Clinton's two-term presidency (1993-2001) is the predecessor pair to George W. Bush. This profile grades his 1992 campaign promises against eight years in office that spanned NAFTA, welfare reform, the 1995-96 government shutdowns, impeachment, and the dot-com boom.
William Jefferson Clinton kept 6 out of 10 major campaign promises tracked, but broke three significant ones. He did not pass universal healthcare, despite it being a centerpiece of his 1992 campaign. He also failed to deliver a middle-class tax cut and did not advance campaign finance reform legislation. One promise was partially fulfilled. The bundle does not yet contain donor data or detailed voting records linked to specific funders, so we cannot assess alignment between his funding sources and legislative positions.
Narrated from FEC + Congress.gov receipts. Every figure traces to our data.
Clinton kept 60% of 10 promises tracked for the 1997–2001 term. Each verdict is term-scoped, primary-sourced, and reviewed by three sequential reviewers (neutral · conservative · progressive).
Standard review · primary sources, single editorial pass.
William Jefferson Clinton's campaign-promise scorecard: 60% kept of 10 graded. Source: campaignreceipts.com/r/bill-clinton
Primary-source promise tracker, campaignreceipts.com.
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Health Security Act introduced Sep 1993; never reached a floor vote in either chamber. Hillary Clinton-led task force; effort abandoned by Sep 1994. Major factor in 1994 Republican wave.
Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993 (Pub.L. 103-66, signed Aug 10, 1993) raised top rate to 39.6% rather than cutting middle-class taxes. Clinton publicly acknowledged the broken promise in 1995.
North American Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act (Pub.L. 103-182) signed Dec 8, 1993. House 234-200, Senate 61-38.
Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act (Pub.L. 104-193) signed Aug 22, 1996. Replaced AFDC with TANF, added work requirements and time limits.
Don't Ask, Don't Tell signed Nov 30, 1993. Permitted closeted service but did not allow open service. Roughly 13,000 servicemembers discharged under DADT before repeal in 2010.
Federal budget surplus achieved FY1998-FY2001 (first surpluses since 1969). Last Clinton budget projected $5.6T cumulative surplus over the following decade.
Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act (Pub.L. 103-159) signed Nov 30, 1993. Federal Assault Weapons Ban included in Violent Crime Control Act (Pub.L. 103-322), signed Sep 13, 1994.
Family and Medical Leave Act (Pub.L. 103-3) signed Feb 5, 1993 — first major bill of his presidency. Provided 12 weeks unpaid leave for qualifying employees.
Impeached by House Dec 19, 1998 (perjury 228-206, obstruction 221-212). Acquitted by Senate Feb 12, 1999 (perjury 45-55, obstruction 50-50).
McCain-Feingold did not pass during Clinton's tenure. Eventually signed by Bush as Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (Pub.L. 107-155, March 27, 2002).
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