It turns out the recently concluded 113th Congress wasn't the least productive Congress in modern history; it was the second-least productive, NBC News reported. Thanks to a rush of activity in its final days, 296 bills were signed into law during the 113th Congress (2013-2014), as of Dec. 19, barely surpassing the all-time low of 283 enacted during the 112th Congress (2011-2012). However, the combined productivity of the 112th and 113th - in which Republicans controlled the House and Democrats the Senate - is the lowest of any back-to-back Congresses on record.