committee to oppose the New Deal and what it termed a bureaucratic style of government. One point called for "Economy and Fiscal Stability instead of extravagance and high taxes," while another demanded an end to deficit spending and a return to integrity in government. During the 80th Congress, this platform governed most Republican legislative proposals. The first bill introduced in the House, for example, substantially decreased in the individual income tax level. Republicans had agreed on the measure in order to stimulate initiative and spurn economic growth, the tax bill was a symbolic first step in ending Democratic dominance, limiting the federal government, and reducing the tax burden of the American public. In June 1947 both Houses passed the measure and over Truman's veto.35 Although the Republicans had a broad legislative agenda, five specific topics are critical to understand both their opposition to the Democratic Party and the factional disputes that plagued the GOP. These areas -- labor, housing, civil rights, federal aid to education, and the tidelands oil controversy -- were central to the conservative program and are important for a number of reasons. First, they show clear opposition between the conservative idea of limited government and state- controlled social aid, and the New Deal style of centralized administration of many aspects of public life. While a number Democratic initiatives were administered through local or state groups, the Republicans continually feared that dependence on a central funding source would lead to standard regulations that would quash local autonomy. Second, these areas were also points of contention within the Republican Party. The Taft and Dewey factions, for example, could not have been further apart on the proper method of dealing with postwar strikes and maintaining the collective bargaining system. These differences became fundamental points of conflict in the 35 Congress, House, House Report 180, 80t Cong., 1st Sess. 24 March 1947.