Skip to main content

Congress posted 628,998 times in 2024. Here’s what they’re talking about.

Read Now
WP_Query Object ( [query] => Array ( [name] => bills-passed-2021 [post_type] => resources [resource-type] => data-driven-insights ) [query_vars] => Array ( [name] => bills-passed-2021 [post_type] => resources [resource-type] => data-driven-insights [error] => [m] => [p] => 0 [post_parent] => [subpost] => [subpost_id] => [attachment] => [attachment_id] => 0 [pagename] => [page_id] => 0 [second] => [minute] => [hour] => [day] => 0 [monthnum] => 0 [year] => 0 [w] => 0 [category_name] => [tag] => [cat] => [tag_id] => [author] => [author_name] => [feed] => [tb] => [paged] => 0 [meta_key] => [meta_value] => [preview] => [s] => [sentence] => [title] => [fields] => [menu_order] => [embed] => [category__in] => Array ( ) [category__not_in] => Array ( ) [category__and] => Array ( ) [post__in] => Array ( ) [post__not_in] => Array ( ) [post_name__in] => Array ( ) [tag__in] => Array ( ) [tag__not_in] => Array ( ) [tag__and] => Array ( ) [tag_slug__in] => Array ( ) [tag_slug__and] => Array ( ) [post_parent__in] => Array ( ) [post_parent__not_in] => Array ( ) [author__in] => Array ( ) [author__not_in] => Array ( ) [search_columns] => Array ( ) [ignore_sticky_posts] => [suppress_filters] => [cache_results] => 1 [update_post_term_cache] => 1 [update_menu_item_cache] => [lazy_load_term_meta] => 1 [update_post_meta_cache] => 1 [posts_per_page] => 10 [nopaging] => [comments_per_page] => 50 [no_found_rows] => [order] => DESC ) [tax_query] => [meta_query] => WP_Meta_Query Object ( [queries] => Array ( ) [relation] => [meta_table] => [meta_id_column] => [primary_table] => [primary_id_column] => [table_aliases:protected] => Array ( ) [clauses:protected] => Array ( ) [has_or_relation:protected] => ) [date_query] => [queried_object] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 6454 [post_author] => 43 [post_date] => 2022-02-25 19:12:25 [post_date_gmt] => 2022-02-25 19:12:25 [post_content] => In 2021, we saw a new President, a new Congress, and an insurrection — and that was just in January! In total, Congress introduced 9,883 bills, covering issues as broad as government funding and as niche as buffalo management. Out of the bills introduced, Congress passed 85 bills in 2021. These enacted bills tackle bigger legislative projects like COVID-19 economic relief and infrastructure.

Congress Passed 85 Bills in 2021

We built a sheet showing the 85 bills and joint resolutions introduced from January 3, 2021, to January 3, 2022, that were enacted, their main sponsors, number of cosponsors, and the party breakdown of their cosponsors to review Congress’s 2021 in legislation and identify how the activity in the 117th Congress’ first year compares to that of the previous Congress.

How does this measure up to the 116th Congress’s bill output?

The 117th Congress introduced 9,883 bills and enacted 85 bills compared to 7,539 and 268 respectively in the first year of the 116th Congress in 2019. While this number may seem small in comparison to the 116th Congress’s output, it’s important to note that the 117th Congress has packed much more into their bills, like the budget reconciliation package that only needed 51 votes, in order to pass more without holding as many votes in a contentious 50-50 Senate and avoid being blocked by a Republican filibuster.

