944 PL 78-225 Mustering-out Payment Act Support Veterans' Readjustment and Training
1944 PL 78-346 Servicemen’s Readjustment Act Support Veterans' Readjustment and Training
Increase Access to Post-Secondary Education
1944 PL 78-359 Veterans’ Preference Act Support Veterans' Readjustment and Training

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Copy of the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, otherwise known as the "GI Bill."


79th Congress 1945-1946 Unified Party control, Presidents Roosevelt (D) and Truman (D)

Statute

Related Endeavor Summaries
1946 PL 79-396 National School Lunch Act Reduce Hunger and Improve Nutrition

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Assistant U.S. Treasury Secretary, Harry Dexter White (left), and honorary advisor to the United Kingdom, John Maynard Keynes (right), at the inaugural meeting of the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) Board of Governors in Savannah, Georgia, on March 8, 1946. The IMF was created as a result of the Bretton Woods Agreement in 1945.
Stuttgart before (1947) and after (1955) Marshall Plan funds, as well as the monetary system created at Bretton Woods in 1945, helped to rebuild European cities devastated by World War II.

80th Congress 1947-1948 Divided party control, President Truman (D)

Statute

Related Endeavor Summaries
1947 PL 80-75 Aid to Greece and Turkey Rebuild Europe After World War II
Contain Communism
1947 PL 80-104 Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act Ensure Safe Food and Drinking Water
1947 General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade signed Expand Foreign Markets for U.S. Goods
1948 PL 80-472 Foreign Assistance Act (Marshall Plan) Rebuild Europe After World War II
1948 PL 80-845 Water Pollution Control Act Improve Water Quality
1947 National Security Act Strengthen the National Defense

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President Truman signs the Foreign Assistance Act (the Marshall Plan) on April 3, 1948. President Truman is surrounded by members of Congress and his cabinet.

Cartoon depicting the Dutch view of the Marshall Plan from a booklet printed by the Ministry of Economic Affairs of the Netherlands, November 1949.

President Truman with top leaders of the Marshall Plan (left to right: Secretary of State George C. Marshall, head of the Economic Cooperation Administration Paul G. Hoffman, and the special representative to the countries partcipating in the Marshall Plan, Averell Harriman), November 29, 1948.


81st Congress 1949-1950 Unified Party control, President Truman (D)

Statute

Related Endeavor Summaries
1949 North Atlantic Treaty Organization Treaty (NATO) ratified Rebuild Europe After World War II
Contain Communism
1950 Korean War Contain Communism
1950 PL 81-507 National Science Foundation Act Promote Scientific and Technological Research
1950 PL 81-692 Public Health Services Act Amendments Reduce Disease
1950 PL 81-734 Social Security Amendments Promote Financial Security in Retirement
1950 PL 81-769 Federal Aid to Highway Strengthen the Nation's Highway System
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President Elect Eisenhower leaving headquarters of the 5th Field Artillery Group during his visit to the First Republic of Korea's Capitol Division, December 4, 1952.

Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dean Acheson, signs the NATO treaty on behalf of the United States, April 4, 1949.

82nd Congress 1951-1952 Unified Party control, President Truman (D)

Statute

Related Endeavor Summaries
1951 PL 82-50 Reciprocal Trade Agreements Act Expand Foreign Markets for U.S. Goods
1951 PL 82-215 Food, Drug, and Cosmetics Act Amendments Enhance Consumer Protection
1952 PL 82-550 Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act Support Veterans' Readjustment and Training
Increase Access to Post-Secondary Education
1952 PL 82-552 Mine Safety Act Enhance Workplace Safety
1952 PL 82-590 Social Security Amendments Promote Financial Security in Retirement
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These veterans of the Korean War were members of the last class enrolled under the GI Bill at a vocational technical school, 1965.

Despite the passing of the Mine Safety Act in 1952, Congress had to enact further legislation to increase mine safety, as evidenced by this 1968 explosion at the Farmington mine in Farmington, West Virginia.

