Investigations and deregulation

1. 1979November 14, 1979Congress, Elections & Speech

   Iran emergency declared; still in effect in 2026

   The oldest of 52.

   Source: Declared National Emergencies Under the National Emergencies Act (list)Read the full story →
2. 1992December 24, 1992Congress, Elections & Speech

   Bush pardons six Iran-Contra defendants

   Weinberger's trial was twelve days away. Walsh: the cover-up has now been completed.

   Source: Bush pardons Weinberger, draws fireRead the full story →
3. 1993November 17, 1993Congress, Elections & Speech

   House passes NAFTA, 234 to 200

   In effect January 1, 1994.

   Source: Roll Call 575, H.R. 3450, North American Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act, On PassageRead the full story →
4. 19981998Congress, Elections & Speech

   Student loans made permanently nondischargeable

   Extended to private loans in 2005.

   Source: Bankruptcy and Student Loans (R45113)Read the full story →
5. 2000October 10, 2000Congress, Elections & Speech

   Permanent normal trade relations with China signed

   House 237 to 197; Senate 83 to 15; 2.0 to 2.4 million jobs lost to the import competition that followed, by the economists' count.

   Source: H.R. 4444, to authorize extension of nondiscriminatory treatment (normal trade relations treatment) to the People's Republic of ChinaRead the full story →

Stories (1)

• 1979 to 2026NAFTA, China Trade Normalization, and the Loss of 7 Million US Manufacturing JobsManufacturing employment in the United States peaked at about 19.6 million in 1979. In July 2026 it was 12.6 million. In between, Congress approved the North American Free Trade Agreement in 1993 and permanent normal trade relations with China in 2000, and economists at MIT and Harvard have since put the jobs lost to Chinese import competition between 1999 and 2011 alone at 2.0 to 2.4 million, in towns where wages and employment stayed depressed for at least a decade. The program that was supposed to retrain the workers who lost those jobs was allowed to lapse on July 1, 2022 and has not certified a worker since.Congress, Elections & Speech