# Workload and Activity Report : United States Senate, 1946-1992 > Briefs, arguments, decisions, and more. URL: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/documents/crs%3A93-789 ## Record - **Collection:** Congressional research report - **Document type:** CRS Report - **Published:** August 30, 1993 - **Citation:** 93-789 ## Text 93-789 GOV Workload and Activity Report : United States Senate, 1946-1992 Robert Moon Consultant and Carol Hardy Vincent Analyst in American National Government Government Division August 30, 1993 CRS WORKLOAD AND ACTIVITY REPORT: UNITED STATES SENATE, 1946-1992 SUMMARY This report is designed to furnish Senators and Senate staff with a single source of statistical information on Senate activity and workload . The report draws upon a variety of sources, including earlier CRS reports . The report is divided into three sections : (1) floor activity ; (2) the committee system, including numbers of committees and assignments ; and (3) indicators of committee workload . Floor Activity. The data indicate long-term stability since 1947 in the number of measures introduced in the Senate ; however, there has been a decline in the passage of these measures during the same time period. The figures also indicate increases since 1947 in both the time spent in session and voting frequency ; a related trend is the increase in the length of public bills since 1947. Committee System . The figures demonstrate the ability of the Senate to scale back its number of standing, special and select committees and subcommittees as a part of larger reform efforts . Workload Indicators. The data demonstrate the varying rates of referral and reporting of measures among Senate committees, which is mainly a function of the varying scope of committee jurisdictions . Within each section, data are presented in a series of tables, augmented in some instances with graphs . Some data are shown by session (year) as well as by Congress (two years) . The report attempts, wherever possible, to compile data for the entire 1947-1992 period (80th through 102d Congresses), as the landmark Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946 caused the emergence of the "modern" congressional committee system . In some cases data for the 79th Congress (1945-1946) and earlier Congresses are added, in order to provide comparisons before and after the 1946 Act . CONTENTS INTRODUCTION 1 PART ONE : FLOOR ACTIVITY Introduction and Passage of Measures Time in Session Voting on the Floor Number and Length of Enacted Bills Cloture Votes Quantity and Complexity of Floor Activity Vetoes Consideration of Presidential Nominations Summary of Legislative Activity 5 5 6 6 6 8 8 9 9 10 PART TWO : THE COMMITTEE SYSTEM Number of Committees and Subcommittees Committee Assignments Effect of Subcommittee Growth on Senators' Assignments Committee Sizes 26 26 27 28 29 PART THREE: COMMITTEE WORKLOADS Hearings Measures Referred and Reported Presidential Nominations 50 50 50 51 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This report is a revision of earlier CRS reports originally prepared by Arthur Stevens, Roger Davidson, and Carol Hardy . The authors of this revision wish to acknowledge the assistance of Richard Beth, Mildred Amer, Rogelio Garcia, John Pontius, and Richard Sachs in preparing this report . In addition, Randall Andrews, Linda Bailey, Daphne Bigger, Mildred Boyle, Joan Dickson, Patricia Grant, Dolores Schofield, and JoAnn Thomas provided valuable production assistance . LIST OF TABLES 1-1 U.S. Senate, Legislative Proposals : 1947-1992 11 1-2 U.S. Senate, Floor Activity : 1945-1992 13 1-3 U .S. Congress, Number and Length of Bills Enacted : 1947-1992 . . 14 1-4 Attempted and Successful Cloture Votes : 1919-1992 15 1-5 Frequency of Cloture Action: 1917-1992 16 1-6 U.S . Congress, Vetoes : 1947-1992 18 1-7 Senate Action on All Presidential Nominations : 1947-1992 19 1-8 U.S . Senate, Legislative Activity : 1947-1992 21 1-9 U.S . Senate, Legislative Activity : First Sessions, 1947-1992 23 1-10 U.S . Senate, Legislative Activity : Second Session, 1947-1992 24 2-1 U.S . Senate, Number of Committees and Subcommittees: 1945-1992 30 2-2 Senate, Committee Assignments : 1945-1992 31 2-3 Average Size of Senate Standing Committees and Their Subcommittees : 1945-1992 33 2-4 Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry 34 2-5 Committee on Appropriations 35 2-6 Committee on Armed Services 36 2-7 Com 37 2-8 Committee on the Budget 38 2-9 Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 39 2-10 Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 40 2-11 Committee on Environment and Public Works 41 2-12 Committee on Finance 42 2-13 Com 43 ee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs ee on Foreign Relations 2-14 Committee on Governmental Affairs 44 2-15 Committee on the Judiciary 45 2-16 Committee on Labor and Human Resources 46 2-17 Committee on Rules and Administration 47 2-18 Committee on Small Business 48 2-19 Committee on Veterans' Affairs 49 3-1 U .S . Senate, Number of Printed Hearings, by Committee: 1983-92 52 U.S . Senate, Number of Measures Referred to Senate Standing, Select and Special Committees : 1983-92 53 U.S . Senate, Number of Measures Reported by Senate Standing, Select and Special Committees : 1983-92 55 Presidential Nominations Received and Reported by Senate Committees : 1985-92 57 3-2 3-3 3-4 LIST OF FIGURES 1-1 U.S . Congress, Total Measures Introduced : 1947-1992. . . . . . . . . . 12 1-2 U.S. Senate, Increased Quantity and Complexity of Floor Activity : 1947-1992 17 Committee Size, Number of Subcommittees, and Members' Assignments to Them : 1945-1992 32 1-3 WORKLOAD AND ACTIVITY REPORT: UNITED STATES SENATE, 1946-1992 INTRODUCTION This report provides statistical information on Senate activity and workload . The report draws upon a variety of sources, including an earlier CRS report compiled by Roger H . Davidson and Carol Hardy Vincent .' This update adds some new data categories, as well as alters the structure of the document . A companion study of the House of Representatives documents both floor and committee activity of that chamber in statistical terms .' This report on the Senate is similarly organized, and wherever possible we have presented statistics comparable to those compiled for the other body . The intention of both reports is to provide benchmarks for comparison and analysis on the part of Members, staff, and outside observers . The report is divided into three sections : (1) floor activity; (2) the comm ttee system, including numbers of committees and assignments ; and (3) indicators of committee workload . Within each section, data are presented in a series of tables, augmented in some instances with graphs . Some data are shown by session (year) as well as by Congress (two years) . We have attempted wherever possible to compile data for the entire 1947-1992 period (80th through 102d Congresses), as the landmark Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946 marks the emergence of the "modern" congressional committee system . In some cases data for the 79th Congress (1945-1946) and earlier Congresses are added, in order to provide comparisons before and after the 1946 Act . Brief explanations and discussions in each section accompany the tables and charts . In many instances, the indicators presented highlight and clarify significant trends in the Senate, as well as in the environment in which it functions . For example, increases in the numbers and sizes of committees reflect the persistent desire of Senators for broad participation in committee activities ; however, these increases are often followed by cutbacks as multiple assignments become too burdensome . In this and other cases, studying the statistical trends often provides insights into the operation of the Senate . 'Library of Congress . Congressional Research Service . "Indicators of Senate Activity and Workload." CRS Report for Congress, 87-492S, by Roger H . Davidson and Carol Hardy . Washington, June 8, 1987 . 'Library of Congress . Congressional Research Service . "Indicators of House of Representatives Workload and Activity ." CRS Report for Congress, 87-492S, by Roger H. Davidson and Carol Hardy . Washington, June 8, 1987 . CRS-2 However, anyone who interprets these data should be aware of their limitations . First, defining terms is critical, and is not always simple or selfevident . For example, what is a "meeting" held by a Senate committee? Is it any meeting of the committee members, however informal, or only those officially documented? Clearly, which definition of a "meeting" is used will greatly influences the researcher's indicators of committee workloads . Second, collecting the data involves decisions on the methodology to be utilized : which sources to use, what dates to use as beginning and end points, and so forth . For example, number and sizes of Senate committees can vary over the course of a session or a Congress . Should a given month be picked as most representative, or should the figures be aggregated over an entire Congress? Even when rational and consistent guidelines are decided upon, errors or anomalies can creep into the figures . Finally, when figures are interpreted as clear-cut indicators of workloads, caution must be exercised . Sizable shifts in numbers may reflect changes in procedure, for example, rather than changes in political conditions or the nature of political demands . The number of measures introduced is affected not only by the political marketplace but also by rules and practices governing cosponsorship . Increasing the number of permitted cosponsors will probably reduce the number of individual bills introduced . If certain kinds of measures decline over a given period, does that mean that policy demands have abated? Perhaps the Senate has merely transferred the issues to administrative forums . Or perhaps the Senate is "packaging" its legislation differently into longer and more complex forms . These considerations should be kept in mind in studying this report, and caution should be exercised in drawing conclusions from the data . ASSESSING THE INDICATORS Each of the indicators for which data are provided point to an aspect of what is broadly understood as congressional workload in the Senate . However, each has its own limitations . Taken individually, none should be regarded as a sufficient indicator of the intensity or quantity of congressional activity as a whole . When considering each of these indicators, it is important to understand the usefulness and limits of the indicators in providing that information . In short, it is necessary to use the appropriate indicator cautiously . Familiarity with the methods by which the Senate operates will resolve most questions about the appropriateness of given indicators for particular purposes . However, a few caveats remain regarding measures of the workload of the Senate that should be noted . CRS-3 First, generalizing about specific aspects of activity or workload should rest on combined use of all appropriate indicators, rather than