83rdCongress 1953-1954 Unified Party control, President Eisenhower (R)

Statute

Related Endeavor Summaries
1953 PL 83-88 Flammable Fabrics Act Enhance Consumer Protection
1954 PL 83-761 Social Security Amendments Promote Financial Security in Retirement
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Cardpunch operators, who would input Social Security data onto cards before the advent of computers, were employed throughout the late 1930s and into the 1950s to maintain Social Security records.

Public information display used by the Social Security Administration during the late 1940s and early 1950s to educate the public on Social Security benefits.

84th Congress 1955-1956 Divided Party control, President Eisenhower (R)

Statute

Related Endeavor Summaries
1955 PL 84-86 Reciprocal Trade Agreements Act Extension Expand Foreign Markets for U.S. Goods
1955 PL 84-159 Air Pollution Control Act Improve Air Quality
1955 PL 84-377 Poliomyelitis Vaccination Assistance Act Reduce Disease
1956 PL 84-627 Federal Aid to Highway/Interstate Highway Act Strengthen the Nation's Highway System
1956 PL 84-835 Health Research Facilities Act Reduce Disease
1956 PL 84-880 Social Security Amendments Promote Financial Security in Retirement

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The first disability "freeze" application (the disability freeze provisions ignore periods of disability when computing a retirement or survivors benefit) taken in the Wheeling, West Virginia office of the SSA on January 2, 1955. Congress enacted Social Security Amendments in 1954 to protect a disabled worker's rights to eventual retirement benefits by initiating a disability insurance program.

Former First Lady, Eleanor Roosevelt, inventor of the Polio vaccine, Dr. Jonas Salk, and Dr. Basil O'Connor at the Infantile Paralysis Hall of Fame in Warm Springs, Georgia, 1958.

85th Congress 1957-1958 Divided Party control, President Eisenhower (R)

Statute

Related Endeavor Summaries
1957 PL 85-172 Poultry Products Inspection Act Ensure Safe Food and Drinking Water
1957 PL 85-177 International Atomic Energy Treaty Increase Arms Control and Disarmament
1957 PL 85-315 Civil Rights Act Expand the Right to Vote
1958 PL 85-568 National Aeronautics and Space Administration Promote Space Exploration
1958 PL 85-686 Reciprocal Trade Agreements Act Extension Expand Foreign Markets for U.S. Goods
1958 PL 85-836 Welfare Pensions Plans Disclosure Act Promote Financial Security in Retirement
1958 PL 85-840 Social Security Amendments Promote Financial Security in Retirement
1958 PL 85-852 Military Construction Appropriation Act (Advanced Research Projects Agency) Promote Scientific and Technological Research
1958 PL 85-864 National Defense Education Act Increase Access to Post-Secondary Education
1958 PL 85-899 Department of Defense Reorganization Act Strengthen the National Defense
1958 PL 85-929 Food Additives Amendment Ensure Safe Food and Drinking Water

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NASA's seven original astronauts posing in front of a Convair F-106 (left to right): Scott Carpenter, Gordon Cooper, John Glenn, Virgil Grissom, Walter Schirra, Alan Shepard, and Donald Slayton.

Nurse Sutliff greets the former First Lady, Eleanor Roosevelt, at the clinic of the Oak Ridge Institute of Nuclear Studies on February 18, 1955.

86th Congress 1959-1960 Divided Party control, President Eisenhower (R)

Statute

Related Endeavor Summaries
1960 PL 86-449 Civil Rights Act Expand the Right to Vote
1960 PL 86-613 Federal Hazardous Substances Labeling Act Enhance Consumer Protection
1960 PL 86-778 Social Security Amendments (Kerr-Mill aid) Increase Older American's Access to Health Care

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Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy speaks to a civil rights rally outside the Justice Department, 1963.


