Legislation · 119th Congress · as of Nov 9, 2026

Where this Congress’s bills stand

How far 17,070 bills have gotten

So far · as of Nov 9, 2026

In committee 15,426 90%

1 of 140 are ceremonial (post-office namings, coins, designations).

Ceremonial laws pile up in the lame duck: the 118th finished at 29%, but was at 11% at this point.

40 to 60% of a Congress’s laws arrive after Election Day.

90% of this Congress’s bills have not left committee; the 118th was at 92% at month 22. 1 in 122 became law.

Excludes resolutions; includes ceremonial bills. House and Senate companions count once each. Congress.gov via GovInfo · to Nov 9, 2026 How we count stages How we classify bills

Shortcuts and dead ends

How endings are recorded

Endings

11Failed floor votevoted down in the House or Senate
2Vetoedby the President
2Veto upheldof the 2 vetoed
0Committee recommended against it7 resolutions of inquiry, in Bills + resolutions

Routes around committee

279Skipped committeeof the 979 that passed at least one chamber, with no committee report
106forced out of committee, by petition or Senate rule8 House discharge petitions reached 218 signatures this Congress

Veto upheld is part of vetoed. A count of 0 has no list to open. Skipped committee usually means suspension of the rules or unanimous consent; discharge is by House petition or Senate Rule XIV.

How far bills get, by lobbying

Each group by stage reached · colors as in the bar above

No lobbying on file10,218 bills · 8% past committee
1 to 4 organizations lobbied5,872 bills · 10% past committee
5 or more organizations lobbied909 bills · 21% past committee

Bills that 5 or more organizations lobbied on got past committee nearly three times as often as bills with no lobbying on file.

Counts organizations that reported lobbying on a bill, once each, from filings made before the bill left committee. Only organizations with a PAC on file are counted (about 2,200), so universities, hospitals, local governments and most nonprofits are left out and “no lobbying on file” can include bills others lobbied on. Set aside: 71 must-pass bills (spending, defense, stopgap, budget) and the handful of bills lobbied by more organizations than almost any other (10 became law).

Lobbying disclosure filings · 119th so far Method

How long they take

median days10th–90th

Introduced → approved by committee139 days
15,426 not yet approved by committee
Approved by committee → passed a chamber18 days
665 not yet passed a chamber
Passed one → passed both96 days
820 not yet passed the other chamber
Passed both → became law20 days
17 awaiting the President
06 mo1 yrCongress ends

Half of the bills a committee approved got there within 139 days.

Medians use only bills that made the step.

Action dates · 119th so far Method

How long they are

Words (each step is 10 times longer) · bills per bar

median 550
2001k10k100k1M
ShortestH.R. 899To terminate the Department of Education.17 words
LongestH.R. 8800National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2027422,562 words

The median bill is 550 words; 3 are over 200,000.

Latest text version. 111 without text are left out; under 500 words is the first bar.

GovInfo bill text, latest version · 119th so far Method

Every bill

1 bills · latest action first

BillTitleSponsorIntroducedTypeStageWordsCosponsorsLobbied by
H.R. 10167Common Cents ActRLisa C. McClain MIAug 27, 2026SubstantiveTo President1.8k words17

Congress.gov bill status · 119th so far · 25 bills a page