Spotlight on Bipartisan Bills

Of the bills that passed in 2021, 59.3% had bipartisan support with at least one Democrat and Republican cosponsor on a bill. Some gained more widespread bipartisan support than others, and four enacted bills garnered over 300 total cosponsors including: H.R. 3537 establishes grant programs to address and accelerate therapies for ALS patients. This bill garnered 331 total cosponsorships, 56.2% of cosponsors were Democrats and 43.8% were Republicans. H.R. 5142 to posthumously award Congressional Gold Medals to the 13 service members who died on August 26, 2021, while stationed at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Afghanistan. This bill earned 326 cosponsorships, 39.4% were Democrats, 60.6% of which were Republicans. H.R. 1448 PAWS for Therapy Act to fund a program that provides service dogs to veterans obtained 317 cosponsorships, 37.8% of which were Democrats and 62.2% of which were Republican. H.R. 3642 to award Congressional Gold Medals to the 369th Infantry Regiment, known as the Harlem Hellfighters, that served during World War I. This bill gained 311 total cosponsors, 66.1% were Democrats and 33.9% were Republicans.

Other Legislation Statistics from the 117th Congress

The 117th Congress passed .9% of the bills it introduced in 2021. Pie chart of break down of bill status in 2021 The bills Speaker Pelosi and Leader Schumer bring to the floor for votes have been substantial in the issues they address and the funding they propose due to the pandemic— such as the American Rescue Plan Act (H.R. 1319), passed in March 2021, that provided $1.9 million in economic stimulus and the Paycheck Protection Program Extension Act (H.R. 1799) that grants loans to small businesses impacted by the pandemic. The 117th Congress also passed important legislation outside of just addressing the pandemic. In 2021, Congress made Juneteenth a federal holiday (S. 475), nearly unanimously passed the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act (S. 937) to combat anti-Asian hate crimes, and appropriated $1.9 billion in emergency funds to withdraw troops and wind down the war in Afghanistan.

Which Legislators Sponsored the Most Enacted Bills?

If you’re looking for the secret to getting bills passed, you might want to turn to Reps. Peter DeFazio (D-OR-4), Rosa DeLauro (D-CT-3), or Senators Gary Peters (D-MI) and Mike Braun (R-IN) — each of whom sponsored three bills that were enacted by Congress. As the House Transportation and Infrastructure chair, Defazio was busy getting the President’s infrastructure priorities passed in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (H.R. 3684), as well as H.R. 5763 and H.R. 5434 that both focus on surface transportation funding for highways. DeLauro stayed busy as the chair of the House Committee on Appropriations, getting three government funding bills she sponsored passed to extend government funding (H.R. 6119), deliver emergency government assistance (H.R. 53505), and appropriate more funding for security and repairs related to the January 6 attack on the Capitol. Over on the Senate side, both Peters and Braun sponsored three enacted bills on wide-ranging issues. As Chair of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, Peters sponsored the PRICE Act of 2021 (S. 583), which directs the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to publish an annual report on projects that have used innovative procurement techniques within DHS with the goal of encouraging better competition and improving the process to award government contracts. Similarly, Peters also sponsored the Congressional Budget Justification Transparency Act of 2021 (S. 272) which requires federal agencies to make budget justification materials available to the public on a website. Peters also drew from his security background to pass the K-12 Cybersecurity Act (S. 1917) that funds a study on the cybersecurity risks facing elementary and secondary schools and develop recommendations that include cybersecurity guidelines designed to assist schools in facing those risks. The three enacted bills Braun sponsored were the Hire Veteran Health Heroes Act (S. 894), the Consider Teachers Act (S. 848) that revises for providing teachers with assistance paying for their own higher education, and a retroactive correction to the ALS Disability Insurance Act of 2019 that eliminates the waiting period for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits for certain individuals with ALS. Braun drew from his experience on the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions as well as the Senate Committee on Aging, to get his bills passed. Freshman Senator Raphael Warnock (D-GA) also sponsored a piece of legislation that passed during his first year in office — S. 1031 to fund a study relayed to racial and ethnic disparities in benefits administered by the Department of Veteran Affairs. Warnock’s first bill passed by unanimous consent in the Senate, before moving the House for a vote and to the White House for enactment. 2021 brought the start of a new Congress and a new presidential administration. As both go into their second year, use a legislative tracking system to stay ahead of all the bills that matter to you. [post_title] => How Many Bills Were Passed in 2021? [post_excerpt] => Learn more about legislation passed by the 117th congress in 2021. Quorum’s legislative tracking solution can help your organization stay informed. [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => closed [ping_status] => closed [post_password] => [post_name] => bills-passed-2021 [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2022-12-31 01:37:41 [post_modified_gmt] => 2022-12-31 01:37:41 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://www.quorum.us/?post_type=resources&p=6454 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => resources [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [queried_object_id] => 6454 [request] => SELECT wp_posts.* FROM wp_posts WHERE 1=1 AND wp_posts.post_name = 'bills-passed-2021' AND wp_posts.post_type = 'resources' ORDER BY wp_posts.post_date DESC [posts] => Array ( [0] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 6454 [post_author] => 43 [post_date] => 2022-02-25 19:12:25 [post_date_gmt] => 2022-02-25 19:12:25 [post_content] => In 2021, we saw a new President, a new Congress, and an insurrection — and that was just in January! In total, Congress introduced 9,883 bills, covering issues as broad as government funding and as niche as buffalo management. Out of the bills introduced, Congress passed 85 bills in 2021. These enacted bills tackle bigger legislative projects like COVID-19 economic relief and infrastructure.

