Washington, D.C. — Large majorities of Americans across demographic and partisan lines overwhelmingly reject congressional proposals to cut Medicaid, nutrition assistance, affordable housing, and other programs essential for helping provide basic living standards for low-income families, according to new polling from the Center for American Progress and GBA Strategies.
On the heels of the historically unpopular tax legislation, the poll found that a majority of voters believe that President Donald Trump and the congressional majority are proposing these cuts as a means to pay for their giveaways to the wealthy and corporations. As such, many of the voters polled said they are less likely to vote for a congressional candidate who supports such cuts.
The CAP/GBA poll surveyed 2,350 registered voters from around the country between January 24-29, 2018.
“Voters understand that President Trump and congressional leaders are trying to pull one over on them by passing massive tax breaks for the wealthy and now seeking to cut and limit access to important programs designed to help low-income families in the coming year,” said John Halpin, senior fellow at the Center for American Progress. “Consequently, voters reject their proposed cuts and changes to Medicaid, affordable housing, early childhood education, unemployment insurance, and nutrition assistance while at the same time favoring far-reaching new programs to directly put people to work and invest in national infrastructure.”
“We already knew that U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan was incredibly out of touch with the financial realities of the average American,” said Rebecca Vallas, vice president for the Poverty to Prosperity program at the Center. “But touting a $1.50-a-week raise as proof of his apparent benevolence, as he recently did in a since-deleted tweet, yet again revealed his true colors. Voters don’t want his Robin Hood-in-reverse agenda, they want good jobs that pay a living wage.”
As Congress weighs cutting benefits for the most vulnerable Americans, the results released today prove that voters are instead eager to back proposals to put people directly to work, invest in the nation’s communities, and provide more economic security for families—not sanctioning Americans for their financial hardships.
To read about the poll, click here.
For more information or to speak with an expert, please contact Kyle Epstein at [email protected] or 202.481.8137.