THE STATECRAFT BLUEPRINT
Congress Resolves Less and Less of Its Own Agenda
Share of salient national issues that each Congress actually settles, 1947–2022. About three-quarters
were resolved in the late 1940s; barely a quarter at the 2013–14 low.
each Congress
10-yr average
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
1947
1963
1977
1991
2001
2022
WHAT TO LOOK FOR
A jagged slide, not a smooth staircase
— it swings widely from Congress to Congress.
74% (1947–48)
26% — 2013–14 low
52% (2021–22)
74%
resolved, 80th Congress (1947–48)
26%
resolved, 113th Congress (2013–14)
−48 pts
decline, late 1940s to the low
Source: Sarah Binder, gridlock series (salient issues), Congress Reconsidered, 13th ed. (2025) · The Statecraft Blueprint