Data Focus: This measure shows whether bills are developed through the traditional committee process, which allows for more input from rank-and-file members, rather than a process primarily controlled by party leaders.

Data Findings: Committees in both the House and Senate were very active in reporting bills in 2017. House committees reported 372 bills in the first year of the 115th Congress, the highest among any years in the index. Senate committees reported 240 bills last year. This robust number is the third-highest among the index’s comparative years.

Data Focus: When bills are considered on the floor, members of both parties should have the opportunity to offer amendments. This is especially important for the minority party, which sometimes resorts to procedural tactics to stall bills when cut out of the amendment process.

Data Findings: Last year, the Senate considered the lowest number of amendments of any of the years tracked in the index. The Senate considered only 159 amendments in total during the first year of the 115th Congress. Also interesting is the distribution of amendments between the majority and minority. In the past, they tend to have been split somewhere between 50-50 and 60-40. In 2017, however, 70 percent of amendments considered were sponsored by Republicans, the majority, and 30 percent came from Democrats, the minority.

Data Focus: Conference committees are essential to resolving differences between legislation passed by the two chambers. Important legislation should have the benefit of a conference committee to ensure greater member participation in the policy process.

Data Findings: In its first year, the 115th Congress relied on conference committees for only two measures. This continues the trend seen in recent years of few conference committees between the chambers.

*Transition Year Where the Outgoing President Had Not Submitted a Budget Resolution for the Upcoming Fiscal Year.
**Of the following year.

Data Focus: Congress and the president must take actions before certain deadlines to ensure the government is funded before the start of the next fiscal year on October 1. When these deadlines are not met, Congress often takes stopgap measures outside of the regular process.

Data Findings: The budget and appropriations processes in Congress completely broke down. President Trump, for his part, did not submit his fiscal year (FY) 2018 budget to Congress by the first Monday in February. The president’s budget was submitted 107 days late. Congress did not enact its budget resolution until late October, six months later than the deadline. Even worse, neither chamber passed a single stand-alone appropriations bill of the 12 by the start of the fiscal year or by the end of the calendar year. Consequently, to fund the government from October 1 through the end of 2017 and prevent a shutdown, Congress enacted a series of three continuing resolutions, which are stopgap measures that keep the government funded at current levels for a limited period of time. This can be fairly described as “kicking the can down the road.”