on any one indicator thought to be most appropriate . For example, simply relying on the number of bills or resolutions introduced in discussing the workload of the Senate from 1978-1992 could lead one to conclude that productivity has declined . However, trends in floor votes and pages per statute point to a rise in output . This example illustrates how focusing on one or two indicators could lead to faulty and incomplete conclusions . Any realistic assessment of workload must take into account several indicators . Second, there are few readily available indicators of the qualitative aspects of congressional activity . Such measures would help to provide a fuller, wellrounded picture of the legislative process . Moreover, they could help resolve seeming paradoxes suggested by trends in quantitative indicators . For example, floor sessions have been increasing in recent years, but the number of measures passed has declined . This apparent paradox might be resolved were there an indicator of the nature of passed legislation . Such an indicator, which would document the breadth of legislation considered on the Senate floor, could help clarify the reality underlying the paradox . Finally, as has already been noted, indicators of activity and workload are especially unsatisfactory at the committee and subcommittee level . The number of printed hearings and the number of measures reported give an incomplete picture of the daily workload of committee Members and staff . Again, this applies especially to oversight and investigations, which are often conducted informally and may or may not result in printed hearings . Other aspects of committee work are also not reflected in these indicators-- for example, meetings with policy experts and other interested citizens . In conclusion, the eventual development of measurements which categorize these and other committee activities would help to paint a more complete, nuanced picture of the responsibilities and accomplishments of Senate committees, and thus, the Congress in general . The need for more in-depth, qualitative indicators extends beyond the committee and subcommittee level, however . Additional collection of data on more congressional activities will yield further insight into the legislative environment, and thus build on what is known today . CRS-5 PART ONE : FLOOR ACTIVITY INTRODUCTION AND PASSAGE OF MEASURES Overall trends in the origin and passage of bills and resolutions are displayed in Table 1-1 and Figure 1-1 . As Figure 1-1 demonstrates, the introduction of all measures (including bills and joint, simple, and concurrent resolutions) has varied since 1947, although not by large margins .' These variations are illustrated in the next-to-last column in Table 1-1, where the average number of measures introduced per Member experiences minor fluctuations over time . However, the figure has remained quite stable from 1976 to 1992, as it has never varied by more than two for those seven Congresses . This relative consistency contrasts with the figures from 1947 to 1974, when the average number of measures introduced per Member varied from a low of 36 .8 in 19471948 to a high of 54 .7 in 1969-1970 . Regarding categories of legislative proposals, Table 1-1 indicates that the introduction of bills and joint resolutions has fallen somewhat in the past fifteen years from the 1965-1976 peak. The data show that during the 95th-102d Congresses (1977-1992), the introduction of bills and joint resolutions averaged approximately 3500 per Congress, down from an average of 4400 per Congress for the 89th-94th Congresses (1965-1976) . This decline amounts to approximately 20 percent. The introduction of simple and concurrent resolutions displays a similar pattern . After peaking at 798 in the 94th Congress (1975-1976), the number declined to 507 in the 102d . While the number of bills and joint resolutions introduced each Congress has remained fairly steady, today these measures are less likely to gain passage . The success rate for these measures, as determined by the ratio of measures passed to measures introduced, has fallen rather steadily since 1955 . In the immediate postwar years, the Senate passed more than fifty percent of bills and joint resolutions introduced ; today, less than thirty percent are approved. In addition, since the mid-1960s, the number of bills and resolutions passed has fallen in absolute terms as well . In sum, although Senators introduce about as many bills as in the past, today they approve fewer of them . The patterns for passage of simple and concurrent resolutions since 1947 3 Conversely, the variations in the figures for the House are quite large . These major fluctuations are largely due to a change in House rules governing co-sponsorship . CRS-6 differ from those for bills and joint resolutions . As noted above, the total of such resolutions peaked in the 94th Congress, and has decreased since . The number passed by the Senate peaked in the 95th Congress, but since then has decreased at a faster rate than that for the number introduced . Therefore, while the ratio of passed to introduced legislation peaked in the 94th Congress, it has experienced a modest decrease since then . TIME IN SESSION Some basic measures of floor activity are presented in Table 1-2 . Regarding the amount of time Senators have spent in session, year-round sessions have been the norm since the 1960s . Once quite variable in length from one Congress to the next, the length of congressional sessions since the 87th Congress (1961-1962) has been stable . From the 79th to the 87th Congress, there were 6 instances where the total length of a session varied by at least 40 days from the previous Congress . Conversely, this occurred only once from the 87th through the 102d Congress (between the 87th and 88th Congress) . The length of sessions in hours, while volatile, has been higher on average since the 87th Congress than in the period from the 80th to 86th Congress . For the first time since the 80th Congress, the Senate met for an average of 8 hours per day of session in the 99th Congress ; this figure dropped to 7 .6 hours in the 100th, but increased to 8 in both the 101st and 102d Congresses . VOTING ON THE FLOOR Table 1-2 also illustrates the tremendous rise in voting frequency from the 1940s through the 1970s . Most of the increase occurred in the 1960s and early 1970s, with large gains made from 1967 to 1976 . Since 1976, however, the total number of recorded votes has decreased quite dramatically, and at a faster pace than the 1945-1976 increase . In the 102d Congress, Senators were summoned to the floor-- for yea and nay votes or quorum calls-- less than half as many times as in the 94th Congress (1975-1976), the all-time high in floor voting . Nevertheless, today's Senators generally cast more yea-nay votes than did their predecessors of a generation or so ago . Regarding workload, the responsibility of voting on a wide variety of complex issues places burdens on Senators and their staff, not to mention strains on their informational networks and daily schedules . Indeed, the problem is so pervasive that scheduling votes has become a major concern for Senators and the Senate leadership . Although roll-call votes are numerous, the number of "live" quorum calls has fallen dramatically since the early 1960s . The 102d Congress' total of eight represents the lowest figure since the 80th Congress, and is a mere fraction of CRS-7 the totals of the 1940s-1960s . The data count only those quorum calls ("live quorums") in which proceedings are completed and the number of Senators present is actually recorded . No data are available on the number of quorum calls initiated for purposes of constructive delay and terminated by unanimous consent before their conclusion . NUMBER AND LENGTH OF ENACTED BILLS Table 1-3 highlights trends in the actual legislative products of the Senate-action on public and private bills . However, these figures should be interpreted with care . While the volume of enactments over time is helpful in understanding Congress' work, it is not a flawless indicator of how productive the institution has been . This is due to the fact that the volume of enactments fluctuates not only with policy demands, but also with shifting legislative practices . Two of these shifts bear mentioning, because they illuminate important features of the contemporary legislative workload . First, Congress increasingly delegates certain classes of decisions to administrative agencies or tribunals . As a result, the legislative agenda has been freed of large quantities of business items, most of which are relatively brief and routine in nature . This effects of this development is seen most dramatically in the long-term decline of private bills-for example, private immigration or claims cases . The trend is also reflected in the numbers of public laws enacted . That is, statutory "production" was numerically high during the later 1940s and peaked in the 84th Congress (1955-1956), a period not noted for significant policy and program innovations . From the high of the mid-1950s, the number of public laws enacted declined through the 1960s . From the late 1960s through the 102d Congress, the number has remained roughly the same, with the exception of the 97th Congress (1981-1982), which enacted a lower number of public laws than any Congress in modern history . The second shift in legislative practices which affect the legislative production statistics is the increasing complexity of congressional enactments . In 1955-1956, when Congress enacted more than a thousand public laws, the average enactment occupied less than two pages in the statute books . In 19911992, the average law took up approximately thirteen pages . This reflects not only growing sophistication in drafting, but also a tendency to enact omnibus statutes . This tendency was reinforced by the establishment of the modern congressional budget process in 1975 (94th Congress) . As a result, contemporary Congresses tend to package a larger proportion of their policy decisions in a relatively small number of broad-scale vehicles . These vehicles include : authorizations and reauthorizations ; omnibus revenue measures ; appropriations bills ; continuing resolutions ; and budget resolutions . Clearly the legislative schedule has not yet fully adapted to this relatively new method of operation, but the tendency toward fewer yet lengthier enactments is quite evident . CRS-8 CLOTURE VOTES A growing area of Senate floor activity is the recourse to cloture under Rule XXII . Until 1917, the Senate had no way of terminating debate on either a bill or an amendment except through unanimous consent . In that year, the first cloture (debate-ending) rule was adopted . In its current form (as amended in 1975 and 1979), the rule calls for the end of debate if three-fifths of the Senate (60 of the 100 members) votes to invoke it . Table 1-4 presents both the frequency and success rates of cloture votes since 1919 (It should be noted that not all cloture petitions that are