Americans want Congress to deal with the debt ceiling. How to do it is complicated
A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
One basic idea of this republic is that the people make big decisions. So what do the people make of it when a debate in Congress is utterly confusing?
STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
Congress is approaching a crisis over the debt ceiling. Essentially, House Republicans have declined to allow borrowing to pay the bills that Congress has previously run up. They say they will not do that until President Biden agrees to cuts in future spending. But spending cuts are unpopular, and Republicans have so far declined to tell the public what they would like to cut. They have a few months before the U.S. risks default on its debt. That's a lot. Almost by design, the debate is hard to follow. But an NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll tries to find out what voters think.
MARTÍNEZ: And we also have NPR's senior political editor and correspondent Domenico Montanaro here to help us figure all of this out. So, Domenico, this survey asked people for their feelings about the debt ceiling. What did you learn about how Americans are viewing debt ceiling deliberations?
DOMENICO MONTANARO, BYLINE: Well, Americans are largely split, but half of respondents in the survey say they support raising it, and almost equal numbers say they don't, which is clearly pointing to the looming fight on this and reflective of how divided Congress is itself. You know, this is actually a huge turnabout, though, from the position most Americans had in 2011, the last time the country dealt with the prospect of default. Back then, 7 in 10 were opposed to raising it. But the country has seen, you know, the consequences of a credit downgrade. There's been a bit of an education on the importance of this tool and what it even means. But dealing with the country's overall debt? That's another story.
MARTÍNEZ: And are Americans just as divided as Congress on how to deal with the national debt?
MONTANARO: You know, what we're seeing is a bit ironic here. Most people - 7 in 10 in the survey - say they want compromise, including a majority of Republicans, but 50% are saying they mostly want to see cuts to programs and spending to reduce the debt. But an almost equal 46% want to raise taxes and fees. They follow along the usual partisan lines, with a majority of independents siding with most Republicans in saying that the programs should be cut. This is also an increase, though, since the last time this question was asked a decade ago about whether taxes and fees should be raised.
MARTÍNEZ: OK. So then where does that leave negotiations in Congress or the country's ability to cut into that debt?
MONTANARO: Social Security and Medicare make up more than half of the national debt, but Republican Speaker Kevin McCarthy has said those cuts are off the table. Democrats certainly don't want to slash the benefit. Republicans are also not in favor of cutting defense spending, which makes up about half of the other slice of the pie, which doesn't leave much left over to make a significant dent in the debt. We are seeing, though, a little changing of the tide with younger Americans. They are most likely to say they're in favor of raising taxes, up double digits on that in the past decade. They're also driving support for a minimum wage to be raised to $15 an hour. Almost two-thirds of people now overall are now in favor of that.
MARTÍNEZ: All right. So what else do people think about priorities Congress will be taking on as we're in this new session they're in?
MONTANARO: Yeah, two things here. On Ukraine funding, a plurality, 42%, say that it's been about right. But something's brewing here. Almost half of Republicans now say the U.S. is providing too much support to Ukraine. Republican opposition has really steadily grown in the past year of this war. And this is shaping up to become a real issue not just in Congress, but also on the campaign trail. Another Republican priority - investigating the president's son, Hunter Biden. Almost 6 in 10 say they support a congressional investigation into his business dealings. So Republicans are very much going to feel like they have the wind at their backs on this issue.
MARTÍNEZ: NPR's Domenico Montanaro. Thanks a lot.
MONTANARO: You're welcome.
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