Only 10% Americans say US Congress is doing its job right

The job approval level of the United States Congress has touched an all-time low of 10%, a latest opinion poll said today.

A record-low 10% of Americans approve of the job Congress is doing, down from 13% in January and the previous low of 11%, recorded in December 2011, Gallup said after it released its latest opinion poll.

As many as 86% of Americans disapprove of Congress, tying the record high for disapproval set in December, it said.

Congressional approval averaged 17% for all of 2011. The highest reading last year was 24% in May.

More broadly, Gallup's highest approval rating for Congress is 84% in October 2001, a month after the terrorist attacks on New York City and Washington.

Gallup said it is difficult to pinpoint any specific recent actions that may have led to the continuing deterioration in Congress' image, particularly because much of the political attention in January and early February has focused on the Republican presidential race.

Congress at this point is again wrangling over the extension of the payroll tax holiday and unemployment benefits -- both of which were temporarily extended late last year in a short-term fix that expires at the end of February, Gallup said.