An independent presidential recordReviewed November 4, 2026
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George H. W. Bush · 1989–1993 / The evidence register

The claim.
The record.
The result.

The same standard applied to a completed term. Read the administration’s own account of its record beside the official statistics and public laws that test it.

Browse all 7 claims Open the source register

Dated sources. Visible limits. Independent assessment.

Reading the recordThree separate questions

  1. The claim

    Who said it, and what was claimed?

  2. The official record

    Check the original source, date and scope.

  3. The outcome

    Check measured results and their limits.

Each stage is assessed separately.

01 / Explore by subject

Every claim. Its evidence.

Open the source register
7selected claims
2 subject areas

7 selected claims from President George H. W. Bush's final State of the Union address (January 28, 1992), as published in the Public Papers of the Presidents. The administration had no website; most of the address proposed new policies, so only statements about results already achieved are included.

Status labels describe the documentary stage, not success scores or proof of presidential causation. Favorable results, unverified parts and evidence limits appear together.

Economy

All subjects
Published statistics#01

Inflation down

Administration’s claim

In January 1992 the President said that inflation was down and interest rates were down.

What the record establishes

In BLS CPI-U data, 12-month inflation was 4.7% in January 1989, peaked at 6.3% in October and November 1990, and was 3.1% in December 1991, the month before the address; it was 3.3% in January 1993. The interest-rate statement was not reviewed for this edition.

Official evidence · 2 sources
Official sourceGovInfo: Address Before a Joint Session of the Congress on the State of the Union (Public Papers of the Presidents, 1992, Book I) (opens in a new tab)January 28, 1992 · read November 4, 2026 · Pages 156–163. The President's own account, published by the Office of the Federal Register, National Archives.
Official sourceBLS: Consumer Price Index, all items (CUUR0000SA0) (opens in a new tab)Series used in this site's inflation extract · CPI-U, all items, U.S. city average, not seasonally adjusted; 12-month changes computed from monthly index levels.
Compare inflation by term
Published statistics#02

Unemployment too high

Administration’s claim

In the same address the President said unemployment was too high and growth was not what it should be: "I know we're in hard times."

What the record establishes

The President's description matches the BLS record. Unemployment was 5.4% in January 1989 and 7.3% in December 1991; it peaked at 7.8% in June 1992 and was 7.3% in January 1993. Growth was not reviewed against BEA data for this edition.

Official evidence · 2 sources
Official sourceGovInfo: Address Before a Joint Session of the Congress on the State of the Union (Public Papers of the Presidents, 1992, Book I) (opens in a new tab)January 28, 1992 · read November 4, 2026 · Pages 156–163. The President's own account, published by the Office of the Federal Register, National Archives.
Official sourceBLS: Unemployment rate, seasonally adjusted (LNS14000000) (opens in a new tab)Data extracted November 4, 2026 · Monthly U-3 rates, January 1989 through January 1993.
Compare unemployment by term
Law enacted#03

Transportation bill

Administration’s claim

The President said the new transportation bill provides more than $150 billion for construction and maintenance projects.

What the record establishes

The Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991, Public Law 102–240, was approved December 18, 1991. The $150 billion total was not reviewed against the act's authorization tables for this edition.

Official evidence · 2 sources
Official sourceGovInfo: Address Before a Joint Session of the Congress on the State of the Union (Public Papers of the Presidents, 1992, Book I) (opens in a new tab)January 28, 1992 · read November 4, 2026 · Pages 156–163. The President's own account, published by the Office of the Federal Register, National Archives.
Official sourceGovInfo: Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 (Public Law 102–240), 105 Stat. 1914 (opens in a new tab)Approved December 18, 1991 · Statutes at Large, volume 105, page 1914.
Read George H. W. Bush's overview

Security and diplomacy

All subjects
Implementation reported#04

Kuwait liberated

Administration’s claim

The President said that after 40 days of air operations and 4 days on the ground, U.S. and allied forces accomplished the declared goals: "We liberated Kuwait."

What the record establishes

In his February 27, 1991 address, the President announced that Kuwait was liberated and that coalition forces would suspend offensive combat operations. The address records the stated objectives; the war's longer-term consequences were not assessed here.

Official evidence · 2 sources
Official sourceGovInfo: Address Before a Joint Session of the Congress on the State of the Union (Public Papers of the Presidents, 1992, Book I) (opens in a new tab)January 28, 1992 · read November 4, 2026 · Pages 156–163. The President's own account, published by the Office of the Federal Register, National Archives.
Official sourceGovInfo: Address to the Nation on the Suspension of Allied Offensive Combat Operations in the Persian Gulf (opens in a new tab)February 27, 1991 · Public Papers of the Presidents, 1991, Book I, pages 187–188: "Kuwait is liberated. Iraq's army is defeated."
Read the war-window record
Implementation reported#05

Madrid peace talks

Administration’s claim

The President said that soon after the war, the Arab world and Israel sat down to talk seriously and comprehensively about peace, an historic first.

What the record establishes

The State Department's Office of the Historian records that the Madrid Conference, co-chaired by President Bush and President Gorbachev, opened October 30, 1991 with Israeli, Egyptian, Syrian, Lebanese and joint Jordanian-Palestinian delegations, the first time all parties to the conflict gathered for direct negotiations. It also records that the follow-on Washington talks had deadlocked by 1993 and were overtaken by the secret negotiations that produced the 1993 Oslo Accord and the 1994 Israeli-Jordanian treaty.

