Here are 3 times Congress showed signs of unity in 2024

SALT LAKE CITY — The 118th Congress had a slow start in 2023, when it managed to pass only 34 bills over the course of a year, according to records kept by the National Archives. This lack of productivity was last seen during the Great Depression.

Although the burdens of a divided government continued into 2024 — with the GOP-controlled House and the Democratic Senate and White House — Congress performed much better and had passed about 103 bills as of mid-December.

But the numbers still lag behind previous years. The 117th Congress, which coincides with President Joe Biden's first two years as commander in chief, passed 362 bills. During President-elect Donald Trump's first term, the 115th and 116th Congresses passed a total of 786 bills, as ABC News reported .

The current trend should reverse with the Republicans trifecta — control of both chambers of Congress and the White House —going into next year. While there were many roadblocks to passing legislation in 2024, here are three instances of bipartisanship in Congress.

Curtis, Ocasio-Cortez offer support for geothermal energy

Democratic New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Republican Utah Rep. John Curtis offered each other support on their bills earlier in September.

At the heart of this collaboration were two bills aimed at streamlining the permitting process for geothermal energy. Curtis' bill, the Geothermal Energy Opportunity, GEO Act, will help "unlock this resource to meet our energy needs," he said.

"Geothermal energy is an affordable, reliable, and clean energy source," Curtis said in a statement. "Despite significant investments from companies to secure project permits, the Department of the Interior often delays authorizations — such as notices to proceed and drilling permits — due to litigation threats."

Ocasio-Cortez in her remarks on the House floor said the GEO Act requires permit applications to be reviewed within two months, and this efficiency will not sacrifice a proper review process, as mandated under the National Environmental Policy Act, the Endangered Species Act and the National Historic Preservation Act.

She thanked Republicans for their willingness to work across the aisle to ensure both communities and the environment continue to enjoy protection.

"Geothermal has the smallest footprint of any energy generation technology and uses significantly fewer resources than other sources, especially conventional fossil fuels," the New York congresswoman said.

Curtis brings his ability to work across the aisle to the Senate, replacing outgoing Sen. Mitt Romney, who is also known for his ability to collaborate in a bipartisan way.

House overwhelming agreed to ban TikTok

Utah House Reps. Blake Moore, Celeste Maloy, John Curtis and Burgess Owens all voted in favor of a nationwide ban on TikTok alongside 348 other members of Congress who voted for it. This marked a rare occasion when Congress set aside political differences to ban the social media app.

As united as lawmakers proved to be to pass the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, which would require TikTok to divest from its parent company ByteDance within six months, 15 Republicans and 50 Democrats voted against the legislation. This group included representatives with very contrasting political ideologies — like Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green, R-Ga., and Ocasio-Cortez. They argued that by taking away the platform American users would violate their First Amendment rights.

The bill sailed through the House but hit some speed bumps in the Senate. In April, a modified version of the bill ultimately passed after being attached to $95 billion in foreign aid.

Blake Moore and Ro Khanna and Bernie Sanders on DOGE

This newly established and Republican-led Department of Government Efficiency is sparking interest among progressives like Rep. Ro Khanna and Sen. Bernie Sanders, even though it's an initiative of the Trump administration.

This independent advisory body is headed by entrepreneurs Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy. Khanna, in an op-ed published Tuesday by NBC News, said he looked "forward to working with the Department of Government Efficiency to reduce waste and fraud at the Pentagon, while strongly opposing any cuts to programs like Social Security, Medicare, the Department of Veterans Affairs or the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau." Sanders, in a post on X, said he agreed with Musk over cutting defense spending, as the Hill reported.

"The Pentagon, with a budget of $886 billion, just failed its 7th audit in a row. It's lost track of billions," Sanders said in his post. "Last year, only 13 senators voted against the Military Industrial Complex and a defense budget full of waste and fraud. That must change."

Although the department hasn't officially begun its work, the conversations on both sides of the aisle for curbing spending are promising.

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