Congress Passed 85 Bills in 2021

We built a sheet showing the 85 bills and joint resolutions introduced from January 3, 2021, to January 3, 2022, that were enacted, their main sponsors, number of cosponsors, and the party breakdown of their cosponsors to review Congress’s 2021 in legislation and identify how the activity in the 117th Congress’ first year compares to that of the previous Congress.

How does this measure up to the 116th Congress’s bill output?

The 117th Congress introduced 9,883 bills and enacted 85 bills compared to 7,539 and 268 respectively in the first year of the 116th Congress in 2019. While this number may seem small in comparison to the 116th Congress’s output, it’s important to note that the 117th Congress has packed much more into their bills, like the budget reconciliation package that only needed 51 votes, in order to pass more without holding as many votes in a contentious 50-50 Senate and avoid being blocked by a Republican filibuster.

Spotlight on Bipartisan Bills

Of the bills that passed in 2021, 59.3% had bipartisan support with at least one Democrat and Republican cosponsor on a bill. Some gained more widespread bipartisan support than others, and four enacted bills garnered over 300 total cosponsors including: H.R. 3537 establishes grant programs to address and accelerate therapies for ALS patients. This bill garnered 331 total cosponsorships, 56.2% of cosponsors were Democrats and 43.8% were Republicans. H.R. 5142 to posthumously award Congressional Gold Medals to the 13 service members who died on August 26, 2021, while stationed at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Afghanistan. This bill earned 326 cosponsorships, 39.4% were Democrats, 60.6% of which were Republicans. H.R. 1448 PAWS for Therapy Act to fund a program that provides service dogs to veterans obtained 317 cosponsorships, 37.8% of which were Democrats and 62.2% of which were Republican. H.R. 3642 to award Congressional Gold Medals to the 369th Infantry Regiment, known as the Harlem Hellfighters, that served during World War I. This bill gained 311 total cosponsors, 66.1% were Democrats and 33.9% were Republicans.

Other Legislation Statistics from the 117th Congress

The 117th Congress passed .9% of the bills it introduced in 2021. Pie chart of break down of bill status in 2021 The bills Speaker Pelosi and Leader Schumer bring to the floor for votes have been substantial in the issues they address and the funding they propose due to the pandemic— such as the American Rescue Plan Act (H.R. 1319), passed in March 2021, that provided $1.9 million in economic stimulus and the Paycheck Protection Program Extension Act (H.R. 1799) that grants loans to small businesses impacted by the pandemic. The 117th Congress also passed important legislation outside of just addressing the pandemic. In 2021, Congress made Juneteenth a federal holiday (S. 475), nearly unanimously passed the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act (S. 937) to combat anti-Asian hate crimes, and appropriated $1.9 billion in emergency funds to withdraw troops and wind down the war in Afghanistan.

Which Legislators Sponsored the Most Enacted Bills?

