Legislation · Federal level
Bills
113th–119th Congress (2013 on)
- bills
- 109,769
- became law
- 2,190
- years
- 2013–2026
- last updated
- Oct 28, 2026
Every bill introduced in Congress since 2013
Introduction, committee, one chamber, both chambers, law
We follow each bill through these stages and record its policy area and the party of its sponsor. The page shows what Congress works on and how far its bills get.
Federal: bills in Congress, 113th–119th Congress (2013 on). State: bills in 51 legislatures, sessions from 2019: the 50 states and DC.
What legislatures work on
Health leads: 12% of bills with a policy area (13,176). Next come Government Operations and Politics (11%) and Armed Forces and National Security (8.3%). 3,268 bills (3.0%) have no policy area and count only in the totals.
The Congressional Research Service gives most bills in Congress one policy area; the lab maps those areas onto the same 25 areas it uses for what politicians say. A share is the part of the bills with a policy area that are in the area, so the shares add to 100%.
What are bills about?
Share of the 106,501 bills with a policy area, most bills first
- 1Health12% 13,176 bills
- 2Government Operations and Politics11% 12,040 bills
- 3Armed Forces and National Security8.3% 8,860 bills
- 4International Affairs7.4% 7,836 bills
- 5Taxation7.1% 7,603 bills
Show the data
| Policy area | Bills | Share | Became law | Law rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Health | 13176 | 12% | 125 | 0.9% |
| Government Operations and Politics | 12040 | 11% | 616 | 5.1% |
| Armed Forces and National Security | 8860 | 8.3% | 288 | 3.3% |
| International Affairs | 7836 | 7.4% | 96 | 1.2% |
| Taxation | 7603 | 7.1% | 25 | 0.3% |
| Crime and Law Enforcement | 6225 | 5.9% | 124 | 2.0% |
| Education | 5086 | 4.8% | 22 | 0.4% |
| Public Lands and Natural Resources | 4643 | 4.4% | 165 | 3.5% |
| Transportation and Public Works | 4168 | 3.9% | 89 | 2.1% |
| Finance and Financial Sector | 4106 | 3.9% | 59 | 1.4% |
| Environmental Protection | 3491 | 3.3% | 41 | 1.2% |
| Immigration | 3314 | 3.1% | 22 | 0.7% |
| Commerce | 3166 | 3.0% | 48 | 1.5% |
| Agriculture and Food | 3010 | 2.8% | 16 | 0.5% |
| Science, Technology, Communications | 3008 | 2.8% | 56 | 1.9% |
| Labor and Employment | 2944 | 2.8% | 18 | 0.6% |
| Energy | 2895 | 2.7% | 36 | 1.2% |
| Civil Rights and Liberties, Minority Issues | 2824 | 2.6% | 98 | 3.5% |
| Economics and Public Finance | 1485 | 1.4% | 79 | 5.3% |
| Housing and Community Development | 1424 | 1.3% | 7 | 0.5% |
| Emergency Management | 1328 | 1.3% | 54 | 4.1% |
| Foreign Trade and International Finance | 1271 | 1.2% | 16 | 1.3% |
| Law | 1056 | 1.0% | 24 | 2.3% |
| Families | 785 | 0.7% | 7 | 0.9% |
| Water Resources Development | 757 | 0.7% | 22 | 2.9% |
Has the mix changed?
The 6 largest areas’ shares of each year’s bills with a policy area, shaded against each area’s own peak
Agriculture and Food rose most, from 2.0% of bills with a policy area in 2013 to 4.1% in 2025. Public Lands and Natural Resources fell most, from 7.1% to 4.4%.
Show the data
| Column | Bills with an area | Health | Government Operations and Politics | Armed Forces and National Security | International Affairs | Taxation | Crime and Law Enforcement |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 6485 | 11% | 12% | 9.5% | 5.2% | 8.7% | 5.1% |
| 2014 | 3815 | 11% | 12% | 9.7% | 8.4% | 9.8% | 4.2% |
| 2015 | 7625 | 12% | 11% | 8.1% | 5.9% | 9.2% | 5.9% |
| 2016 | 4052 | 12% | 11% | 9.3% | 7.8% | 8.9% | 6.3% |
| 2017 | 8082 | 11% | 12% | 9.2% | 6.5% | 8.4% | 6.2% |
| 2018 | 5046 | 13% | 12% | 7.3% | 7.7% | 6.1% | 6.4% |
| 2019 | 9847 | 12% | 11% | 8.1% | 7.3% | 7.7% | 5.8% |
| 2020 | 6278 | 15% | 11% | 8.5% | 7.4% | 6.4% | 5.2% |
| 2021 | 10996 | 13% | 11% | 8.4% | 7.1% | 6.8% | 5.6% |
| 2022 | 6324 | 13% | 11% | 7.5% | 9.7% | 5.2% | 6.4% |
| 2023 | 11896 | 13% | 11% | 7.3% | 8.5% | 5.6% | 5.8% |
| 2024 | 6907 | 13% | 11% | 8.6% | 7.8% | 5.8% | 6.2% |
| 2025 | 12063 | 12% | 11% | 8.6% | 7.2% | 7.2% | 6.3% |
| 2026* | 7085 | 12% | 11% | 7.5% | 7.1% | 6.4% | 5.7% |
Odd years open a new Congress and see the most bills introduced. * 2026 to date. The headline compares 2013 with 2025.
