Chapter 6: Legislative Productivity in Congress and Workload
Table of Contents
Number
Title
Page
6-1
House Workload, 80th-113th Congresses, 1947 - 2014
1
6-2
Senate Workload, 80th-113th Congresses, 1947 - 2014
3
6-3
Recorded Votes in the House and the Senate, 80th - 113th Congresses, 1947 - 2014
5
6-4
Congressional Workload, 80th - 113th Congresses, 1947 - 2014
7
6-5
Pages in the Federal Register, 1936 - 2015
9
6-6
Vetoes and Overrides, 80th - 113th Congresses, 1947 - 2014
11
6-7
Attempted and Successful Cloture Votes, 66th - 113th Congress, 1919 - 2014
13
Table 6-1
Congress
80th (1947-1948)
81st (1949-1950)
82nd (1951-1952)
83rd (1953-1954)
84th (1955-1956)
85th (1957-1958)
86th (1959-1960)d
d
87th (1961-1962)
88th (1963-1964)
89th (1965-1966)
90th (1967-1968)
91st (1969-1971)
92nd (1971-1972)
93rd (1973-1974)
94th (1975-1976)
95th (1977-1978)
96th (1979-1980)
97th (1981-1982)
98th (1983-1984)
99th (1985-1986)
100th (1987-1988)
101st (1989-1990)
102nd (1991-1992)
103rd (1993-1994)
104th (1995-1996)
105th (1997-1998)
106th (1999-2000)
107th (2001-2002)
108th (2003-2004)
109th (2005-2006)
110th (2007-2008)
111th (2009-2010)
112th (2011-2012)
113th (2013-2014)
House Workload, 80th - 113th Congresses, 1947 - 2014
Bills introduced
7,611
10,502
9,065
10,875
13,169
14,580
14,112
14,328
14,022
19,874
22,060
21,436
18,561
18,872
16,982
15,587
9,103
8,094
7,105
6,499
6,263
6,664
6,775
5,739
4,542
5,014
5,815
5,892
5,547
6,540
7,441
6,677
6,845
6,030
a
Average no.
of bills
introduced
per member
17.5
24.1
20.8
25.0
30.3
33.5
32.3
32.8
32.2
45.7
50.7
49.3
42.7
43.4
39.0
35.8
20.9
18.6
16.3
14.9
14.4
15.3
15.6
13.2
10.4
11.5
13.4
13.5
12.8
15.0
17.1
15.3
15.7
13.9
Bills
passed
1,739
2,482
2,008
2,129
2,360
2,064
1,636
1,927
1,267
1,565
1,213
1,130
970
923
968
1,027
929
704
978
973
1,061
968
932
749
611
710
957
677
801
770
1101
861
561
682
Ratio of bills
passed to
bills
introduced
0.228
0.236
0.222
0.196
0.179
0.142
0.116
0.134
0.090
0.079
0.055
0.053
0.052
0.049
0.057
0.066
0.102
0.087
0.138
0.150
0.169
0.145
0.138
0.131
0.135
0.142
0.165
0.115
0.144
0.118
0.148
0.129
0.082
0.113
Recorded
b
votes
285
543
364
271
279
415
382
524
528
782
875
812
934
1,453
1,692
1,724
1,439
859
996
970
976
915
932
1,122
1,340
1,187
1,214
996
1,221
1,212
1,876
1,655
1,607
1,205
http://www.brookings.edu/VitalStats
Time in
session:
Days
254
345
274
240
230
276
265
304
334
336
328
350
298
334
311
323
326
303
266
281
298
281
277
265
290
251
272
265
243
241
283
286
327
295
Time in Hours per
Session:
day in
e
Hours
session
1,224
4.8
1,501
4.4
1,163
4.2
1,033
4.3
937
4.1
1,148
4.2
1,039
3.9
1,227
4.0
1,251
3.7
1,548
4.6
1,595
4.9
1,613
4.6
1,429
4.8
1,603
4.8
1,788
5.7
1,898
5.9
1,876
5.8
1,420
4.7
1,705
6.4
1,794
6.4
1,659
5.6
1,688
6.0
1,796
6.5
1,887
7.1
2,445
8.4
2,002
8.0
2,179
8.0
1,694
6.4
1,894
7.8
1,918
8.0
2,138
7.6
2,127
7.4
1,718
5.3
1,472
5.0
Committee,
subcomittee
c
meetings
n.a.
n.a.
n.a.
n.a.