If you’re looking for the secret to getting bills passed, you might want to turn to Reps. Peter DeFazio (D-OR-4), Rosa DeLauro (D-CT-3), or Senators Gary Peters (D-MI) and Mike Braun (R-IN) — each of whom sponsored three bills that were enacted by Congress. As the House Transportation and Infrastructure chair, Defazio was busy getting the President’s infrastructure priorities passed in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (H.R. 3684), as well as H.R. 5763 and H.R. 5434 that both focus on surface transportation funding for highways. DeLauro stayed busy as the chair of the House Committee on Appropriations, getting three government funding bills she sponsored passed to extend government funding (H.R. 6119), deliver emergency government assistance (H.R. 53505), and appropriate more funding for security and repairs related to the January 6 attack on the Capitol. Over on the Senate side, both Peters and Braun sponsored three enacted bills on wide-ranging issues. As Chair of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, Peters sponsored the PRICE Act of 2021 (S. 583), which directs the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to publish an annual report on projects that have used innovative procurement techniques within DHS with the goal of encouraging better competition and improving the process to award government contracts. Similarly, Peters also sponsored the Congressional Budget Justification Transparency Act of 2021 (S. 272) which requires federal agencies to make budget justification materials available to the public on a website. Peters also drew from his security background to pass the K-12 Cybersecurity Act (S. 1917) that funds a study on the cybersecurity risks facing elementary and secondary schools and develop recommendations that include cybersecurity guidelines designed to assist schools in facing those risks. The three enacted bills Braun sponsored were the Hire Veteran Health Heroes Act (S. 894), the Consider Teachers Act (S. 848) that revises for providing teachers with assistance paying for their own higher education, and a retroactive correction to the ALS Disability Insurance Act of 2019 that eliminates the waiting period for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits for certain individuals with ALS. Braun drew from his experience on the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions as well as the Senate Committee on Aging, to get his bills passed. Freshman Senator Raphael Warnock (D-GA) also sponsored a piece of legislation that passed during his first year in office — S. 1031 to fund a study relayed to racial and ethnic disparities in benefits administered by the Department of Veteran Affairs. Warnock’s first bill passed by unanimous consent in the Senate, before moving the House for a vote and to the White House for enactment. 2021 brought the start of a new Congress and a new presidential administration. As both go into their second year, use a legislative tracking system to stay ahead of all the bills that matter to you. [post_title] => How Many Bills Were Passed in 2021? [post_excerpt] => Learn more about legislation passed by the 117th congress in 2021. Quorum’s legislative tracking solution can help your organization stay informed. [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => closed [ping_status] => closed [post_password] => [post_name] => bills-passed-2021 [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2022-12-31 01:37:41 [post_modified_gmt] => 2022-12-31 01:37:41 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://www.quorum.us/?post_type=resources&p=6454 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => resources [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) ) [post_count] => 1 [current_post] => -1 [before_loop] => 1 [in_the_loop] => [post] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 6454 [post_author] => 43 [post_date] => 2022-02-25 19:12:25 [post_date_gmt] => 2022-02-25 19:12:25 [post_content] => In 2021, we saw a new President, a new Congress, and an insurrection — and that was just in January! In total, Congress introduced 9,883 bills, covering issues as broad as government funding and as niche as buffalo management. Out of the bills introduced, Congress passed 85 bills in 2021. These enacted bills tackle bigger legislative projects like COVID-19 economic relief and infrastructure.

Congress Passed 85 Bills in 2021

We built a sheet showing the 85 bills and joint resolutions introduced from January 3, 2021, to January 3, 2022, that were enacted, their main sponsors, number of cosponsors, and the party breakdown of their cosponsors to review Congress’s 2021 in legislation and identify how the activity in the 117th Congress’ first year compares to that of the previous Congress.

How does this measure up to the 116th Congress’s bill output?

The 117th Congress introduced 9,883 bills and enacted 85 bills compared to 7,539 and 268 respectively in the first year of the 116th Congress in 2019. While this number may seem small in comparison to the 116th Congress’s output, it’s important to note that the 117th Congress has packed much more into their bills, like the budget reconciliation package that only needed 51 votes, in order to pass more without holding as many votes in a contentious 50-50 Senate and avoid being blocked by a Republican filibuster.

