Boehner: Judge Congress on how many laws it repeals, not passes (VIDEO)
Speaker of the House John Boehner at a news conference with fellow GOP House members at the US Capitol on Dec. 22, 2011.
Amid record-low approval ratings and stagnant productivity on Capitol Hill, House Speaker John Boehner says Congress should be judged on how many laws it repeals, not passes.
The Ohio Republican's remarks were part of an interview on CBS' "Face the Nation" on Sunday in which he was asked why Congress has accomplished so little.
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His response?
Boehner says the country "has more laws than the administration could ever enforce" and some of those need to go.
"We are divided government," he said. "We are fighting for what we believe in. Sometimes, the American people don't like this mess."
The White House expressed its incredulity at Boehner's claims.
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"Did Speaker Boehner really say that the Congress should be judged on the number of laws they repeal not the number they pass?" asked senior White House adviser Dan Pfeiffer on Twitter.
Congress has passed just 15 bills that have become law so far this year, putting it on pace to be even less productive than the preceding Congress, when only 23 laws were enacted.
Congress' approval rating currently hovers around just 15 percent.