87th Congress 1961-1962 Unified Party control, President Kennedy (D)

Statute

Related Endeavor Summaries
1961 PL 87-64 Social Security Amendments Promote Financial Security in Retirement
1961 PL 87-98 Apollo mission funding Promote Space Exploration
1961 PL 87-297 Arms Control and Disarmament Agency Increase Arms Control and Disarmament
1961 Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development Treaty ratified Expand Foreign Markets for U.S. Goods
1962 PL 87-420 Welfare Pensions Plans Disclosure Act Promote Financial Security in Retirement
1962 PL 87-624 Communications Satellite Act Promote Scientific and Technological Research
1962 PL 87-781 Food, Drug, and Cosmetics Act Amendments Enhance Consumer Protection
1962 PL 87-792 Self-Employed Individuals Tax Retirement Act Promote Financial Security in Retirement
1962 PL 87-794 Trade Expansion Act Expand Foreign Markets for U.S. Goods
1962 PL 87-838 Public Health Services Act Reduce Disease
1962 PL 87-868 Vaccination Assistance Reduce Disease

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President Kennedy signing the Social Security Amendments into law on June 30, 1961. Shown with the President are (left to right) Rep. Carl Albert (D-OK); Rep. Wilbur Mills (D-AR); Sen. John J. Williams (R-DE); Rep. Thomas J. O'Brien (D-IL); Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson; Sen. Robert S. Kerr (D-OK); Rep. John W. Byrnes (R-WS); Abraham Ribicoff, Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare; and Wilbur J. Cohen, Assistant Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare.

Apollo Project Command Service Module.

88th Congress 1963-1964 Unified Party control, Presidents Kennedy (D) and Johnson (D)

Statute

Related Endeavor Summaries
1963 PL 88-38 Equal Pay Act Reduce Workplace Discrimination
1963 PL 88-129 Health Professions Education Assistance Act Increase Access to Post-Secondary Education
1963 PL 88-149 Department of Defense Appropriations Act Strengthen the National Defense
1963 PL 88-174 Military Construction Authorization Act Strengthen the National Defense
1963 PL 88-204 Higher Education Facilities Act Increase Access to Post-Secondary Education
1963 PL 88-206 Clean Air Act Improve Air Quality
1963 Nuclear Test Ban Treaty ratified Increase Arms Control and Disarmament
1964 24th Amendment Poll tax outlawed Expand the Right to Vote
1964 PL 88-305 Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act Extension Ensure Safe Food and Drinking Water
1964 PL 88-352 Civil Rights Act Reduce Workplace Discrimination
Expand the Right to Vote
Promote Equal Access to Public Accommodations
1964 PL 88-467 Securities Act Amendments Increase the Stability of Financial Institutions and Markets
1964 PL 88-525 Food Stamp Act Reduce Hunger and Improve Nutrition
1964 PL 88-577 Wilderness Act Protect the Wilderness
1964 PL 88-665 National Defense Education Act Amendments Increase Access to Post-Secondary Education
1964 Vietnam War Contain Communism

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President Kennedy signs the 1963 Equal Pay Act into law as Business and Professional Women/USA (BPW) president Dr. Minnie Miles (second from right) and members of the BPW look on.

President Kennedy meets with leaders of the March on Washington, August 28, 1963. The purpose of this March was to demand equality and to urge Congress to pass pending civil rights legislation.

89th Congress 1965-1966 Unified Party control, President Johnson (D)

Statute

Related Endeavor Summaries
1965 PL 89-92 Federal Cigarette Labeling and Advertising Act Enhance Consumer Protection
1965 PL 89-97 Medicare Increase Older American's Access to Health Care
1965 PL 89-110 Voting Rights Act Expand the Right to Vote
1965 PL 89-234 Water Quality Act Improve Water Quality
1965 PL 89-239 Heart Disease, Cancer, and Stroke Amendments Reduce Disease
1965 PL 89-272 Motor Vehicle Air Pollution Control Act Improve Air Quality
1965 PL 89-285 Highway Beautification Act Strengthen the Nation's Highway System
1965 PL 89-290 Health Professions Education Assistance Act Extension Increase Access to Post-Secondary Education
1965 PL 89-329 Higher Education Act Increase Access to Post-Secondary Education
1966 PL 89-642 Child Nutrition Act Reduce Hunger and Improve Nutrition
1966 PL 89-670 Department of Transportation established Strengthen the Nation's Highway System
1966 PL 89-675 Clean Air Act Amendments Improve Air Quality
1966 PL 89-753 Clean Waters Restoration Act Improve Water Quality
1966 PL 89-755 Fair Packaging and Labeling Act Enhance Consumer Protection
1966 PL 89-756 Child Protection Act Enhance Consumer Protection

