112th Congress, 2nd Session (2012)
CongressByTheNumbers.com
This web page is available as a PDF
and is online at CongressNumbers.com
Also see
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| House | Senate | |
| Democrats | 191 | 51 |
| Independents | 0 | 2 |
| Republicans | 241 | 47 |
| Vacancies | 3 | 0 |
Sources: Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives and Wikipedia.
See also
- “Representatives and Senators: Trends in Member Characteristics Since 1945,” CRS Report R42365, February 17, 2012 (41-page PDF)
- “Membership of the 112th Congress: A Profile,” CRS Report R41647, March 20, 2012 (12-page PDF)
- “Membership of the 111th Congress: A Profile,” CRS Report R40086, December 27, 2010 (10-page PDF)
- “Membership of the 110th Congress: A Profile,” CRS Report RS22555, September 3, 2008 (6-page PDF)
For a table showing party control of the 80th through the 112th Congresses, see the Congressional Deskbook, § 5.51.
But wait! There’s more!
- Party Divisions of the House of Representatives (1789 to Present) – from the Clerk of the House
- Party Division in the Senate, 1789-Present – from the Senate Historical Office
- Charles Stewart’s Congressional Data Page – from Charles Stewart, MIT
| Congress by the Numbers | ||||||||||||
| 2012 112-2 |
2011 112-1 |
2010 111-2 |
2009 111-1 |
2008 110-2 |
2007 110-1 |
2006 109-2 |
2005 109-1 |
2004 108-2 |
2003 108-1 |
2002 107-2 |
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Days in Session |
Senate | 153 | 170 | 158 | 191 | 184 | 190 | 138 | 159 | 133 | 167 | 149 |
| House | 152 | 175 | 127 | 159 | 118 | 164 | 101 | 140 | 110 | 133 | 123 | |
Time in Session (hours, rounded) |
Senate | 930 | 1102 | 1075 | 1421 | 989 | 1376 | 1028 | 1222 | 1032 | 1454 | 1043 |
| House | 725 | 993 | 879 | 1247 | 890 | 1478 | 850 | 1067 | 879 | 1015 | 772 | |
| Average Length Daily Session (hours) | Senate | 6.1 | 6.5 | 6.8 | 7.4 | 5.4 | 7.2 | 7.4 | 7.7 | 7.8 | 8.7 | 7 |
| House | 4.8 | 5.7 | 6.9 | 7.8 | 7.5 | 9.0 | 8.4 | 7.6 | 8.0 | 7.6 | 6.3 | |
Bills/Resolutions Introduced |
Senate | 2014 | 2447 | 1506 | 3380 | 1590 | 3033 | 2302 | 2616 | 1318 | 2398 | 1558 |
| House | 3381 | 4468 | 3098 | 5691 | 3225 | 6194 | 2451 | 5703 | 2338 | 4616 | 2711 | |
| TOTAL | 5395 | 6903 | 4604 | 9071 | 4815 | 9227 | 4753 | 8321 | 3656 | 7014 | 4269 | |
Public Laws Enacted |
Number | 148 | 90 | 258 | 125 | 278 | 138 | 248 | 169 | 300 | 198 | 241 |
| % of total Introduced |
2.76 | 1.30 | 5.6 | 1.38 | 5.8 | 1.5 | 5.2 | 2.03 | 8.21 | 2.82 | 5.65 | |
Recorded Votes |
Senate | 251 | 235 | 299 | 397 | 215 | 442 | 279 | 366 | 216 | 459 | 253 |
| House 1 | 658 | 949 | 660 | 987 | 688 | 1186 | 541 | 671 | 544 | 677 | 484 | |
| TOTAL | 909 | 1184 | 959 | 1384 | 903 | 1628 | 820 | 1037 | 760 | 1136 | 739 | |
Vetoes |
0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Overridden | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | ||||||||
Source: Resumes of Congressional Activity
1 Includes quorum calls
2 Includes pocket vetoes
3 Does not include line-item vetoes
See also
- “On legislative volume,” by Matt ,,,, October 12, 2011. Chart “that plots the number of public laws passed by October 1 of the first session of Congress vs. the number of laws passed during the remaining 15 months of the Congress. It plots the past 19 Congresses (93rd-111th) and a predicted value for the 112th (labeled in purple).”
- 20-Year Comparison of Senate Legislative Activity – from the Senate (1-page PDF)
A summary of the Resumes of Congressional Activity from 1995 – 2004 appeared in Appendix 8 of the Congressional Deskbook 2005-2007, and is available here as an Excel spreadsheet.
