Evidence

Question 1

George Bush entered the presidency in 2001 with a promise of shrink federal government spending and give more power back to the states.

In reality, he presided over a huge expansion in the size of the federal government and the amount of its spending. Federal government spending grew by………..

Answer 1

33% in Bush’s first term and continued to be very high in his second term.

This was due to events
Increase in national defence spending in response to 9/11 and in economic spending in response to the 2008 financial crash
Increase in economic spending in response to the 2008 financial crash
And policies - education and Medicare.

Question 2

Bush’s administration expanded federal spending on national security hugely in response to 9/11, with Bush pursuing the ‘War On Terror’

Defence spending increased from

Answer 2

$290M in 2001 to $651M in 2009
An increase of 125%

Question 3

Education reform under the slogan ………….. was key to Bush’s 2000 election campaign.

Answer 3

‘No Child Left Behind’

the 2002 no child left behind act introduced major changes to education policy, with the federal government’s role increasing significantly.
Bush mandated that states test children annually with a uniform national tests and provided a 20% increase in funding for the poorest schools.

Question 4

COVID-19 federalism

Answer 4

Significant variation between states and the federal government’s ability to dictate policy was limited.

California’s mask mandate ended in March 2022 compared to Texas’ which ended a year earlier in March 2021.

There was some effective federal government policy in response to the pandemic, however, such as the CARES Act 2020 which introduced $300billion in one-time cash payments to individuals and families.

Question 5

Sanctuary Cities

Answer 5

Cities that prohibit local law enforcement from helping federal immigration officials to identify illegal immigrants, unless those immigrants had been charged with a serious crime.

Today there are over 600 sanctuary cities.