This may come as a surprise, given recent headlines about congressional gridlock and intransigence. Congress hasn’t passed a budget, won’t confirm or reject the President’s Supreme Court nomination, and hasn’t brought major bipartisan breakthroughs, such as criminal justice reform, to the floor. From 2011–2014, Congress enacted the fewest laws since World War II.

Yet in a development that has received virtually no attention, legislation continues to be enacted at a rate slightly higher than previous years. In fact, only four of this year’s 28 bills were originally introduced by a Democrat, with all the rest introduced by Republicans, including one introduced by current Speaker of the House Paul Ryan (R-WI).

So what passed exactly?

What were in these bills? Here are a few highlights:

Foreign policy

H.R. 757, the North Korea Sanctions and Policy Enhancement Act, establishes mandatory sanctions including seizure of assets, visa bans, and denial of government contracts for those found contributing to North Korea’s weapons programs , cyber attacks, or human rights abuses.

, cyber attacks, or human rights abuses. H.R. 1428, the Judicial Redress Act, will allow allow foreign-residing citizens of the United States to sue the U.S. for unlawful disclosure of personal information obtained in connection with international law enforcement efforts.

obtained in connection with international law enforcement efforts. H.R. 515, International Megan’s Law, will allow the federal government to monitor the international movements of registered sex offenders , providing advanced notice to the destination countries of outgoing sex offenders, and receiving notifications of incoming sex offenders from other countries.

, providing advanced notice to the destination countries of outgoing sex offenders, and receiving notifications of incoming sex offenders from other countries. H.R. 644, the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act, will prohibit the import of products made using forced or indentured labor , and includes provisions to prevent a method of predatory pricing used by foreign companies to undercut local markets and drive away competition.

, and includes provisions to prevent a method of predatory pricing used by foreign companies to undercut local markets and drive away competition. S. 2152, the Electrify Africa Act, will help to bring electricity to an estimated 50 million Africans who currently lack it within the next five years.

Health & safety

S. 142, the Child Nicotine Poisoning Prevention Act, will require new packaging standards for “liquid nicotine” to make it much more difficult for children (especially under the age of five) to accidentally open and/or ingest.

to make it much more difficult for children (especially under the age of five) to accidentally open and/or ingest. S. 1180, the Integrated Public Alert and Warning System Modernization Act, will update the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) warning systems for natural disasters, improving the technology and better adapting it for the disabled and non-English speakers.

Veterans

S. 2393, the Foreclosure Relief and Extension for Servicemembers Act, extends several existing protections for veterans regarding foreclosure or seizure of property.

One other way Congress has been more productive

The last time the Democrats controlled the Senate (2007–2014), the number of votes they allowed on amendments had steadily declined, reaching a modern low of 14 in all of 2014. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) pledged to open up that process once again if Republicans controlled the Senate.

And he has: 14 amendments have received a vote so far in 2016, in addition to 154 last year. Some of the amendments that passed this year in the Republican-controlled Senate were even introduced by Democrats, including Sens. Ed Markey (D-MA), Joe Manchin (D-WV), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), and Martin Heinrich (D-NM).

Does Congress slow down during presidential elections years?

A popular misconception is that Congress slows down during presidential election years. In fact, looking back over the last 40 years, Congress has enacted slightly more new laws in presidential election years than in non-presidential (off-year) election years. To be fair, not all legislation is consequential, such as the two bills this year renaming post offices in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin and Grove City, Ohio. Then again, the composition of consequential versus inconsequential bills remains about the same year after year.

Quorum ran the numbers and found basically the same thing.

How many bills are likely to be enacted this year?

Generally, about 50 percent more laws are passed during the second year of a Congress than its first year. In the last Congress, for example, 72 bills were enacted in its first year (2013) and 113 prior to the election in its second year (2014). The Congress before that, the number went from 81 enacted the first year (2011) to 115 enacted prior to the election in the second year (2012).

So what could last year’s total potentially indicate about the number to be enacted this year? With 115 bills enacted in 2015, we expect Congress to enact around 150 bills in 2016.

It’s impossible to know what the pace of legislative passage will be between now and November. Will partisanship and obstructionism prove more of a roadblock than in 2014 and 2012? Or, perhaps, will a Republican fear of a Democratic win in the presidential elections and/or the prospect of losing Senate control prompt them to pass legislation now before a new president and new legislators arrive in 2017?

This article was written by GovTrack Insider staff writer Jesse Rifkin.