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President Truman's application for the optional Part B Medical Care Coverage, which President Johnson signed as a witness. President Truman and the former First Lady Bess Truman were enrolled as the first Medicare beneficiaries.

President Johnson with Dr. Martin Luther King celebrating the signing of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

90th Congress 1967-1968 Unified Party control, President Johnson (D)

Statute

Related Endeavor Summaries
1967 PL 90-8 Supplemental Defense Appropriations Act Strengthen the National Defense
1967 PL 90-148 Air Quality Act Improve Air Quality
1967 PL 90-201 Wholesome Meat Act Ensure Safe Food and Drinking Water
1967 PL 90-202 Age Discrimination Act Reduce Workplace Discrimination
1967 PL 90-248 Social Security Act Amendments Promote Financial Security in Retirement
1967 Outer Space Treaty ratified Increase Arms Control and Disarmament
1968 PL 90-284 Open Housing Act Promote Equal Access to Public Accommodations
1968 PL 90-439 Securities Disclosure Act Increase the Stability of Financial Institutions and Markets
1968 PL 90-492 Wholesome Poultry Products Act Ensure Safe Food and Drinking Water
1968 PL 90-542 Scenic Rivers Preservation Act Protect the Wilderness

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Even with the passage of the 1967 Air Quality Act, massive smog episodes like this one in New York City in 1973, showed that this act was just one step in endeavoring to improve air quality.

United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) inspection stamp.

91st Congress 1969-1970 Divided Party control, President Nixon (R)

Statute

Related Endeavor Summaries
1970 PL 91-119 National Aeronautics and Space Administration Research and Development Promote Space Exploration
1969 PL 91-172 Tax Reform Act Promote Financial Security in Retirement
1969 PL 91-173 Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act Enhance Workplace Safety
1969 PL 91-190 National Environmental Policy Act Protect the Wilderness
Improve Air Quality
Improve Water Quality
1969 Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty ratified Increase Arms Control and Disarmament
1970 PL 91-222 Federal Cigarette Labeling and Advertising Act Amendments Enhance Consumer Protection
1970 PL 91-224 Water Quality Improvement Act Improve Water Quality
1970 PL 91-285 Voting Rights Act Extension Expand the Right to Vote
1970 PL 91-504 Wilderness Act Protect the Wilderness
1970 PL 91-596 Occupational Safety and Health Act Enhance Workplace Safety
1970 PL 91-604 Clean Air Act Extension Improve Air Quality
1970 PL 91-671 Food Stamp Act Reduce Hunger and Improve Nutrition
1970 PL 91-695 Lead-Based Paint Poisoning Prevention Act Reduce Disease
1970 Environmental Protection Agency established Protect the Wilderness
*
Improve Air Quality
*
Improve Water Quality
1970 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration established Improve Water Quality

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Damage and destruction caused by hurricane Celia in Corpus Christi, Texas in 1970. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration was created in 1970 to establish early detection and warning systems for natural disasters.