filed actually result in floor votes . Some are withdrawn, or vitiated .) . As the table demonstrates, cloture votes were rarely taken until the 1970s ; since then, however, they are much more frequent . Indeed, in the first 50 years following adoption of Rule XXII, there were only 43 votes on closing debate, with only ten of them successful . Conversely, since the 92d Congress (1971-1972), an average of 26 votes have been taken in each Congress, and an average of ten of them have succeeded. Furthermore, in two of the last three Congresses, the Senate set new records for the number of cloture votes since 1917 . Table 1-5 lists the number of cloture motions filed and actually voted on in its first two columns, but, more intriguing are its last two columns, which document the number of business items that were the focus of cloture action . In this table, "business items" refers to individual measures or matters in relation to which one or more cloture motions were filed and/or voted on . In short, then, these last two columns track the number of "legislative battles" involving cloture motions since 1917 . As is clear, many more items of business have been the subject of contentiousness, as measured by cloture activity . Since 1980, 135 separate business items have been subjected to one or more cloture motions ; this indicates a more contentious period in the Senate, as only 118 similar items of business were the focus of cloture activity in the preceding 63 years . The impact of cloture votes on a Senator's workload seems somewhat indirect and difficult to ascertain . Clearly, any time a Senator must go to the floor and cast a vote affects both his and his staff's schedules, as well as places demands on their information networks . But some cloture votes may involve more negotiations than others, and thus impact a Senator's workload more than a more routine cloture vote . Regardless, the recent rise in the frequency of cloture activity must be taken into account when assessing the modern Senator's workload . CRS-9 QUANTITY AND COMPLEXITY OF FLOOR ACTIVITY Figure 1-2 demonstrates the increase in both the quantity and complexity of floor activity in the Senate since 1947 . The graph possesses two Y-axes, each of which has a different range of values . Thus, they are useful for graphing three sets of data that have drastically different minimum and maximum values . Attempting to graph these three sets on the same Y-axis would require a scale of 1 to 2,000 ; such a graph would not be very illuminating, as the lack of spacing between the points on the Y-axis would result in relatively flat lines . As both the Y-axis labels and the legend indicate, the two lines representing yea and nay and recorded votes are plotted on the primary (left-hand) Y-axis, while the pages per statute are graphed on the secondary Y-axis . As noted in earlier sections, today's Senators both cast more yea- and nayvotes and attempt more cloture votes than their predecessors . Furthermore, the rise in the average number of pages-per-statute indicates these votes involve more complex legislative issues . Needless to say, these recent trends in the Senate place multiple burdens on Senators, staff, and daily schedules . VETOES Through the use of his veto power, the Chief Executive is a key player in the legislative process . Table 1-5 illustrates the frequency of vetoes, as well as of congressional attempts to override them . Pocket vetoes do not have as much impact on congressional workload, as Congress cannot formally override them . However, regular vetoes offer the possibility of further congressional action and therefore have the potential to impact the workload . While vetoes in current Congresses have not been as numerous as those of the early 1970s, they are nonetheless part of the overall legislative workload picture . CONSIDERATION OF PRESIDENTIAL NOMINATIONS The power to make appointments to critical positions in the Federal Government is shared between the President and the Senate . The President selects a nominee, and the Senate must approve or reject the nominations . Presidential appointments are not final until the Senate has confirmed them . The consideration of Presidential nominations significantly adds to the Senate's workload . Various questionnaires, financial disclosure statements, and background reports must be assembled and perused by Senators . Formal confirmation hearings are held for higher level nominations, and informal meetings are the norm for many others . Thus, the Senate stage of the CRS-10 Presidential nominations process is labor-intensive and relatively timeconsuming.' Table 1-6 tracks the quantity of nominations received in the Senate from 1981 through 1992 . There are three categories of Presidential nominations : civilian nominations, civilian lists, and the military . "Civilian" nominations are those of single individuals, and only involve appointments to Federal positions . The "civilian lists" are used only for certain organizations : the Coast Guard ; Foreign Service ; the uniformed service of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ; and the uniformed service of the Public Health Service . The "military" category includes the uniformed armed forces. The lists usually consist of multiple individuals, wherein the Senate votes on the entire list, and are used for both appointments and promotions within the aforementioned organizations . Regarding the workload of the Senate, it is the individual civilian appointments which consume the most time, as they involve appointments to important policy-making positions . Most of the civilian list and military selections involve rather routine appointments and promotions within the given organizations, and thus are routinely confirmed . This difference between the civilian category and the other two is seen in it possessing a lower percentage confirmed (81%) than both civilian list (97 .8%) and military (99 .1%) .' Three other trends stand out in Table 1-6 . First, for obvious reasons, the Congresses immediately following a Presidential election experience the highest numbers of Presidential nominations . Second, more nominations are received in the first session of every Congress than in the second sessions . Finally, given the statistics for 1981, it appears that a change in party control of the Presidency spurs a large number of Presidential nominations . From these figures, we can estimate that the first session of the 103d Congress will place many demands on the Senate, as it deals with the nominations of the new President. SUMMARY OF LEGISLATIVE ACTIVITY A comparison of the Senate's legislative activity by session can be conducted using the final three tables of this section (Tables 1-7 through 1-9) . While Table 1-7 essentially restates information found in previous tables, Tables 1-8 and 1-9 demonstrate the effect of the electoral process on the Senate's workload . For a more analytical discussion of the process, see Library of Congress . Congressional Research Service . "Senate Action on Nominations to Policy Positions in the Executive Branch, 1981-1992 ." CRS Report No . 93-464 GOV, by Rogelio Garcia . Washington, 1993. 4 s Ibid. p. 1-4. CRS-11 Although the pattern is not completely consistent, first sessions tend to be longer in days . (In election years, perhaps Senators prefer to spend less time in session, thus allowing for more time in their states .) More bills and resolutions are introduced in the first session, but more are reported and passed in the second sessions . Finally, there are generally more floor votes in the first session than in the second . Uttb-tZ TABLE 1-1 . U .S . Senate Le slative Pro osals : 1947-1992 ::Bills and Joint Resolutions ' .. Simple and Concurrent Resolutions 0 Con cu be me P tottd, •s rod led P sod p Total Measures me a tro per Ratio? se su a p Q at Avg. no, measuress intro per, Member is Of e arm passed to _d.e lntro sd, 80 (1947-48) 3,186 1,836 1,670 33 .2 0 .524 343 267 242 3 .6 0.706 36 .8 0 .542 81 (1949-50) 4,486 2,604 2,362 46 .7 0 .527 489 352 336 5 .1 0.687 61 .8 0 .542 82 (1951-52) 3,666 1,991 1,849 38 .2 0 .505 444 313 304 4 .6 0.685 42 .8 0 .524 83 (1953-64) 4,077 2,419 2,231 42 .5 0 .547 444 402 321 4 .6 0.723 47 .1 0 .564 84 (1955-56) 4,518 2,663 2,550 47 .1 0.664 417 392 330 4 .3 0.791 51 .4 0 .584 85 (1957-58) 4,532 2,329 2,202 47 .2 0.486 514 473 378 6 .4 0.735 52 .6 0 .571 86 (1959-60) 4,149 1,778 1,680 42 .3 0.405 509 461 868 6 .2 0.723 47 .5 0,440 87 (1961-62) 4,048 2,047 1,963 40 .5 0.482 418 504 392 4 .2 0.938 44 .7 0 .525 88 (1968-64) 3,457 1,365 1,341 34 .6 0.388 480 448 360 4 .8 0.729 39 .4 0 .430 89 (1965-66) 4,129 1,703 1,636 41 .3 0.396 438 448 332 4 .4 0.758 45 .7 0 .431 90 (1967-68) 4,400 1,457 1,376 44 .0 0.313 506 455 355 5.1 0.702 49 .1 0 .353 91 (1969-70) 4,867 1,270 1,271 48 .7 0.216 599 438 405 6 .0 0 .676 54 .7 0 .307 92 (1971-72) 4,408 1,026 1,035 44 .1 0.235 488 276 336 4 .9 0 .689 49 .0 0-280 93 (1973-74) 4,524 1,094 1,115 45 .2 0.246 603 330 449 6 .0 0 .745 51 .2 0 .305 94 (1975-76) 4,114 988 1,038 41 .1 0.252 798 387 514 8 .0 0 .644 49 .1 0.816 95 (1977-78) 3,800 1,014 1,070 38 .0 0.282 713 464 526 7 .1 0 .738 45 .1 0 .354 96 (1979-80) 3,480 862 977 34 .8 0.281 714 441 506 7 .1 0 .709 41 .9 0 .354 97 (1981-82) 3,396 708 786 34 .0 0.232 668 311 424 6 .7 0 .635 40 .7 0.298 98 (1983-84) 3,464 836 936 34 .5 0.271 643 303 386 6 .4 0 .600 41 .0 0.323 99 (1985-86) 3,386 831 940 33 .9 0.278 694 192 391 6 .9 0 .663 40 .8 0.326 100 (1987-88) 3,326 773 1,002 33 .3 0 .301 688 136 428 6 .9 0 .622 40 .1 0.356 101 (1989-90) 3,669 803 980 36 .7 0 .267 515 94 341 5 .2 0 .662 41 .8 0.316 102 (1991-92) 3,738 638 947 37 .4 0 .253 607 81 330 5 .1 0 .651 42 .5 0.301 Sources: Data for the 80th-99th Congresses are compiled from U .S . Library of Congress . Congressional Research Service . Indicators of Senate Activity and Workload . Report No, 87-497, by Roger H . Davidson and Carol Hardy. Washington, June 8, 1987. Figures for the 100th-102d Congresses are compiled from the Daily Digest of the Congressional Record . 1 These figures include both Senate and House bills and joint resolutions . 2 These figures include both Senate and House simple and concurrent resolutions . 3 Occasionally measures are taken up on the floor without having been referred to or reported by co reported . which partially amounts for the passed sometimes exceeding the number ' FIGURE 1-1 . US Congress, Total Measures Introduced : 80th-102d Congresses $ 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 CONGRESS I am Tots/ Son . Measures 95 96 97 98 99 1 Total Hsa. Measures 02 CRS-14 AB Co gress 89 ~6- M (1971-72) -2 S. Senate, loo 19 Hours per day in ion N 98 (1983-84) 99 '< o . of quorum c Days in session o session : : 345 1,814 ®® 348 2,294 f® ENRO 97 5-1992 312 2,160 N~ o +of ea & .nay votes ;. ~ 497 966 1,951 6.9 37 673 313 2,531 fl 36 740 100 (1987-88) 307 2,342 7 .6 62 799 101 (1989-90) 274 2,254 8 .2 14 638 102 (1991-92) 287 2,291 8 .0 8 550 Sources : Data for the 79th-99th Congresses are compiled from U .S. Library of Congress . Congressional Research Service. Indicators of Senate Activity and Workload . Report No . 