The 118th Congress can only be described as one of the most dysfunctional in American history.
Introduction by Common Cause President Virginia Kase Solomón
In January 2023, when leaders convened in Washington, the House of Representatives took four days and 15 votes to elect then-Representative Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) to be speaker, the longest speaker election since 1860. Then just nine months later, the House of Representatives voted to remove the Speaker through a “motion to vacate” process for the first time in history. For three weeks, the people’s house grinded to a halt until Republicans chose Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA) as its next speaker.
Soon after, the House expelled Rep. George Santos (R-NY), just the sixth time in our nearly 250-year history and only the 3rd time since the Civil War that a member of Congress was expelled. And in the summer of 2024, Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) became the first sitting member of Congress to be charged with conspiracy by a public official to act as a foreign agent and soon after resigned.
In fact, the first year of this Congress was the least-productive first year of any Congress for nearly 100 years. And through August 15, 2024, this trend largely continued. Only 78 standalone bills in the 118th Congress have become law, representing 0.5% of the total number of bills introduced. By comparison, about two percent of bills became law in the 116th and 117th Congress, and about three percent of bills became law in the 114th and 115th Congress. With such dysfunction, it is not surprising that 78 percent of Americans disapprove of Congress, while only 16 percent approve, according to a July 2024 Gallup poll.
When the House of Representatives did try to legislate, it primarily passed messaging bills with purely partisan appeal and little chance of becoming law, such as the “SAVE” Act, “Equal Representation Act,” and other anti-voter bills. The Senate did not take up any of this legislation, but passage would become more likely if Republicans claimed a majority in the White House and both chambers of Congress.
Congress has also failed to meaningfully respond to the ongoing ethics crisis at the Supreme Court. Although the Senate Judiciary Committee investigated ethical shortcomings at the Court, held hearings, and passed a Supreme Court ethics bill, the full Senate and the House of Representatives have not acted. As of this writing, President Biden has called for two impactful Supreme Court reforms – a binding, enforceable code of conduct and term limits – which could help provide momentum in a future pro-reform Congress.
Meanwhile, as some states continue to erect barriers to voting, it is incumbent on Congress to legislate and create uniform national voting standards. The Freedom to Vote Act and John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, which both came within two votes of becoming law in January 2022, and other pro-democracy reforms included in this Scorecard are desperately needed. Common Cause’s 1.5 million members strongly urge Congress to pass these critical bills expeditiously.
As we prepare to go to the ballot box this fall, voters have a decision to make: between democracy and authoritarianism; between freedom and oppression; between accountability and corruption. We hope that this Democracy Scorecard can, in some small way, help voters as they make a decision about the direction of our country.
As you evaluate the decisions your elected officials made in this Congress on issues that we care about, make sure you and your family, friends, colleagues, and others have the facts by sharing this nonpartisan 2024 Democracy Scorecard at democracyscorecard.org.