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It’s been a do-little Congress this year.

The House and Senate passed the fewest laws in more than two decades in 2023, putting the 118th Congress on track to be one of the least productive in modern history, Axios reported Tuesday.

Just 24 bills had cleared both chambers as of Monday — the fewest since at least the 101st Congress in 1989, according to data the outlet obtained from the analytics firm Quorum.

Four of those bills have yet to be signed into law by President Biden. Many were related to ongoing government funding or else enjoyed wide support from Republicans and Democrats.

Between 1999 and 2001, the 106th Congress enacted the most legislation in the past three decades, with 550 bills voted through.

The 108th Congress also approved 180 bills in 2003, the most during the first year of a legislative session over the same period, Quorum found.


  Congress in 2023 passed the fewest laws in decades, and as it heads into its second session is on track to be one of the least productive in modern history, Axios reported Tuesday. AFP via Getty Images Congress in 2023 passed the fewest laws in decades, and as it heads into its second session is on track to be one of the least productive in modern history, Axios reported Tuesday. AFP via Getty Images

  The 118th Congress has passed just 24 bills as of Monday — the fewest at least since the 101st Congress in 1989, according to data the outlet obtained from the analytics firm Quorum. Rod Lamkey / CNP / SplashNews.com The 118th Congress has passed just 24 bills as of Monday — the fewest at least since the 101st Congress in 1989, according to data the outlet obtained from the analytics firm Quorum. Rod Lamkey / CNP / SplashNews.com

The first half of the 118th Congress saw the House majority change hands from Democrats to Republicans and the continuation of a narrow Democratic majority in the Senate.

The 104th, 112th and 113th Congresses passed nearly three times as many bills despite Republicans controlling at least one of its chambers under Democratic Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama.

During the 117th Congress, Biden signed large legislative packages like the $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill and the $437 billion Inflation Reduction Act, whose climate-focused provisions were heavily opposed by congressional Republicans.


  The first half of the 118th Congress saw the House majority change hands from Democrats to Republicans and the continuation of a narrow Democratic majority in the Senate. MICHAEL REYNOLDS/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock The first half of the 118th Congress saw the House majority change hands from Democrats to Republicans and the continuation of a narrow Democratic majority in the Senate. MICHAEL REYNOLDS/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

  House GOP leadership blamed Biden and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) for the congressional gridlock.
 House GOP leadership blamed Biden and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) for the congressional gridlock.

The president also faced opposition from Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV), who as one of the swing votes in the upper chamber torpedoed a larger version of the Inflation Reduction Act over concerns it would hike prices.

In the divided 118th Congress, however, turmoil in the House Republican conference frequently stalled legislation in the lower chamber, and whatever bills were passed often languished in the Democrat-controlled Senate.

“I don’t think the Senate has been nearly as productive as it could have been,” Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) told reporters Tuesday.


  Eight GOP lawmakers led by Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) also ousted former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) on Oct. 3 after a September fight over government funding. Rod Lamkey / CNP / SplashNews.com Eight GOP lawmakers led by Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) also ousted former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) on Oct. 3 after a September fight over government funding. Rod Lamkey / CNP / SplashNews.com

“For example, we had a lot of floor time here,” he added. “The last couple of months, we could have been processing appropriation bills to get us in a better position to finish funding the government sooner.”

Eight GOP lawmakers, led by Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), ousted former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) on Oct. 3 after a September fight over government funding and alleged backroom deals with Biden and Democrats.

The historic move set off a three-week search for a new speaker before GOP members unanimously elected Mike Johnson (R-La.) to lead the House.


  The historic move set off a three-week search for a new speaker before GOP members unanimously elected Louisiana Republican Mike Johnson to lead the House. REUTERS The historic move set off a three-week search for a new speaker before GOP members unanimously elected Louisiana Republican Mike Johnson to lead the House. REUTERS

The House also censured three representatives — Reps. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) and Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) — and expelled lying Rep. George Santos (R-NY) for campaign finance fraud.

Some snarky Democrats suggested Tuesday that the GOP infighting was an intentional decision to grind legislative deliberations to a halt.

“But they removed a Speaker and expelled a member. Don’t take this Historic victory away from them,” Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.) said of his House Republican colleagues in a response to Quorum’s findings posted on X.

House GOP leadership in turn blamed Biden and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) for the congressional gridlock.

“House Republicans have been leading with solutions on every issue — passing more rule bills than House Democrats did with one party control in the first year of the 117th Congress — even as the Senate and the President continue their tactic of refusing to take up our bills to fix their self-created crises,” Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) said in a statement Dec. 14.

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