Washington ( CNN ) -- Congress set off for a two-week recess Friday , flying out of Washington under a dark cloud : the `` Do-nothing '' label . But that term is too easy . If you take a closer look , it turns out the better fit may be the `` wasted-time '' Congress . The terms `` do-nothing '' and `` Congress '' may be so cemented together that the phrase no longer tells us much . At the moment , it may sound redundant . In 2013 , Congress spent more time at the office but got less done with it than at any time in recent history . How much got done ? Let 's start there . There are many measures of congressional activity , but one has sparked the `` do-nothing '' label : Bills passed . • Bills passed 2013 : 64 . • Where does that place ? : That is the lowest amount in modern history . • What about recent years ? : 148 ( '12 ) , 90 ( '11 ) , 258 ( '10 ) and 125 ( '09 ) . The lowest figure during President George W. Bush 's term was 136 , double the amount passed this year . Lawmakers pass more blame than bills . Wait , bills passed does not mean `` good '' bills passed . This is true . And it is a key argument for Republicans especially . `` It 's not how many bills you pass , '' Sen. Richard Shelby , R-Alabama , told CNN , `` It 's how many you stop . A lot of them are bad . '' This is what we 're getting at here by bucking the `` do-nothing '' label . It does not capture the extent of the problem in Congress . 6 reasons why 2013 was a bad year for Obama . How else can you measure the mess on Capitol Hill ? By the hundreds of hours it took Congress to get so little done . Days in session ? We could look at the days in session , which were officially more than 150 for both the House and Senate . That is average for the Senate and way above average for the House . But those figures can be misleading : They include `` pro-forma '' sessions when the House and Senate are not really in Washington . Instead , consider time in session . • Senate time in session : More than 1,098 hours . • House time in session : More than 786 hours . . • Relatively : That 's higher than average for the Senate over the past 30 years . And lower than average for the House . Senate clears key nominations , leaves town for Christmas . And there were issues that both parties pledged to address , but left unresolved in that work time . To name a few : . • Jobs , long-term unemployment . • Immigration . • Energy policy . In other words , Congress spent hundreds of hours in Washington -- far more than average for the Senate -- and still was not able to address most of the biggest issues of the day . `` It 's a lot of wasted time , '' Sen. Barbara Boxer , D-California , told CNN , her frustrated tone at odds with her bright holiday red sweater. `` Ridiculous ... It 's exhausting ... It 's been getting worse and worse every year . Exponentially . There are so many issues we could be dealing with , and we 're so discouraged . '' This is perhaps the greatest area of bipartisan agreement : Congress is in Washington , but doing less . `` I think we 've been working less , to be honest with you , '' Sen. John McCain , R-Arizona , said as he left the last Senate vote of the year . When asked about the increased hours in the Senate , he was quick to respond , `` The number of hours doing nothing ? Yes , absolutely . '' There is a pervasive sense of frustration mixed with no clear path toward a better , more able Congress . `` I think a majority of the members are trying ... and hope that getting back to where the Congress does its job is just right around the next corner , '' said Sen. Roy Blunt , R-Missouri , who previously served as the Republican whip in the House . He lowered is voice . `` And we keep turning that corner and finding out we 're not there yet . And that 's frustrating . '' It is a combination of doing relatively little , but taking an enormous amount of time doing it . `` A lot of wasted time to me , '' Boxer repeated . Obama says 2013 was n't his worst year .
Congress spent more time in office this year but got less done . Some Republicans argue that it 's number of bad bills stopped that shows effectiveness . `` It 's been getting worse and worse every year , '' veteran Democrat says . Long-time Republican says , `` I think we 've been working less ''