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- A Morning Consult/Politico poll found 58% of voters support Biden's American Families Plan.
- Individual provisions within the plan, such as universal pre-K, are even more popular.
- Republican lawmakers oppose the scope and price of the plan, calling it a "$4.1 trillion grab bag."
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While Republican lawmakers have strongly opposed President Joe Biden's American Families Plan, citing concerns with its $1.8 trillion price tag and corporate tax hikes, a new poll found the majority of voters, including Republicans, support it.
A Morning Consult/Politico poll released on Wednesday found that 58% of all voters support the president's plan, with 86% of Democrats, 54% of Independents, and 25% of Republicans backing it. Meanwhile, individual provisions within the plan were found to have more support than the overall package, with 64% of voters supporting ensuring low- and middle-class families pay no more than 7% of their income on childcare.
"The poll, conducted in the days after Biden's address to Congress unveiling the plan, shows that most of the individual provisions in the package are more popular among voters than the plan overall – something to keep in mind as Biden reportedly considers splitting his proposal into multiple parts to reach a bipartisan compromise," the poll said.
Here are other main findings from the poll:
- 63% of voters support universal pre-K for 3- and 4-year-olds;
- 59% of voters support two years of free community college;
- 59% of voters support a $15-per-hour minimum wage for childcare workers;
- 57% of voters support extending the expanded child tax credit;
- And 56% of voters support two years of subsidized tuition for Historically Black Colleges and Universities and minority serving institutions.
Biden has cited this kind of bipartisan voter support from polling in arguing for a new definition of bipartisanship that doesn't necessarily include any Republican votes.
Before unveiling his plan, for instance, Biden said there's no reason why infrastructure cannot be bipartisan, and The Washington Post reported in April that Biden's definition of "bipartisanship" means support from Republican and Democratic voters - not necessarily Republican lawmaker. Indeed, while not a single Republican in Congress voted for Biden's stimulus, several have touted elements of it. Even House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy promoted a restaurant aid program from the stimulus.
Democratic lawmakers have advocated for the individual provisions, such as extending the expanded child tax credit from Biden's $1.9 trillion stimulus. Many members of the party want it to be permanent, instead of the four-year extension Biden proposed.
When it comes to the price of the plan, although the majority of voters support the spending, Democrats and Republicans disagree the topic. On Monday, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell drew a red line at $600 billion for infrastructure and jobs, which is less than a fifth of the $4 trillion in spending Biden proposed.
"I don't think there will be any Republican support - none, zero - for the $4.1 trillion grab bag, which has infrastructure in it, but a whole lot of other stuff," McConnell said.
McConnell's remarks followed a group of GOP senators unveiling a $568 billion counter-proposal, largely focused on physical infrastructure, which Democrats called "a slap in the face" and "a joke."
Separately, Penn Wharton Budget Model released an analysis on Wednesday that found Biden's American Families Plan will actually cost $700 billion more than the White House's initial $1.8 trillion estimate, while also noting that strengthened Internal Revenue Service enforcement will help raise $1.3 trillion in tax revenue over 10 years.