New polling from CNN and SRSS found that 75% of Democratic respondents favor a Build Back Better bill with more ambitious social and climate spending. (Photo: Paul Morigi/Getty Images for Unbendable Media)
Oct 14, 2021
As congressional Democrats wrangle over the cost and coverage of their flagship Build Back Better package, new polling published Wednesday shows that an overwhelming majority of Democratic voters favor a progressive bill that goes further to combat social inequality and the climate emergency over a scaled-down package.
"Now is the time to restore the faith of the American people in their government, to show them that we in fact can deliver for them, that we can improve their lives... Let's get it done."
According to the CNNpoll conducted by SSRS, 75% of surveyed Democrats prefer Congress to "pass a bill that enacts all of the proposed social safety net and climate change policies," with support for such a package rising to 84% among liberals and falling to two-thirds among moderates and conservatives in the party.
Only 20% of Democrats polled prefer a bill with fewer of those provisions, while just 4% completely oppose the proposed legislation.
Overall, 41% of survey respondents said they prefer Congress to pass a reconciliation bill that funds more robust social and climate policies to less expensive legislation containing fewer of those provisions. Thirty percent said they want a scaled-down version of the package, while 29% say they are against any bill at all. Among surveyed Republicans, 55% said they want the bill to die.
\u201cGive. The. People. What. They. Want.\n\nhttps://t.co/NP68fout04\u201d— Joan McCarter \ud83c\udf3b (@Joan McCarter \ud83c\udf3b) 1634153385
The new poll comes as Democratic lawmakers continued struggling to agree on the scale and scope of the reconciliation package.
HuffPostreported Thursday that Democratic leaders recently floated a possible $2.5 trillion compromise reconciliation framework in a bid to gain the support of right-wing Democratic Sens. Joe Manchin (W.Va.) and Kyrsten Sinema (Ariz.), who oppose spending $3.5 trillion over 10 years.
The HuffPost report came on the heels of an Accountable.US analysis revealing that Manchin has received at least $1.5 million in campaign donations from businesses and trade groups leading a corporate lobbying blitz against the more ambitious $3.5 trillion proposal, which is already a compromise.
Meanwhile, progressives pushed back against efforts to further dilute the bill. On Wednesday, members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) urged their moderate and right-wing colleagues to eschew "complicated methods of means-testing that the wealthy and powerful will use to divide us" in favor of universal programs.
\u201cNow is the time to restore the faith of the American people in their government, to show them that we in fact can deliver for them, that we can improve their lives. \n \nLet\u2019s take on the lobbyists. Let\u2019s take on the billionaires and powerful interests. Let\u2019s get it done.\u201d— Bernie Sanders (@Bernie Sanders) 1634168540
"The people delivered Democrats the House, Senate, and White House," CPC Chair Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) tweeted Thursday. "Now it's time for us to deliver them paid leave, child care, climate action, lower healthcare costs, pre-k, community college, affordable housing, and so much more."
Join Us: News for people demanding a better world
Common Dreams is powered by optimists who believe in the power of informed and engaged citizens to ignite and enact change to make the world a better place. We're hundreds of thousands strong, but every single supporter makes the difference. Your contribution supports this bold media model—free, independent, and dedicated to reporting the facts every day. Stand with us in the fight for economic equality, social justice, human rights, and a more sustainable future. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover the issues the corporate media never will. |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
us congresspoliticscongressional progressive caucuskyrsten sinemapramila jayapaljoe manchincorporate powerbernie sanders
As congressional Democrats wrangle over the cost and coverage of their flagship Build Back Better package, new polling published Wednesday shows that an overwhelming majority of Democratic voters favor a progressive bill that goes further to combat social inequality and the climate emergency over a scaled-down package.
"Now is the time to restore the faith of the American people in their government, to show them that we in fact can deliver for them, that we can improve their lives... Let's get it done."
According to the CNNpoll conducted by SSRS, 75% of surveyed Democrats prefer Congress to "pass a bill that enacts all of the proposed social safety net and climate change policies," with support for such a package rising to 84% among liberals and falling to two-thirds among moderates and conservatives in the party.
Only 20% of Democrats polled prefer a bill with fewer of those provisions, while just 4% completely oppose the proposed legislation.
Overall, 41% of survey respondents said they prefer Congress to pass a reconciliation bill that funds more robust social and climate policies to less expensive legislation containing fewer of those provisions. Thirty percent said they want a scaled-down version of the package, while 29% say they are against any bill at all. Among surveyed Republicans, 55% said they want the bill to die.
