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

CRS Report for Congress
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 theth
108 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

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 IntroducedaLaws Enacted
Congress
Tot a l H ouse Senat e P ubl i c P r i vat e
80th (1947-1948)10,7977,6113,186906458
81st (1949-1950)14,98810,5024,4869211,103
82nd (1951-1952)12,7309,0653,6655941,023
83rd (1953-1954)14,95210,8754,0777811,002
84th (1955-1956)17,68713,1694,5181,028893
85th (1957-1958)19,11214,5804,532936784
86th (1959-1960)18,26114,1124,149800492
87th (1961-1962)18,37614,3284,048885684
88th (1963-1964)17,47914,0223,457666360
89th (1965-1966)24,00319,8744,129810473
90th (1967-1968)26,46022,0604,400640362
91st (1969-1970)26,30321,4364,867695246
92nd (1971-1972)22,96918,5614,408607161

93rd (1973-1974)23,39618,8724,524649123



Bills & Joint Resolutions IntroducedaLaws Enacted
Congress
Tot a l H ouse Senat e P ubl i c P r i vat e
94th (1975-1976) 21,09616,9824,114588141
95th (1977-1978)19,38715,5873,800634170
96th (1979-1980)12,5839,1033,480613123
97th (1981-1982)11,4908,0943,39647356
98th (1983-1984)10,5597,1053,45462352
99th (1985-1986)9,8856,4993,38666424
100th (1987-1988)9,5886,2633,32571348
101st (1989-1990)10,3526,6833,66965016
102nd (1991-1992)10,5136,7753,73859020
103rd (1993-1994)8,5445,7392,8054658
104th (1995-1996)6,8084,5422,2663334
105th (1997-1998)7,7305,0122,71839410
1st session4,8013,1941,6071534
2nd session2,9291,8181,1112416
106th (1999-2000)9,1585,8153,34358024
1st session5,6363,6022,0341703
2nd session3,5222,2131,30941021
107th (2001-2002)9,1305,8923,2383776
1st session5,6033,6911,9121361
2nd session3,5272,2011,3262415
108th (2003-2004)b8,6215,5443,0774986
1st session5,8123,7832,0291980
2nd session2,8091,7611,0483006
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 Systemrdth
website, and the final “Daily Digests” for the 103 through 108 Congresses. Senate bills and resolutions
from archived CRS Report 93-789, Workload and Activity Report: United States Senate, 1946-1992, p. 12rd
(no longer available), the Legislative Information System website, and the final “Daily Digests” for the 103th
through 108 Congresses. Public laws from archived CRS Report 93-789, p. 15 (no longer available), therdth
Legislative Information System website, and the final “Daily Digests” for the 103 through 108
Co ngr e sse s.
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.