92nd Congress 1971-1972 Divided Party control, President Nixon (R)

Statute

Related Endeavor Summaries
1971 26th Amendment Voting age reduced to 18 for all elections Expand the Right to Vote
1971 PL 92-5 Social Security Amendments Promote Financial Security in Retirement
1971 PL 92-218 National Cancer Act Reduce Disease
1972 PL 92-261 Equal Employment Opportunity Act Reduce Workplace Discrimination
1972 PL 92-318 Higher Education Act Amendments Increase Access to Post-Secondary Education
1972 PL 92-336 Social Security Amendments Promote Financial Security in Retirement
1972 PL 92-433 National School Lunch Act Amendments (Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children) Reduce Hunger and Improve Nutrition
1972 PL 92-448 SALT/ABM Treaty Increase Arms Control and Disarmament
1972 PL 92-500 Water Pollution Control Act Improve Water Quality
1972 PL 92-516 Federal Environmental Pesticide Control Act Ensure Safe Food and Drinking Water
1972 PL 92-573 Consumer Products Safety Act Enhance Consumer Protection
1972 PL 92-603 Social Security Amendments (Supplemental Security Income) Promote Financial Security in Retirement

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City, state and federal funds built a water pollution control plant in Spring Creek, Queens, New York in 1973, as mandated by the 1972 Water Pollution Control Act.

In President Nixon's 1971 State of the Union Speech, he addressed government endeavors such as reducing disease and increasing arms control and disarmament.

93rd Congress 1973-1974 Divided Party control, Presidents Nixon (R) and Ford (R)

Statute

Related Endeavor Summaries
1973 PL 93-87 Federal Aid Highway Act Strengthen the Nation's Highway System
1973 PL 93-112 Rehabilitation Act Reduce Workplace Discrimination
1973 PL 93-233 Social Security Benefits Increase Promote Financial Security in Retirement
1974 PL 93-296 Research on Aging Act Reduce Disease
1974 PL 93-406 Employment Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) Promote Financial Security in Retirement
1974 PL 93-523 Safe Drinking Water Act Ensure Safe Food and Drinking Water
1974 PL 93-618 Trade Act Expand Foreign Markets for U.S. Goods

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Hollywood, CA, freeway traffic, May 1972. Such traffic congestion led to the 1973 Federal Aid to Highway Act.

President Ford signing the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) on September 2, 1974.

94th Congress 1975-1976 Divided Party control, President Ford (R)

Statute

Related Endeavor Summaries
1975 PL 94-29 Securities and Exchange Act Increase the Stability of Financial Institutions and Markets
1975 PL 94-73 Voting Rights Act Extension Expand the Right to Vote
1976 PL 94-295 Medical Device Regulation Act Enhance Consumer Protection
1976 PL 94-455 Tax Reform Act Promote Financial Security in Retirement
1976 PL 94-469 Toxic Substances Control Act Improve Air Quality
*
Improve Water Quality

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An Environmental Protection Agency employee inspects pesticides at a chemical company in Mississippi. The EPA regulated the use of pesticides as mandated by Congress through the Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976.

95th Congress 1977-1978 Unified Party control, President Carter (D)

Statute

Related Endeavor Summaries
1977 PL 95-87 Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act Protect the Wilderness
1977 PL 95-95 Clean Air Act Amendments Improve Air Quality
1977 PL 95-216 Social Security Act Amendments Promote Financial Security in Retirement
1977 PL 95-217 Clean Water Act Improve Water Quality
1978 PL 95-495 Wilderness Act Protect the Wilderness
1978 PL 95-566 Middle Income Student Assistance Act Increase Access to Post-Secondary Education
1978 PL 95-600 Revenue Act Promote Financial Security in Retirement

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President Carter signs the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act into law, 1977.

President Carter signs the Wilderness Act of 1978.

96th Congress 1979-1980 Unified Party control, President Carter (D)

Statute

Related Endeavor Summaries
1979 PL 96-39 Foreign Trade Act Expand Foreign Markets for U.S. Goods
1979 PL 96-88 Department of Education established Increase Access to Post-Secondary Education
1980 PL 96-221 Depository Institutions and Deregulation Money Control Act Increase the Stability of Financial Institutions and Markets
1980 PL 96-487 Alaska Land Protection Act Protect the Wilderness

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President Carter addresses the Mexican Congress during a state visit to Mexico in 1979. During this trip, Carter spoke of maintaining good trade relations with Mexico in order to expand foreign markets for U.S. goods.

