1996 State of the Union Address: Shrinking Government (Paragraphs 76-89) Summary

Honey, I Shrunk The Government.

  • Clinton's seventh and final challenge to Congress is "to reinvent our Government and make our democracy work" (7.76).
  • Clinton praises Congress for passing laws to limit gifts from lobbyists, who are basically lawyers that hang out on Capitol Hill trying to get laws passed.
  • Clinton urges a campaign finance reform bill. He wanted (and still wants) to reduce the influence of money in political campaigns.
  • Clinton asks for the line item veto, an idea he may have gotten from George H.W. Bush in 1992.
  • Rules are made to be gotten rid of. Clinton thanks his Vice President, Al Gore, for helping to pass laws eliminating government regulations on businesses.
  • Referring to undocumented immigrants, Clinton promises to "stiffen the protection of our borders" (82.3). This position is now more popular with Republicans.
  • Clinton brags that the federal government's overall workforce is "the smallest it has been in thirty years" (84.3).
  • Clinton gives a shout out to Richard Dean, a Social Security Administration worker who saved the lives of colleagues during the Oklahoma City Bombing. This is an example of a good government worker.
  • Clinton challenges Congress to raise the debt limit and honor its Social Security obligations, i.e. paying what it owes to retirees—by borrowing money, if necessary.
  • Clinton repeats his epic phrase "the era of big government is over." Though he adds that we should not go back to "the era of fending for yourself," (90.2), it's the former line that people will remember.