Disapproval of US Congress soars

US Congress

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/192434.html

A new poll reveals that disapproval of the US Congress has climbed to an all-time high, following weeks of partisan bickering over raising the federal government's debt ceiling.

The poll, conducted by the New York Times and CBS News and published Thursday, indicates that a whopping 82 percent of Americans disapprove of the way Congress is performing its duties.

The figure is up from the previous high of 77 percent set in May 2010 and reflects the highest disapproval rating of US lawmakers in 34 years.

On Tuesday, following weeks of partisan dispute, Congress approved a $2.1 trillion deficit-cutting measure to be implemented over the next decade for raising Washington's borrowing limit, just hours before the first ever default in US history was to go in effect.

According to the new bill, the debt ceiling will be raised by $2.4 trillion, reaching a total of $16.7 trillion.

Meanwhile, an overwhelming majority of the respondents, 82 percent, said the debt ceiling dispute was more about gaining political advantage than solving the country's problems.

Seventy-two percent of the respondents expressed disapproval of the Republican handling of the debt crisis negotiations in Congress, while 60 percent blamed Democrats over the dispute.

On Tuesday, US President Barack Obama said America is witnessing its worst economic downturn since the Great Depression of the 1930s and blamed political wrangling for worsening of the crisis.

According to US Department of Labor, the number of jobless individuals in the country hit 14,100,000 in June, reflecting an unemployment rate of 9.2 percent.