Spotlight on Bipartisan Bills

Of the bills that passed in 2021, 59.3% had bipartisan support with at least one Democrat and Republican cosponsor on a bill. Some gained more widespread bipartisan support than others, and four enacted bills garnered over 300 total cosponsors including: H.R. 3537 establishes grant programs to address and accelerate therapies for ALS patients. This bill garnered 331 total cosponsorships, 56.2% of cosponsors were Democrats and 43.8% were Republicans. H.R. 5142 to posthumously award Congressional Gold Medals to the 13 service members who died on August 26, 2021, while stationed at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Afghanistan. This bill earned 326 cosponsorships, 39.4% were Democrats, 60.6% of which were Republicans. H.R. 1448 PAWS for Therapy Act to fund a program that provides service dogs to veterans obtained 317 cosponsorships, 37.8% of which were Democrats and 62.2% of which were Republican. H.R. 3642 to award Congressional Gold Medals to the 369th Infantry Regiment, known as the Harlem Hellfighters, that served during World War I. This bill gained 311 total cosponsors, 66.1% were Democrats and 33.9% were Republicans.

Other Legislation Statistics from the 117th Congress

The 117th Congress passed .9% of the bills it introduced in 2021. Pie chart of break down of bill status in 2021 The bills Speaker Pelosi and Leader Schumer bring to the floor for votes have been substantial in the issues they address and the funding they propose due to the pandemic— such as the American Rescue Plan Act (H.R. 1319), passed in March 2021, that provided $1.9 million in economic stimulus and the Paycheck Protection Program Extension Act (H.R. 1799) that grants loans to small businesses impacted by the pandemic. The 117th Congress also passed important legislation outside of just addressing the pandemic. In 2021, Congress made Juneteenth a federal holiday (S. 475), nearly unanimously passed the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act (S. 937) to combat anti-Asian hate crimes, and appropriated $1.9 billion in emergency funds to withdraw troops and wind down the war in Afghanistan.

Which Legislators Sponsored the Most Enacted Bills?