Notes
3,268 bills have no policy area (3.0% of all bills): they count in every total on the page but not here. 2026 is still under way: its bills are those introduced to Oct 28, 2026, and it is left out of the comparison of years.
How far bills get
89% of bills never passed a chamber. 99.6% reached a committee; 12,167 (11%) passed one chamber, 2,534 (2.3%) passed both and 2,190 (2.0%) became law.
A bill counts at every stage it reached, so no block is larger than the one before it. “In committee” means referred to or acted on by a committee, which in Congress is almost every bill: the real sorting comes between committee and the floor. A law rate is the share of bills that became law.
How many bills reach each stage?
109,769 bills introduced in Congress, 2013 to 2026
Show the data
| Bills | Introduced | In committee | Passed one chamber | Passed both chambers | Became law |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Congress | 109,769 | 109,384 | 12,167 | 2,534 | 2,190 |
Which areas become law most often?
Law rate by policy area, areas with at least 100 bills
Bills on Economics and Public Finance became law most often (5.3%), bills on Taxation least often (0.3%). Among the 25 areas with at least 100 bills; the rate for all bills is 2.0%.
- 1Economics and Public Finance5.3% 79 of 1,485
- 2Government Operations and Politics5.1% 616 of 12,040
- 3Emergency Management4.1% 54 of 1,328
- 4Public Lands and Natural Resources3.5% 165 of 4,643
- 5Civil Rights and Liberties, Minority Issues3.5% 98 of 2,824
Show the data
| Policy area | Bills | Passed one chamber | Became law | Law rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Economics and Public Finance | 1485 | 186 | 79 | 5.3% |
| Government Operations and Politics | 12040 | 3143 | 616 | 5.1% |
| Emergency Management | 1328 | 288 | 54 | 4.1% |
| Public Lands and Natural Resources | 4643 | 665 | 165 | 3.5% |
| Civil Rights and Liberties, Minority Issues | 2824 | 440 | 98 | 3.5% |
| Armed Forces and National Security | 8860 | 975 | 288 | 3.3% |
| Water Resources Development | 757 | 74 | 22 | 2.9% |
| Law | 1056 | 85 | 24 | 2.3% |
| Transportation and Public Works | 4168 | 388 | 89 | 2.1% |
| Crime and Law Enforcement | 6225 | 621 | 124 | 2.0% |
| Science, Technology, Communications | 3008 | 429 | 56 | 1.9% |
| Commerce | 3166 | 366 | 48 | 1.5% |
| Finance and Financial Sector | 4106 | 425 | 59 | 1.4% |
| Foreign Trade and International Finance | 1271 | 65 | 16 | 1.3% |
| Energy | 2895 | 243 | 36 | 1.2% |
| International Affairs | 7836 | 1001 | 96 | 1.2% |
| Environmental Protection | 3491 | 269 | 41 | 1.2% |
| Health | 13176 | 910 | 125 | 0.9% |
| Families | 785 | 124 | 7 | 0.9% |
| Immigration | 3314 | 133 | 22 | 0.7% |
| Labor and Employment | 2944 | 121 | 18 | 0.6% |
| Agriculture and Food | 3010 | 141 | 16 | 0.5% |
| Housing and Community Development | 1424 | 58 | 7 | 0.5% |
| Education | 5086 | 385 | 22 | 0.4% |
| Taxation | 7603 | 157 | 25 | 0.3% |
Does the sponsor’s party make a difference?
Share of each party’s bills that reached each stage, by the party of the primary sponsor
Bills with a Democratic primary sponsor became law at 1.6%, those with a Republican primary sponsor at 2.5%. For all bills the rate is 2.0%.
- In committee
- Passed one chamber
- Passed both chambers
- Became law
Show the data
| Measure | Democrats | Republicans |
|---|---|---|
| In committee | 99.8% | 99.5% |
| Passed one chamber | 8.7% | 13.9% |
| Passed both chambers | 1.8% | 2.9% |
| Became law | 1.6% | 2.5% |
Coverage: the sponsor’s party is known for 109,758 of 109,769 bills (100%), those whose primary sponsor is in the lab’s roster of officials; the rest are left out of this figure. Independents sponsored 603 (0.5% became law); Other parties sponsored 13 (0.0% became law): too few to compare at equal weight.
