Congress by the Numbers – 2014

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113th Congress, 2nd Session (2014)

CongressByTheNumbers.com

 

Also see

 

Capitol Switchboard: 202-224-3121


113th Congress, New Members, House of Representatives
List of freshman class members of the 113th United States Congress – Wikipedia


Current Party Numbers: 113th Congress, 2nd Session
House Senate
Democrats 201 53
Independents 0 2
Republicans 234 45
Vacancies 0 0

 

Sources: Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives and Wikipedia.

See also

For a table showing party control of the 80th through the 112th Congresses, see the Congressional Deskbook, § 5.51.

But wait! There’s more!

 

Congress by the Numbers
2014
PDF
113-2 (through February 28, 2014)		 2013

PDF
113-1		 2012

PDF
112-2		 2011

PDF
112-1		 2010

PDF
111-2		 2009

PDF
111-1		 2008

PDF
110-2		 2007

PDF
110-1

Days in Session		 Senate 29 156 153 170 158 191 184 190
House 28 160 152 175 127 159 118 164

Time in Session
(hours, rounded)		 Senate 159 1095 930 1102 1075 1421 989 1376
House 119 768 725 993 879 1247 890 1478
Average Length Daily Session (hours) Senate 5.5 7.0 6.1 6.5 6.8 7.4 5.4 7.2
House 4.2 4.8 4.8 5.7 6.9 7.8 7.5 9.0

Bills/Resolutions Introduced		 Senate 226 2280 2014 2447 1506 3380 1590 3033
House 398 4433 3381 4468 3098 5691 3225 6194
TOTAL 624 6713 5395 6903 4604 9071 4815 9227

Public Laws Enacted		 Number 12x 65 148 90 258 125 278 138
% of total
Introduced		 1.9 0.97 2.76 1.30 5.6 1.38 5.8 1.5

Recorded Votes		 Senate 47 291 251 235 299 397 215 442
House 1 90 641 658 949 660 987 688 1186
TOTAL 137 932 909 1184 959 1384 903 1628

Vetoes		 0 0 0 0 1 0 4 5
Overridden 0 0 0 3 1

Source: Resumes of Congressional Activity
1 House vote total includes quorum calls, yea-and-nay votes, and recorded votes. Senate yea-and-nay votes only.
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 PDFPDF)

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


House


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


House


Senate

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, 2013, 2014: $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, 2013, 2014: $174,000;
2008: $169,3002006 and 2007: $165,200 (2005: $162,100)
For more information, see Pay and Perquisites of Members of Congress

House and Joint Committee Ratios
113th Congress, 2nd Session

Committee(Committee name = official web site | W = Wikipedia) Republicans Democrats
Agriculture | W
 25 20
Appropriations | W 29 24
Armed Services | W 34 28
Budget | W 22 17
Education and Workforce | W 24 18
Energy and Commerce | W 30 24
Ethics | W 5 5
Financial Services | W 33 29
Foreign Affairs | W 25 21
Homeland Security | W 18 15
House Administration | W 6 3
Intelligence, Permanent Select | W 12 6
Judiciary | W 23 17
Natural Resources | W 26 21
Oversight & Government Reform | W 23 16
Rules | W 9 4
Science, Space and Technology | W 22 17
Small Business | W 14 11
Transportation and Infrastructure | W 33 26
Veterans’ Affairs | W 14 11
Ways and Means | W 22 16

Joint Committee Ratios
Joint Committee House Senate
Republicans Democrats Democrats Republicans
Economic | W 6 4 6 4
Library | W 3 2 3 2
Printing | W 3 2 3 2
Taxation | W 3 2 3 2

Senate Committee Ratios
113th Congress, 2nd Session
Committee (Committee name = official web site | W = Wikipedia) Democrats Republicans
Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry | W 11 9
Appropriations | W 16 14
Armed Services | W 14 12
Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs | W 12 10
Budget | W 12 10
Commerce, Science, and Transportation | W 13 11
Energy and Natural Resources | W 12 10
Environment and Public Works | W 11 8
Finance | W 12 11
Foreign Relations | W 9 8
Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions | W 13 10
Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs | W 9 7
Judiciary | W 10 8
Rules and Administration | W 10 8
Small Business and Entrepreneurship | W 10 8
Veterans Affairs | W 8 6
Indian Affairs | W 8 6
Select Ethics | W 3 3
Select Intelligence | W 8 7
Special Aging | W 11 9

 

 

 

 

 

 

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