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| 1996, Jan. 26 |
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| The U.S. Senate voted to ratify START II, the second Strategic Arms Reduction Talks Treaty, which would get both the U.S. and Russia down to one-third of their 1993 nuclear arsenal levels. | 1 |
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| March 27 |
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| In Seminole Tribe of Florida v. Florida, the U.S. Supreme Court voted 5–4 to overturn the 1988 Indian Gambling Regulatory Act, which allowed American Indians to file federal law suits against any state that failed to negotiate “in good faith” the establishment of gambling casinos on Indian land. | 2 |
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| April 9 |
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| United Airlines flight attendants rejected a four-year contract proposal offered by the union and United. The attendants opposed the creation of foreign crew bases, which they believed would erode U.S. jobs. | 3 |
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| July 31 |
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| Clinton agreed to sign a sweeping plan overhauling the American welfare system and making enormous cuts in welfare. | 4 |
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| Aug. 6 |
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| NASA research on a meteorite from Mars suggested evidence of life existing or having evolved in a place other than Earth. | 5 |
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| Sept. 3–4 |
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| The U.S. launched missile attacks on Iraqi military sites to counter Iraq's recent moves against Kurdish enclaves. | 6 |
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| Sept. 30 |
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| Pres. Clinton signed into law the new Illegal Immigrant Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act, which aimed to reduce thenumber of illegal immigrants, partly by limiting immigrant access to welfare services. | 7 |
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| Nov. 5 |
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| Clinton was reelected as president of the United States. The Republican Party maintained control of Congress. | 8 |
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| Nov. 15 |
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| Texaco, Inc., a major oil producer, agreed to a $176.1 million settlement with black employees who had lodged a federal suit against the company in 1994 for discrimination in promotions and pay. The company settled following disclosure (Nov. 4, 1996) of a tape-recorded conversation in which executives made racist remarks and discussed the destruction or alteration of documents pertinent to the lawsuit. | 9 |
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| Dec. 5 |
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| Clinton chose Madeline K. Albright as the first woman secretary of state for the U.S. Prior to obtaining this position, she served as the American ambassador to the UN. | 10 |
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| Dec. 21 |
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| A U.S. House ethics subcommittee found that Speaker Newt Gingrich violated House ethics rules by accepting tax-exempt donations and using the funds for political purposes. | 11 |
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