Congress is considering another early recess. Here’s what the numbers show about how much work lawmakers have actually done. 

Congress is back in session – but maybe not for long.  

As soon as lawmakers got back from the five-week August recess, House leaders cancelled the last two weeks of September session – meaning members won’t work again until mid-November.  

With a $40 trillion national debt, off-and-on conflicts with Iran, and full-blown trade wars with our allies, the optics of Congress taking yet another vacation are not great. It’s led many Americans to wonder: 

How much has Congress actually done this year? 

Through August 31, 2026, the House held floor votes on just 65 days – the fewest through this point in any comparable midterm election year since 1994, according to No Labels’ analysis. The House spent 383 hours in session, the lowest in our midterm-year comparison going back to 1990. And Congress enacted just 34 public bills into law, also the lowest in the comparison since 1990. 

The House Has Voted on Just 65 Days 

There are 243 days from January 1 through August 31. If you are a full-time employee with a standard five-day workweek, you probably worked around 165 of them, depending on how generous your holiday and PTO policy is. 

But the House held floor votes on 65 of those days, just over a quarter of the time. 

That’s low, even by Congress’s standards. Washington always slows down during election years as members spend more time at home campaigning. But No Labels pulled the data going all the way back to 1994; 2026 was the fewest voting days in over three decades: 

View House Voting Days Data >

House Voting Days, January 1–August 31

Midterm year	House voting days
1994	57
1998	71
2002	75
2006	66
2010	82
2014	81
2018	81
2022	66
2026	65

Chart/table source: No Labels analysis of House floor vote records.

The House Is Logging Fewer Hours in Session 

Not all days are created equal. The clerks track – down to the minute – how long Congress is actually in session on a given day. And it turns out the House has taken a lot of half-days this year.  

In 2026, the House spent only 383 hours in session through August 31 – by far the lowest in No Labels’ comparison of midterm years going back to at least 1990. 

View Hours in Session Data >

Hours in Session, January 1–August 31

Midterm year	Senate hours	House hours
1990	881	586
1994	1,048	746
1998	845	722
2002	746	575
2006	804	647
2010	783	674
2014	684	561
2018	732	518
2022	699	451
2026	667	383

To put it in perspective: the House has spent about half as many hours in session as it did during the same period in 1994, despite logging eight more session days. 

The Senate’s 667 hours in session is also the lowest total for the upper chamber.  

How many bills has Congress enacted in 2026? 

Through August 31, 2026, Congress had enacted just 34 public bills into law – by far the lowest total in No Labels’ comparison of midterm election years going back to 1990. 

View Bills Enacted Into Law Data >

Bills Enacted Into Law, January 1–August 31

Midterm year	Public bills enacted
1990	142
1994	110
1998	81
2002	87
2006	111
2010	112
2014	91
2018	136
2022	93
2026	34

This is where Congress’s lack of productivity is really being felt.  

At this point in the last midterm cycle, 93 public bills had become law – nearly three times the 2026 total. 

Were all 34 of these laws landmark pieces of legislation that will shape the country for years to come? Hardly. One of the laws was to bury a time capsule in the Capitol Visitors Center, to be opened on America’s 500th birthday. 

What does Congress do on recess? 

Many people in Washington defend Congress’s light schedule by rebranding their days off as “district work periods.”  

And to some extent, it’s true: Members can use that time to meet with constituents, visit local businesses, hold town halls, and handle casework – things that require being back home. 

But exactly how much time do they spend on that crucial district work? It’s hard to say. Some of the “work” blurs the line between genuinely helping constituents and helping members get re-elected.   

The timing of the breaks also gives it away. Congress takes an October recess every election year, ensuring they can be at home in the runup to Election Day in early November. How much “district work” is really getting done in the height of campaign season? 

Members don’t try to hide it, either. Just look at what they’ve been saying\: 

• Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar: “I want to go home tomorrow morning. I want to go home and campaign… and I want to convince them to vote for me.” 

• Rep. Morgan Griffith: “So many people are having to run back and forth to campaign… the big bills will probably have to wait until after the election.” 

And last year, the National Republican Senatorial Committee, the GOP’s Senate campaign arm, sent out a memo highlighting the August recess as “a critical opportunity” for “turning out the coalition Republicans need to win in next year’s midterm election.”  

But at least some lawmakers want to stay in DC and deliver results. Rep. Mike Lawler wants to stay in DC and get stuff done, despite being in one of the most competitive races of the year. “I have a job to do,” Rep. Lawler said.  

Winning the midterms may very well be the top concern for elected officials in Washington, but Americans have pressing issues they want addressed. Spending five weeks campaigning is not what voters are asking for.