High use of Alaska's natural resources, like oil, led to the Passge of the Alaska Land Protection Act of 1980.

97th Congress 1981-1982 Divided Party control, President Reagan (R)

Statute

Related Endeavor Summaries
1982 PL 97-205 Voting Rights Act Extension Expand the Right to Vote
1982 PL 97-320 Garn-St. Germain Depository Institutions Act Increase the Stability of Financial Institutions and Markets

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President Reagan working at his Oval Office desk. During his administration, he worked on a variety of issues including ones that dealt with increasing the stability of financial institutions and markets.

98th Congress 1983-1984 Divided Party control, President Reagan (R)

Statute

Related Endeavor Summaries
1983 PL 98-21 Social Security Act Amendments Promote Financial Security in Retirement
1984 PL 98-361 National Aeronautics and Space Administration Authorization Act Promote Space Exploration
1984 PL 98-369 Deficit Reduction Act Reduce the Federal Budget Deficit
1984 PL 98-376 Insider Trading Sanctions Act Increase the Stability of Financial Institutions and Markets
1984 PL 98-435 Voting Accessibility for the Elderly and Handicapped Act Expand the Right to Vote
1984 PL 98-525 Department of Defense Authorization Act Strengthen the National Defense
1984 PL 98-573 Trade and Tariff Act Expand Foreign Markets for U.S. Goods

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President and Mrs. Reagan with Japanese Emperor Hirohito, Tokyo, Japan, November 9, 1983. During President Reagan's visit to Japan, he discussed expanding foreign markets for U.S. goods.

The National Commission on Social Security Reform (a.k.a. the Greenspan Commission) was appointed by the Congress and the President in 1981. Their report, issued in January 1983, became the basis for the 1983 Social Security Amendments.

99th Congress 1985-1986 Divided Party control, President Reagan (R)

Statute

Related Endeavor Summaries
1985 PL 99-177 Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Anti-Deficit Act Reduce the Federal Budget Deficit
1986 PL 99-252 Comprehensive Smokeless Tobacco Health Education Act Enhance Consumer Protection
1986 PL 99-433 Department of Defense Reorganization Act Strengthen the National Defense
1986 PL 99-514 Tax Reform Act Promote Financial Security in Retirement
1986 PL 99-572 Age Discrimination in Employment Act Reduce Workplace Discrimination

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The Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia is the headquarters of the Department of Defense (DOD). The Department of Defense Reorganization Act of 1986 caused significant changes in the DOD.

100th Congress 1987-1988 Divided Party control, President Reagan (R)

Statute

Related Endeavor Summaries
1987 PL 100-4 Water Quality Act Improve Water Quality
1987 PL 100-17 Surface Transportation Act Strengthen the Nation's Highway System
1987 PL 100-202 Department of Transportation Appropriations Act (Smoking ban on Flights) Reduce Disease
1987 PL 100-202, 203 Omnibus Reconciliation Act Reduce the Federal Budget Deficit
1988 PL 100-360 Medicare Catastrophic Coverage Act Increase Older American's Access to Health Care
1988 PL 100-418 Omnibus Foreign Trade and Competitiveness Act Expand Foreign Markets for U.S. Goods
1988 PL 100-527 Department of Veterans’ Affairs Act Support Veteran's Readjustment and Training
1988 PL 100-685 National Aeronautics and Space Administration Authorization Act Promote Space Exploration
1988 PL 100-690 Anti-drug Abuse Act Enhance Consumer Protection
1988 PL 100-704 Insider Trading and Securities Fraud Enforcement Act Increase the Stability of Financial Institutions and Markets
1988 Intermediate Range Nuclear Force ratified Increase Arms Control and Disarmament
1988 Defense Authorization Amendments and Base Closure and Realignment Act Strengthen the National Defense

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President Reagan and Vice-President Bush meeting with General Secretary Gorbachev on Governor's Island, New York, December 7, 1988. In their meetings, they discussed expanding foreign markets for U.S. goods and increasing arms control and disarmament.

