From Wikipedia:
Contract with America The Contract with America was a document released by the United States Republican Party during the 1994 Congressional election campaign. Written by a team of representatives including Newt Gingrich, Robert Walker, Richard Armey, Bill Paxon, Tom DeLay, John Boehner and Jim Nussle, and in part using text from former President Ronald Reagan's 1985 State of the Union Address, and relying on polling from Frank Luntz, the Contract detailed the actions the Republicans promised to take if they became the majority party in the United States House of Representatives for the first time in 40 years. Many of the Contract's policy ideas originated at The Heritage Foundation, an influential conservative think tank.
The Contract with America was introduced six weeks before the 1994 Congressional election, the first mid-term election of President Bill Clinton's Administration, and was signed by all but two of the Republican members of the House and all of the Party's non-incumbent Republican Congressional candidates.
From The Heritage Foundation:
The Contract with America: Implementing New Ideas in the U.S. ---snip---
The revolutionary character of the change represented by the Contract went beyond the U.S. House of Representatives. Not only did the 367 Republican candidates for the House of Representatives who signed the document run election campaigns based on its provisions, but many of the campaigns for the U.S. Senate, as well as state and local government races, also pivoted around the fundamental questions concerning the role of government in society as reflected in the Contract. In short, the Contract may come to symbolize the most profound change in the American political landscape in the last half century and, in many respects, determine the character of American government well into the 21st century.
Fred campaigned on the issues in The Contract With America. He didn't sign it because he wasn't running for the House.
details, details...