Majority of Voters Still Want the Build Back Better Act Passed
By Anika Dandekar and Ethan Winter
Data for Progress conducted a survey of 1,207 likely voters from December 23 to 25, 2021, to once again test attitudes toward the Build Back Better Act, as passed by the House of Representatives on November 19. Despite key senators holding up the passage of this legislation, it remains as supported as ever among voters. As we have previously found, time and time again, the package and each of its provisions are very popular, even after voters are told how they are paid for.
The Build Back Better Act Has Remained Popular Over Time
In our most recent polling, likely voters support the Build Back Better Act by a +29-point margin. Over the two months of polling, support for the Build Back Better Act has been, on average, 62 percent, while opposition to the bill is, on average, 31 percent. Support never dipped below 60 percent over the six surveys in which it was tested within the two-month period.
The Build Back Better Act Still Receives Majority Support When Pay-fors Are Described
In our most recent polling, likely voters support the Build Back Better Act by a +32-point margin after describing how it will be paid for. Support for the Build Back Better Act after a description of the pay-fors has been, on average, 62 percent, while opposition to the bill is, on average, 31 percent over the two months of polling.
Each Provision of the Build Back Better Act Receives Majority Support
As in our previous polling, we tested support for each provision of the Build Back Better Act. This time, we included each provision's price tag as well, based on the legislative text passed in the House of Representatives. Once again, we find that each provision of the Build Back Better Act receives majority support from voters.
Investing $150 billion to increase access and quality of long-term care for seniors and people with disabilities is supported by a margin of +56 percentage points. Spending $35 billion to expand Medicare coverage to include hearing care receives a +53-point margin of support. The currently allocated $175 billion for housing assistance, preservation, and construction is supported by a majority of voters, with a margin of +33 percentage points. Investing $40 billion to make higher education and workforce development more affordable is also backed by a +28-point margin. The $15 billion extension of the Earned Income Tax Credit receives majority support from voters, who back it by a margin of +26 percentage points. The largest piece of Build Back Better, the $555 billion investment to transition to clean energy and create American jobs, is backed by a +32-point margin of support. The $205 billion set aside in the legislation to guarantee four weeks of paid family and medical leave for all workers is also supported by a majority of voters, with a +28-point margin. By a +21-point margin, voters support investing $110 billion to create universal pre-K for all three and four year-olds. An investment of $270 billion to ensure that no family spends more than 7 percent of its income on childcare receives a +22-point margin of support. The $120 billion allocated to extend tax credits for people who get their insurance through the Affordable Care Act is supported by a majority of voters, with a +19-point margin. With a +13-point margin, a majority of voters support spending $130 billion to extend the Child Tax Credit for a year.
Toplines for this polling can be found here.
Anika Dandekar (@AnikaDandekar) is a polling analyst at Data for Progress.
Ethan Winter (@EthanBWinter) is a senior analyst at Data for Progress.