Washington ( CNN ) -- The current Congress has worked just as many days as its legislative predecessors . It just has a lot less to show for it . According to a CNN analysis of congressional records that looked at bills that became law and the number of days lawmakers worked , members of the House have spent more than 150 days and Senate just over 140 days in session so far , comparable to previous Congresses at this point in the term . But of the thousands of measures introduced , only 132 passed both . About one-fifth of those measures were to approve official names for post offices . In the previous Congress , the House worked 286 days and the Senate worked 349 days . That Congress passed 383 bills , according to Library of Congress records . Each Congress spans a two-year cycle . The logjam means important pieces of legislation -- such the transportation funding bill and measures to address high student loan rates and , yes , even the budget -- have n't passed . It was n't always this way . Leaders on both sides of the aisle point to the split nature of the current Congress -- with Republicans controlling the House and Democrats the Senate -- as the source of partisan showdowns that have further slowed legislative progress . However , the 107th Congress , which spanned 2001 and 2002 , was a period in which the Senate majority changed three times while Republicans maintained control of the House . It was also a time of political unity after the 9/11 attacks . During that Congress , lawmakers enacted the No Child Left Behind Act , created the Department of Homeland Security and authorized the use of military force against Iraq among other pieces of legislation . In all , that Congress passed 377 measures . The 111th Congress in 2009 `` was exceedingly productive . It was a time of unified government , '' said Thomas Mann , senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and co-author of `` It 's Even Worse Than It Looks : How the American Constitutional System Collided With the New Politics of Extremism . '' `` If you look at major legislation passed , it ranks with the most productive in modern history . '' That year , the Democrat-controlled Congress passed the health care reform law . The controversial measure 's passage ushered in a new era of tea party-backed Republican freshman and gave the GOP control of the 112th House in 2010 . Those freshmen vowed to repeal the health care reform act and crack down on government waste and abuse . But in helping slow what they see as a runaway freight train of federal bills , they 've also helped slow the pace of government , political experts say . Obama , Truman and the 'Do-Nothing ' Congress . Take for example , last year 's government shutdown battle over trimming the national debt . Tea party freshmen , true to their word , pushed hard against any compromise , demanding debt reductions only be offset by spending cuts , not revenue increases . `` The Republican majority in the House , it has been one of the least productive in modern history , not surprisingly , '' Mann said . There are also fewer measures being sent over to the respective chambers for votes . For example , during the politically split 107th Congress , the House sent the Senate 346 measures and the Senate sent the House 199 . In this Congress , the House has so far sent the Senate 198 bills and the Senate has sent the House 58 . The legislative year is n't over . They still have nearly six months left , minus any vacation days , the August recess and home-visit days . Congress has passed a number of measures extending federal funding as well as free-trade agreements with South Korea , Colombia and Panama . But barring a mathematical miracle , it is unlikely this Congress will make up the legislative shortfall , especially during an election year when the focus is on campaigning and getting re-elected . Both parties are quick to assign blame for the legislative slowdown . House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi , D-California , recently called on House Speaker John Boehner to nix additional recesses , although some saw it as more of a political move . `` Instead of recessing yet again , the House should remain at work and pass critical legislation that will create jobs for the middle class that will actually be signed into law . Republicans must not run out the clock on the economy , '' Pelosi wrote Boehner in a letter . The House recessed anyway . CNN reached out to Boehner 's office for comment , but the office referred questions to other representatives . Other Republicans have made similar complaints about Democrats . Could Congress go from bad to worse after election ? Last month , Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said Democrats are `` irresponsible '' for failing to pass a budget . `` If you 're looking for a simple , three-word description of the Democrat approach to the problems we face , it 's this : duck and cover , '' McConnell said on a day of heated budget debate . At this point , the foot-dragging and finger-pointing is all about embarrassing the other party , Mann said . `` It is about generating blame for something , about trying to put the other side in a difficult political position . ''
Congress analysis : Current CNN least productive of past few sessions so far . Of the About one of measures introduced , About one have passed both houses . About one in thousands measures were to name post offices . Despite a split Congress and partisan finger-pointing , political experts say both parties are at fault .