Lawmakers in Washington are on pace to introduce more legislation this session than they have since the 1970s, but they’re also on pace to enact fewer bills and resolutions into law than they have in at least a half-century.
A database maintained by the government transparency website GovTrack.us showed that, as of Thursday, lawmakers in the House and Senate had introduced 14,273 pieces of legislation during the first 14½ months of the 119th Congress.
They enacted 79 of them into law.
If lawmakers maintained the same pace for the rest of the session, which ends Jan. 3, they would introduce more than 23,000 pieces of legislation. That would be the most since the session that ran from Jan. 4, 1977, to Oct. 15, 1978, according to GovTrack.us data.
They also are on pace to enact about 130 bills and resolutions. That would be the lowest total since at least 1973-74, the first year reported in GovTrack.us’s database.
Odds are the final numbers will be different, as GovTrack.us notes that lawmakers tend to introduce more bills and resolutions early in each legislative session and enact more legislation later in sessions.
For example, based on historical data, GovTrack.us said lawmakers tend to enact two-thirds of their proposed bills and resolutions in the second year of each legislative session.
Even at that pace, the pieces of legislation enacted this session would still trail behind the 274 bills and resolutions enacted during the previous two-year session, the lowest output in the GovTrack.us database.
“Congress is absolutely not productive,” said U.S. Rep. Summer Lee, a Democrat from Swissvale who is in her second term in Congress.
“The last Congress was the least effective Congress (in terms of enacting legislation) in who knows how long. This Congress, I think, would have to be worse,” Lee added.
Here’s a look at the activity of members of Western Pennsylvania’s congressional delegation this session, as of Friday:
U.S. Rep. Chris Deluzio
Deluzio, D-Fox Chapel, has introduced 24 pieces of legislation and cosponsored 425 others. One of the bills he introduced, to name a post office in Sewickley after Mary Elizabeth “Bettie” Cole, was passed by the House and is awaiting a vote in the Senate. He has a perfect attendance record, making all 458 House votes.
As for his perfect voting record, Deluzio said in a phone interview, “I take seriously the job I was elected to do, and voting is pretty central to that. Of course, there will be emergencies that come up with people, their families, their health, the weather, I get it. But that hasn’t happened to me, so I think folks expect if you can get there and vote, you ought to do it. It’s not more complicated than that.”
Deluzio said he thinks the number of bills introduced and cosponsored tells only part of the story of a lawmaker’s productivity. As a member of the Armed Services and Transportation & Infrastructure committees, he said, “I get to put provisions in the ‘must-pass’ bills there, like the Defense bill and the Water Resources Development Act. Maybe they don’t show up as individual bills, but they have language that I got inserted, and they got signed into law.”
Similarly, securing money for specific projects in the region through the appropriations process doesn’t show up as introduced or cosponsored legislation.
Deluzio partnered with U.S. Rep. Guy Reschenthaler, R-Peters, and U.S. Sens. John Fetterman, D-Braddock, and Dave McCormick, R-Pittsburgh, to secure $183.8 million for the Army Corps of Engineers to upgrade the 90-year-old Montgomery Locks and Dam on the Ohio River in Beaver County.
It was the largest earmark secured by Western Pennsylvania’s delegation and the third-largest earmark in all of Congress so far this fiscal year.
As for bills, Deluzio said he would like to see his recently introduced bill on rail safety get through Congress and be signed into by law by the president. But he’d be just as satisfied if provisions of that bill were tucked into the larger surface transportation reauthorization this year.
“For a legislator who’s serious about getting their stuff passed, you can’t have an ego about how it gets passed,” Deluzio said. “I’m always trying to find whatever the best way is that I can get my legislation over the finish line and support folks at home.
“That may be that it gets attached to something bigger and not show up in the stats in the way that you’re looking at it.”
U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly
Kelly, R-Butler, has introduced 26 pieces of legislation and cosponsored 206 others. Two resolutions he introduced to amend the Internal Revenue Code were incorporated into other bills that were enacted. He has missed 11 of 458 House votes (2.4%). The median percentage for missed votes in the House is 2.1%.
Kelly issued a statement in response to questions from TribLive.
“This year, I had a great opportunity to help craft the Working Families Tax Cuts to help hardworking Pennsylvanians and their families cut taxes, save money and invest in their futures,” Kelly said in the statement. “I’m proud of our record, both in Washington and in Western Pennsylvania, serving the American people. I look forward to serving them in the year ahead.”
U.S. Rep. Summer Lee
Lee has introduced 17 pieces of legislation and cosponsored 428. None of the bills she introduced has made it out of committee for a vote by the whole House. She has a perfect attendance record, making all 458 House votes.
Despite the partisan gridlock that has come to define Washington over the years, Lee said, “I think I had one of the bigger bipartisan successes of this Congress.”
She was referring to bipartisan support she got for a motion in the House Oversight Committee to subpoena the Justice Department for the full, unredacted release of files related to the investigation of the late billionaire sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
“I’m actually very proud of the work that we’ve done,” Lee said. “We’ve actually been getting things done where the rest of the Congress has been stalled,”
As for bills, just one of the 17 pieces of legislation that Lee has introduced this session has received bipartisan cosponsorship, according to GovTrack.us.
“Every single bill that I introduce I hope to get passed into law. I’m not one to introduce bills just for the sake of introducing them,” Lee said. “If you look at the type of legislation that we’re putting forth, not all of it is flashy stuff or things that people would consider deeply partisan. We’re talking about child care, health care, abandoned mines, things that I think would help working-class people and benefit our district. We absolutely do seek out Republican sponsorship.”
U.S. Rep. Guy Reschenthaler
Reschenthaler has introduced six pieces of legislation and cosponsored 53. Both of those numbers rank as the lowest in Pennsylvania’s congressional delegation. None of the bills he introduced made it out of committee. He has missed 11 of 458 House votes (2.4%).
Reschenthaler issued a statement in response to questions from TribLive.
“As the House Majority Chief Deputy Whip, I am laser-focused on passing and implementing President Trump’s America First Agenda. This Congress, I’ve worked hand-in-hand with President Trump to pass historic working family tax cuts, unleash American energy production and secure our borders,” Reschenthaler said in the statement. “As a senior member of the House Appropriations Committee, I delivered nearly $215 million in congressionally directed spending (earmarks for specifics projects) in Southwestern Pennsylvania, the second largest of any member of the House of Representatives.”
U.S. Sen. John Fetterman
Fetterman, D-Braddock, has introduced 24 pieces of legislation and cosponsored 291. One of the bills he introduced, to establish a National Programmable Cloud Laboratories Network, has made it out of committee and is awaiting a vote by the full House, while a resolution congratulating the Philadelphia Eagles on winning Super Bowl LIX was agreed to in the House. He has missed 48 of 717 Senate votes (6.7%). The median percentage for missed votes in the Senate is 2.8%.
Fetterman did not respond to questions from TribLive.
U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick
McCormick, R-Pittsburgh, has introduced 27 pieces of legislation and cosponsored 181. Four of the bills he introduced made it out of committee, with two of them being incorporated into other bills that were enacted.
One of the latter measures calls for congressional oversight of security assistance to Mexico, while the other requires the treasury secretary to pursue more equitable treatment of Taiwan at international financial institutions.
A resolution condemning the rise in ideologically motivated attacks on Jewish people in the United States was agreed to in the House. He has missed 20 of 717 Senate votes (2.8%).
McCormick did not respond to questions from TribLive.