News Type: Press Releases

For Immediate Release
September 30, 2021

Contact:
press@navigatorresearch.org

NEW POLLING: Majority Support Raising Debt Ceiling, Call Build Back Better An ‘Urgent Priority’

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Navigator Research released new polling showing that a majority of Americans support raising the debt ceiling, and two in three consider passing the Build Back Better agenda as an urgent priority.

A majority of voters responded to an argument highlighting Republican hypocrisy on the debt ceiling during the Trump era. 54 percent said they would blame Republicans “who voted to raise the debt ceiling three times under Trump while racking up nearly $8 trillion on the deficit in that time, but now want to score points against Biden at the expense of the economy” if the debt ceiling isn’t raised, compared to 46 percent who blame Democrats for “irresponsibly spending government money and putting the U.S. in this situation.”

Meanwhile, two in three Americans consider passing the Build Back Better agenda an urgent priority. Voters continue to support the bill by a 30-point margin: 61 percent of Americans, including nine in ten Democrats (89 percent), three in five Independents (60 percent), and nearly a third of Republicans (30 percent) support Biden and Democrats’ reconciliation package that will “provide paid family and medical leave, establish a universal pre-K program, expand Medicare coverage for seniors including dental, vision, and hearing coverage, and lower health care costs by allowing Medicare to negotiate lower drug prices.” Support remains identical when introducing ways to pay for the Build Back Better economic plan, including raising taxes on the wealthy and corporations (61 percent).

“Americans understand the stakes at play in the debt ceiling debate — a government default could affect millions of people across the country.” said Bryan Bennett, Director of Polling & Analytics at the Hub Project. “They also agree that the reconciliation deal moving through Congress is crucial, and Republican brinkmanship isn’t a valid reason to hold back on investing in the American people and making the wealthy and corporations pay their fair share.”

By a two-to-one margin, most Americans support raising the debt ceiling when informed of the potential consequences of the government defaulting, including the pausing of Social Security check and paychecks to government employees (58 percent support – 29 percent oppose), including nearly three in five Independents (58 percent).

Additionally, insights from focus groups conducted among mothers and educators in Florida, Texas, and Nevada revealed emphatic support for taxing the rich and extending the expanded Child Tax Credit, even among participants who voted for President Trump in 2020. Support for taxing the rich and investing in families through the Child Tax Credit came through clearly, with many participants suggesting a vote against these measures could dampen their support for politicians who oppose these policies in 2022.

“These focus groups gave color to what we see constantly in surveys: Americans want policies that are good for working families, and they want to see the rich pay their fair share,” said Ayat AL-Tamimi, Senior Polling & Analytics Associate at the Hub Project. “Even among Trump voters, that message resonates strongly. Passing this popular legislation is good policy and good politics.”

To read full results from Navigator’s focus groups, which will be released tomorrow, sign up to receive Navigator’s polling updates at https://navigatorresearch.org/.

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About Navigator Research
The Navigator Research project is designed to act as a consistent, flexible, responsive tool to inform policy debates. By conducting research and providing reliable guidance to inform allies, elected leaders, and the press, Navigator helps top leaders in Washington and grassroots leaders around the country shape the debate on the issues that matter most. Follow us on Twitter for the latest updates.

About This Survey
This release features findings from a survey conducted September 23-27, 2021 of 995 registered voters. 101 additional interviews were conducted among Hispanic voters. 77 additional interviews were conducted among Asian American and Pacific Islander voters. 100 additional interviews were conducted among African American voters. 101 additional interviews were conducted among independent voters. The survey was conducted online, recruiting respondents from an opt-in online panel vendor. Respondents were verified against a voter file and special care was taken to ensure the demographic composition of our sample matched that of the national registered voter population across a variety of demographic variables. The margin of error at the 95% confidence level is +/-3.1%. The margin of error on sub-samples is greater.

About the Focus Groups
Three focus groups were conducted on September 21, 2021 with voters in three states: Florida (mothers who opposed DeSantis’ rules on masks in schools), Texas teachers and educators, and Nevada (mothers who opposed Sisolak’s rules on masks in schools). Qualitative results are not statistically projectable.

70 percent of voters support Biden’s Build Back Better package, and individual elements of the agenda all earned high levels of support.

Washington, DC — As Democrats in Congress work to pass the Build Back Better reconciliation package, seven in ten Americans say they support President Biden’s Build Back Better agenda, and all major elements of the plan receive support from at least three in five voters, including nearly two in three independents and a plurality of Republicans. The data comes from a new survey of registered voters conducted in late August.

