WASHINGTON – As the 113th Congress approaches the final four months of its first session, only 22 bills have become laws as of Aug. 1.
These bills addressed issues such as Hurricane Sandy relief, budget appropriations and the specification of National Baseball Hall of Fame commemorative coin sizes.
Although the number of successful bills has dropped dramatically during the last several decades, this Congress, now on a five-week recess that ends Sept. 9, is poised to set a new low.
Making comparisons
The 112th Congress enacted the lowest number of bills into law at 283, 90 during its first session. That’s a stark difference from the 1,028 bills passed (390 during its first session) during the 84th Congress in 1955-56.
The 80th Congress, which operated from 1947-1948, was nicknamed the “Do-Nothing Congress” by former President Harry S. Truman because only 906 bills became laws.
Congress has approved an average of 650 bills each two-year session during the last 66 years. However, this number has steadily declined since the late 1940s.
“I think the long-term decrease in number of bills is that they’re packaging more stuff into these bills and, more recently, the partisanship,” said John Straayer, a political science professor at Colorado State University.
Today’s congressional bills are “long, gargantuan, ominous pieces of legislation” that address more than one subject, Straayer said.
One such bill is the comprehensive immigration reform act, which spans 1,000 pages and includes legislation about citizenship, border security and worker visas.
Gridlock within the legislative body also accounts for the low number of bills, said Straayer and independent political analyst Eric Sondermann.
“Republicans early on decided that what they did not want to do is give (President Barack Obama) any legislative victories,” Straayer said.
This partisanship stems from the noncompetitive structure of congressional districts within states, Straayer said. Because one party usually dominates a district, only the most ideologically extreme candidates win the race and continue on to Washington.
Sondermann attributed the lack of legislation passed to the nature of the Republicans in the House.
“A lot of them don’t measure their success by the number of bills they pass,” he said. “In some cases, it’s stopping bills.”
Congressmen by the numbers
Despite the small number of passed bills, Congress has not encountered a shortage of proposed ideas.
As of Aug. 1, the House introduced a total of 2,899 bills while the Senate proposed 1,416 for this year, according to the U.S. House of Clerks.
The average 2013 U.S. senator sponsors 14 bills and co-sponsors 98, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, a nonpartisan nonprofit that advocates for government transparency.
Sen. Mark Udall, D-Colo., sponsored 29 bills within the last year and co-sponsored 77, of which one has become a law.
That bill was the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act, which provides resources for men and women affected by sexual assault, domestic violence and stalking. It was passed into law March 7.
Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., also co-sponsored that bill, and it was his only bill passed into law so far this year. He has sponsored 10 and co-sponsored 78 bills as of July 31.
Members of the House have sponsored an average of six bills and co-sponsored 107, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
Rep. Scott Tipton, R-Cortez, has sponsored eight bills and co-sponsored almost 70 bills in 2013. Only one co-sponsored bill has become a law: the Stolen Valor Act of 2013.
This act forbids the pretense of military decorations to gain any kind of tangible reward. Obama signed it into law in late May.
However, the quality of bills being passed by Congress matters much more than the quantity, Sondermann said.
“For many Coloradans, they care much more about what laws are getting passed and not about how many,” he said.
A dim future
The path forward for Congress remains “worrisome” as gridlock and less legislation continues, Straayer said.
“I’m not at all optimistic, and I’m deeply troubled by Congress’s future as a functioning body,” he said.
While the emergence of a third party is unlikely, a rebirth within the Republican party is possible, Straayer said.
“If we are going to get change, some major overhaul within one of the two parties (needs to happen) and it won’t come quickly,” he said.
pjones@durangoherald.com.
Udall to tour Mesa Verde
U.S. Sen. Mark Udall, D-Colo., will visit Mesa Verde National Park on Sunday.
At noon he is scheduled to tour the park’s new Visitor and Research Center.
A news release from Udall’s office says he will discuss the center’s positive effect on tourism as it educates “hundreds and thousands of annual visitors about this unique Colorado treasure.”
Most members of Congress are traveling within their home districts during a five-week congressional break.
Udall is the chairman of the Senate’s National Parks Subcommittee.