If you’re looking for the secret to getting bills passed, you might want to turn to Reps. Peter DeFazio (D-OR-4), Rosa DeLauro (D-CT-3), or Senators Gary Peters (D-MI) and Mike Braun (R-IN) — each of whom sponsored three bills that were enacted by Congress. As the House Transportation and Infrastructure chair, Defazio was busy getting the President’s infrastructure priorities passed in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (H.R. 3684), as well as H.R. 5763 and H.R. 5434 that both focus on surface transportation funding for highways. DeLauro stayed busy as the chair of the House Committee on Appropriations, getting three government funding bills she sponsored passed to extend government funding (H.R. 6119), deliver emergency government assistance (H.R. 53505), and appropriate more funding for security and repairs related to the January 6 attack on the Capitol. Over on the Senate side, both Peters and Braun sponsored three enacted bills on wide-ranging issues. As Chair of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, Peters sponsored the PRICE Act of 2021 (S. 583), which directs the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to publish an annual report on projects that have used innovative procurement techniques within DHS with the goal of encouraging better competition and improving the process to award government contracts. Similarly, Peters also sponsored the Congressional Budget Justification Transparency Act of 2021 (S. 272) which requires federal agencies to make budget justification materials available to the public on a website. Peters also drew from his security background to pass the K-12 Cybersecurity Act (S. 1917) that funds a study on the cybersecurity risks facing elementary and secondary schools and develop recommendations that include cybersecurity guidelines designed to assist schools in facing those risks. The three enacted bills Braun sponsored were the Hire Veteran Health Heroes Act (S. 894), the Consider Teachers Act (S. 848) that revises for providing teachers with assistance paying for their own higher education, and a retroactive correction to the ALS Disability Insurance Act of 2019 that eliminates the waiting period for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits for certain individuals with ALS. Braun drew from his experience on the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions as well as the Senate Committee on Aging, to get his bills passed. Freshman Senator Raphael Warnock (D-GA) also sponsored a piece of legislation that passed during his first year in office — S. 1031 to fund a study relayed to racial and ethnic disparities in benefits administered by the Department of Veteran Affairs. Warnock’s first bill passed by unanimous consent in the Senate, before moving the House for a vote and to the White House for enactment. 2021 brought the start of a new Congress and a new presidential administration. As both go into their second year, use a legislative tracking system to stay ahead of all the bills that matter to you. [post_title] => How Many Bills Were Passed in 2021? [post_excerpt] => Learn more about legislation passed by the 117th congress in 2021. Quorum’s legislative tracking solution can help your organization stay informed. [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => closed [ping_status] => closed [post_password] => [post_name] => bills-passed-2021 [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2022-12-31 01:37:41 [post_modified_gmt] => 2022-12-31 01:37:41 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://www.quorum.us/?post_type=resources&p=6454 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => resources [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [comment_count] => 0 [current_comment] => -1 [found_posts] => 1 [max_num_pages] => 0 [max_num_comment_pages] => 0 [is_single] => 1 [is_preview] => [is_page] => [is_archive] => [is_date] => [is_year] => [is_month] => [is_day] => [is_time] => [is_author] => [is_category] => [is_tag] => [is_tax] => [is_search] => [is_feed] => [is_comment_feed] => [is_trackback] => [is_home] => [is_privacy_policy] => [is_404] => [is_embed] => [is_paged] => [is_admin] => [is_attachment] => [is_singular] => 1 [is_robots] => [is_favicon] => [is_posts_page] => [is_post_type_archive] => [query_vars_hash:WP_Query:private] => aa33655a517555085e3394a638a0c747 [query_vars_changed:WP_Query:private] => [thumbnails_cached] => [allow_query_attachment_by_filename:protected] => [stopwords:WP_Query:private] => [compat_fields:WP_Query:private] => Array ( [0] => query_vars_hash [1] => query_vars_changed ) [compat_methods:WP_Query:private] => Array ( [0] => init_query_flags [1] => parse_tax_query ) )
!!! 6454
Data Driven Insights

How Many Bills Were Passed in 2021?

Claire Miller
Feb 25, 2022
How Many Bills Were Passed in 2021?

In 2021, we saw a new President, a new Congress, and an insurrection — and that was just in January! In total, Congress introduced 9,883 bills, covering issues as broad as government funding and as niche as buffalo management. Out of the bills introduced, Congress passed 85 bills in 2021. These enacted bills tackle bigger legislative projects like COVID-19 economic relief and infrastructure.

Congress Passed 85 Bills in 2021

We built a sheet showing the 85 bills and joint resolutions introduced from January 3, 2021, to January 3, 2022, that were enacted, their main sponsors, number of cosponsors, and the party breakdown of their cosponsors to review Congress’s 2021 in legislation and identify how the activity in the 117th Congress’ first year compares to that of the previous Congress.

How does this measure up to the 116th Congress’s bill output?

The 117th Congress introduced 9,883 bills and enacted 85 bills compared to 7,539 and 268 respectively in the first year of the 116th Congress in 2019. While this number may seem small in comparison to the 116th Congress’s output, it’s important to note that the 117th Congress has packed much more into their bills, like the budget reconciliation package that only needed 51 votes, in order to pass more without holding as many votes in a contentious 50-50 Senate and avoid being blocked by a Republican filibuster.

Spotlight on Bipartisan Bills

Of the bills that passed in 2021, 59.3% had bipartisan support with at least one Democrat and Republican cosponsor on a bill. Some gained more widespread bipartisan support than others, and four enacted bills garnered over 300 total cosponsors including:

H.R. 3537 establishes grant programs to address and accelerate therapies for ALS patients. This bill garnered 331 total cosponsorships, 56.2% of cosponsors were Democrats and 43.8% were Republicans.