3,210
3,750
3,059
3,402
3,596
4,367
4,386
5,066
5,114
5,888
6,975
7,896
7,033
6,078
5,661
5,272
5,388
5,305
5,152
4,304
3,796
3,624
3,347
2,254
2,135
2,492
2,949
2,426
2,524
2,307
1
Note: Some data from earlier years/previous versions of Vital Statistics have been updated. See errata
for more detail.
a. This number includes all bills and joint resolutions introduced.
b. This number includes all quorum calls, yea and nay votes, and recorded votes.
c. Figures do not include the House Appropriations Committee for the 84th to 88th Congresses. House
Appropriations Committee meetings included in subsequent Congresses numbered 584 in the 89th
Congress, 705 in the 90th Congress, 709 in the 91st Congress, 854 in the 99nd Congress, and 892 in
the 93rd Congress.
d. The House of Representatives included 437 congressmen to reflect the addition of Alaska and
Hawaii.
e. Rounded to nearest hour.
Source: Congressional Record (thomas.loc.gov); Office of the Clerk, US House of Representatives;
"Resume of Congressional Activity," Congressional Record, 80th Congress - 109th Congress; End of
Session Committee Reports; Committee Websites.
http://www.brookings.edu/VitalStats
2
Table 6-2
Congress
80th (1947-1948)
81st (1949-1950)
82nd (1951-1952)
83rd (1953-1954)
84th (1955-1956)
85th (1957-1958)
86th (1959-1960)
87th (1961-1962)
88th (1963-1964)
89th (1965-1966)
90th (1967-1968)
91st (1969-1971)
92nd (1971-1972)
93rd (1973-1974)
94th (1975-1976)
95th (1977-1978)
96th (1979-1980)
97th (1981-1982)
98th (1983-1984)
99th (1985-1986)
100th (1987-1988)
101st (1989-1990)
102nd (1991-1992)
103rd (1993-1994)
104th (1995-1996)
105th (1997-1998)
106th (1999-2000)
107th (2001-2002)
108th (2003-2004)
109th (2005-2006)
110th (2007-2008)
111th (2009-2010)
112th (2011-2012)
113th (2013-2014)
Senate Workload, 80th - 113th Congresses, 1947 - 2014
Bills
introduceda
3,186
4,486
3,665
4,077
4,518
4,532
4,149
4,048
3,457
4,129
4,400
4,867
4,408
4,524
4,115
3,800
3,480
3,396
3,454
3,386
3,325
3,669
3,738
2,805
2,266
2,718
3,343
3,242
3,078
4,163
3,738
4,101
3,767
3,038
Average no.
of bills
introduced
per member
33.2
46.7
38.2
42.5
47.1
47.2
41.5
40.5
34.6
41.3
44.0
48.7
44.1
45.2
41.2
38.0
34.8
34.0
34.5
33.9
33.3
36.7
37.4
28.1
22.7
27.2
33.4
32.4
30.8
41.6
37.4
41.0
37.7
30.4
Bills
passed
1,670
2,362
1,849
2,231
2,550
2,202
1,680
1,953
1,341
1,636
1,376
1,271
1,035
1,115
1,038
1,070
976
786
936
940
1,002
980
947
682
518
586
819
554
759
684
556
176
364
618
Ratio of bills
passed to
bills
introduced
0.524
0.527
0.505
0.547
0.564
0.486
0.405
0.482
0.388
0.396
0.313
0.261
0.235
0.246
0.252
0.282
0.280
0.231
0.271
0.278
0.301
0.267
0.253
0.243
0.229
0.216
0.245
0.171
0.247
0.164
0.149
0.043
0.097
0.203
Recorded
votesb
248
455
331
270
224
313
422
434
541
497
595d
667
955
1,138
1,311
1,156
1,055
966
673
740
799
638
550
724
919
612
672
633
675
645
666
707
486
658
http://www.brookings.edu/VitalStats
Time in
session:
Days
257
389
287
294
224
271
280
323
375
345
358
384
348
352
320
337
333
312
281
313
307
274
287
291
343
296
303
322
300
297
374
349
323
292
Time in
session:
Hours
1,462
2,410
1,648
1,962
1,362
1,876
2,199
2,164
2,395
1,814
1,961
2,352
2,295
2,152
2,210
2,510
2,324
2,160
1,951
2,531
2,342
2,254
2,292
2,514
2,876
2,188
2,202
2,280
2,486
2,250
2,364
2,495
2,032
2,003
Hours per
day in
session
5.7
6.2
5.7
6.7
6.1
6.9
7.9
6.7
6.4
5.3
5.5
6.1
6.6
6.1
6.9
7.4
7.0
6.9
6.9
8.1
7.6
8.2
8.0
8.6
8.4
7.4
7.3
7.1
8.3
7.6
6.3
7.1
6.3
6.9
Committee,
subcomittee
meetingsc
n.a.
n.a.
n.a.
n.a.