The survey highlights the broad bipartisan popularity of President Biden’s Build Back Better agenda—for every element of the package that was tested, support outpaced opposition by at least 30 points. Components related to health care had especially high levels of approval, with 86 percent of voters voicing support for reducing the cost of prescription drugs by giving Medicare the power to negotiate with pharmaceutical companies for lower prices. On this same topic, 83 percent of independents and 78 percent of Republicans are supportive.

Additionally, there were high levels of approval for expanding Medicare to include dental, vision, and hearing coverage (85 percent support – 8 percent oppose; 78 percent support with  independents strongly support), along with lowering health insurance premiums for families that buy coverage on their own by an average of $50/month (78 percent support – 14 percent oppose).

Support for raising taxes on the wealthiest Americans and the biggest corporations remains high, particularly as a way to pay for investments in working families. All messaging supporting President Biden and Democrats’ economic plan do well overall, but the most convincing centers cracking down on tax evaders (77 percent support – 14 percent oppose) and raising taxes for the top 2 percent of earners (72 percent support – 22 percent oppose). In surveys in key battleground states and congressional districts conducted in July, Navigator found similarly high levels of support for raising taxes on the wealthy and corporations to ensure they pay their fair share.

“The American people are ready to see President Biden’s Build Back Better agenda passed into law,” said Bryan Bennett, Director of Polling & Analytics at The Hub Project. “The reconciliation package is earning similar bipartisan support from Democrats, independents, and even Republicans that we saw in the spring with the American Rescue Plan. Congress as a whole, but Democrats in particular, have the will of their constituents behind them to get these packages across the finish line.”

Not only do seven in ten Americans support the Build Back Better plan, but a similar share view it as urgent that the House and Senate pass the legislation. 71 percent say that it is urgent the economic plan be passed, including seven in ten independents (70 percent) and half of Republicans (50 percent).

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About Navigator Research

The Navigator Research project is designed to act as a consistent, flexible, responsive tool to inform policy debates. By conducting research and providing reliable guidance to inform allies, elected leaders, and the press, Navigator helps top leaders in Washington and grassroots leaders around the country shape the debate on the issues that matter most. Follow us on Twitter for the latest updates.

About This Survey

This release features findings from a survey conducted August 26 – August 30, 2021 of 1,002 registered voters. 105 additional interviews were conducted among Hispanic voters. 77 additional interviews were conducted among Asian American and Pacific Islander voters. 104 additional interviews were conducted among African American voters. 100 additional interviews were conducted among independent voters. The survey was conducted online, recruiting respondents from an opt-in online panel vendor. Respondents were verified against a voter file and special care was taken to ensure the demographic composition of our sample matched that of the national registered voter population across a variety of demographic variables.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Navigator Research and Climate Power released new polling showing that climate policies within President Biden’s American Jobs Plan are extremely popular across party lines. With three quarters of Americans saying climate change is a problem now and for future generations, 78 percent agree that America should make significant investments in clean energy as part of our efforts to rebuild the economy. 

These policies are high priorities with potential political consequences — bipartisan majorities said they would be disappointed if these climate policies were left out of the final infrastructure bill. People of color, Democrats, young people, and Biden voters would be especially disappointed. Across parties, Americans say they would be most disappointed if modernizing the electric grid, expanding clean energy, and creating new jobs to conserve public spaces were left out of the American Jobs Plan. 

New Polling Shows Bipartisan Support for Policies in Biden’s First 100 Days and His Future Agenda

WASHINGTON, D.C. — As President Biden concludes his first 100 days in office with historic job creation and economic growth, a majority of Americans (61 percent) say that Biden ‘puts working and middle class people first,’ including a majority of Independents (54 percent).

President Biden’s signature legislative achievement thus far, the American Rescue Plan, generated sweeping bipartisan support for “checks in pockets” (75 percent) and “shots in arms” (73 percent). Over 60 percent of Americans also support his creation of 900,000 new jobs in a single month (68 percent), expanding access to healthcare (66 percent), and executive actions to prevent gun violence (61 percent).

In addition, two-thirds of Americans support Biden’s proposal to withdraw all American troops from Afghanistan by September 11th, including more than four in five Democrats (83 percent), 63 percent of Independents, and almost half of Republicans (48 percent). In focus groups conducted by Navigator in Nevada, Texas, and Florida last week, a Texas Republican crystallized the sentiment, saying she will “…always look more kindly on a president that wants to bring our military home.”

“During President Biden’s first 100 days, Americans have seen historic job growth and action,” said Bryan Bennett, Director of Polling & Analytics at the Hub Project. “President Biden inherited a pandemic out of control and an economy in despair, but people can feel the changes he’s making and are broadly supportive of his multifaceted agenda. With vast support from the public on his handling of the vaccine rollout and getting relief into bank accounts swiftly, his popular, sweeping proposals like the American Jobs Plan and American Families Plan meaningfully show how Biden is prioritizing working people in his plan to build back better.”