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PreviewAdvancedSpecial charactersHelpHeadingLevel 2Level 3Level 4Level 5FormatInsertLatinLatin extendedIPASymbolsGreekGreek extendedCyrillicArabicArabic extendedHebrewBanglaTamilTeluguSinhalaDevanagariGujaratiThaiLaoKhmerCanadian AboriginalRunesÁáÀàÂâÄäÃãǍǎĀāĂ㥹ÅåĆćĈĉÇçČčĊċĐđĎďÉéÈèÊêËëĚěĒēĔĕĖėĘęĜĝĢģĞğĠġĤĥĦħÍíÌìÎîÏïĨĩǏǐĪīĬĭİıĮįĴĵĶķĹĺĻļĽľŁłŃńÑñŅņŇňÓóÒòÔôÖöÕõǑǒŌōŎŏǪǫŐőŔŕŖŗŘřŚśŜŝŞşŠšȘșȚțŤťÚúÙùÛûÜüŨũŮůǓǔŪūǖǘǚǜŬŭŲųŰűŴŵÝýŶŷŸÿȲȳŹźŽžŻżÆæǢǣØøŒœßÐðÞþƏəFormattingLinksHeadingsListsFilesDiscussionReferencesDescriptionWhat you typeWhat you getItalic''Italic text''Italic textBold'''Bold text'''Bold textBold & italic'''''Bold & italic text'''''Bold & italic textDescriptionWhat you typeWhat you getReferencePage text.<ref>[https://www.example.org/ Link text], additional text.</ref>Page text.[1]Named referencePage text.<ref name="test">[https://www.example.org/ Link text]</ref>Page text.[2]Additional use of the same referencePage text.<ref name="test" />Page text.[2]Display references<references />↑ Link text, additional text.↑ Link text===First term (1993–1997)=== {{Listen | title = First inauguration of Bill Clinton (January 20, 1993) | filename = First Inaugural (January 20, 1993) Bill Clinton.ogv | description = Video of the [[First inauguration of Bill Clinton]] | title2 = First inauguration of Bill Clinton (January 20, 1993) | filename2 = First Inaugural (January 20, 1993) Bill Clinton.ogg | description2 = audio only version | pos = right }} {{Quote box | width=25em | bgcolor=#c6dbf7 | align=right | quote="Our democracy must be not only the envy of the world but the engine of our own renewal. There is nothing wrong with America that cannot be cured by what is right with America." | source=Inaugural address, January 20, 1993.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/clinton1.asp | first=Bill | last=Clinton | title=First Inaugural Address of William J. Clinton; January 20, 1993 | publisher=[[Yale Law School]] | date=January 20, 1993 | access-date=February 22, 2020}}</ref>}} [[File:Dan Hadani collection (990040377410205171).jpg|thumb|alt=Clinton during the signing of the Israel–Jordan peace treaty, with Yitzhak Rabin (left) and King Hussein of Jordan (right)|Clinton during the signing of the [[Israel–Jordan peace treaty]], with [[Yitzhak Rabin]] (left) and King [[Hussein of Jordan]] (right)]] After [[Presidential transition of Bill Clinton|his presidential transition]], Clinton was [[First inauguration of Bill Clinton|inaugurated]] as the 42nd president of the United States on January 20, 1993. Clinton was physically exhausted at the time, and had an inexperienced staff. His high levels of public support dropped in the first few weeks, as he made a series of mistakes. His first choice for attorney general had not paid her taxes on babysitters and was forced to withdraw. The second appointee also withdrew for the same reason. Clinton had repeatedly promised to encourage gays in the military service, despite what he knew to be the strong opposition of the military leadership. He tried anyway, and was publicly opposed by the top generals, and forced by Congress to a compromise position of "[[Don't ask, don't tell]]" whereby gays could serve if and only if they kept it secret.<ref>Elizabeth Drew, ''On the Edge: The Clinton Presidency'' (1994), pp. 36–56.</ref> He devised a $16-billion stimulus package primarily to aid inner-city programs desired by liberals, but it was defeated by a Republican filibuster in the Senate.<ref>Drew, pp 114–122.</ref> His popularity at the 100 day mark of his term was the lowest of any president at that point.<ref>Stanley A. Renshon, ed., ''The Clinton Presidency: Campaigning, Governing, and the Psychology of Leadership'' (1995), p. 138.</ref> Public opinion did support one liberal program, and Clinton signed the [[Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993]], which required large employers to allow employees to take unpaid leave for pregnancy or a serious medical condition. This action had bipartisan support,<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=103&session=1&vote=00011 | title=U.S. Senate Roll Call Votes 103rd Congress—1st Session | publisher=United States Senate | access-date= August 30, 2011}}</ref> and was popular with the public.