2,607
2,748
2,271
2,532
2,493
2,889
2,892
3,264
3,559
4,067
4,265
3,960
3,790
3,236
2,471
2,373
2,493
2,340e
2,039
2,043
1,601
1,954
1,862
1,605
1,506
1,513
2,458
2,374
1,577
1,559
3
a. This number includes all bills and joint resolutions introduced.
b. This number includes all yea and nay votes.
c. Figure includes all hearings and business meetings.
d. This number does not include one yea and nay vote that was ruled invalid for lack of a quorum.
e. Where final legislative calendars were not available, we compiled figures from Congressional
Information Service Abstracts and the Congressional Record.
Source: Congressional Record (thomas.loc.gov); Office of the Secretary, US Senate; Senate Daily
Digest; "Resume of Congressional Activity," Congressional Record, 80th Congress - 113th
Congress.Congressional Record (thomas.loc.gov); End of Session Committee Reports; Committee
Websites.
http://www.brookings.edu/VitalStats
4
Table 6-3 Recorded Votes in the House and the Senate, 80th - 113th
Congresses, 1947 - 2014
Year
1947
1948
1949
1950
1951
1952
1953
1954
1955
1956
1957
1958
1959
1960
1961
1962
1963
1964
1965
1966
1967
1968
1969
1970
1971
1972
1973
1974
1975
1976
1977
1978
1979
1980
House
Senate
153
132
236
307
217
147
123
148
147
132
220
195
176
206
231
293
256
272
383
399
447
428
353
459
472
462
726
727
828
864
782
942
758
681
138
110
226
229
202
129
89
181
88
136
111
202
215
207
207
227
229
312
259
238
315
280a
245
422
423
532
594
544
611
700
636
520
509
546
Year
1981
1982
1983
1984
1985
1986
1987
1988
1989
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
House
Senate
371
488
533
463
482
488
511
465
379
536
444
488
615
507
885
455
640
547
611
603
512
484
677
544
671
541
1186
690
991
664
949
658
641
564
497
469
381
292
381
359
420
379
312
326
280
270
395
329
613
306
298
314
374
298
380
253
459
216
366
279
442
215
397
299
235
251
291
366
http://www.brookings.edu/VitalStats
5
Note: House figures include the total number of quorum
calls, yea and nay votes, and recorded votes, while
Senate figures include only yea and nay votes.
a. This figure does not include one yea and nay vote that
was ruled invalid for lack of a quorum.
Source: "Resume of Congressional Activity,"
Congressional Record, 80th Congress - 113th Congress.
http://www.brookings.edu/VitalStats
6
Table 6-4
Congressional Workload, 80th-113th Congresses, 1947-2014
Public Bills
Congress
80th (1947-1948)
81st (1949-1950)
82nd (1951-1952)
83rd (1953-1954)
84th (1955-1956)
85th (1957-1958)
86th (1959-1960)
87th (1961-1962)
88th (1963-1964)
89th (1965-1966)
90th (1967-1968)
91st (1969-1971)
92nd (1971-1972)
93rd (1973-1974)
94th (1975-1976)
95th (1977-1978)
96th (1979-1980)
97th (1981-1982)
98th (1983-1984)
99th (1985-1986)
100th (1987-1988)
101st (1989-1990)
102nd (1991-1992)
103rd (1993-1994)
104th (1995-1996)
105th (1997-1998)
106th (1999-2000)
107th (2001-2002)
108th (2003-2004)
109th (2005-2006)
110th (2007-2008)
111th (2009-2010)
112th (2011-2012)
113th (2013-2014)
Private bills
No. of
bills
enacted
Total
pages of
statutes
Average
pages per
statute
No. of
bills
enacted
Total
pages of
statutes
Average
pages per
statute
906
921
594
781
1,028
936
800
885
666
810
640
695
607
649
588
634
613
473
623
664
713
650
590
465
333
394
580
377
498
482
460
383
283
296
2,236
2,314
1,585
1,899
1,848
2,435
1,774
2,078
1,975
2,912
2,304
2,927
2,330
3,443
4,121
5,403
4,947
4,343
4,893
7,198
4,839
5,767
7,544
7,553
6,369
7,269
5,045
5,584
6,923
7,323
7,689
7,617
4,415
5,289
2.5
2.5
2.7
2.4
1.8
2.6
2.2
2.3
3.0
3.6
3.6
4.2
3.8
5.3
7.0
8.5
8.1
9.2
7.9
10.8
6.8
8.9
12.8
16.2
19.1
18.4
8.7
14.8
13.9
15.2
16.72
19.89
15.60
17.87
458
1,103
1,023
1,002
893
784
492
684
360
473
362
246
161
123
141
170
123
56
52
24
48
16
20
8
4
10
24
6
6
1
0
2
1
0
182
417
360
365
364
349
201
255
144
188
128
104
67
48
75
60
63
25
26
13
29
9
11
9
4
11
35
8
11
1
0
6
2
0
0.40
0.38
0.35
0.36
0.41
0.45
0.41
0.37
0.40
0.40
0.35
0.42
0.42
0.39
0.53
0.35
0.51
0.45
0.50
0.54
0.60
0.56
0.55
1.13
1.00
1.10
1.46
1.33
1.83
1.00
0.00
3.00
2.00
0.00
http://www.brookings.edu/VitalStats
7
Sources: Federal Register, Statutes Branch; The Library of Congress -- THOMAS,
(http://thomas.loc.gov); United States Statutes at Large, Government Printing Office.
