Did You Know?

The number of House legislative days devoted to action on noncontroversial and often insignificant "suspension" bills is up significantly in this Congress by comparison with the past several Congresses, wasting time and taxpayer resources. Of the bills considered under the suspension procedure - requiring 2/3 vote for passage - so far during this Congress, more than half were bills naming federal buildings, recongnizing individuals or groups (like sports teams) for achievements, or supporting the designation of particular days, months, or weeks.

This year, for the first time in the modern era, the House did not pass a budget, and of the twelve regular spending bills, only two have passed.

House Democrats have relied heavily on what is known as "martial law" procedures during the current Congress, particularly provisions that allow them to bring any bill to the floor with little or no notice and deny Republican members of Congress or even fractions of their own party their right to debate and offer amendments or substitutes for consideration or vote.