Congress has long struggled to pass spending bills on time
Congress has passed all its required appropriations measures on time only four times in nearly five decades.
Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
Read our research on:
Drew DeSilver
Senior Writer/Editor
Drew DeSilver is a senior writer at Pew Research Center.
Publications
-
-
short reads
Redistricting between censuses has been rare in the modern era
Midcycle redistricting efforts like the ones in Texas and California have, up to now, been extremely uncommon.
-
quiz
Cursing Out Loud. Pets in Stores. Which Public Behaviors Do You Find Rude?
Cursing in public. Bringing pets into stores. Blasting music. Smoking near others. Find out if your etiquette views are typical for your age.
-
short reads
Key facts about the U.S. national debt
Private investors are the biggest holders of national debt – $24.4 trillion as of March 2025 – followed by federal trust funds and retirement programs.
-
short reads
What to know about the bond market
The bond market not only determines how much interest the government must pay to borrow money; it also influences how much interest ordinary Americans will pay on car loans, mortgages and credit card bills.
-
short reads
What the data says about Medicaid
The joint federal-state health insurance program covered 71.4 million Americans as of January 2025.
-
short reads
What the data says about Social Security
Most U.S. adults said Social Security benefits shouldn’t be reduced in any way – a view broadly shared across ages, racial and ethnic groups, partisan affiliations and income brackets.
-
short reads
What we know about veterans who work for the federal government
As of September 2024, more than 700,000 veterans worked in various federal departments and agencies.
-
short reads
How Americans view trade between the U.S. and China, Canada and Mexico
Americans are most skeptical about U.S. trade with China: 10% say it benefits the U.S. more than China, while 46% take the opposite view.
-
short reads
Blue-collar workers are less satisfied at work, less attached to their jobs than other U.S. workers
Among blue-collar workers, 43% say they feel extremely or very satisfied with their jobs; by comparison, 53% of other workers express this level of satisfaction.