\u201cGive. The. People. What. They. Want.\n\nhttps://t.co/NP68fout04\u201d— Joan McCarter \ud83c\udf3b (@Joan McCarter \ud83c\udf3b) 1634153385
The new poll comes as Democratic lawmakers continued struggling to agree on the scale and scope of the reconciliation package.
HuffPostreported Thursday that Democratic leaders recently floated a possible $2.5 trillion compromise reconciliation framework in a bid to gain the support of right-wing Democratic Sens. Joe Manchin (W.Va.) and Kyrsten Sinema (Ariz.), who oppose spending $3.5 trillion over 10 years.
The HuffPost report came on the heels of an Accountable.US analysis revealing that Manchin has received at least $1.5 million in campaign donations from businesses and trade groups leading a corporate lobbying blitz against the more ambitious $3.5 trillion proposal, which is already a compromise.
Meanwhile, progressives pushed back against efforts to further dilute the bill. On Wednesday, members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) urged their moderate and right-wing colleagues to eschew "complicated methods of means-testing that the wealthy and powerful will use to divide us" in favor of universal programs.
\u201cNow is the time to restore the faith of the American people in their government, to show them that we in fact can deliver for them, that we can improve their lives. \n \nLet\u2019s take on the lobbyists. Let\u2019s take on the billionaires and powerful interests. Let\u2019s get it done.\u201d— Bernie Sanders (@Bernie Sanders) 1634168540
"The people delivered Democrats the House, Senate, and White House," CPC Chair Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) tweeted Thursday. "Now it's time for us to deliver them paid leave, child care, climate action, lower healthcare costs, pre-k, community college, affordable housing, and so much more."
As congressional Democrats wrangle over the cost and coverage of their flagship Build Back Better package, new polling published Wednesday shows that an overwhelming majority of Democratic voters favor a progressive bill that goes further to combat social inequality and the climate emergency over a scaled-down package.
"Now is the time to restore the faith of the American people in their government, to show them that we in fact can deliver for them, that we can improve their lives... Let's get it done."
According to the CNNpoll conducted by SSRS, 75% of surveyed Democrats prefer Congress to "pass a bill that enacts all of the proposed social safety net and climate change policies," with support for such a package rising to 84% among liberals and falling to two-thirds among moderates and conservatives in the party.
Only 20% of Democrats polled prefer a bill with fewer of those provisions, while just 4% completely oppose the proposed legislation.
Overall, 41% of survey respondents said they prefer Congress to pass a reconciliation bill that funds more robust social and climate policies to less expensive legislation containing fewer of those provisions. Thirty percent said they want a scaled-down version of the package, while 29% say they are against any bill at all. Among surveyed Republicans, 55% said they want the bill to die.
\u201cGive. The. People. What. They. Want.\n\nhttps://t.co/NP68fout04\u201d— Joan McCarter \ud83c\udf3b (@Joan McCarter \ud83c\udf3b) 1634153385
The new poll comes as Democratic lawmakers continued struggling to agree on the scale and scope of the reconciliation package.
HuffPostreported Thursday that Democratic leaders recently floated a possible $2.5 trillion compromise reconciliation framework in a bid to gain the support of right-wing Democratic Sens. Joe Manchin (W.Va.) and Kyrsten Sinema (Ariz.), who oppose spending $3.5 trillion over 10 years.
The HuffPost report came on the heels of an Accountable.US analysis revealing that Manchin has received at least $1.5 million in campaign donations from businesses and trade groups leading a corporate lobbying blitz against the more ambitious $3.5 trillion proposal, which is already a compromise.
Meanwhile, progressives pushed back against efforts to further dilute the bill. On Wednesday, members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) urged their moderate and right-wing colleagues to eschew "complicated methods of means-testing that the wealthy and powerful will use to divide us" in favor of universal programs.
\u201cNow is the time to restore the faith of the American people in their government, to show them that we in fact can deliver for them, that we can improve their lives. \n \nLet\u2019s take on the lobbyists. Let\u2019s take on the billionaires and powerful interests. Let\u2019s get it done.\u201d— Bernie Sanders (@Bernie Sanders) 1634168540
"The people delivered Democrats the House, Senate, and White House," CPC Chair Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) tweeted Thursday. "Now it's time for us to deliver them paid leave, child care, climate action, lower healthcare costs, pre-k, community college, affordable housing, and so much more."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.