What this means, and what it doesn’t
The party with the majority in a chamber decides which bills reach the floor, so a party’s rate mostly reflects how often it held the majority in the Congresses covered. It is not a measure of how effective either party’s members are; individual members’ records are on their profiles.
Does the chamber make a difference?
Bills that reached at least each stage, by the chamber where they were introduced
House bills became law at 2.0%, Senate bills at 2.0%. By the chamber where each bill was introduced: 71,059 House and 38,710 Senate bills.
Show the data
| Chamber of origin | Introduced | In committee | Passed one chamber | Passed both chambers | Became law |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| House | 71,059 | 71,019 | 7,035 | 1,654 | 1,432 |
| Senate | 38,710 | 38,365 | 5,132 | 880 | 758 |
Ideas across states
Ideas that travel from state to state are shown at the State level.
The same proposal often appears in many legislatures, from model bills, interstate compacts and copied laws. Congress is one legislature, so this section reads state bills only.
Browse bills
Every bill, newest first. Filter by legislature, policy area, how far it got and session.
Five at a time; “Show all” pages through the rest. Each bill links to its official page where there is one, and its sponsors to their profiles. The list comes from the site’s search index, so its counts can differ slightly from the figures above until both are rebuilt.
Every bill is in search, with the same filters.
Methods and sources
How the counts are made, what they leave out, and how this page writes its headlines. Data built Oct 28, 2026.
Sources
Federal bills come from the GovInfo bill status files of the Library of Congress and the Government Publishing Office; state bills from Open States. This page is rebuilt from them nightly.
- Congress: 113th–119th Congress (2013 on); 109,769 bills.
- State legislatures: Sessions from 2019: the 50 states and DC; 1,037,482 bills.
Stages
Each bill’s stage is the furthest it reached, read from its recorded actions:
- Introduced: every bill.
- In committee: referred to or acted on by a committee.
- Passed one chamber, passed both chambers (a unicameral legislature’s passage counts as both), became law.
Policy areas and parties
One of 25 policy areas per bill: for Congress, the Congressional Research Service’s area mapped onto the lab’s list; for the states, an AI model’s reading of the title, summary and subject terms. The party is the primary sponsor’s, for sponsors in the lab’s roster of officials; the year is the year of introduction (for state bills without one, the first action).
Ideas across states
Bills are compared on their title, summary and subject terms. Pairs at 0.87 or above are matched; in the samples of pairs checked at each level of similarity, at least 90% of matched pairs were the same proposal. A proposal whose wording changed a lot from state to state can be missed, and two bills on the same narrow subject can be matched without being one proposal.
What to keep in mind
- Party is the party of a bill's primary sponsor. In Congress it is the party recorded with the sponsorship (else the member's current party); in the states, a sitting legislator's current party, or for former legislators the party of the Open States role they held when the bill was introduced (or their latest one). Known for 109,758 of 109,769 bills in Congress; 888,226 of 1,037,482 state bills. Bills whose primary sponsors split evenly between parties are not counted by party.
- Policy areas of bills in Congress are the Congressional Research Service's, matched to our 25 areas; a few CRS areas (such as sports and recreation) have no match and count in totals only.
- State bills' policy areas are assigned by a language model; bills without one (mostly honorary, memorial and procedural measures) count in totals but not in topics.
- Year is the year a bill was introduced. Bills with no date, or a date outside the years covered, count in totals but not in the yearly rows.
- Cross-state ideas and matches come from the bill-similarity snapshot of 2026-10-22: state bills with a policy area, compared on their titles, summaries and subjects (not full text). Two bills match at a similarity of 0.87 or more.
- Bills of the current session can still advance, so the latest years’ stages and law rates are lower than they will be.
- Legislatures count bills differently: some introduce many more, some carry bills over between years, and some count resolutions as bills. Compare law rates between states with that in mind.
How the headlines are written
Every headline is computed from the data by a fixed rule, the same at both levels; nothing is chosen by hand.
- Page head: the share of bills that became law. Areas: the largest, and the area whose share rose most and fell most between the first and last complete years with 100 bills with an area.
- Stages: the share that never passed a chamber (or, if fewer than half, the share that passed one). Areas, parties and legislatures: the highest and lowest law rates among those with at least 100 bills (areas, parties) or 200 bills (legislatures); Democrats are named first.
- Ideas: how many proposals reached three or more states, and the one in the most states.
Data
Every bill, with its sponsors, cosponsors, stage and policy area, is in the bulk files; search them by words in search.