87-497 S, by Roger H . Davidson and Carol Hardy . Washington, June 8, 1987 . Figures for the 100th-102d Congresses are compiled from the Daily Digest of the Congressional Record . NA - These data are not available . I This figure does not include 3 quorum calls which did not develop quorums . 2 This figure does not include 1 yea and nay vote which was ruled invalid for lack of a quorum . CRS-15 1-3!. S . Congress, N her a is 947-92 ublic Bills o. of : bills Congress; acted Pages o€: bills acted . iva Pages, . . per ute milli MENEM o ills enact Bill ges of » bills enacted ages pe 458 182 0.40 1,103 417 0.38 1,023 360 0 .35 1,002 365 0 .36 893 364 0 .41 784 349 0 .45 492 201 0.41 684 255 0.37 360 144 0.40 473 188 0 .40 362 128 0 .35 246 104 0 .42 161 67 0 .42 123 48 0 .39 94 (1975-76) 588 4,121 7 .0 141 75 0 .53 95 (1977-78) 633 5,403 8.5 170 75 0 .44 96 (1979-80) 613 4,947 8.1 123 66 0 .54 97 (1981-82) 473 4,343 9 .2 56 25 0 .45 98 (1983-84) 623 4,893 7 .8 54 26 0 .48 99 (1985-86) 664 7,198 10.8 24 NA NA 100 (1987-88) 713 4,839 6 .8 48 NA NA 101 (1989-90) 650 5,767 8 .9 16 NA NA 102 (1991-92) 590 7,544 12 .8 20 NA NA Sources : Data for the 80th-97th Congresses are compiled from U .S. Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service . Indicators of House of Representatives' Workload and Activity. Report No . 87-492 S, by Roger H . Davidson and Carol Hardy. Washington, June 8, 1987 . Figures for the 98th-102d Congresses are compiled from Congressional Quarterly, Inc . . Vital Statistics on Congress, 1991-1992, by Norman J . Ornstein, Thomas Mann, and Michael J . Malbin. Washington, 1992. NA - These data are not available . CRS-16 AB E l Co ted d Successf 1st:session:- Clot e o d io ess success£ ON 66 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 72 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 a0 79 80 1945-46 0 0 0 1947-48 0 0 MM ~~ 0 1 91 92 0 0 0 10 0 © 2 0 10 1979-80 MM 99 100 1985-86 9 1987-88 1989-90 24 101 102 (1991-92) 9 21 5 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 1 0 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 3 1 1 7 1 6 6 1 0 20 4 31 27 9 17 3 3 1 14 9 6 6 20 15 6 9 28 14 1 1 0 0 M 17 0 1 0 9 4 0 2 0 0 2 cee f 1d 1 0 1 -0 . 2 1 No MEN 96 att . . 0 71 74 o 2 10 27 19 9 23 10 12 24 49 11 23 Sources: Data for the 66th-99th Congresses are compiled from U .S . Library of Congress . Congressional Research Service . Indicators of Senate Activity and Workload . Report No . 87497 S, by Roger H. Davidson and Carol Hardy . Washington, June 8, 1987 . Figures for the 100th102d Congresses are derived from the SCORPIO bill status system . CRS-17 TABLE 1-5 . Frequency of Cloture Action, 1917-1992 um. o c o to mn on e a 19171958' 92 93 ® ® 96 ® 101 102 32 30 20 195919702 27 18 18 197 1972 20 9 8 19731974 197519 76 3 197 1978 197 1980 19811 982 19831984 100 Items of business on which cloture motions were ® 45 ®®® 39 ®®® 25 12 6 ® 21 10 ® ® 33 27 41 MM M 19851986 ®® 198 1988 © 1981990 19911992 17 20 13 20 ® ®®®® 62 42 ® Sources : Congressional Record, Daily Digest, SCORPIO, and LEGIS, and Senate Journal . Compiled by Richard Beth, Specialist in American National Government. Congressional Research Service . 1 Period during which cloture could not be moved on motions to proceed to consider. Includes periods during which cloture required (1) two thirds of Senators present and voting or (2) two thirds of the full Senate. 2 Beginning of period during which cloture required two thirds of Senators present and voting, except that rules changes still required two thirds of the full Senate, but cloture could be moved on motions to proceed to consider . 3 Beginning of period during which cloture requires three fifths of the full Senate, except that rules changes require two thirds of Senators present and voting . CRS-18 FIG. 1-2. Senate Floor Activity Increasing Quantity & Complexity 14 45 12 40 100 30 80 25 6 20 40 10 20 -5 80 82 84 86 88 90 92 94 96 Congress # YWNoy Votes -Ar Cloture Votes -F- Pages per statute 100 102 CRS-19 E -6. e oesa : 0.0 gn oes icon 80 No. of p et vetoes o no . of presidential vetoes? N . % of regular : :vetoes House attempts to override vetoes : :: Senate attempts to override :vetoes 6 14 .3 8 8 4 .3 5 (1947-48) 42 33 75 (1949-50) 70 9 79 8 22 3 82 (1951-52) 83 (1953-54) 21 31 52 0 84 (1955-56) 12 22 34 0 85 (1957-58) 86 (1959-60) 33 22 (1961-62) 88 (1968-64) 89 (1965-66) 90 (1967-68) d' an'z 21 .4 0 0 22 44 2 9 20 0 1 9.1 9 10 6 0 0 0 0 14 0 0 0 6 8 0 0 0 (1969-70) 7 4 11 28 .6 92 (1971-72) 6 14 20 33.3 3 9 (1973-74) 27 12 89 18.5 12 10 94 (1976-76) 32 5 37 8 25.0 17 16 95 (1977-78) 6 13 19 0 - 2 0 96 (1979-80) 7 5 12 28 .6 2 97 (1981-82) 9 6 15 22 .2 3 98 (1983-84) 9 15 24 2 22 .2 2 99 (1985-86) 13 7 20 2 10 .0 3 00 (1987-88) 8 19 3 37 .5 5 (1989-90) 21 0 0 .0 9 5 (1991-92) 25 6 .6 8 8 02 Sources : Data for the 80th-99th Congresses are compiled from U .S. Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service . Indicators of House of Representatives' Workload and Activity . Report No . 87-492 S, by Roger H . Davidson and Carol Hardy. Washington, June 8, 1987 . Figures for the 100th Congress were collected from U.S. Congress . Secretary of the Senate . Presidential Vetoes, 1789-1988 . Washington, U .S . G .P .O ., 1992 . Data for the 101st and 102d Congresses are compiled from Congressional Quarterly, Inc . . "President Bush's Vetoes" . CQ Weekly Report . Washington, December 19, 1992 . p. 3925 . : . TABLE 1-7. Senate Action, On All Presidential Nominations, 1981 1992 do s 102nd Congress 10 at gres l99S1 1st Seas 1991 s 9 9 2nd Sess 1990 1 at .t sees 1987 ,. 2nd ' Sass .:19921 at St Con S s. 19 let : . Sees - : 1986 2nd Sess 1986 1 a sa 97th Congress let Sess 1988 2nd Sass 1984 Is Sees 1981 3,464 2,978 2 474 0 4,127 4,001 2 107 0 6,037 4,326 33 8 0 no no no us no na na no no no 2nd : Seas 1982 otal : t2 All Civilian. Received Confirmed Withdrawn Returned Rejected 8,376 3,256 9 10 0 2,661 2,641 4 193 0 3,564 3,399 34 51 1 2,364 2,145 11 287 0 4,718 4,569 10 16 1 2,670 2,357 11 424 0 3,719 3,603 7 40 0 2,046 2,037 8 70 0 636 420 8 10 0 408 289 4 189 0 586 422 34 50 1 435 430 11 73 0 470 331 10 16 1 404 335 11 170 0 606 491 7 40 0 420 411 8 69 0 2,840 2,836 2,253 2,252 0 4 0 2,978 2,977 0 1 0 1,929 1,716 0 214 0 4,248 4,238 0 0 0 2,266 2,022 0 254 0 3,113 3,112 0 0 0 1,626 1,626 0 1 0 no no na no no no no no no no na no no na no 41,998 41,924 3 0 0 28,416 28,078 8 396 0 44,870 42,186 0 1 0 42,570 40,848 4 4,902 0 47,211 41,835 0 4 0 34,594 89,960 55,924 52,415 1 0 0 34,248 37,866 0 0 0 62,587 52,558 0 8 0 37,699 37,725 0 0 0 45,369 45,180 12 t0 0 31,077 30,619 12 689 0 48,434 45,585 34 52 1 44,934 42,493 14 6,189 0 51,929 46,404 10 20 1 37,264 42,317 18 428 0 59,643 65,918 8 40 0 86,294 39,893 8 70 0 56,041 55,536 2 477 0 41,826 41,726 2 107 0 2,769 3,343 21 54 0 40,496 38,654 152 1,734 2 96 .2% .4% 4 .3% .0% 3,866 3,129 93 617 2 81 .0% 2 .4% 16.0% .0% na no no no no 21,263 20,778 1 474 0 97.8% .0% 2.2% o% 101,583 100,969 0 0 0 76,694 76,217 1 0 0 697,289 692,061 18 5,310 0 99 .1% .0% .9% .0% 106,620 105,284 33 8 0 78,363 79,560 22 54 0 637,794 630,615 170 7,041 2 98 .9% .0% 1 .1% .0% Civilian Received Confirmed Withdrawn Returned Rejected Civilian Lists3 Received Confirmed Withdrawn Returned Rejected Military Received Confirmed Withdrawn Returned Rejected Summa;y5 Received Confirmed Withdrawn Returned Rejected U MS-21 Source : Compiled from Journal of the Executive Proceedings of the Senate for 1985-1991 ; and Congressional Record (daily edition), Jan . 5, 1993, p . D2 . Regalia Garcia, Analyst in American National Government, Congressional Research Service. no Not available 1 Some nominations were carried over from the First Session . 2 May riot add up to 100% because of rounding . 3 Includes civilian nominations for appointments to, and promotions in, the Coast Guard, Foreign Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and Public Health Service . 4 Includes nominations to and promotions in the military services (Air Force, Army, Navy, and Marine Corps) . 5 The statistics provided by the Journal of the Executive Proceedings of the Senate are incomplete . The number of nominations confirmed, withdrawn, returned, and rejected, do not add up to the number of nominations received for the various Congresses . It is assumed that the difference is made up of nominations that were not confirmed but that were not accounted far at the end of the Second Session of a Congress . In Table 2, nominations that were listed as "unconfirmed" at the end of the Second Session of a Congress are listed under the "returned" category . Ultt$-22 TABLE 1-8 . U .S . Senate, Le dative Activit : 1947-1992 80 (1947-48) 257 1,462 3,186 1,835 1,670 343 257 242 577 248 8 81 (1949-50) 389 2,410 4,486 2,604 2,362 489 352 336 867 455 6 82 (1951-52) 287 1,648 3,665 1,991 1,849 444 313 804 410 331 4 83 (1963-64) 294 1,962 4,077 2,419 2,231 444 402 321 464 270 0 84 (195556) 224 1,862 4,518 2,663 2,660 417 392 330 166 224 85 (1957-58) 271 1,876 4,532 2,329 2,202 514 473 378 253 313 86 (1959-60) 280 2,199 4,149 1,778 1,680 509 461 368 187 422 6 87 (1961-62) 323 2,164 4,048 2,047 1,953 418 604 392 116 434 0 88 (1963-64) 375 2,395 3,457 1,365 1,341 480 448 850 335 541 0 89 (1966-66) 346 1,814 4,129 1,703 1,636 438 448 332 117 491 0 90 (1967-68) 368 1,961 4,400 1,467 1,376 506 455 355 1284 6955 0 91 (1969-70) 384 2,352 4,867 1,270 1,271 599 438 406 69 667 4 92 (1971-72) 348 2,294 4,408 1,026 1,036 488 276 336 72 956 4 93 (1973-74) 334 2,028 4,524 1,094 1,115 603 330 449 60 1,138 10 94 (1975-76) 320 2,210 4,114 988 1,038 798 387 514 155 1,311 16 95 (1977-78) 337 2,510 3,800 1,014 1,070 713 464 526 90 1,156 0 96 (1979-80) 333 2,324 3,480 862 977 714 441 506 61 1,055 2 97 (1981-82) 312 2,160 3,396 708 786 668 311 424 66 966 3 98 (1983-84) 281 1,961 3,454 836 936 643 303 380 37 673 2 99 (1985-86) 313 2,631 3,386 831 940 694 192 391 36 740 3 100 (1987-88) 307 2,342 3,325 773 1,002 688 136 428 62 799 5 101 (1989-90) 274 2,264 3,669 808 980 515 94 341 14 638 5 102 (1991-92) 287 2,291 3,738 638 947 507 81 330 8 660 8 Sources : Data for the 80th-99th Congresses are compiled from U .S . Library of Congress . Congressional Research Service . Indicators of Senate Activity and Workload . Report No . 87-497 S, by Roger H . Davidson and Carol Hardy . Washington, June 8, 1987 . Figures for the 100th-102d Congresses are compiled from the Daily Digest of the Congressional Record . 1 These figures include both Senate and House bills and joint resolutions . 2 These figures include both Senate and House concurrent and simple resolutions . 3 Occasionally measures are taken up on the floor without having been referred to or reported by committees, which partially accounts for the number passed sometimes exceeding the number reported . 4 This figure does not include 3 quorum calls which did not develop a quorum . 