As the Senate debates the GOP’s massive landmark spending and tax cut bill – dubbed by President Donald Trump as his ‘big, beautiful bill’ – a new national poll indicates that a majority of American voters oppose the measure.
Fifty-three percent questioned in a new Quinnipiac University national survey said they oppose the bill, with 27% in support of the legislation and one in five not offering an opinion.
By a 67%-10% margin, Republicans surveyed support the bill, with 22% not offering an opinion.
But Democrats, by an 89%-2% margin and independent voters by a 57%-20% margin, give the bill a thumbs down.
The bill passed the House of Representatives last month by just one vote. And Trump is pushing for a July 4 deadline for the measure to pass through Congress and land on his desk at the White House.
The GOP-crafted measure is stuffed full of Trump’s campaign trail promises and second-term priorities on tax cuts, immigration, defense, energy and the debt limit. It includes extending his signature 2017 tax cuts and eliminating taxes on tips and overtime pay, providing billions for border security and codifying his controversial immigration crackdown.
The measure, if signed into law, would likely even further fuel the nation’s massive budget deficit. The national debt currently sits at $36,214,475,432,210.84, according to FOX Business’ National Debt Tracker.
As Democrats attack the bill, they’re highlighting the GOP’s proposed restructuring of Medicaid – the nearly 60-year-old federal program that provides health coverage to roughly 71 million low-income Americans.
The changes to Medicaid, as well as cuts to food stamps, another one of the nation’s major safety net programs, were drafted in part as an offset to pay for extending Trump’s 2017 tax cuts, which are set to expire later this year. The measure includes a slew of new rules and regulations, including work requirements for many of those seeking Medicaid coverage.
Democrats have relentlessly attacked Republicans over what they say will be ‘huge cuts’ to Medicaid if the bill becomes law.
According to the poll, 47% of voters think federal funding for Medicaid should increase, with 40% saying it should stay the same and 10% arguing that funding should decrease.
There’s an expected partisan divide.
Sixty-nine percent of Democrats say Medicaid funding should increase, with 27% saying it should stay the same and just 2% saying it should be cut.
Twenty-one percent of Republicans say funding should increase, with 56% saying it should remain the same and 27% calling for cuts. Among independents, 47% said federal funding for Medicaid should increase, 39% want it to say the same and 11% say it should decrease.
‘With Medicaid’s future as a healthcare safety net for millions suddenly uncertain, voters make it clear they want the 60-year-old program for those in need to be handled with care,’ Quinnipiac University polling analyst Tim Malloy said.
The Quinnipiac University poll was conducted June 5-9, with 1,265 registered voters across the country questioned. The survey’s overall sampling error is plus or minus 2.8 percentage points.