H.R. 5142 to posthumously award Congressional Gold Medals to the 13 service members who died on August 26, 2021, while stationed at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Afghanistan. This bill earned 326 cosponsorships, 39.4% were Democrats, 60.6% of which were Republicans.

H.R. 1448 PAWS for Therapy Act to fund a program that provides service dogs to veterans obtained 317 cosponsorships, 37.8% of which were Democrats and 62.2% of which were Republican.

H.R. 3642 to award Congressional Gold Medals to the 369th Infantry Regiment, known as the Harlem Hellfighters, that served during World War I. This bill gained 311 total cosponsors, 66.1% were Democrats and 33.9% were Republicans.

Other Legislation Statistics from the 117th Congress

The 117th Congress passed .9% of the bills it introduced in 2021.

Pie chart of break down of bill status in 2021

The bills Speaker Pelosi and Leader Schumer bring to the floor for votes have been substantial in the issues they address and the funding they propose due to the pandemic— such as the American Rescue Plan Act (H.R. 1319), passed in March 2021, that provided $1.9 million in economic stimulus and the Paycheck Protection Program Extension Act (H.R. 1799) that grants loans to small businesses impacted by the pandemic.

The 117th Congress also passed important legislation outside of just addressing the pandemic. In 2021, Congress made Juneteenth a federal holiday (S. 475), nearly unanimously passed the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act (S. 937) to combat anti-Asian hate crimes, and appropriated $1.9 billion in emergency funds to withdraw troops and wind down the war in Afghanistan.

Which Legislators Sponsored the Most Enacted Bills?

If you’re looking for the secret to getting bills passed, you might want to turn to Reps. Peter DeFazio (D-OR-4), Rosa DeLauro (D-CT-3), or Senators Gary Peters (D-MI) and Mike Braun (R-IN) — each of whom sponsored three bills that were enacted by Congress. As the House Transportation and Infrastructure chair, Defazio was busy getting the President’s infrastructure priorities passed in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (H.R. 3684), as well as H.R. 5763 and H.R. 5434 that both focus on surface transportation funding for highways.

DeLauro stayed busy as the chair of the House Committee on Appropriations, getting three government funding bills she sponsored passed to extend government funding (H.R. 6119), deliver emergency government assistance (H.R. 53505), and appropriate more funding for security and repairs related to the January 6 attack on the Capitol.

Over on the Senate side, both Peters and Braun sponsored three enacted bills on wide-ranging issues.

As Chair of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, Peters sponsored the PRICE Act of 2021 (S. 583), which directs the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to publish an annual report on projects that have used innovative procurement techniques within DHS with the goal of encouraging better competition and improving the process to award government contracts. Similarly, Peters also sponsored the Congressional Budget Justification Transparency Act of 2021 (S. 272) which requires federal agencies to make budget justification materials available to the public on a website. Peters also drew from his security background to pass the K-12 Cybersecurity Act (S. 1917) that funds a study on the cybersecurity risks facing elementary and secondary schools and develop recommendations that include cybersecurity guidelines designed to assist schools in facing those risks.

The three enacted bills Braun sponsored were the Hire Veteran Health Heroes Act (S. 894), the Consider Teachers Act (S. 848) that revises for providing teachers with assistance paying for their own higher education, and a retroactive correction to the ALS Disability Insurance Act of 2019 that eliminates the waiting period for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits for certain individuals with ALS. Braun drew from his experience on the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions as well as the Senate Committee on Aging, to get his bills passed.

Freshman Senator Raphael Warnock (D-GA) also sponsored a piece of legislation that passed during his first year in office — S. 1031 to fund a study relayed to racial and ethnic disparities in benefits administered by the Department of Veteran Affairs. Warnock’s first bill passed by unanimous consent in the Senate, before moving the House for a vote and to the White House for enactment.

2021 brought the start of a new Congress and a new presidential administration. As both go into their second year, use a legislative tracking system to stay ahead of all the bills that matter to you.

Track the bills that matter to you

Use a legislative tracking software