The House of Representatives has several different parliamentary procedures through which it can bring legislation to the chamber floor. Which will be used in a given situation depends on many factors, including the type of measure being considered, its cost, the amount of political or policy controversy surrounding it, and the degree to which Members want to debate it and propose amendments. According to the Legislative Information System of the U.S. Congress (LIS), in the 111 th Congress (2009-2010), 1,946 pieces of legislation received action. This report provides a statistical snapshot of the forms, origins, and party sponsorship of these measures, and of the parliamentary procedures used to bring them to the chamber floor during their initial consideration. Of these, 885 were bills or joint resolutions and 1,061 were simple or concurrent resolutions, a breakdown between lawmaking and non-lawmaking legislative forms of approximately 45% to 55%, respectively. Origin of Measures

Of the 1,946 measures receiving House floor action in the 111 th Congress, 1,796 originated in the House and 150 originated in the Senate. The ratio of majority to minority party sponsorship of measures receiving initial House floor action in the 111 th Congress varied widely based on the parliamentary procedure used to raise the legislation on the House floor. As is noted in Table 2 , 73% of the measures considered under the Suspension of the Rules procedure were sponsored by Democrats, 27% by Republicans, and less than 1% by political independents. The ratio of party sponsorship on measures initially brought to the floor under a terms of a special rule reported by the House Committee on Rules and adopted by the House was far wider. When only lawmaking forms of legislation are counted, 86% of bills and joint resolutions receiving floor action in the 111 th Congress came up by Suspension of the Rules. In the 111 th Congress, 269 measures, representing 14% of the measures receiving floor action, came before the House on their initial consideration by virtue of their status as "privileged business." In the 111 th Congress, 103 measures, or 5% of all legislation receiving House floor action, were initially brought before the chamber under the terms of a special rule reported by the Rules Committee and agreed to by the House. Unanimous Consent

In current practice, legislation is sometimes brought before the House of Representatives for consideration by the unanimous consent of its Members. When only lawmaking forms of legislation are counted, less than 1% (.001%) of bills and joint resolutions receiving floor action in the 111 th Congress came up under the Gephardt Rule. Other Parliamentary Mechanisms

The House of Representatives has established special parliamentary procedures which might be used to bring legislation to the chamber floor dealing with the business of the District of Columbia, by a discharge petition filed by a numerical majority of the House, and by a procedure known as the Calendar Wednesday procedure.
The House of Representatives has several different parliamentary procedures through which it can bring legislation to the chamber floor. Which of these will be used in a given situation depends on many factors, including the type of measure being considered, its cost, the amount of political or policy controversy surrounding it, and the degree to which Members want to debate it and propose amendments. This report provides a snapshot of the forms and origins of measures which, according to the Legislative Information System of the U.S. Congress (LIS), received action on the House floor in the 111th Congress (2009-2010) and the parliamentary procedures used to bring them up for initial House consideration.
In the 111th Congress, 1,946 pieces of legislation received floor action in the House of Representatives. Of these, 885 were bills or joint resolutions and 1,061 were simple or concurrent resolutions, a breakdown between lawmaking and non-lawmaking legislative forms of approximately 45% to 55%. Of these 1,946 measures, 1,796 originated in the House and 150 originated in the Senate.
During the same period, 78% of all measures receiving initial House floor action came before the chamber under the Suspension of the Rules procedure; 14% came to the floor as business "privileged" under House rules and precedents; 5% were raised by a special rule reported by the Committee on Rules and adopted by the House; and 2% came up by the unanimous consent of Members. One measure, representing a small fraction (less than 1%) of measures receiving House floor action in the 111th Congress, was processed through the parliamentary mechanism formerly contained in House Rule XXVIII, popularly known as the "Gephardt Rule."
When only lawmaking forms of legislation (bills and joint resolutions) are counted, 86% of measures receiving initial House floor action in the 111th Congresses came before the chamber under the Suspension of the Rules procedure; 11% were raised by a special rule reported by the Committee on Rules and adopted by the House; and 2% came up by the unanimous consent of Members. Less than 1% of bills or joint resolutions received House floor action in the 111th Congress by virtue of being business "privileged" under House rules and precedents or through the provisions of the Gephardt Rule.
The party sponsorship of legislation receiving initial floor action in the 111th Congress varied based on the procedure used to raise the legislation on the chamber floor. Seventy-three percent of the measures considered under the Suspension of the Rules procedure were sponsored by majority party Members. All measures brought before the House under the terms of a special rule reported by the House Committee on Rules and adopted by the House were sponsored by majority party Members.
This report will be periodically updated to reflect legislative action taken in a full Congress.