5 This figure does not include one yea and nay vote which was ailed invalid due to a lack of a quorum . TABLE 1-9 . U .S . Senate, Legislative Activity: First Sessions, 1947-1992 Time;in session C gres s um r of bills' ': Number of resolutions2 : Hours Introd. Repdt 3 Passed3 trod . Repdt 3 Passed 3 o nor Its No, of ea && It pis 0 rid 80 (1947-48) 143 808 2,094 842 723 218 131 118 332 138 2 81 (1949-50) 186 1,146 2,902 1,160 1,035 258 170 166 413 226 1 82 (1951752) 172 997 2,460 962 883 283 180 177 289 202 2 83 (1958-54) 125 764 2,712 789 705 219 180 146 188 89 0 84 (196656) 105 560 2,863 1,244 1,182 207 182 143 62 88 1 85 (1957-58) 133 861 3,043 1,098 1,034 254 221 176 189 111 0 86 (1959-60) 140 1,010 2,881 916 862 280 231 190 54 215 4 87 (1961-62) 146 1,005 2,789 987 944 282 252 189 33 207 0 88 (1963-64) 189 1,045 2,558 661 673 314 229 188 55 229 0 89 (1965-66) 177 961 2,853 817 797 231 218 170 45 269 0 90 (1967-68) 200 1,091 2,953 819 783 254 233 182 - 80 315 0 91 (1969-70) 176 927 3,472 500 483 364 245 201 29 245 0 92 (1971-72) 186 1,157 3,218 449 442 275 186 162 33 423 2 93 (1973-74) 166 960 3,044 621 521 290 156 202 26 594 6 94 (1975-76) 178 1,177 2,997 414 434 427 173 248 92 611 5 95 (1977-78) 178 1,144 2,489 395 413 407 243 292 65 636 0 96 (1979-80) 167 1,159 2,320 396 391 392 246 261 19 509 0 97 (1981-82) 166 1,080 2,142 277 268 336 165 220 11 497 0 98 (1983-84) 150 1,007 2,407 410 390 388 160 200 18 381 99 (1985-86) 170 1,253 2,265 361 373 396 116 211 20 381 100 (1987-88) 170 1,215 2,237 320 384 448 78 232 36 420 3 101 (1989-90) 136 1,003 2,234 832 405 314 56 200 11 312 2 102 (1991-92) 158 1,200 2,374 293 432 327 58 194 3 280 1 Sources : Data for the 80th-99th Congresses are compiled from U .S . Library of Congress . Congressional Research Service . Indicators of Senate Activity and Workload . Report No . 87-497 S, by Roger H . Davidson and Carol Hardy . Washington, June 8, 1987 . Figures for the IOM-102d Congresses are compiled from the Daily Digest of the Congressional Record . 1 These figures include both Senate and House bills and joint resolutions . 2 These figures include both Senate and House concurrent and simple resolutions . 3 Occasionally measures are taken up on the floor without having been referred to or reported by committees, which partially accounts for the number passed sometimes exceeding the number reported . TABLE 1-10, U .S . Senate Le dative Activit : Second Seas mo > ii Co e Da esioo ou m o rod t,, ills - umber of reso6~tiods ' s dd trod' ed3 No o quo 1 a o pts 0 0 otes : etoes 80 (1947-48) 114 654 1,092 993 947 125 126 124 245 110 6 81 (1949-50) 203 1,265 1,584 1,444 1,327 231 182 170 444 229 4 82 (1951-52) 115 651 1,205 1,039 966 161 133 127 121 129 2 83 (1953-54) 169 1,198 1,365 1,630 1,526 225 222 175 276 181 0 84 (1955-56) 119 802 1,655 1,419 1,368 210 210 187 94 136 0 85 (1957-58) 138 1,015 1,489 1,231 1,168 260 252 202 114 202 1 86 (1959-60) 140 1,189 1,268 862 818 229 230 178 133 207 2 87 (1961-62) 177 1,159 1,259 1,060 1,009 136 252 203 82 227 0 88 (1963-64) 186 1,350 899 704 668 166 219 162 280 312 0 89 (1965-66) 168 853 1,276 886 839 207 230 162 72 238 0 90 (1967-68) 158 870 1,447 638 593 252 222 173 484 2805 0 91 (1969-70) 208 1,425 1,395 770 788 245 193 204 40 422 4 92 (1971-72) 162 1,137 1,190 577 593 213 140 174 39 532 2 93 (1973-74) 168 1,068 1,480 573 591 313 175 247 34 544 4 94 (1975-76) 142 1,033 1,117 574 604 371 214 266 63 700 10 95 (1977-78) 159 1,366 1,311 619 657 306 221 234 25 520 0 96 (1979-80) 166 1,165 1,160 466 586 322 196 245 42 646 2 97 (1981-82) 147 1,080 1,254 431 518 332 156 204 55 469 3 98 (1983-84) 131 940 1,047 425 544 255 143 182 19 292 99 (1985-86) 143 1,278 1,131 470 567 298 76 180 16 359 100 (1987-88) 137 1,127 1,088 463 618 240 58 196 26 379 101 (1989-90) 138 1,250 1,435 471 575 201 38 141 3 326 102 (1991-92) 129 1,091 1,364 345 515 180 23 136 270 Sources : Data for the 80th-99th Congresses are compiled from U .S . Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service . Indicators of Senate Activity and Workload . Report No. 87-497 S, by Roger H . Davidson and Carol Hardy . Washington, dune 8, 1987 . Figures for the 100th-102d Congresses are compiled from the Daily Digest of the Congressional Record . 1 These figures include both Senate and House bills and joint resolutions . 2 These figures include both Senate and House concurrent and simple resolutions . 3 Occasionally measures are taken up on the floor without having been referred to or reported by committees, which partially accounts for the number passed sometimes exceeding the number reported . 4 This figure does not include 3 quorum calls which did not develop a quorum . 5 This figure does riot include l . yea and nay vote which was ruled invalid for lack of a quorum. THE COMMI'1 I LE SYSTEM NUMBERS OF COMMITTEES AND SUBCOMMITTEES Table 2-1 documents the evolution of the Senate's committee system from 1945 through 1992 . As the data indicate, the numbers of committees and subcommittees have tended to climb slowly until the Senate scales them back as part of a reorganization effort . This pattern of a steady increase followed by a sharp cutback has occurred twice since 1945 . The Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946 reduced the number of standing committees in the Senate from 33 to 15, and the number of select and special committees from 7 to 3 . From the time of this reduction to 1976, the number of standing committees increased only from 15 to 18, but their subcommittees doubled from 61 to 122 . In 1976, the Senate possessed a total of 180 panels : 18 standing committees ; 6 special and select committees; 7 joint committees ; and 149 subcommittees. In order to rectify the situation, a Temporary Select Committee was established ; its mission was to recommend changes in the committee system . These recommendations resulted in S . Res . 4, which was passed in 1977. The resolution eliminated three standing committees (District of Columbia, Post Office and Civil Service, and Aeronautical and Space Sciences), and reduced subcommittees by approximately one-third . Between 1977 and 1984, the total number of panels remained relatively unchanged . However, in the 97th Congress, the Select Committee on Small Business was converted into a standing committee . Also during this time, the Select Committee on Indian Affairs was created, and made permanent in 1984 . In 1984, concern over the effects of the number of committees and subcommittees on Senators' assignments and thus their daily schedules led to the creation of a second Temporary Select Committee to Study the Senate Committee System . The panel concluded that "if Senators will agree to reduce their committee assignments, our committees will be better able to perform their duties and the Senate as a whole will be taken more seriously as a reliable and informed national policymaker ."6 Accordingly, the Select Committee's recommendations emphasized assignment limits, recommended membership levels, and set numbers of subcommittees . Specifically, the committee proposed : (1) eliminating exceptions to the assignment limits that had been granted to 'U.S. Senate . Temporary Select Com ee to Study the Senate Committee System . Report Together with Proposed esolutions. S. Rept . 98-254 (98th Congress, 2nd session), p . 5 . CRS-28 Senators ; (2) reducing the number of seats on "A" and "B" committees ; (3) limiting to five the number of subcommittees that could be created by any standing committee (with the exception of Appropriations, which would retain its 13 subcommittees) ; and (4) adopting a "nine-unit rule," limiting Senators to a total of nine assignments on committees and subcommittees . In response to the Temporary Select Committee's work, in the 99th Congress the Senate reduced its number of standing subcommittees by 14 . In the 100th Congress, the number was further reduced by 3 . From there, however, the number climbed to 87 in the 102d Congress . The Temporary Select Committee's work also resulted in an elimination of subcommittees of select and special committees, although one was created in the 101st Congress . While the number of full committees-- standing, special and select, and joint-- has remained steady since 1984, the number of joint subcommittees has increased modestly. Regardless, since 1984, the total number of Senate panels has been lower than at any time in the past 30 years . COMMITTEE ASSIGNMENTS Table 2-2 lists the total number of assignments to seats on standing and special and select committees, as well as their subcommittees, since 1945 . It also provides the average number of assignments to each of these types of panels for the period . These data follow a pattern similar to that of Table 2-1, which tracks the total number of committees and subcommittees since 1945 . That is, after the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946 scaled down the numbers of committees and subcommittees, the period from 1955 through 1976 saw the total number of assignments to all committees and subcommittees slowly climb from 874 to 1,557 (data are not available for 1947-1954) . The figure is then reduced sharply, due to the effects of the 1976 Reorganization (S . Res . 4) ; however, it begins to rise again, until it is reduced due to the 1984 Reorganization . The figure has resumed its rise since 1985, and stood at 1,145 at the end of the 102d Congress . The number of assignments (i .e ., seats) to standing and special and select committees, as well as to their subcommittees, registered most of its increases from the mid-1960s through 1976 . In 1976, when the Stevenson-Brock Committee studied the committee system, there were 1,557 seats available to Senators . The average Senator possessed 15 .6 assignments : 2-3 on standing committees ; nearly 10 on subcommittees ; and 3-4 places on special, select or joint committees (and their subcommittees) . Even more remarkable is the fact that these figures do not include Senators' seats on other official bodies-- party committees, panels, study groups, and boards and commissions . Including such seats, there were 1,999 positions to be filled by the 100 Senators in 1976-- an average of nearly 20 assignments per Senator . This unmanageable number of assignments provided the impetus for the 7 Ibid., p . 6 . CRS-29 scaling down of the Senate's committee structure in 1977 . The total number of committee and subcommittee seats were cut by approximately one-third . Hit the hardest were seats on subcommittees of both standing and special and select committees, which were reduced by 32 percent and 70 percent, respectively . These changes resulted in a reduction of about five assignments for the average Senator . However, between 1977 and 1984, the total number of all committee and subcommittee seats again edged upward ; this was fueled mainly by an increase in standing committee and subcommittee seats . When the Temporary Select Committee to Study the Senate Committee System was formed in 1984, Senators held an average of nearly 12 assignments to both standing and select and special committees, as well as their subcommittees. The Committee discovered that 50 Senators-- half the chamber's membership-- had been granted a total of 55 exceptions from the assignment limits that had been adopted in 1977 .