Congress has once again been making headlines for all the wrong reasons, with the current 118th Congress touted as possibly the least productive in the institution’s history. In 2023, Congress only passed 34 bills into law, the lowest number in decades.
Congress was only recently able to pass a budget bill that will keep the government open until the fall of 2024 after months of delay and stopgap measures.
As a result, House Speaker Mike Johnson’s gavel seems to be hanging in the balance yet again, as conservative Republicans revolt over his support for the bill.
Even so, the dire warnings from the media, and even from members of Congress, about the legislative branch’s lack of productivity frequently lack context and are often misleading.
Historically, there’s been significant variation in the amount of legislating Congress does from year to year. There are a few well-understood factors that influence this, and all help explain why 2023 wasn’t ever likely to be a banner year for congressional productivity.
One obvious factor is party control of Congress and the presidency. If the Senate, House and the presidency are controlled by the same party, then there is typically more policy agreement between them, smoothing the way for easier passage of bills.
There’s also evidence that election years spur more, not less, legislative productivity. Members of Congress know each other better in the second year of their term; they have dispensed with many of the ceremonial duties that begin a congressional session; and members are eager to demonstrate their legislative action to constituents during their reelection campaigns.
It’s possible that Congress will pick up its pace in 2024. Last year, Congress passed a number of stopgap funding bills, along with smaller legislation on veterans and environmental issues. But crucial issues such as foreign aid, social media regulation and immigration are still on the table.
Finally, Congress is in the best position to succeed when it’s led by competent and experienced legislators with lots of political capital.
This hasn’t been the case so far in the current Congress. The House has had two brand-new speakers in the span of a year, and both lacked the political power, experience or acumen to command the chamber and produce passable legislation.
Speaker Kevin McCarthy was ousted in October 2023 due to lack of support within his own party. Johnson has scant experience and his job has been made even more difficult by the Republicans’ continually shrinking majority. And rampant polarization has made finding legislative agreement increasingly difficult.
A related issue is that the size and scope of the average piece of legislation has changed dramatically. Congress increasingly engages in what’s called “omnibus legislating,” which combines multiple, sometimes unrelated, pieces of legislation into one massive bill that receives one vote.
There are other ways legislators can be productive. When today’s members introduce bills, hold committee hearings and advocate for their legislation, these actions can matter even if the bills don’t pass at first. Legislative effort undertaken today can lay the groundwork for progress in the future.
All of this context is crucial for understanding whether Congress is effective. Even so, it looks like the Congress of 2023 – particularly the House – was historically unproductive, no matter how you slice it.
Charlie Hunt is an assistant professor of political science at Boise State University. Distributed by The Conversation and The Associated Press.
