As he announced his resignation Friday, House Speaker John Boehner tallied up his accomplishments, including major spending cuts and preventing most of the Bush tax cuts from expiring. But the chart below shows that there was a lot Boehner didn't get done: namely, enacting laws.
Congress enacted a lower percentage of bills during his two full terms as House speaker than at any time in the previous 40 years: 2.3 percent in the Congress spanning 2011-'12, and 2.8 percent in the one that spanned 2013-'14. Obviously, that can't all be attributed to Boehner. There are 534 other members of Congress who have a say in what makes it into law — and Boehner's resignation is in part a symbol of his inability to control even the House Republican contingent. It's also worth noting that many Republicans see an absence of new laws as a sign of progress.
Still, this chart gives a pretty good idea of the futility of being speaker these days.
