U.S. Congress' approval sinks to record low following gov't shutdown: poll WASHINGTON, Nov. 12 (Xinhua) -- Americans' approval of Congress has dropped to 9 percent, the lowest in Gallup's 39-year history of conducting this survey, finds a Gallup poll released Tuesday. This was down by two percentage points from October, when the partisan wrangling between the Republicans and Democrats over the fiscal 2014 budget and the Obamacare led to a 16-day partial government shutdown. "The government shutdown in October clearly didn't help Congress' image, and it appears that the impact of that incident may linger, given the record-low approval this month," Gallup said. This poll reflects the rancorous partisanship and bickering that characterized the October government shutdown -- the top reasons given by those who disapprove of Congress, it added. Americans' displeasure with Congress is almost the same among different political groups, as only 9 percent of Republicans approve of the Congress, compared to 8 percent for the independents and 10 percent for the Democrats, according to the Nov. 7-10 poll. The previous lowest approval rating of U.S. Congress was 10 percent, registered twice in 2012, Gallup said. U.S. Congressional approval on an annual basis reached the record high of 56 percent in 2001, reflecting the rally effect after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in New York and Washington. But it has since continued declining, especially after the 2008 financial crisis. "Congressional approval for the first 11 months of 2013 is 14 percent, on track to be the lowest yearly average in Gallup history, one percentage point below last year's 15 percent average, " Gallup said.