Congress has a full plate these days dealing with health care reform, climate change and other matters, but most voters apparently don't see eye-to-eye with their legislators when it comes to the importance of those issues.

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey shows that 53% of likely voters find it unlikely that Congress will seriously address the most important issues facing our nation. That’s the highest level found on the question since July 2008.

The latest result is up six points from last month and 17 points from the beginning of the year.

Forty-five percent (45%) find it more likely that Congress will address the most critical issues, but that's the lowest level measured since August of last year. Sixteen percent (16%) say Congress is very likely to tackle serious issues, while 15% say it's not at all likely to do so.

Most Democrats (71%) say it’s likely Congress will address the most important issues facing the nation. The majority of Republicans (71%) and 66% of voters not affiliated with either party disagree.

Both houses of Congress have solid Democratic majorities which have been focusing for months on health care reform and bailout and spending initiatives intended to improve the economy. But polling has consistently shown that voters nationwide rate cutting the federal deficit in half by the end of President Obama's first term as the most important of the priorities the president listed in a speech to Congress in February. Yet while Republicans and unaffiliated voters put deficit reduction first, Democrats say health care reform is the priority.

But then 62% of voters believe that what the media thinks is more important to the average member of Congress than what voters think.

(Want a free daily e-mail update? If it's in the news, it's in our polls). Rasmussen Reports updates are also available on Twitter or Facebook.

Just 15% of voters now give Congress good or excellent ratings, while most (53%) rate the legislature as poor. Those ratings have held relative steady for the past few months but are noticeably worse than those found in May. At that time, 23% gave Congress positive ratings while 44% rated its performance as poor.

Forty-two percent (42%) of voters see most members of Congress as corrupt, the highest level measured in over a year. Thirty-seven percent (37%) say most congressmen are not corrupt, while another 21% are undecided.

For the first time in nearly two years, voters see government ethics and corruption as the most important issue, surpassing economic issues.

If the health care plan proposed by the president and congressional Democrats passes, 57% of voters nationwide believe it will raise the cost of health care, and 53% believe the quality of care will get worse. Forty-five percent (45%) of voters currently support the plan, and 51% are opposed. That level of opposition has held steady for months.

Still, 54% say passage of the health care plan is at least somewhat likely this year. For 49% of voters, however, passing no health care reform bill this year would be better than passing the plan currently working its way through Congress. But 39% disagree and say the current effort is better than doing nothing.

While the Obama administration and senior congressional Democrats hope to exercise more government control over big banks to keep them from failing, 64% believe it is better for the economy overall to let those banks fail. Just 28% of voters think some banks are too big too fail.

It’s not just Democrats receiving the heat from voters: Only 15% of Republicans who plan to vote in 2012 state primaries say the party’s representatives in Congress have done a good job of representing GOP values.

Most voters (59%) continue to believe that Congress has not passed any recent legislation that improves life in America, a finding little changed over the past several months. Seventeen percent (17%) disagree and believe Congress has passed legislation that improves American life. Another 24% are not sure.

Questions linger about the effectiveness of the $787-billion economic stimulus plan passed by Congress in February. Thirty-three percent (33%) say it has helped the economy, but 31% think it has hurt. Twenty-nine percent (29%) believe the plan has had no economic impact.

Just 15% of voters believe most members of Congress are more interested in helping people than in furthering their own careers. Seventy-six percent (76%) think most congressmen put their own careers first.

Please sign up for the Rasmussen Reports daily e-mail update (it’s free) or follow us on Twitter or Facebook. Let us keep you up to date with the latest public opinion news.

See survey questions and toplines. Crosstabs are available to Premium Members.