96 40 02/02 HND Fair Deal

Truman’s Fair Deal

Truman Proposal	Congressional Action
National Health Insurance	Rejected
Federal Aid to Education	Rejected
Repeal of Taft-Hartley Act which had been passed by Congress in 1947 over President Truman’s veto. The act limited union power by requiring a 60 day cooling off period before strikes and outlawed the closed shop and strikes by federal workers. Truman sought to repeal these measures.	Rejected
Federal Aid to Farmers (in addition to that already in place)	Rejected
Employment Act of 1946 Rejected as proposed by Truman originally to guarantee full employment	Enacted by Congress in amended so as only to urge govt. to limited form "maximize employment."
Minimum Wage increase from 40¢ to 75¢ an hour	Enacted into law
Social Security benefits expansion	Enacted into law
Federal Aid for Low-Income Housing and slum clearance	Enacted into law, though funding limitedand number of units constructed limited to less than those destroyed through clearance
Civil Rights Reforms Truman enacted by executive order: an anti-lynching bill desegregation of armed forces abolition of the poll tax and the creation of a commission to study the problem of civil rights	Rejected