$ Thus, the panel recommended, among other things : banning all exceptions to the assignment limits ; enforcing the 1977 rules strictly ; and cutting back on the number of committee and subcommittee slots . As a result, 14 standing subcommittees and a total of 120 assignments were eliminated; this resulted in the average Senator losing one assignment . Despite these efforts, the total number of assignments to standing committees and subcommittees, as well as select and special committees and subcommittees, has swelled from 1,075 in 1985 to 1,145 in 1992 . As was the case for the 1977-1984 increase, this growth was mainly propelled by increases in the number of standing committee and subcommittee seats . EFFECTS OF ASSIGNMENTS SUBCOMMITTEE GROWTH ON SENATORS' Figure 1-3 graphically illustrates the impact of the growth of subcommittees on Senators' total assignments . The graph possesses two Y-axes, each of which has a different range of values . Thus, they are useful for graphing three sets of data that have drastically different minimum and maximum values . Attempting to graph these three sets on the same Y-axis would require a scale of 1 to 200 ; such a graph would not be very illuminating, as the lack of spacing between the points on the Y-axis would result in relatively flat lines . As both the Y-axis labels and the legend indicate, the bars representing both average number of subcommittee and committee assignments are plotted on the primary (left-hand) Y-axis, while the total number of subcommittees are graphed on the secondary Y-axis. 'U.S. Senate. Temporary Select Committee to Study the Senate Committee System . Report Together with Proposed Resolutions . S. Rept . 98-254 (98th Congress, 2nd session), p . 5 . CRS-30 Above it was noted that Senators' total number of assignments to all committees and subcommittees has steadily risen since 1947, interrupted only by sharp cutbacks in 1977 and 1985 . It was also noted that, while they rose slightly, standing committees were not as "responsible" for this growth as were their subcommittees . This is supported by Figure 1-3, where both the line representing the total number of subcommittees and the bar representing Senators' average number of subcommittee assignments rise from 1947-1977, followed by a sharp drop, which is subsequently followed by another rise until the restructuring of 1985 . Indeed, during the time periods of subcommittee growth, the line representing total subcommittees "pulls" the bar representing average number of subcommittee assignments with it . Meanwhile, the bar representing the average number of committee assignments is not as volatile, climbing only from 2 to 3 since 1947 . COMMIT IEE SIZES Table 2-3 presents data that document the average size of standing committees and their subcommittees in the Senate since 1945 . While Table 2-1 indicates that the overall number of Senate standing committees has remained relatively stable in these years, this table demonstrates that the size of these committees has grown over the years . When the 1946 Reorganization Act was implemented in 1947, the average committee had slightly more than 13 members ; in 1992, the average committee had more than 18 members . During this same time period, subcommittees have grown from an average of about five members to eight . Although they are not large, these changes are significant because Senate committees are relatively small to begin with . Furthermore, in specific cases, the changes are striking . For example, in 1947, Senate standing committees were fixed at 13 members, except for the 21-member Appropriations Committee . Today, Appropriations has 29 members, Budget (created in 1974) has 21, and five others have 20 . Some of this increase can be attributed to changes made by the Senate in the committee system. For example, when the Senate eliminated several of its committees in 1977, the size of the average committee rose by two members . Further, the 100th Congress maintained the same number of standing committees and reduced their total subcommittees by three, but increased both units' average size . Since the 100th Congress, the average size of subcommittees has increased from 8 .1 to 8 .5 Senators, while that of standing committees has remained steady at approximately 18 .5 . Tables 2-4 through 2-19 provide a committee-by-committee listing of size, number of subcommittees, and number of assignments for all standing committees of the Senate . The figures cover the period from 1947 through 1992 ; for committees created after 1947, the data encompass the entire life span . TABLE 2-1 . U .S . Senate, Number of Committees and Their Subcommittees : 1945-1992 3" Co Standing Committees - . Select and Special Committees of committees or. P a ess No. No:. of Subc, ;'. No . No of Sube, ' No 79 (1945-46) 33 57 7 10 6 NA NA 80 (1947-48) 15 61 3 NA 6 NA NA 81 1949-50) 15 63 2 NA 10 NA NA 82 1951-52) 15 65 NA 9 NA NA 83 1953-54) 15 66 NA 10 NA NA 84 195556) 15 87 5 NA 11 NA 85 1957-58) 16 85 4 4 9 12 130 86 1959-60) 16 87 5 0 12 8 128 87 1961-62) 16 88 2 6 6 129 88 1963-64) 16 85 3 6 134 89 1965-66) 16 92 3 6 142 90 1967-68) 16 98 5 12 91 1969-70) 16 101 5 12 92 1971-72) 17 115 5 93 1973-74) 18 127 94 1975-76) 18 Sub 15 157 10 15 159 13 8 15 173 7 13 9 16 190 122 6 13 7 14 180 95 (19?7-78) 15 96 6 12 1 5 138 96 (1979-80) 15 90 5 10 5 129 97 (1981-82) 16 101 4 4 6 135 98 (1983-84) 16 102 5 4 6 137 99 (1985-86) 88 4 0 6 118 100 (1987-88) 85 5 0 8 118 101 (1989-90) 102 (1991-92) 16 86 1 87 2 0 119 8 119 Sources : Data for the 79th-100th Congresses are compiled from U .S . Library of Congress . Congressional Research Service . Indicators of Senate Activity and Workload . Report No . 87-497 S, by Roger H . Davidson and Carl Hardy . Washington, June 8, 1987 . Figures for the 101st and 102d Congresses are compiled from Monitor Publishing Co ., Congressional Yellow Book . NA - This information is not readily available . I This figure includes one Ad Hoc Working Group of the Select Committee on Intelligence . 2 This figure excludes one task force of a standing committee . Uttb-62 TABLE 2-2 . U .S . Senate, Committee Assi ments : 1945-1992 Total : no of assignments Selec Standin ubc;'of Standing comm >Mean no of committee assignments Su. 'a S < . . of Comm : S h om Co 0a1 Stand f: Standing comm , £special, ;& joint comm . Subc-of Select, :: . a cial, & 1 . comm, 7 o I'I Is 79 (1945-46) 489 437 98 NA NA 5,09 4 .55 1 .02 NA NA 80 (1947-48) 201 326 62 NA NA 2 .09 3 .40 0.65 NA NA 81 (1949-50) 203 313 62 NA NA 2 .12 3 .26 0.62 NA NA 82 (1951-52) 203 332 67 NA NA 2 .12 3 .46 0.70 NA NA 83 (1953-54) 211 373 63 NA NA 2 .20 3 .89 0.66 NA NA 84 (1955-56) 212 514 100 48 874 2 .21 5 .35 1 .04 0 .50 9 .10 85 (1957-58) 228 530 98 86 892 2 .38 5 .52 1 .02 0 .38 9 .29 86 (1969-60) 250 631 116 66 1,063 2 .50 6 .31 1 .16 0 .66 10 .63 87 (1961-62) 240 636 95 69 1,030 2 .40 6 .36 0.95 0 .59 10 .30 88 (1963-64) 256 660 101 86 1,103 2 .66 6 .60 1 .01 0 .86 11 .03 99 (1965-66) 250 727 101 154 1,232 2 .50 7 .27 1 .01 .54 1 12 .32 90 (1967-68) 262 752 120 165 1,289 2 .52 7 .52 1 .20 1 .65 12 .89 91 (1969-70) 246 797 110 184 1,336 2.46 7 .97 1 .10 1 .84 13 .36 92 (1971-72) 247 895 124 197 1,463 2.47 8 .95 1 .24 1 .97 14 .63 93 (1973-74) 258 946 148 217 1,669 2.58 9 .46 1 .48 2 .17 15 .69 94 (1975-76) 256 969 120 228 1,557 2.40 9 .69 1 .20 2 .28 15 .57 95 (1977-78) 248 658 84 69 1,054 2.43 6 .58 0 .84 0 .69 10 .54 96 (1979-80) 252 668 78 76 1,074 2.52 6 .68 0 .78 0 .76 10 .74 97 (1981-82) 282 693 76 68 1,119 2.82 6 .93 0 .76 0 .68 11 .19 98 (1983-84) 295 771 80 49 1,195 2.95 7 .71 0 .80 0 .49 11 .95 99 (1985-86) 282 672 74 47 1,075 2.82 6 .72 0 .74 0 .47 10 .76 100 (1987-88) 296 688 84 30 1,098 2.96 6 .88 0 .84 0 .30 10.98 101 (1989-90) 296 713 75 33 1,117 2.96 7 .18 0 .75 0 .33 11 .17 102 (1991-92) 294 738 83 30 1,145 2.94 7 .38 0 .83 0 .30 11 .46 Sources: Data for the 79th-100th Congresses are compiled from U .S . Library of Congress . Congressional Research Service . Indicators of Senate Activity and Workload . Report No . 87-497 S, by Roger H . Davidson and Carol Hardy . Washington, June 8, 1987 . Figures for the 101st and 102d Congresses are compiled from Monitor Publishing Co ., Congressional Yellow Book . NA - This data is not readily available . CRS-33 FIG 14. No . of Subcomm . and Senators' Assignments to Them : 1945-1992 CONGRESS LW # of Suboonm, ® Avg # Subo, Assign ® Avg # Corm Assign 1 CRS-34 S' o Son e:Stan gComm 992 Congre :' and mi e S Standing committees Sub of standing '. . . fnmmitteea 79 (1945-46) 14 .9 7 .7 80 (1947-48) 13 .4 5 .3 81 (1949-50) 13 .5 5 .0 82 (1951-52) 13.5 5 .1 83 (1953-54) 14.1 5 .7 (1955-56) 14.1 5 .9 85 (1957-58) 14.3 6.2 86 (1959-60) 15 .6 7.3 87 (1961-62) 15 .0 7.2 88 (1963-64) 16 .0 .8 7 89 (1965-66) 15 .6 7 .9 90 (1967-68) 15 .8 7 .7 91 (1969-70) 15 .3 7 .9 92 (1971-72) 14.5 7 .8 93 (1973-74) 14.3 7 .5 94 (1975-76) 14.2 7 .9 95 (1977 .78) 16.2 6.9 96 (1979-80) 16 .8 7.4 97 (1981-82) 17 .6 6.9 98 (1983-84) 18 .4 7.6 99 (1985-86) 17 .6 7 .6 100 (1987-88) 18 .5 8 .1 101 (1989-90) 18 .5 8 .3 102 (1991-92) 18 .4 8 .5 Source : U.S . Library of Congress . Congressional Research Service . Indicators of Senate Activity and Workload . Report No . 87-497 S, by Roger H . Davidson and Carol Hardy . Washington, June 8, 1987. CRS-35 TABLE 2-4 . Committee on Agriculture' Co 80 Full Committee Members e: tuber of Subc . Suhc, Assignments '. Available igam. . le i, (1947-48) 13 0 (1949-50) 13 0 82 (1951-52) 13 0 0 13 83 (1953-54) 15 0 0 15 84 (1955-56) 15 5 23 38 85 (1957-58) 15 5 28 86 (1959-60) 17 87 (1961-62) 17 88 (1963-64) 89 0 13 13 41 58 38 55 17 40 57 (1965-66) 15 38 53 90 (1967-68) 15 38 53 91 (1969-70) 13 36 49 92 (1971-72) 14 6 49 63 93 (1973-74) 13 6 42 55 94 (1975-76) 14 6 48 62 95 (1977-78) 18 52 70 96 (1979-80) 18 7 97 (1981-82) 18 8 55 73 98 (1983-84) 18 7 55 73 99 (1985-86) 17 6 49 66 1002 (1987-88) 19 51 70 101 (1989-90) 19 51 70 102 (1991-92) 18 50 68 5 5 72 Sources : Data for all committees for the 80th-100th Congresses are compiled from U .S. Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service . Indicators of Senate Activity and Workload . Report No. 87-497, by Roger H . Davidson and Carol Hardy. Washington, June 8, 1987 . Figures for the 101st and 102d Congresses are compiled from annual volumes of Brownson, Congressional Staff Directory. 1 Named the Committee on Agriculture and Forestry, 80th-94th Congresses . 