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.protectfamilyleave.org/pdf/030608_ncpfl_fmla_national_survey.pdf |title=New Nationwide Poll Shows Strong Support for Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) |publisher=Protect Family Leave |access-date=August 30, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111227065806/http://www.protectfamilyleave.org/pdf/030608_ncpfl_fmla_national_survey.pdf |archive-date=December 27, 2011 }}</ref> Two days after taking office, on January 22, 1993—the 20th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court decision in ''[[Roe v. Wade]]''—Clinton reversed restrictions on domestic and international [[family planning]] programs that had been imposed by Reagan and Bush.<ref>{{cite book|author=Sharon L. Camp|chapter=The Politics of U.S. Population Assistance|title=Beyond the Numbers: A Reader on Population, Consumption and the Environment|editor=Laurie Ann Mazur|page=130}}</ref> Clinton said abortion should be kept "safe, legal, and rare"—a slogan that had been suggested by political scientist [[Samuel L. Popkin]] and first used by Clinton in December 1991, while campaigning.<ref>Amy Sullivan, ''The Party Faithful: How and Why Democrats Are Closing the God Gap'' (Simon & Schuster: 2008), pp. 91–92.</ref> During the eight years of the Clinton administration, the abortion rate declined by 18 percent.<ref>Sullivan, ''The Party Faithful'', pp. 236–237.</ref> On February 15, 1993, Clinton made his first address to the nation, announcing his plan to raise taxes to close a [[budget deficit]].<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/02/15/us/white-house-hones-all-out-campaign-to-sell-sacrifice.html | title=White House Hones All-Out Campaign to Sell Sacrifice | newspaper=The New York Times | date=February 15, 1993 | author=Richard L. Burke | access-date=August 30, 2011}}</ref> Two days later, in a nationally televised address to a [[joint session of Congress]], Clinton unveiled his economic plan. The plan focused on reducing the deficit rather than on cutting taxes for the middle class, which had been high on his campaign agenda.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/clinton/cron | title=The Clinton Years: Chronology | work=[[Frontline (American TV program)|Frontline]] | access-date=June 13, 2010| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100502012813/http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/clinton/cron/| archive-date=May 2, 2010 | url-status=live}}</ref> Clinton's advisers pressured him to raise taxes, based on the theory that a smaller federal budget deficit would reduce bond interest rates.<ref>{{cite book | last=Woodward | first=Bob | author-link=Bob Woodward | title=Maestro | url=https://archive.org/details/maestrogreenspan00wood | url-access=registration | publisher=Simon & Schuster | location=New York | year=2000 | page=[https://archive.org/details/maestrogreenspan00wood/page/116 116]}}</ref> President Clinton's attorney general [[Janet Reno]] authorized the FBI's use of armored vehicles to deploy tear gas into the buildings of the Branch Davidian community near Waco, Texas, in hopes of ending a [[Waco siege|51 day siege]]. During the operation on April 19, 1993, the buildings caught fire and 75 of the residents died, including 24 children. The raid had originally been planned by the Bush administration; Clinton had played no role.<ref>Mollie Dickenson, "A Bipartisan Disaster" ''New York Times'' August 3, 1995, p. A25</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=https://theconversation.com/waco-the-siege-25-years-on-94324| author=Andrew Crome| title=Waco: the siege 25 years on| publisher=The Conversation| date=April 19, 2018}}</ref> In August, Clinton signed the [[Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993]], which passed Congress without a Republican vote. It cut taxes for 15{{nbsp}}million low-income families, made tax cuts available to 90 percent of small businesses,<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.clintonfoundation.org/legacy/080393-presidential-press-conference-in-nevada.htm | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927022455/http://www.clintonfoundation.org/legacy/080393-presidential-press-conference-in-nevada.htm | archive-date=September 27, 2007 | title=Presidential Press Conference in Nevada | date=August 3, 1993 | first=Bill | last=Clinton}}</ref> and raised taxes on the wealthiest 1.2 percent of taxpayers. Additionally, it mandated that the budget be balanced over many years through the implementation of spending restraints.