In an effort to woo potential candidates in the South and Southwest, House Republicans secured Bush an appointment to the powerful United States House Committee on Ways and Means, making Bush the first freshman to serve on the committee since 1904. His voting record in the House was generally conservative. He also voted for the Civil Rights Act of 1968, although it was generally unpopular in his district. In 1968, Bush joined several other Republicans in issuing the party's Response to the State of the Union address; Bush's part of the address focused on a call for fiscal responsibility. Reagan's approval ratings fell after his first year in office, but they bounced back when the United States began to emerge from recession in 1983. Despite his defeat, Bush left office with a 56 percent job approval rating in January 1993.
[{"approval_ratings": "56 percent", "year": "1993", "above_50_percent": "yes", "last_rating_in_office": "yes"}]
[{"approval_ratings": "56 percent", "year": "1993", "above_50_percent": "yes", "last_rating_in_office": "yes"}]