2 Figures for the 100th Congress reflect reorganizations and ratio changes following the death of one Senator and the addition of two others . CRS-36 ';Cone. . gr Full Committee Members : o pr Number of Soho, o a Subs, Assignments s. Available si 14 u m 147 121 106 126 183 188 220 220 234 23 90 26 14 1 204 0 184 ~~ 26 (1979-80) -_ 174 M 190 ® (1983-84) 50 ®® 97 98 158 29 (1985-86) 100 (1987-88) 29 101 (1989-90) 29 102 (1991-92) 8 151 80 ® 135 6 13 ® 6 13 138 167 ®~ 13 l 67 6 1 During these Congresses, the Committee organized subunits of subcommittees to specialize in certain areas . These sub-panels are not included in the calculations . is . CRS-37 ' LE 2-6 . Committee on Armed Serviced :'. mit Congress a her of'.Subc :) able ?. ignments 80 (1947-48) 13 0 0 13 81 (1949-50) 13 22 168 181 82 (1951-52) 15 13 39 54 83 (1953-54) 13 89 84 (1955-56) 15 16 53 68 85 (1957-58) 15 11 38 53 86 (1959-60) 17 19 83 100 87 (1961-62) 17 14 62 79 88 (1963-64) 17 13 61 78 89 (1965-66) 17 11 48 65 90 (1967-68) 18 9 42 60 91 (1969-70) 18 98 116 92 (1971-72) 16 16 97 113 93 (1973-74) 15 14 83 98 94 (1975-76) 16 11 69 85 95 (1977-78) 18 8 54 72 96 (1979-80) 17 6 49 66 97 (1981-82) 18 6 44 62 98 (1983-84) 18 6 54 72 99 (1985-86) 19 6 54 73 100 (1987-88) 20 6 54 74 101 (1989-90) 20 6 54 74 102 (1991-92) 20 6 54 74 1 Appointments to the Boards of Visitors to the Academies are not included . le' : CRS-38 ; :. TABLE 2-7. : Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs' till Comm 't Members m of S Is,. variable . Full & Subc Assignments Available Go 80 (1947-48) 13 12 58 71 81 (1949-50) 13 8 55 68 82 (1951-52) 13 12 79 92 83 (1953-54) 15 8 54 69 84 (1955-56) 15 8 56 71 85 (1957-58) 15 8 64 79 86 (1959-60) 15 7 68 78 87 (1961-62) 15 5 50 65 88 (1963-64) 15 6 69 89 60 74 90 56 70 91 65 80 92 70 85 93 (1973-74) 15 52 67 94 (1975-76) 13 51 64 95 (1977-78) 15 45 60 96 (1979-80) 48 64 97 (1981-82) 17 52 69 98 (1983-84) 18 60 78 99 (1985-86) 15 47 62 100 (1987-88) 20 36 56 101 (1989-90) 40 61 102 (1991-92) 40 61 ~a ®S 21 1 Named the Committee on Banking and Currency, 80th-91st Congresses . CRS-39 2-8. Committee on the Budget co . 80 (1947-48) 81 (1949-50) 82 (1951-52) 83 (1953-54) a um mbeas S o So gnments ailable ignmen vailable (1955-56) 85 (1957-58) 86 (1959-60) 87 (1961-62) 88 (1963-64) 89 (1965-66) 90 (1967-68) (1969-70) 92 (1971-72) 931 (1973-74) 15 0 0 15 94 (1975-76) 16 0 0 16 95 (1977-78) 16 0 0 16 96 (1979-80) 20 0 0 20 97 (1981-82) 22 0 0 22 98 (1983-84) 22 0 0 22 99 (1985-86) 22 0 0 22 100 (1987-88) 101 (1989-90) 23 0 0 23 102 (1991-92) 21 0 0 21 0 1 The Budget Committee was established on July 12, 1974, pursuant to the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 (P .L . 93-344) . CRS-40 AB 9 'Comet . mber of Subc Ih Committe Members Co grew 8( 1 (1947-48) 8 19 950) 82 92 I ® 93 90 97 (1951-52) d a o s S bb gnxnents vailable 13 ull roan Available.:. 18 31 3 32 8 60 79 124 (1969-70) 19 11 105 (1971-72) 18 10 111 ~ . 14 149 167 (1979-80) 17 7 57 74 (1981-82) 17 8 52 69 17 8 52 69 ~~ 102 S' 'e m (1991-92) 20 EM 82 1 Named the Committee on interstate and Foreign Commerce, 80th-86th Congresses . 2 The Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce was renamed the Committee on Commerce pursuant to S . Res. 177 of the 87th Congress . 3 The committee'sjurisdiction was expanded and its name changed to the Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation on February 4, 1977, pursuant to S . Res. 4 of the 95th Congress . 4 In addition the full committee had one task force . CRS-41 AML Go' ee on Ene an Commi to um or o Members So t u She, e e ' 801 (1947-48) 13 6 30 43 81 (1949-50) 13 0 0 13 82 (1951-52) 13 0 0 13 83 (1953-54) 15 5 32 47 84 (1955-56) 15 31 46 85 (1957-58) 15 5 31 46 86 (1959-60) 17 5 39 56 87 (1961-62) 17 5 43 60 88 (1963-64) 17 5 42 59 89 (1965-66) 16 7 57 73 90 (1967-68) 17 57 74 91 (1969-70) 17 8 68 85 92 (1971-72) 16 7 59 75 93 (1973-74) 15 8 56 71 94 (1975-76) 14 8 74 88 95 2 (1977-78) 19 5 53 72 96 (1979-80) 18 52 70 97 (1981-82) 20 6 54 74 98 (1983-84) 21 6 57 78 99 (1985-86) 18 5 48 66 100 (1987-88) 19 49 68 101 (1989-90) 19 47 66 102 (1991-92) 20 54 74 5 1 Named the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs, 80th-94th Congresses . 2 The committee's jurisdiction was expanded and its name changed to the Committee on Energy and Natural resources on February 4, 1977 pursuant to S . Res . 4 of the 95th Congress . CRS-42 TABLE 2-it Committee on Environment and Public Works o. Co 80 1 mbe er `0 S c 3 ,. Sub . . `, ; . game ailable cl vailable 13 26 23 36 (1947-48) 13 (1949-50) 13 82 (1951-52) 13 3 19 32 83 (1953-54) 14 3 30 44 84 (1955-56) 13 3 27 40 85 (1957-58) 13 3 27 40 86 (1959-60) 17 3 37 54 87 (1961-62) 17 3 36 53 88 (1963-64) 18 3 38 56 89 (1965-66) 17 4 47 64 90 (1967-68) 16 5 50 66 91 (1969-70) 15 6 55 70 92 (1971-72) 16 6 55 71 93 (1973-74) 14 8 60 74 94 (1975-76) 14 8 59 73 957 2 (1977-78) 15 6 36 51 96 (1979-80) 14 6 42 56 97 (1981-82) 16 6 44 60 98 (1983-84) 18 6 44 62 99 (1985-86) 15 6 38 53 100 (1987-88) 16 5 45 61 101 (1989-90) 16 5 43 59 102 (1991-92) 17 5 45 62 1 Named the Committee on Public Works, 80th-94th Congresses . 2 The committee's jurisdiction was expanded and its name changed to the Committee on Environment and Public Works on February 4, 1977 pursuant to S. Res . 4 of the 95th Congress . CRS-43 ?I TABLE 2-12 . Committee on Finance em Su Subc Assignments 'Available umber=. mi Cod of i u meats ailable 80 (1947-48) 13 0 0 13 81 (1949-50) 13 0 0 13 82 (1951-52) 13 0 0 13 83 (1953-54) 15 0 0 15 (1955-56) 15 0 0 15 85 (1957-58) 15 0 0 15 86 (1959-60) 17 0 0 17 87 (1961-62) 17 0 0 88 (1963-64) 17 0 89 (1965-66) 17 0 0 17 90 (1967-68) 17 0 0 17 91 (1969-70) 17 7 24 92 (1971-72) 16 0 0 16 93 (1973-74) 17 8 50 67 (1975-76) 18 11 70 88 95 (1977-78) 18 10 54 72 96 (1979-80) 20 60 80 97 (1981-82) 20 9 60 80 98 (1983-84) 20 9 60 80 99 (1985-86) 20 8 59 79 100 (1987-88) 20 59 79 101 (1989-90) 20 8 59 79 102 (1991-92) 20 8 60 80 17 CRS-44 TABLE 2-13. Committee on Foreign Relations Coc g e lI Co m em a or u uu A so en ble lab a 80 (1947-48) 13 0 0 13 81 (1949-50) 13 0 0 13 82 (1951-62) 13 27 40 83 (1953-54) 15 601 75 (1955-56) 15 782 93 85 (1967-58) 15 11 723 87 86 (1959-60) 17 11 76 93 87 (1961-62) 17 10 72 89 17 10 66 83 88 12 89 (1965-66) 21 15 87 108 90 (1967-68) 19 16 98 117 91 (1969-70) 15 10 65 80 92 (1971-72) 16 11 73 89 93 (1973-74) 17 12 79 96 94 (1975-76) 16 10 61 77 95 (1977-78) 16 9 45 61 96 (1979-80) 15 7 39 54 97 (1981-82) 17 7 47 64 98 (1983-84) 18 7 47 65 99 (1985-86) 17 6 48 65 loo 4 (1987-88) 19 7 47 66 101 (1989-90) 19 7 48 67 102 (1991-92) 19 7 54 73 1 Includes six appointments of non-committee Members made by either the President of the Senate or the Vice President . 2 Includes ten appointments of non-committee Members made by the Vim President . 3 Includes eight appointments of non-committee Members made by the Vice President. 4 The number of both full committee members and subcommittee assignments reflect the reduction of each by one due to the death of one Senator. CRS-45 LE 2-14 . Committee on Governmental Affairs Con 801 Full Committee embers ss, umber of Subc Subc. iguuents Su Assignments , Available (1947-48) 13 18 31 (1949-50) 13 20 33 822 (1951-52) 13 2 14 27 83 (1953-54) 13 5 28 41 84 (1955-56) 13 2 14 27 85 (1957-58) 13 2 14 27 86 (1959-60) 9 3 17 26 87 (1961-62) 9 22 31 88 (1963-64) 15 36 51 89 (1965-66) 14 6 50 64 90 (1967-68) 15 6 50 65 91 (1969-70) 15 36 51 92 (1971-72) 18 36 54 93 (1973-74) 15 8 59 74 94 (1975-76) 14 5 47 61 953 (1977-78) 16 6 43 59 96 (1979-80) 17 7 43 60 97 (1981-82) 18 8 42 60 98 (1983-84) 18 47 65 99 (1985-86) 13 6 32 45 100 (1987-88) 5 38 52 101 (1989-90) 14 5 38 52 102 (1991-92) 13 39 52 1 Named the Committee on Expenditures in the Executive Departments, 80th-81st Congresses . 2 The Committee on Expenditures in the Executive Departments was renamed the Committee on Government Operations pursuant to S . Res . 280 of the 82d Congress. 3 The committee's jurisdiction was expanded and its name changed to the Committee on Governmental Affairs on pFebruary 4, 1977 pursuant to S . Res . 4 of the 95th Congress . SV 5£ L 51 (36-1661 901 L5 88 9 VT (06 -6961) IN LV 99 9 51 (89-L961 001 111 (98 -9861 66 91 (58-£861) 91 (49-£961) LP ® 1?9 09 POI 69 © 6 mm m 98 ® 99 OL ®® 5I 91 9 L9 99 91, 31 op L3 6 93 91 ajgo mny sauamu9lesy ; 'algaFdsny uamu2Fsay '8 itad's .... . ogng (99- 4961) (4-£ 6 09 £1 (99- 1961 Z8 91 (09-6561 18 £1 (9P-L561 08 00 a 30. m In 9 ag3zoo aagglmmoQ .''91Z39CVk CRS-47 2 6 Commit Congress . II1 mmit' Members on Labor and Human: tuber'r of u so Sum, ignmenn 'ailable, gnments ail 80 (1947-48) 13 4 24 37 81 (1949-50) 13 2 14 27 82 95152) 3 2 3 N89I16 13 105 NINE MMM M 8 102 ®® ® 65 6 61 83 1 Named the Committee . . Labor and Public Welfare, 80th-94th Congresses . 2 The committee's jurisdiction was expanded and its name changed to the Committee on Labor and Human Resources on February 4, 1977 pursuant to S . Res . 4 of the 95th Congress . L CRS-48 2-1 Commit. on u1 11 80 (1947-48) 81 (1949-50) 82 (1951-52) 83 (1953-54) 84 (1955-56) 8 9 8 86 (1959-60) 95 (1977-78) (1919-80) 98 on m s tGo 97 Ad (1981-82) (1989-90) 102 (1991-92) le 13 5 15 28 13 5 15 28 13 5 17 30 9 7 19 28 9 6 18 27 20 29 20 9 0 0 9 10 0 0 10 12 0 0 0 0 12 0 0 16 0 0 16 ~® 101 .. 16 - CRS-49 211 Cam it e embers Co. Co on Small Rum. umber . Of S goon. vailable amble i S ce 80 (1947-48) 81 (1949-50) 82 (1951-52) 83 (1953-54) 84 (1955-56) 85 (1957-58) 86 (1959-60) 87 (1961-62) 88 (1963-64) 89 (1965-66) 90 (1967-68) 91 (1969-70) 92 (1971-72) 93 (1973-74) 94 (1975-76) 96 (1977-78) 96 (1979-80) 971 (1981-82) 17 8 28 45 98 (1983-84) 19 9 31 50 99 (1985-86) 19 33 52 100 (1987-88) 19 6 101 (1989-90) 19 6 88 57 102 (1991-92) 19 6 40 59 53 1 The Committee on Small Business was created on March 25, 1981 pursuant to S . Res. 101 of the 97th Congress . CRS-50 II Co . em Co S o Sub, ignmeu 'table i is 4 20 29 4 25 34 4 25 34 18 27 0 0 10 ai le 80 81 82 83 84 (1955-a6) 85 (195758) 88 (1963-64) 90 921 (1971-72) 9 9 97 12 0 0 12 98 12 0 0 12 99 12 0 100 11 0 0 11 101 11 0 0 11 102 12 0 0 12 12 1 The Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs was created pursuant to the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1970 (PL . 