<ref>{{cite web | first=Bill | last=Clinton | url=https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/219941 | title=William J. Clinton: Address Before a Joint Session of the Congress on the State of the Union | publisher=Presidency.ucsb.edu | date=January 25, 1994 | access-date=February 22, 2020}}</ref> [[File:Bill Clinton Al Gore.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Clinton and Vice President [[Al Gore]] on the South Lawn, August 10, 1993]] On September 22, 1993, Clinton made a major speech to Congress regarding [[Clinton health care plan|a health care reform plan]]; the program aimed at achieving universal coverage through a national health care plan. This was one of the most prominent items on Clinton's legislative agenda and resulted from a task force headed by Hillary Clinton. The plan was well received in political circles, but it was eventually doomed by well-organized lobby opposition from conservatives, the [[American Medical Association]], and the health insurance industry. However, Clinton biographer [[John F. Harris]] said the program failed because of a lack of coordination within the White House.<ref name="The Survivor" /> Despite the Democratic majority in Congress, the effort to create a national health care system ultimately died when compromise legislation by [[George J. Mitchell]] failed to gain a majority of support in August 1994. The failure of the bill was the first major legislative defeat of the Clinton administration.<ref name="The Natural" /><ref name="The Survivor" /> On November 30, 1993, Clinton signed into law the [[Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act|Brady Bill]], which mandated federal [[background check]]s on people who purchase firearms in the United States. The law also imposed a five-day waiting period on purchases, until the [[National Instant Criminal Background Check System|NICS system]] was implemented in 1998. He also expanded the [[Earned Income Tax Credit]], a subsidy for low-income workers.<ref name="The Survivor" /> In December of the same year, allegations by Arkansas state troopers [[Larry Patterson]] and Roger Perry were first reported by [[David Brock]] in ''[[The American Spectator]].'' In the affair later known as "[[Troopergate (Bill Clinton)|Troopergate]]", the officers alleged that they had arranged sexual liaisons for Clinton back when he was governor of Arkansas. The story mentioned a woman named ''Paula'', a reference to [[Paula Jones]]. Brock later apologized to Clinton, saying the article was politically motivated "bad journalism", and that "the troopers were greedy and had slimy motives".<ref name="apology">{{Cite news | url=http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1998/03/10/brocks.remorse | title=Reporter Apologizes For Clinton Sex Article | work=CNN | date=March 10, 1998 | first=Jonathan | last=Karl | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080614124146/http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1998/03/10/brocks.remorse/| archive-date=June 14, 2008}}</ref> [[File:Bill Clinton, Yitzhak Rabin, Yasser Arafat at the White House 1993-09-13.jpg|thumb|[[Yitzhak Rabin]], Clinton and [[Yasser Arafat]] during the [[Oslo Accords]] on September 13, 1993]] That month, Clinton implemented a Department of Defense directive known as "[[Don't Ask, Don't Tell]]", which allowed gay men and women to serve in the armed services provided they kept their sexual preferences a secret. The Act forbade the military from inquiring about an individual's sexual orientation.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Feder |first1=Jody | title="Don't Ask, Don't Tell": A Legal Analysis | publisher=DIANE Publishing | year=2010 | isbn=978-1-4379-2208-0}}</ref> The policy was developed as a compromise after Clinton's proposal to allow gays to serve openly in the military met staunch opposition from prominent Congressional Republicans and Democrats, including senators [[John McCain]] (R-AZ) and [[Sam Nunn]] (D-GA). According to [[David Mixner]], Clinton's support for the compromise led to a heated dispute with Vice President Al Gore, who felt that "the President should lift the ban ... even though [his executive order] was sure to be overridden by the Congress".<ref name="Mixner2009">{{cite book | last=Mixner | first=David | title=Stranger Among Friends | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0Jeg2X025UgC| date=November 25, 2009 | publisher=Random House Publishing Group | isbn=978-0-307-42958-2 | pages=495–497}}</ref> Some gay-rights advocates criticized Clinton for not going far enough and accused him of making his campaign promise to get votes and contributions.