101st Congress 1989-1990 Divided Party control, President Bush I (R)

Statute

Related Endeavor Summaries
1989 PL 101-73 Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Increase the Stability of Financial Institutions and Markets
1989 PL 101-164 Department of Transportation and Related Agencies Appropriations Act (Smoking ban on flights) Reduce Disease
1990 PL 101-336 Americans with Disabilities Act Reduce Workplace Discrimination
Promote Equal Access to Public Accommodations
1990 PL 101-508 Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (Human genome project funding) Promote Scientific and Technological Research
Reduce the Federal Budget Deficit
1990 PL 101-535 Nutrition Labeling and Education Act Enhance Consumer Protection
1990 PL 101-549 Clean Air Act Amendments Improve Air Quality

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President Bush I signs into law the Americans with Disabilities Act on the South Lawn of the White House, July 26, 1990.

The U.S. Human Genome Project began in 1990 in order to map out the 30,000 genes in human DNA. On June 26, 2000, President Clinton and British Prime Minister Tony Blair announced that the first phase of the Human Genome Project, completion of a "working draft" containing 95% of the human genetic structure, had been completed.

102nd Congress 1991-1992 Divided Party control, President Bush I (R)

Statute

Related Endeavor Summaries
1991 PL 102-240 Intermodal Surface Transportation Act Strengthen the Nation's Highway System
1992 PL 102-325 Higher Education Act Increase Access to Post-Secondary Education

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President Bush 1 signs the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA), December 18, 1991, in order to strengthen the nation's highway system.

103rd Congress 1993-1994 Unified Party control, President Clinton (D)

Statute

Related Endeavor Summaries
1993 PL 103-66 Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act Increase Access to Post-Secondary Education
Reduce the Federal Budget Deficit
1993 PL 103-182 North American Free Trade Agreement Expand Foreign Markets for U.S. Goods
1994 PL 103-433 California Desert Protection Act Protect the Wilderness
1994 PL 103-465 General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade Expand Foreign Markets for U.S. Goods

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The California Desert Protection Act was signed on October 31, 1994. This legislation designated two National Parks, Death Valley and Joshua Tree (pictured), and one National Preserve, the Mojave.

President Bush I, Canadian Prime Minister Mulroney and Mexican President Salinas participate in the initialing ceremony of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in San Antonio, Texas, October 7, 1992.

104th Congress 1995-1996 Divided Party control, President Clinton (D)

Statute

Related Endeavor Summaries
1996 PL 104-132 Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act Strengthen the National Defense
1996 PL 104-170 Food Quality Protection Act Ensure Safe Food and Drinking Water

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Crop-dusting near Calipatria in the Imperial Valley of California. The government's goal of ensuring safe food and drinking water led to the passing of the Food Quality Protection Act in 1996 requiring a new safety standard be applied to all pesticides used on foods.

105th Congress 1997-1998 Divided Party control, President Clinton (D)

Statute

Related Endeavor Summaries
1997 Worldwide Chemical Weapons Convention ratified Increase Arms Control and Disarmament
1997 PL 105-33 Omnibus Reconciliation Act Reduce the Federal Budget Deficit
Expand Foreign Markets for U.S. Goods
1998 PL 105-178 Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century Strengthen the Nation's Highway System

Related Images

A U.S. soldier in a chemical weapons protective suit. The U.S. played a leading role in negotiating the Chemical Weapons Convention, which was entered into force 180 days after it was ratified by Hungary (the 65th signatory) on April 27, 1997.

106th Congress 1999-2000 Divided Party control, President Clinton (D)

Statute

Related Endeavor Summaries
1999 PL 106-102 Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act Increase the Stability of Financial Institutions and Markets

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The final tally of the vote on the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act of 1999.

 




































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