91-510, 84 Stat. 1163), which was signed into law near the end of the 91st Congress . Members were appointed to the Committee at the beginning of the 92d Congress (1971-1973) . PART THREE: COMMITTEE WORKLOADS HEARINGS Table 3-1 documents the number of hearings printed by each Senate standing, special and select committee for the 98th-102d Congresses . While solid indicators of a given committee's workload, these should be interpreted with care for two reasons . First, some committees may be more inclined to order printed virtually every hearing, regardless of its length and impact on public policy. Second, a single printed "hearing" may actually contain the transcripts of multiple days of hearings . Finally, the nature of a committee's business may preclude the need to print ; for example, since it deals mainly with internal issues of the Senate, the Committee on Rules and Administration does not have many printed hearings . The same can be said for the Select Committee on Intelligence, in that much of its business is classified . Regardless, some general trends can be extracted from these data . First, committee hearings seem to parallel the activity level for the full Senate in that more hearings are generally printed in the first session of a Congress than the second. Again, we see the impact of the electoral process . Second, it is clear that committees with a wider policy jurisdiction conduct more hearings than those whose jurisdiction is more narrow . For example, the Committees on Appropriations, Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, Commerce, Science and Transportation, and Labor and Human Resources print many more hearings than the Committee on Small Business. In general, these data are quite useful on a committee-by-committee basis . That is, rather than using them for comparison across committees, they should be used to track an individual committee's workload over time, and examine changes in it in light of jurisdictional and political changes . MEASURES REFERRED AND REPORTED Tables 3-2 and 3-3 list the numbers of measures both referred to and reported by Senate standing, special and select committees from the 98th through the 102d Congress . Several points emerge from examining the figures in Table 3-2 . First, the numbers of measures referred vary considerably from committee to committee . This is mainly a function of the committee's jurisdiction : the wider the jurisdiction, the more measures will likely be referred to it . For example, Finance receives many bills because tax policy attracts so many legislative proposals . Second, one can track the figures for a given committee over time to determine the effects of bursts of activity in its jurisdiction on its workload . CRS-52 Thus, the impact of social, economic, and political changes can be seen on the committees of the Senate . As Table 3-3 demonstrates, the rates of reporting bills also vary significantly from committee to committee . Like figures for referrals to committees, these variations probably reflect different jurisdictional characteristics, as well as intensified activity in different jurisdictions over time . A second point should also be noted . That is, some committees' percentage of the total reported is much lower than their percentage of the total referred . For instance, in the 102d Congress the Finance Committee reported 3.9 percent of all measures reported by Senate committees, but received 21 .4 percent of all measures referred to Senate committees. Rather than a low workrate, this pattern mainly reflects the Committee's role of screening large numbers of discrete revenue and tariff measures . Conversely, some committees account for a higher proportion of the Senate's reported measures than those referred . For example, in the 102d Congress the Judiciary Committee reported about 20 percent of all measures reported by Senate committees, but received about 16 percent of all measures referred to Senate committees. A large reason for these levels is the committee's jurisdiction over commemoratives ; thus many of these reported measures were joint resolutions honoring certain days or occasions . PRESIDENTIAL NOMINATIONS Table 3-4 documents the number of Presidential nominations both received and reported by relevant Senate committees . While the full Senate must ultimately approve all nominations, much of the actual consideration is done at the committee level . That is, it is mainly the committee of jurisdiction which must expend its resources in compiling reports, analyzing information, and holding hearings in order to provide the rest of the Senate with guidelines for action . Due to the fact that each committee's defined jurisdiction clearly states which nominations it has jurisdiction over (if any), the figures for nominations received and reported over time are relatively stable . For example, certain committees, such as Armed Services and Judiciary, will consistently process a relatively high number of nominations due to the nature of their jurisdiction . CRS-53 abj S: Senate, um of Printed: 98 02d Congresses gs b Commi Congresses 102d11 2 din Com i Appro crest ions e 991 e. 'culture Nutrition ervi a 27 19 ® 11 Banking, Housing, & Urban Affairs udge Co 1 ®fl®fl fl®fl ®flfl® fl® ®®flfl fi® flfl®fl M== M® i 101st 100th 1990 9 9 8 1987 27 40 26 33 50 fl 38 ® 18 23 e ce Trans o m fl 66 Energy & Natural Resources Environmen P bI or s Finance ai o & u n les ∎ 61 60 o 0 © 5 22 Veterans' Affairs fl 9 1983 46 ® 56 46 ∎ ∎ 53 18 Sma B sine fi ∎∎∎ source 1985 68 68 ® 1986 ∎ 51 Foreign Relations ud 85 ∎∎∎ ® o ernme 78 a98th ®® ∎∎ .∎ e 9t 69 0 30 71 ∎ 48 0 68 62 2 19 2 ® 15 36 48 35 45 29 48 31 16 15 17 12 19 5 12 2 15 0 27 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 24 28 0 0 Select sad Special Committees Aging 0 n m 13 Intelligence 0 30 3 flflfl® Source : Data are compiled from the CIS database . I . Figures for the 102d Congress are incomplete, as the database only registers those hearings which have actually been printed . As of this writing, not all hearings for the 102d Congress that are to be printed had been printed . TABLE 3-2 . U .S . Senate Number of Measures Referred to Senate Standin Select and 102d Congress (1991-92) Stand 101st Congress (1989-90) ' 100th Congress (1987-88) 99th Congress (1985-86) 98th Congress (1983-84) Co icu1ture Nutrition & Fore 128 2.8 19 .9 4 .5 201 4 .7 202 4 .6 200 4 .4 ppropriations 162 3.3 46 1 .0 57 .3 1 63 1 .4 60 1 .3 ad Services 151 3.3 130 2 .9 104 2 .4 133 3 .0 104 2 .3 Banking Housing & Urban Affairs 189 4 .1 172 3 .9 138 3 .2 188 4 .3 180 4 .0 Budget 141 3 .0 48 1 .1 47 65 1 .5 97 ommerrc Science & Transportation2 256 5 .5 306 6 .9 268 6 .2 241 5 .6 261 5 .5 nergy & Natural Resourres3 373 8 .0 367 8 .3 391 9 .0 306 7 .0 333 7 .3 Environment & Public Works 248 5 .3 265 6 .0 263 6 .1 236 5 .4 280 6 .2 'income 990 21 .4 820 18 .6 704 16 .3 727 16.6 761 16 .8 Foreign Relations 327 7 .1 274 6,2 289 6 .7 277 6 .3 246 5 .4 Governmental Affairs5 231 5 .0 237 6 .4 223 5 .2 253 5 .8 252 6 .5 782 15 .8 814 18 .5 864 20 .0 0 8 23.8 1,071 23 .6 359 7 .7 374 8 .5 306 7 .1 293 6 .7 325 7 .2 123 2 .7 144 3 .3 226 5 .2 1 4 .1 174 3 .8 Sm . Business 23 0 .6 12 0 .3 20 0 .5 15 0 .3 32 0 .7 Ve 130 2 .8 120 2 .7 120 2 .8 92 2 .1 88 .9 1 0 .0 1 0 .0 2 0.0 0 .0 2 0 .0 iciary La or iuman Resourres6 & Administration a Set and Sp mmrtte Ethics 0 0 .0 1 0 .0 0 0.0 - 0 .0 Indian Affairs 71 1 .5 71 1 .6 86 2.0 59 1 .4 72 1 .6 elligence 12 0 .8 9 0 .2 13 0.3 5 0 .1 13 0 .3 4,637 100 .0 4,410 100.0 4,321 100.0 4,370 100 .0 4,541 100 .0 TO 0 .0 Sources. Data for the 98th and 99th Congresses are compiled from US . Library of Congress . Congressional Research Service . Indicators of Senate Activity and Workload . Report No . 87497 S, by Roger H . Davidson and Carol Hardy . Washington, June 8, 1987 . Figures for the 100th and 101st Congresses were gathered by Carol Hardy Vincent, Analyst in American National Government, Congressional Research Service . Data for the 102d Congress are compiled from U .S . Congress . Joint Committee on the Organization of Congress . Committee System Background Materials. Washington, 1993. 1 Figures for the 94th Congress are those of the Committee on Agriculture . 2 Figures for the 94th Congress are the combined totals of the Committees on Commerce and Aeronautical and Space Sciences . 3 Figures for the 94th Congress are those of the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs . 4 Figures for the 94th Congress are those of the Committee on Public Works . 5 Figures for the 94th Congress are the combined totals of the Committees on the District of Columbia, Government Operations, and Post Office and Civil Service. 6 Figures for the 94th Congress are those of the Committee on Labor and Public Welfare . 9 The Committee on Small Business was converted from a select to a standing committee at the beginning of the 97th Congress . 8 Totals may not add to 100 .0% due to rounding . TABLE 3-3 . U .S. Senate, Number of Measures Reported by Senate Standin , Select and S 102d Congress (1991-92) 101st Congress (1989-90) ial Committees : 98th-102d Con eases 100th Congress (1987-88) 99th Congress (1986-86) 98th Congress (1983-84) _____ S . Tiding C Agriculture Nutrition & Fore 8 Appropriations 5 Armed Services 8 0 .9 26 2 .8 18 1 .8 37 3.2 4.8 31 3 .5 33 3 .6 38 8 .7 41 3.5 0 5.5 36 4 .0 17 1 .8 25 2.4 17 1 .5 Banking Housing & Urban Affairs 12 1 .7 21 2 .3 23 2 .5 3 3.4 27 2.3 Budget 6 0 .8 16 1 .8 11 1 .2 33 8.2 6 5.9 Commerce Science & Transportation2 6 8 .4 99 11 .1 67 7 .2 73 7.1 0 8.8 nergy & Natural Resources 3 120 16.6 128 14 .3 148 15 .9 93 9.1 99 8.5 nvironment & Public Works4 20 2 .8 54 6 .0 53 5 .7 50 4 .9 83 7.1 inance 28 3 .9 13 1 .5 20 2 .1 22 2.1 30 2.6 62 8 .6 54 6 .0 54 5 .8 56 6.5 83 7.1 Governmental Affairs5 36 5 .0 24 2 .7 36 3 .9 47 4 .6 42 3 .6 Judiciary 150 20.7 233 26 .1 248 26 .6 135 34.5 3 .3 28 .7 o ign L latiens union Resources6 5 6 .2 77 8 .6 69 6 .3 56 5.5 47 4 .0 Rules & Administration 31 4 .3 52 5 .8 65 7 .0 74 7.2 75 6 .5 Small Business ? 3 0 .4 2 0 .2 8 0 .9 6 0.6 13 1 .1 Veterans' Alfaire 20 2 .8 0 .8 13 1.4 12 1 .2 10 0 .9 0 .1 0 .1 0 .2 1 0.1 0 .0 0 .1 0 0 .0 0 0.0 0 0 .0 Select and S Ial Commi 0 ndian Affairs 0 .2 5 .7 34 3 .8 44 4 .7 29 2.8 46 4 .0 telligence 4 0 .6 3 0 .3 6 0 .6 5 0.5 6 0 .5 OTALSS 723 100 .0 894 100 .0 933 100.0 1,027 100.0 1,162 100.0 CRS- 5 7 Sources: Data for the 98th and 99th Congresses are compiled from U .S . Library of Congress . Congressional Research Service . Indicators of Senate Activity and Workload . Report No . 87-497 S, by Roger 11. Davidson and Carol Hardy . Washington, June 8, 1987, Figures for the 100thand 101st Congresses were gathered by Carol Hardy Vincent, Analyst in American National Government, Congressional Research Service . Data for the 102d Congress are compiled from U .S . Congress . Joint Committee on the Organization of Congress . Committee System Background Materials . Washington, 1993 . Igu or the 94th Congress are those of the Committee on Agriculture . 2 Figures for the 94th Congress am the combined totals of the Committees on Commerce and Aeronautical and Space Se ces . 3 Figures for the 94th Congress are those of the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs . 4 Figures for the 94th Congress are those of the Committee on Public Works . 5 Figures for the 94th Congress are the combined totals of the Committees on the District of Columbia, Government Operations, and Post Office and Civil Service . 6 Figures for the 94th Congress are these of the Committee on Labor and Public Welfare . 7 The Committee on Small Business was converted from a select to a standing committee at the beginning of the 97th Congress . 8 Totals may not add to 100 .0% duo to rounding . CRS- 58 102nd ' 11992 di Comm to : Banking, Housing, & Urban Affairs Rmvd 0 9 Rptd 100th 987:1989 YD: 99th ; : (19851986) d" : d ®©®®®® 700 670 ®®® ® 57 52 ®® ® ® 107 86 ®® ® ® Energy & Natural Resources ®®~®®® ®®®® 1 34 607 53 88 40 31 ®® ®_®_® MMM~ ®®®®®® M ® O ®O O® O ®n®®nn®® ®®®no®o ©®© ®MMMM ® 20 ®®®® 54 239 ®®® 43 205 281 114 ® 0 ® ® 107 3 117 ® 203 ® 155 3 0 2 2 1.319 ®® Source : LEGIS Nominations Files for the 99th through 102nd Congresses . Compiled by Rogelio Garcia, Analyst in American National Government . Congressional Research Service . 1 A single "nomination" in this table represents any separate transmittal to the Senate, either a single name or a list of names . --- Source: Frix Law Library, https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/documents/crs%3A93-789. Public record. Not legal advice.