<ref>{{cite news|title=Stranger Among Friends—book reviews |url=http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1316/is_n11_v28/ai_18855826 |newspaper=[[Washington Monthly]] |first=John | last=Cloud |date=November 1996 |access-date=August 30, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110826114431/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1316/is_n11_v28/ai_18855826/ |archive-date=August 26, 2011 }}</ref> Their position was that Clinton should have integrated the military by executive order, noting that President [[Harry S. Truman]] used executive order to racially desegregate the armed forces. Clinton's defenders argued that an executive order might have prompted the Senate to write the exclusion of gays into law, potentially making it harder to integrate the military in the future.<ref name="The Natural" /> Later in his presidency, in 1999, Clinton criticized the way the policy was implemented, saying he did not think any serious person could say it was not "out of whack".<ref>{{cite news | url=http://archives.cnn.com/1999/ALLPOLITICS/stories/12/11/clinton.gays.military/index.html | title=President seeks better implementation of 'don't ask, don't tell' | date=December 11, 1999 | work=CNN | access-date=August 30, 2011}}</ref> The policy remained controversial, and was finally [[Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010|repealed in 2011]], removing open sexual orientation as a reason for dismissal from the armed forces.<ref>{{cite news | title=Obama certifies end of military's gay ban | agency=[[Reuters]] | work=[[NBC News]] | date=July 22, 2011 | url=http://www.nbcnews.com/id/43859711 | access-date=September 7, 2011}}</ref> {{listen |title=Remarks on the Signing of NAFTA (December 8, 1993) |filename=Remarks on the Signing of NAFTA (December 8, 1993) Bill Clinton.ogv |description=Clinton's December 8, 1993, remarks on the signing of the [[North American Free Trade Agreement]] |title2=Remarks on the Signing of NAFTA (December 8, 1993) |filename2=Remarks on the Signing of NAFTA (12-8-93, WJC).ogg |description2=audio only version |image=none }} On January 1, 1994, Clinton signed the North American Free Trade Agreement into law.<ref name=NAFTA>{{cite journal |last1=Livingston |first1=C. Don |last2=Wink |first2=Kenneth A. |title=The Passage of the North American Free Trade Agreement in the U.S. House of Representatives: Presidential Leadership or Presidential Luck? |journal=Presidential Studies Quarterly |date=1997 |volume=27 |issue=1 |pages=52–70 |id={{Gale|A19354304}} {{ProQuest|215685340}} |jstor=27551700 }}</ref> Throughout his first year in office, Clinton consistently supported ratification of the treaty by the U.S. Senate. Clinton and most of his allies in the Democratic Leadership Committee strongly supported free trade measures; there remained, however, strong disagreement within the party. Opposition came chiefly from anti-trade Republicans, protectionist Democrats and supporters of Ross Perot. The bill passed the house with 234 votes in favor and 200 votes opposed (132 Republicans and 102 Democrats in favor; 156 Democrats, 43 Republicans, and one independent opposed). The treaty was then ratified by the Senate and signed into law by the president.<ref name=NAFTA /> On July 29, 1994, the Clinton administration launched the first official White House website, [[whitehouse.gov]].<ref name=":1">{{cite news |title=The Clinton White House Web Site |publisher=[[About.com]] |url=http://usgovinfo.about.com/library/weekly/aa012201b.htm |url-status=dead |access-date=August 30, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110722064216/http://usgovinfo.about.com/library/weekly/aa012201b.htm |archive-date=July 22, 2011}}</ref> The site was followed with three more versions, with the final version being launched on July 21, 2000.<ref name=":1" /> The White House website was part of a wider movement of the Clinton administration toward web-based communication. According to Robert Longley, "Clinton and Gore were responsible for pressing almost all federal agencies, the U.S. court system and the U.S. military onto the Internet, thus opening up America's government to more of America's citizens than ever before. On July 17, 1996, Clinton issued Executive Order 13011—Federal Information Technology, ordering the heads of all federal agencies to utilize information technology fully to make the information of the agency easily accessible to the public."