Official evidence · 2 sources
Official sourceGovInfo: Address Before a Joint Session of the Congress on the State of the Union (Public Papers of the Presidents, 1992, Book I) (opens in a new tab)January 28, 1992 · read November 4, 2026 · Pages 156–163. The President's own account, published by the Office of the Federal Register, National Archives.
Official sourceOffice of the Historian, State Department: The Madrid Conference, 1991 (opens in a new tab)Read November 4, 2026 · The conference opened October 30 and ended November 4, 1991, with Israeli, Egyptian, Syrian, Lebanese and joint Jordanian-Palestinian delegations; later talks and their outcome.
Explore diplomacy & security
Implementation reported#06

Hostages home

Administration’s claim

The President said that at Christmas the last American hostages came home.

What the record establishes

The President's December 4, 1991 statement marks Terry Anderson's release in Lebanon and states that the American hostages had now been released. The role of U.S. policy in the releases was not assessed.

Official evidence · 2 sources
Official sourceGovInfo: Address Before a Joint Session of the Congress on the State of the Union (Public Papers of the Presidents, 1992, Book I) (opens in a new tab)January 28, 1992 · read November 4, 2026 · Pages 156–163. The President's own account, published by the Office of the Federal Register, National Archives.
Official sourceGeorge H. W. Bush Presidential Library: Statement on the Release of American Hostages in Lebanon (opens in a new tab)December 4, 1991 · Marks Terry Anderson's release and states that the American hostages have now been released.
Explore diplomacy & security
Agreement / commitment#07

Strategic nuclear cuts

Administration’s claim

The President announced cuts to U.S. strategic nuclear programs and offered to eliminate all Peacekeeper missiles and cut sea-based warheads if the former Soviet Union eliminated all land-based multiple-warhead ballistic missiles.

What the record establishes

The START II treaty, signed at Moscow on January 3, 1993, banned deployed multiple-warhead ICBMs and set central limits of 3,000–3,500 warheads by January 1, 2003, according to the President's January 15, 1993 message transmitting it to the Senate. The treaty's later ratification history and whether its limits took effect were not reviewed for this edition.

Official evidence · 2 sources
Official sourceGovInfo: Address Before a Joint Session of the Congress on the State of the Union (Public Papers of the Presidents, 1992, Book I) (opens in a new tab)January 28, 1992 · read November 4, 2026 · Pages 156–163. The President's own account, published by the Office of the Federal Register, National Archives.
Official sourceGovInfo: Message to the Senate Transmitting the Russia-United States Treaty on Further Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms (START II) (opens in a new tab)January 15, 1993 · Treaty signed at Moscow January 3, 1993; bans multiple-warhead ICBMs; central limits of 3,000–3,500 warheads by January 1, 2003.
Compare nuclear forces

02 / Coverage & sources

The publications behind this edition.

The President’s final State of the Union address, January 28, 1992, defines which claims are included. Statistical agencies, public-law records and agency statements test the claims. Parts of a claim that could not be checked against an official source are marked as not verified rather than removed. Reviewed November 4, 2026.

Official sourceGovInfo: Address Before a Joint Session of the Congress on the State of the Union (Public Papers of the Presidents, 1992, Book I) (opens in a new tab)January 28, 1992 · read November 4, 2026 · Pages 156–163. The President's own account, published by the Office of the Federal Register, National Archives.
Official sourceBLS: Consumer Price Index, all items (CUUR0000SA0) (opens in a new tab)Series used in this site's inflation extract · CPI-U, all items, U.S. city average, not seasonally adjusted; 12-month changes computed from monthly index levels.
Official sourceBLS: Unemployment rate, seasonally adjusted (LNS14000000) (opens in a new tab)Data extracted November 4, 2026 · Monthly U-3 rates, January 1989 through January 1993.
Official sourceGovInfo: Address to the Nation on the Suspension of Allied Offensive Combat Operations in the Persian Gulf (opens in a new tab)February 27, 1991 · Public Papers of the Presidents, 1991, Book I, pages 187–188: "Kuwait is liberated. Iraq's army is defeated."
Official sourceOffice of the Historian, State Department: The Madrid Conference, 1991 (opens in a new tab)Read November 4, 2026 · The conference opened October 30 and ended November 4, 1991, with Israeli, Egyptian, Syrian, Lebanese and joint Jordanian-Palestinian delegations; later talks and their outcome.
Official sourceGeorge H. W. Bush Presidential Library: Statement on the Release of American Hostages in Lebanon (opens in a new tab)December 4, 1991 · Marks Terry Anderson's release and states that the American hostages have now been released.
Official sourceGovInfo: Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 (Public Law 102–240), 105 Stat. 1914 (opens in a new tab)Approved December 18, 1991 · Statutes at Large, volume 105, page 1914.
Official sourceGovInfo: Message to the Senate Transmitting the Russia-United States Treaty on Further Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms (START II) (opens in a new tab)January 15, 1993 · Treaty signed at Moscow January 3, 1993; bans multiple-warhead ICBMs; central limits of 3,000–3,500 warheads by January 1, 2003.
Read the coverage rules