( CNN ) -- Its lack of productivity and partisan drama ensure that Congress remains the butt of political jokes . It has been pegged as less popular than lice , cockroaches , the IRS and eating vegetables . A new round of derision surfaced as the House and Senate began their August recess , leaving mounds of unfinished business in their wake . Arguably the most pressing thing is stalled legislation to address the surge of migrant youth , many of them unaccompanied , across the southern border this year . ( Congress did get some things done in the final days before its summer break . It agreed to keep road construction projects funded through next May , provide more money for Israel 's Iron Dome missile defense system , and overhaul the Veterans Affairs medical system ) . But fresh polls confirm that Congress is not doing a whole lot of legislating and the public does n't like it . A new poll Monday by NBC News/Wall Street Journal/Marist College found that only 3 % of registered voters surveyed thought Congress has been `` productive . '' And the Pew Research Center found that this Congress has been the least productive one since 1997-98 . Finally , a July Gallup poll found that Congress had a 15 % approval rating . Polls convey public opinion scientifically , but the freewheeling nature of social media produced similar sentiment . An executive at the libertarian Cato Institute pointed out that Congress and President Barack Obama are less popular than the most disliked Star Wars characters . But everyone loves Internet news . Take some advice with that criticism , Congress . Obviously . Same-sex marriage is getting more popular . So is pot . And the United States just might be turning into a soccer country . Congress , still not that likable , though . Although this tweet was before the CIA admitted to spying on the Senate committee in charge of overseeing the spy agency . One thing more popular than Congress : Obama , who is not very popular . Perhaps this is some insight into why Congress is so unlikable right now . The good news . There 's little place to go but up .
It emerges as less popular than cockroaches , the flu and eating vegetables . A new round of political jokes begins as the House and Senate begin their summer recess . A new poll found that 60 % of those surveyed thought Congress has been ` ` productive ''