<ref>{{cite web |last=Longley |first=Robert |title=The Clinton White House Web Site: Part 1: Perhaps the most important Web site in American history |url=http://usgovinfo.about.com/library/weekly/aa012201a.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170118024833/http://usgovinfo.about.com/library/weekly/aa012201a.htm |archive-date=January 18, 2017 |access-date=June 6, 2007 |publisher=About.com}}</ref> The [[Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act|Omnibus Crime Bill]], which Clinton signed into law in September 1994,<ref>{{cite web | title=HR 3355—Omnibus Crime Bill | url=https://votesmart.org/bill/2666/8428/omnibus-crime-bill | publisher=votesmart.org | access-date=September 12, 2015}}</ref> made many changes to U.S. crime and law enforcement legislation including the expansion of the death penalty to include crimes not resulting in death, such as running a large-scale drug enterprise. During Clinton's re-election campaign he said, "My 1994 crime bill expanded the death penalty for drug kingpins, murderers of federal law enforcement officers, and nearly 60 additional categories of violent felons."<ref>{{cite web|title=Bill Clinton |date=February 25, 2015 |url=http://www.4to40.com/biographies-for-kids/bill-clinton/ |publisher=4to40.com |access-date=February 22, 2020}}</ref> It also included a subsection of [[Federal Assault Weapons Ban|assault weapons ban]] for a ten-year period.<ref>Jeffrey A. Roth and Christopher S. Koper, "Impacts of the 1994 Assault Weapons Ban: 1994–96". U.S. Department of Justice/National Institute of Justice, ''Research in Brief'' (Mar. 1999); available at https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/173405.pdf</ref> After two years of Democratic Party control, the Democrats lost control of Congress to the Republicans in the [[1994 United States House of Representatives elections|mid-term elections in 1994]], for the first time in forty years.<ref>{{cite web | last=Hulsey | first=Byron | title=The Altered Terrain of American Politics (Review of Do Elections Matter?) | url=http://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=1463 | date=November 27, 1997 | access-date=October 29, 2008}}</ref> A speech delivered by President Bill Clinton at the December 6, 1995 [[White House Conference]] on HIV/AIDS projected that a cure for AIDS and a vaccine to prevent further infection would be developed. The President focused on his administration's accomplishments and efforts related to the [[epidemic]], including an accelerated drug-approval process. He also condemned [[homophobia]] and discrimination against people with [[HIV]]. Clinton announced three new initiatives: creating a special working group to coordinate AIDS research throughout the [[federal government]]; convening public health experts to develop an action plan that integrates HIV prevention with substance abuse prevention; and launching a new effort by the [[United States Department of Justice|Department of Justice]] to ensure that health care facilities provide equal access to people with HIV and AIDS.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Activists at gathering plead with Clinton to take the lead |journal=AIDS Policy & Law |date=December 29, 1995 |volume=10 |issue=22 |pages=1, 10 |pmid=11362952 }}</ref> [[File:Coat of Arms of Bill Clinton.svg|thumb|upright=0.7|left|Clinton's coat of arms, granted by the [[Chief Herald of Ireland]] in 1995]] On September 21, 1996, Clinton signed into law the [[Defense of Marriage Act]] (DOMA), which defined marriage for federal purposes as the legal union of one man and one woman; the legislation allowed individual states to refuse to recognize gay marriages that were performed in other states.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/PLAW-104publ199 | publisher=United States Government Printing Office | title=Public Law 104 - 199 - Defense of Marriage Act }}</ref> [[Paul Yandura]], speaking for the White House gay and lesbian liaison office, said Clinton's signing DOMA "was a political decision that they made at the time of a re-election". In defense of his actions, Clinton has said that DOMA was intended to "head off an attempt to send a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage to the states", a possibility he described as highly likely in the context of a "very reactionary Congress".