Congressional Statistics: Bills Introduced and Laws Enacted, 1947-2004

Congressional Statistics: Bills Introduced and Laws Enacted, 1947-2004

Order Code 96-727 C
Updated January 13, 2005
CRS Report for Congress
Received through the CRS Web
Congressional Statistics: Bills Introduced and
Laws Enacted, 1947-2004
Jennifer E. Manning
Information Research Specialist
Information Research Division
Summary
The Congressional Research Service receives many requests for statistics on the
numbers of bills introduced and the numbers of laws enacted in each Congress.
Although this information is available in several sources, it is nowhere set out in a
simple table. It is generally included in tables with many other indicators of
congressional activity. This report is designed to fill the need for a simple tabulation of
legislative workload. It provides the numbers of bills and joint resolutions introduced,
and the numbers of public and private laws enacted, from the 80th Congress through the
108th Congress (1947-2004). This report contains historical data and will not be
updated. For more recent statistics on bills and joint resolutions and laws enacted,
consult the “Bill Lists” tables in the Legislative Information System (LIS) Bill Summary
and Status Files at [http://www.congress.gov/billsumm/lists.html].
The Statistics
These numbers on bills introduced and laws enacted should not be interpreted as the
only, or the most important, measures of congressional workload and activity. Other
indicators are data on investigations, confirmations, days in session, hearings, casework,
omnibus legislation, etc. For statistics on record floor votes, see CRS Report RL30562,
Congressional Roll Call and Other Record Votes: First Congress through 108th Congress,
1789 Through 2004. For statistics on the whole range of quantitative indicators, see Vital
Statistics on Congress, 2001-2002, by Norman J. Ornstein, Thomas E. Mann, and
Michael J. Malbin (Washington: American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy
Research, 2002). Other indicators for the 80th Congress (1947-1948) to the present are
available on the Internet in the Résumés of Congressional Activity section on the Senate’s
public website at [http://www.senate.gov/pagelayout/reference/two_column_table/
Resumes.htm].
Comparable compilations of statistics for the first through the 79th Congresses,
before legislative activity began to be quantified in the “Daily Digest” section of the
Congressional Record, are extremely difficult to come by. Some researchers have pulled
Congressional Research Service ˜ The Library of Congress

CRS-2
together figures on measures introduced for a few scattered, selected years, but they do
not all use the same definition of “measures.” So, the resulting figures cannot be
compared accurately.
Compilations exist of earlier statistics on the numbers of laws enacted, covering both
the pre- and post-80th Congresses. However, the same problems of differing inclusions
and exclusions in the figures used apply to these, as well. Consequently, there will be
some differences between figures in those compilations and in the table given here.
In the following table, two things stand out: a steady decline since the mid-1970s in
the number of bills and joint resolutions introduced and a drastic decline in recent years
in the number of private laws enacted. An important reason for the former is changes in
the rules of the House of Representatives on bill sponsorship. The number of cosponsors
allowed on an individual bill was once severely restricted, often causing many different
Members to introduce identical versions of popular proposals. Beginning in 1967, up to
25 cosponsors were allowed on a bill, and in 1979, the House rules were amended to
permit unlimited numbers of cosponsors.
The decline in the number of private bills and laws cannot be traced to a specific rule
change. Private bills deal with one or more named individuals or entities. In the 20th
century, most private bills concerned immigration cases or private claims. Over the years,
Congress has delegated more of its authority on individual immigration matters and
private claims to the executive branch, so the number of private bills and laws has
declined dramatically.
Table 1. Selected Legislative Statistics
Bills & Joint Resolutions Introduceda
Laws Enacted
Congress
Total
House
Senate
Public
Private
80th (1947-1948)
10,797
7,611
3,186
906
458
81st (1949-1950)
14,988
10,502
4,486
921
1,103
82nd (1951-1952)
12,730
9,065
3,665
594
1,023
83rd (1953-1954)
14,952
10,875
4,077
781
1,002
84th (1955-1956)
17,687
13,169
4,518
1,028
893
85th (1957-1958)
19,112
14,580
4,532
936
784
86th (1959-1960)
18,261
14,112
4,149
800
492
87th (1961-1962)
18,376
14,328
4,048
885
684
88th (1963-1964)
17,479
14,022
3,457
666
360
89th (1965-1966)
24,003
19,874
4,129
810
473
90th (1967-1968)
26,460
22,060
4,400
640
362
91st (1969-1970)
26,303
21,436
4,867
695
246
92nd (1971-1972)
22,969
18,561
4,408
607
161
93rd (1973-1974)
23,396
18,872
4,524
649
123

CRS-3
Bills & Joint Resolutions Introduceda
Laws Enacted
Congress
Total
House
Senate
Public
Private
94th (1975-1976)
21,096
16,982
4,114
588
141
95th (1977-1978)
19,387
15,587
3,800
634
170
96th (1979-1980)
12,583
9,103
3,480
613
123
97th (1981-1982)
11,490
8,094
3,396
473
56
98th (1983-1984)
10,559
7,105
3,454
623
52
99th (1985-1986)
9,885
6,499
3,386
664
24
100th (1987-1988)
9,588
6,263
3,325
713
48
101st (1989-1990)
10,352
6,683
3,669
650
16
102nd (1991-1992)
10,513
6,775
3,738
590
20
103rd (1993-1994)
8,544
5,739
2,805
465
8
104th (1995-1996)
6,808
4,542
2,266
333
4

105th (1997-1998)
7,730
5,012
2,718
394
10
1st session
4,801
3,194
1,607
153
4
2nd session
2,929
1,818
1,111
241
6
106th (1999-2000)
9,158
5,815
3,343
580
24
1st session
5,636
3,602
2,034
170
3
2nd session
3,522
2,213
1,309
410
21
107th (2001-2002)
9,130
5,892
3,238
377
6
1st session
5,603
3,691
1,912
136
1
2nd session
3,527
2,201
1,326
241
5
108th (2003-2004)b
8,621
5,544
3,077
498
6
1st session
5,812
3,783
2,029
198
0
2nd session
2,809
1,761
1,048
300
6
Source: House bills and resolutions from archived CRS Report 93-707, Indicators of House of
Representatives Workload and Activity, p. 15 (no longer available), the Legislative Information System
website, and the final “Daily Digests” for the 103rd through 108th Congresses. Senate bills and resolutions
from archived CRS Report 93-789, Workload and Activity Report: United States Senate, 1946-1992, p. 12
(no longer available), the Legislative Information System website, and the final “Daily Digests” for the 103rd
through 108th Congresses. Public laws from archived CRS Report 93-789, p. 15 (no longer available), the
Legislative Information System website, and the final “Daily Digests” for the 103rd through 108th
Congresses.
a. Includes only bills and joint resolutions. Simple and concurrent resolutions, which do not have the force
of law when enacted, are not included in these figures.
b. 108th Congress bill statistics do not include H.R. 3 and H.R. 9 — these bill numbers were reserved by the
House leadership but never actually introduced.