The Conservative Revolution 307Clinton’s 370 electoral votes came from 32 states; Bush’s 168 came from
18 states.
And Congress continued under Democratic control. Not only was
Bush dismissed from office, but a great many Congressmen as well.
The largest number of turnovers in the House of Representatives in
forty years occurred. Forty-four members of the lower chamber were
defeated in primaries or the general election, and over 100 new mem-
bers were elected. These new members included 39 African-Americans,
19 Hispanic-Americans, 7 Asian-Americans, 1 Native American, and
48 women. Carol Moseley Braun of Illinois was elected to the Senate,
the fi rst African-American female to achieve that honor. She and 5
other women now comprised the entire female representation in the
upper house. The number of women in the lower chamber rose from 28
to 48.
The reason for this massive turnover was most probably due, in large
part, to a scandal in which it was revealed in early 1991 that 325 sitting
and former members of the House overdrew their accounts in the
House Bank and paid no penalty. The House Bank was a kind of
checking service in which members deposited their salaries and drew
against them. When overdrafts occurred, they were covered from the
general pool and the individuals were not charged for issuing bad
checks.
Republicans demanded an investigation by the House Ethics Com-
mittee, but Democrats countered that no federal money was involved
and no crime had been committed. James Nussle of Iowa appeared on
the floor of the House with a paper bag over his head and demanded to
know who had issued the overdrafts. The partisan rancor that resulted
only further poisoned the atmosphere in Congress, and the turnout at
the election refl ected popular disgust with the antics of the members.
One happy result was the creation, in 1992 , of a house administrator to
oversee financial (mostly payrolls) and other nonlegislative matters
such as internal mail. The House Bank was also abolished.
Not surprisingly, the Twen t y -Seventh Amendment to the Constitu-
tion was ratifi ed in 1992. This amendment prohibited Congress from
increasing the salary of its members until a new election had taken
place and a new Congress had been sworn in. James Madison had fi rst
proposed this amendment when he submitted his Bill of Rights in