<ref>{{cite news | url=https://nymag.com/news/frank-rich/bill-clinton-doma-2012-3/ | work=[[New York (magazine)|New York]] | first=Frank | last=Rich | title=Bill Clinton's shifting justifications for signing the Defense of Marriage Act | date=February 26, 2012}}</ref> Administration spokesman [[Richard Socarides]] said, "the alternatives we knew were going to be far worse, and it was time to move on and get the president re-elected."<ref name="metroweekly">{{cite news | url=https://www.metroweekly.com/2011/09/becoming-law/ | work=[[Metro Weekly]] | first=Chris | last=Geidner | title=Becoming Law | date=September 29, 2011}}</ref> Clinton himself said DOMA was something "which the Republicans put on the ballot to try to get the base vote for Bush up, I think it's obvious that something had to be done to try to keep the Republican Congress from presenting that";<ref>{{cite web | url=https://nymag.com/news/frank-rich/bill-clinton-doma-2012-3/ | title=Bill Clinton's Justifications for Signing DOMA—New York Magazine | work=New York | date=February 24, 2012 | access-date=February 22, 2020}}</ref> others were more critical. The veteran gay rights and gay marriage activist [[Evan Wolfson]] has called these claims "historic revisionism".<ref name="metroweekly" /> Despite this, it has been noted that other than a brief written response to a Reader's Digest that questioned whether he agreed with it, Clinton had made no documented reference to the issue of gay marriage until May 1996.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2021/09/18/doma-anniversary-bill-clinton-book-excerpt-512686|title=Bill Clinton Tried to Avoid the DOMA Trap Republicans Set. Instead, He Trapped Himself.|first=Sasha|last=Issenberg|publisher=Politico|date=September 18, 2021|accessdate=November 29, 2022}}</ref> In a July 2, 2011, editorial ''The New York Times'' opined, "The Defense of Marriage Act was enacted in 1996 as an election-year wedge issue, signed by President Bill Clinton in one of his worst policy moments."<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/03/opinion/sunday/03sun1.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220101/https://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/03/opinion/sunday/03sun1.html |archive-date=January 1, 2022 |url-access=limited | work=The New York Times | title=Unfinished Business: The Defense of Marriage Act | date=July 2, 2011 | department=Editorial}}{{cbignore}}</ref> Ultimately, in ''[[United States v. Windsor]]'', the U.S. Supreme Court struck down DOMA in June 2013.<ref>{{cite magazine | url=https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/how-the-court-ruled-on-doma-and-prop-8 | title=How The Court Ruled on DOMA and Prop. 8 | first=Richard | last=Socarides | date=June 26, 2013 | magazine=[[The New Yorker]] | access-date=February 22, 2020}}</ref> Despite DOMA, Clinton was the first president to select openly gay persons for administrative positions,<ref>{{cite web | url=http://clinton2.nara.gov/WH/Accomplishments/ac399.html | title=ClintonGore Accomplishments: Gay and Lesbian Americans | publisher=Clinton2.nara.gov | access-date=September 12, 2013 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130319132707/http://clinton2.nara.gov/WH/Accomplishments/ac399.html | archive-date=March 19, 2013 | url-status=dead | df=mdy-all }}</ref> and he is generally credited as being the first president to publicly champion gay rights.<ref name="newyorker.com">{{cite magazine | last=Socarides | first=Richard | url=https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/why-bill-clinton-signed-the-defense-of-marriage-act | title=Why Bill Clinton Signed the Defense of Marriage Act | magazine=The New Yorker | date=March 8, 2013 | access-date=February 22, 2020}}</ref> During his presidency, Clinton issued two substantially controversial executive orders on behalf of gay rights, the first lifting the ban on security clearances for LGBT federal employees<ref>Volsky, Igor. (August 5, 1995) [http://thinkprogress.org/lgbt/2011/08/05/288942/clinton-issued-order-letting-gays-get-security-clearances-16-years-ago-today/?mobile=nc Clinton Issued Order Letting Gays Get Security Clearances 16 Years Ago Today] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140326175219/http://thinkprogress.org/lgbt/2011/08/05/288942/clinton-issued-order-letting-gays-get-security-clearances-16-years-ago-today/?mobile=nc |date=March 26, 2014 }}</ref> and the second outlawing discrimination based on sexual orientation in the federal civilian workforce.