Most Recent Update Source: Resume of Congressional Activity, various years; Federal
Register
http://www.brookings.edu/VitalStats
8
Table 6-5 Pages in the Federal Register , 1936 2015
Year
1936
1946
1956
1966
1969
1971
1972
1973
1974
1975
1976
1977
1978
1979
1980
1981
1982
1983
1984
1985
1986
1987
1988
1989
1990
Pages
2,355
14,736
10,528
16,850
20,464
25,442
28,920
35,586
45,422
60,221
57,072
63,629
61,261
77,497
87,012
63,554
58,493
57,703
50,997
53,479
47,418
49,654
53,376
53,821
53,618
Year
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
Pages
67,715
62,919
69,684
68,107
68,108
69,368
68,530
72,356
73,880
83,093
67,703
80,333
75,796
78,852
77,752
78,724
74,408
80,700
69,676
82,589
82,419
77,249
80,462
78,796
81,402
http://www.brookings.edu/VitalStats
9
a. Although the number of pages is
correctly given as 83,093, a pagenumbering error on May 22, 2000
resulted in a 201-page "jump."
Thus, the pages are (incorrectly)
numbered up to 83,294.
Source: Federal Register.
http://www.brookings.edu/VitalStats
10
Table 6-6
Vetoes and Overrides, 80th - 113th Congresses, 1947 - 2014
Vetoes overridden
Congress
80th (1947-1948)
81st (1949-1950)
82nd (1951-1952)
83rd (1953-1954)
84th (1955-1956)
85th (1957-1958)
86th (1959-1960)
87th (1961-1962)
88th (1963-1964)
89th (1965-1966)
90th (1967-1968)
91st (1969-1971)
92nd (1971-1972)
93rd (1973-1974)
94th (1975-1976)
95th (1977-1978)
96th (1979-1980)
97th (1981-1982)
98th (1983-1984)
99th (1985-1986)
100th (1987-1988)
101st (1989-1990)
a
102nd (1991-1992)
103rd (1993-1994)
104th (1995-1996)
105th (1997-1998)
106th (1999-2000)
107th (2000-2002)
108th (2003-2004)
109th (2005-2006)
110th (2007-2008)a
111th (2009-2010)
112th (2011-2012)
113th (2013-2014)
Total no. of
presidential
vetoes
No. of
regular
vetoes
No. of
pocket
vetoes
75
79
22
52
34
51
44
20
9
14
8
11
20
39
37
19
12
15
24
20
19
21
25
0
17
8
12
0
0
1
11
2
0
0
42
70
14
21
12
18
22
11
5
10
2
7
6
27
32
6
7
9
9
13
8
16
15
0
17
8
11
0
0
1
11
2
0
0
33
9
8
31
22
33
22
9
4
4
6
4
14
12
5
13
5
6
15
7
11
5
10
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
Total
6
3
3
0
0
0
2
0
0
0
0
2
2
5
8
0
2
2
2
2
3
0
1
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
4
0
0
0
Percentage of
regular vetoes
14.3
4.3
21.4
0.0
0.0
0.0
9.1
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
28.6
33.3
18.5
25.0
0.0
28.6
22.2
22.2
15.4
37.5
0.0
6.7
___
5.9
0.0
0.0
___
___
0.0
36.4
0.0
0.0
0.0
http://www.brookings.edu/VitalStats
House
attempts to
override
vetoes
Senate
attempts to
override
vetoes
8
5
4
0
1
1
5
0
0
0
0
4
3
12
17
2
2
4
2
3
5
9
3
0
6
1
3
0
0
1
9
2
0
0
8
5
4
0
1
1
6
0
0
0
0
4
4
10
15
0
2
3
2
3
4
5
3
0
1
1
1
0
0
0
4
0
0
0
11
Note: This table does not include line-item vetoes. After President Clinton excised several
Pentagon programs from the 1998 budget, both houses of Congress, under the line-item
veto law, passed legislation restoring some of the programs (H.R. 2631). President Clinton
subsequently vetoed that bill, and both houses of Congress passed legislation overriding his
veto. Subsequently, the Supreme Court declared the line-item veto unconstitutional.