| House versus Committee of the Whole | |
Established by Constitution (Article I, Section 2) |
Established by House rule for consideration of a specific measure |
Mace raised |
Mace lowered |
Speaker presides |
Chair of Committee of the Whole presides (appointed by Speaker) |
One-hour rule |
Five-minute rule for amendments; special rule from Rules Committee dictates procedure, after adoption of rule by House |
Quorum of 218 |
Quorum of 100 |
One-fifth of members (44 with minimum quorum to trigger a recorded vote |
25 members to trigger a recorded vote |
Motion for previous question in order |
Motion for previous question not in order; motion to limit or end debate may be offered |
Motion to recommit in order |
Motion to recommit not in order |
Motion to reconsider in order |
Motion to reconsider not in order |
Routine business of House in order |
Routine business of House not in order |
| Differences between the House and the Senate At-a-Glance | |
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Larger – 435 members |
Smaller – 100 members |
Districts based on population |
Two Senators from each state |
Shorter term – 2 years |
Longer term – 6 years |
All stand for election every 2 years |
6 year terms are staggered, 1/3 stand for election every 2 years – “continuing body” |
At least 25 years of age when seated |
At least 30 years of age when seated |
Originates revenue legislation |
Executive business (Treaties by 2/3, nominations) |
Four calendars (Union, House, Private, and Discharge) |
Two calendars (Legislative and Executive) |
Less procedural flexibility / more restraints |
More procedural flexibility / fewer restraints |
Rules adopted each Congress (every 2 years) |
Rules continuously in effect |
Stronger Leadership – power less evenly distributed |
Weaker Leadership – power more evenly distributed |
Role of Rules Committee and special rules to govern floor consideration |
Unanimous consent and complex unanimous consent time agreements to govern floor consideration |
Scheduling by Speaker and majority-party leadership, with limited consultation among members |
Scheduling by majority-party leadership, with broad consultation among all members |
Germaneness of amendments generally required |
Germaneness of amendments rarely required |
Presiding officer has considerable discretion in recognition; rulings rarely challenged |
Presiding officer has little discretion in recognition; rulings frequently challenged |
Debate always restricted |
Debate rarely restricted |
Debate-ending motions by majority vote (218 representatives) |
Cloture invoked by three-fifths vote (60 senators) |
Quorum calls permitted in connection with record votes |
Quorum calls permitted almost any time and used for constructive delay |
Narrower constituency – House District |
Larger constituency – entire state |
Elections generally less competitive |
Elections generally more competitive |
Specialists |
Generalists |
Less reliant on staff |
More reliant on staff |
Less media coverage |
More media coverage |
More partisan |
Less partisan |
Adjourns at end of day |
Recesses at end of most days |
Salary: 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012: $174,000 2008: $169,3002006 and 2007: $165,200 (2005: $162,100) For more information, see Pay and Perquisites of Members of Congress |
Salary: 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012: $174,000 2008: $169,3002006 and 2007: $165,200 (2005: $162,100) For more information, see Pay and Perquisites of Members of Congress |
- Source: Congressional Deskbook, § 4.10, Pay and Allowances of Members
- Executive Order 13454: “Adjustments of Certain Rates of Pay,” Federal Register, Vol. 73 No. 5, page 1486, January 8, 2008 (14-page PDF)
- Executive Order 13525: “Adjustments of Certain Rates of Pay,” Federal Register, Vol. 74 No. 249, page 69231, December 23, 2009 (12-page PDF)
- Executive Order 13561: “Adjustments of Certain Rates of Pay,” Federal Register, Vol. 75 No. 249, page 81817, December 29, 2010 (14-page PDF)
- Executive Order 13594, signed December 19, 2011: “Adjustments of Certain Rates of Pay,” Federal Register, Vol. 76 No. 247, page 80191, December 23, 2011 (FR Doc No: 2011-33087) (13-page PDF)
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House and Joint Committee Ratios |
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| Committee | Republicans | Democrats | ||
| Agriculture |
26 | 20 | ||
| Appropriations |
29 | 21 | ||
| Armed Services | 35 | 27 | ||
| Budget | 22 | 16 | ||
| Education and Workforce |
23 | 17 | ||
| Energy and Commerce |
31 | 23 | ||
| Ethics |
5 | 5 | ||
| Financial Services |
34 | 27 | ||
| Foreign Affairs | 26 | 20 | ||
| Homeland Security | 19 | 14 | ||
| House Administration | 6 | 3 | ||
| Intelligence, Permanent Select | 12 | 8 | ||
| Judiciary | 23 | 16 | ||
| Natural Resources |
27 | 21 | ||
| Oversight & Government Reform | 23 | 17 | ||
| Rules | 9 | 4 | ||
| Science, Space and Technology | 23 | 17 | ||
| Small Business | 15 | 11 | ||
| Transportation and Infrastructure | 33 | 26 | ||
| Veterans’ Affairs | 15 | 11 | ||
| Ways and Means | 22 | 15 | ||
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Joint Committee Ratios |
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| Joint Committee | House | Senate | ||
| Republicans | Democrats | Democrats | Republicans | |
| Economic | 6 | 4 | 6 | 4 |
| Library |
2 | 3 | 2 | |
| Printing | 2 | 3 | 2 | |
| Taxation | 2 | 3 | 2 | |
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Senate Committee Ratios |
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| Committee | Democrats | Republicans |
| Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry | 11 | 10 |
| Appropriations |
16 | 14 |
| Armed Services |
14 | 12 |
| Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs |
12 | 10 |
| Budget |
12 | 11 |
| Commerce, Science, and Transportation | 13 | 12 |
| Energy and Natural Resources |
12 | 10 |
| Environment and Public Works |
10 | 8 |
| Finance | 13 | 11 |
| Foreign Relations |
10 | 9 |
| Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions | 12 | 10 |
| Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs | 9 | 8 |
| Judiciary |
10 | 8 |
| Rules and Administration | 10 | 8 |
| Small Business and Entrepreneurship | 10 | 9 |
| Veterans Affairs | 8 | 7 |
| Indian Affairs |
8 | 6 |
| Select Ethics |
3 | 3 |
| Select Intelligence | 8 | 7 |
| Special Aging | 11 | 10 |
This web page is available as a PDF and is online at CongressNumbers.com
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