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/05/29/us/clinton-grants-gay-workers-job-protection.html | title=Clinton Grants Gay Workers Job Protection | work=The New York Times | date=May 29, 1998 | access-date=September 12, 2013}}</ref> Under Clinton's leadership, federal funding for HIV/AIDS research, prevention and treatment more than doubled.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://archive.hhs.gov/news/press/2000pres/00fsaids.html | title=2000.12.01: (Fact Sheet) Clinton Administration Record on HIV/AIDS | publisher=Archive.hhs.gov | access-date=September 12, 2013 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130930185839/http://archive.hhs.gov/news/press/2000pres/00fsaids.html | archive-date=September 30, 2013 | df=mdy-all }}</ref> Clinton also pushed for passing hate crimes laws for gays and for the private sector [[Employment Non-Discrimination Act]], which, buoyed by his lobbying, failed to pass the Senate by a single vote in 1996.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/104-1996/s281 | title=S. 2056 (104th): Employment Nondiscrimination Act of 1996 (On Passage of the Bill) | publisher=Govtrack.us | access-date=February 22, 2020}}</ref> Advocacy for these issues, paired with the politically unpopular nature of the gay rights movement at the time, led to enthusiastic support for Clinton's election and reelection by the [[Human Rights Campaign]].<ref name="newyorker.com" /> Clinton came out for gay marriage in July 2009<ref>{{cite magazine | url=https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/bill-clinton-backs-same-sex-marriage/ | title=Bill Clinton Backs Same-Sex Marriage | magazine=[[The Nation]] | date=July 14, 2009 | access-date=February 22, 2020| last1=Tracey | first1=Michael }}</ref> and urged the Supreme Court to overturn DOMA in 2013.<ref>{{cite news | last=Clinton | first=Bill | url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/bill-clinton-its-time-to-overturn-doma/2013/03/07/fc184408-8747-11e2-98a3-b3db6b9ac586_story.html | title=It's time to overturn DOMA | newspaper=The Washington Post | date=March 7, 2013 | access-date=September 12, 2013}}</ref> He was later honored by [[GLAAD]] for his prior pro-gay stances and his reversal on DOMA.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.newshub.co.nz/entertainment/glaad-honours-bill-clinton-2013042206 | work=[[3 News NZ]] | title=GLAAD honours Bill Clinton| date=April 22, 2013}}</ref> {{Quote box | width = 30em | bgcolor = #c6dbf7 | align = right | quote = "When I took office, only high energy physicists had ever heard of what is called the Worldwide Web ... Now even [[Socks (cat)|my cat]] has its own page." | source = Bill Clinton's announcement of [[Next Generation Internet Program|Next Generation Internet initiative]], October 1996.<ref name="NetValley">{{cite news | first=Gregory | last=Gromov | url=http://www.netvalley.com | title=History of the Internet and World Wide Web | access-date=August 30, 2011| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110720213401/http://www.netvalley.com/| archive-date=July 20, 2011 <!-- DASHBot -->| url-status=live}}</ref> }} The [[1996 United States campaign finance controversy]] was an alleged effort by [[China]] to influence the domestic policies of the United States, before and during the Clinton administration, and involved the fundraising practices of the administration itself.<ref name="wsjchinagate">{{cite news |title=China Was Bill Clinton's Russia |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/china-was-bill-clintons-russia-1488585526 |work=The Wall Street Journal |date=March 3, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Not All Foreign-Influence Scandals Are Created Equal |url=https://www.nationalreview.com/2017/07/chinese-illegally-donated-bill-clinton-reelection-campaign-media-downplayed/ |work=[[National Review]] |date=July 16, 2017}}</ref> Despite the evidence,<ref name="wsjchinagate"/><ref>{{cite news |title=Findings Link Clinton Allies to Chinese Intelligence |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1998/02/10/findings-link-clinton-allies-to-chinese-intelligence/87265d5d-7452-41f2-ad2f-aa4abe7e579e/?noredirect=on |newspaper=The Washington Post|first=Bob|last=Woodward|author-link=Bob Woodward |date=February 10, 1998}}</ref> the [[Government of China|Chinese government]] denied all accusations.