a. On some occasions the President has issued a protective return veto, where the bill was
returned, unsigned, while Congress was in an intermin adjournment. The President has
considered the bills to have been pocket vetoed while Congress considered them to have
been regular vetoed. Vital Statistics counts these as regular vetoes.
Source: "Resume of Congressional Activity," Congressional Record, 80th Congress - 113th
Congress. http://www.senate.gov/reference/Legislation/Vetoes/vetoCounts.htm
http://www.brookings.edu/VitalStats
12
Table 6-7
Congress
66th (1919-1920)
67th (1921-1922)
68th (1923-1924)
69th (1925-1926)
70th (1927-1928)
71st (1929-1930)
72nd (1931-1932)
73rd (1933-1934)
74th (1935-1936)
75th (1937-1938)
76th (1939-1940)
77th (1941-1942)
78th (1943-1944)
79th (1945-1946)
80th (1947-1948)
81st (1949-1950)
82nd (1951-1952)
83rd (1953-1954)
84th (1955-1956)
85th (1957-1958)
86th (1959-1960)
87th (1961-1962)
88th (1963-1964)
89th (1965-1966)
90th (1967-1968)
91st (1969-1971)
92nd (1971-1972)
93rd (1973-1974)
94th (1975-1976)
95th (1977-1978)
96th (1979-1980)
97th (1981-1982)
98th (1983-1984)
99th (1985-1986)
100th (1987-1988)
101st (1989-1990)
102nd (1991-1992)
103rd (1993-1994)
104th (1995-1996)
105th (1997-1998)
106th (1999-2000)
107th (2001-2002)
108th (2003-2004)
109th (2005-2006)
110th (2007-2008)
111th (2009-2010)
112th (2011-2012)
113th (2013-2014)
Attempted and Successful Cloture Votes, 66th - 113th Congress, 19192014
1st session
attempted successful
1
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
5
2
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
1
0
2
1
1
0
2
0
10
2
10
2
23
13
5
1
4
1
7
2
7
2
9
1
23
5
9
6
20
9
24
4
21
4
24
7
36
11
22
12
23
1
20
13
62
31
39
35
34
19
64
50
2nd session
attempted successful
0
0
1
0
0
0
2
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
2
0
0
0
1
1
1
1
4
0
0
0
2
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
3
1
2
1
5
0
5
1
4
0
10
2
21
7
4
4
8
2
17
9
20
7
12
9
14
9
20
6
15
5
27
13
22
10
29
5
29
11
22
17
39
22
26
11
34
21
50
30
52
28
39
22
154
137
Total
attempted successful
1
1
2
0
0
0
2
1
5
2
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
2
0
0
0
1
1
1
1
4
0
0
0
2
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
4
1
3
1
7
1
6
1
6
0
20
4
31
9
27
17
13
3
21
10
27
9
19
11
23
10
43
11
24
11
47
22
46
14
50
9
53
18
58
28
61
34
49
12
54
34
112
61
91
63
73
41
218
187
http://www.brookings.edu/VitalStats
13
Note: The number of votes required to invoke cloture was changed on March 7,
1975, from two-thirds of those present and voting to three-fifths of the total
Senate membership, as Rule XXII of the standing rules of the Senate was
amended.
Unanimous Consent and "No Vote" are not counted as attempts.
Two votes on the same bill was counted as two attempts.
a. On November 3, 1993, one vote was taken to break filibusters on five separate
presidential nominees. Vital Statistics counts this as five attempted cloture votes.
Source: Sources: "Indicators of congressional workload and activity,"
Congressional Research Service; US Senate website
(http://www.senate.gov/pagelayout/reference/cloture_motions/clotureCounts.htm)
http://www.brookings.edu/VitalStats
14