WASHINGTON, Jan. 8 (UPI) -- A new poll indicates as Congress returns to session, an overwhelming majority of Americans rated lawmakers' job performance in the cellar.
A Rasmussen Reports poll indicated just 8 percent of likely voters think Congress is doing a good or excellent job. Sixty-six percent rate its performance as poor.
While both numbers represent a marginal improvement from voters' sentiments at the end of 2013 -- the good/excellent rating was 6 percent and the poor rating was 75 percent -- the numbers are still near historic lows.
Congress as an institution has long proved unpopular in opinion polls though voters tend to express more optimism when asked about their local congressman or senator, though Congress' positive rating bottomed out at just 5 percent in December 2012.
Making matters worse, nearly seven in 10 Americans (69 percent) agreed with the statement no matter how bad things are, Congress can always find a way to make them worse. Seventeen percent of people disagreed with the statement and 14 percent had no opinion.
The poll queried 1,000 likely voters Jan. 5 and 6. Its margin of error is 3 percentage points.