<ref name=embassy>{{cite news|first1=Bob | last1=Woodward |first2=Brian | last2=Duffy | author-link1=Bob Woodward | url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/special/campfin/stories/china1.htm | title=Chinese Embassy Role In Contributions Probed | newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] | date=February 13, 1997 | access-date=August 30, 2011}}</ref> As part of a 1996 initiative to curb [[Illegal immigration to the United States|illegal immigration]], Clinton signed the [[Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996|Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act]] (IIRIRA) on September 30, 1996. Appointed by Clinton,<ref>{{cite news | author=Louis Freedberg | url=https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/PAGE-ONE-WASHINGTON-New-Limits-In-Works-on-3031581.php | title=New Limits In Works on Immigration / Powerful commission focusing on families of legal entrants | newspaper=[[San Francisco Chronicle]] | date=June 2, 1995 | access-date=February 22, 2020 }}</ref> the [[History of laws concerning immigration and naturalization in the United States#1990s|U.S. Commission on Immigration Reform]] recommended reducing legal immigration from about 800,000 people a year to about 550,000.<ref>{{cite book | last=Jones|first=Plummer Alston Jr. | year=2004 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bmSKvXN2a1IC&pg=PA153 | title=Still Struggling for Equality: American public library services with minorities | publisher=Libraries Unlimited | page=154 | isbn=978-1-59158-243-4}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/06/08/us/clinton-embraces-a-proposal-to-cut-immigration-by-a-third.html | title=Clinton Embraces a Proposal To Cut Immigration by a Third | first=Robert | last=Pear | newspaper=The New York Times | date=June 8, 1995 | access-date=August 30, 2011}}</ref> In November 1996, Clinton narrowly escaped possible assassination in the Philippines,<ref name="youtube.com">{{cite AV media | last1=Discovery TV | title=Clinton Assassination Attempt—Secret Service Secrets | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bvhldq-OHK0 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150220083137/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bvhldq-OHK0 | archive-date=February 20, 2015 | via=YouTube | access-date=March 29, 2015 | url-status=live }}</ref> which was a bridge bomb planted by [[al-Qaeda]] and was masterminded by [[Osama bin Laden]]. During Clinton's presidency, the attempt remained top secret,<ref>{{cite book|last1=Gormley|first1=Ken | title=The Death of American Virtue: Clinton vs. Starr | date=February 1, 2011 | publisher=Crown Publishing Group | isbn=978-0-307-40945-4 | page=800}}</ref> and it remains classfied {{As of|lc=yes|2024|03}}, when [[Reuters]] reported having spoken with eight retired secret service agents about the incident.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.reuters.com/world/al-qaeda-plot-kill-bill-clinton-that-history-nearly-forgot-2024-03-23/|title=The al Qaeda plot to kill Bill Clinton that history nearly forgot|first=Jonathan|last=Landay|work=[[Reuters]]|date=2024-03-23|access-date=2024-03-24}}</ref> ====1996 presidential campaign==== {{Main|Bill Clinton 1996 presidential campaign|1996 Democratic Party presidential primaries|1996 United States presidential election}} [[File:ElectoralCollege1996.svg|right|thumb|upright=1.25|1996 electoral vote results. Clinton won 379–159.]] In the [[1996 United States presidential election|1996 presidential election]], Clinton was re-elected, receiving 49.2 percent of the popular vote over Republican [[Bob Dole]] (40.7 percent of the popular vote) and [[Reform Party of the United States of America|Reform]] candidate Ross Perot (8.4 percent of the popular vote). Clinton received 379 of the [[Electoral College (United States)|Electoral College]] votes, with Dole receiving 159 electoral votes. With his victory, he became the first Democrat to win two consecutive presidential elections since [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]].<ref>{{Cite news|date=November 6, 1996|title=Clinton Rides Landslide First Democrat To Be Re-Elected Since Roosevelt|work=[[The Spokesman-Review]]|url=https://www.spokesman.com/stories/1996/nov/06/clinton-rides-landslide-first-democrat-to-be-re/|access-date=August 14, 2021}}</ref><ref name="Clinton@2">{{Cite book | last=Jones | first=Charles O. | title=The Presidency in a Separated System | url=https://archive.org/details/presidencysepara00jone | url-access=limited | publisher=[[The Brookings Institution]] | year=2005 | page=[https://archive.org/details/presidencysepara00jone/page/n336 318]}}</ref> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). 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