Tag: public policy polling poll
Poll: Huge Majority Favor Extending Unemployment Benefits

Poll: Huge Majority Favor Extending Unemployment Benefits

Congressional Republicans could face an electoral backlash if they fail to renew Emergency Unemployment Compensation, according to a Hart Research Associates poll released Thursday.

The poll, which was conducted on behalf of the National Employment Law Project, finds that 55 percent of American voters believe Congress should maintain federal unemployment benefits. Just 34 percent believe they should cut the program.

The poll also suggests that Republicans could face serious political problems in 2014 if they block an extension of the benefits, which they fought to keep out of the budget deal that President Obama signed into law on Thursday—55 percent of respondents with a history of voting in off-year elections support an extension, while just 35 percent oppose them. Furthermore, 39 percent of those surveyed say they are less likely to vote for a member of Congress who votes to cut off unemployment benefits, while just 21 percent say such a vote would make them more likely to support their incumbent (35 percent say it will not affect their vote).

The GOP should be especially worried by the fact that its base is driving the support for an extension. Seniors — a critical demographic on which the GOP’s hold is already loosening — favor an extension by a 61 to 31 percent margin, greater than any other age group. White voters who did not attend college favor an extension 52 to 37 percent, and white women favor extending benefits 53 to 33 percent.

The Hart Research survey echoes the results of a recent Public Policy Polling poll, which also found that House Republicans could face an electoral backlash for blocking an extension.

Republicans will soon have an opportunity to engage with the issue head-on. Although the benefits will expire for 1.3 million Americans on December 28, Senators Dean Heller (R-NV) and Jack Reed (D-RI) have introduced a bill that would extend them for three months. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has promised to bring the bill up for a vote no later than January 7, and the White House has signaled that the president will sign it if it reaches his desk.

If Republicans block the extension in the Senate or, more likely, in the House of Representatives, then they will hand Democrats a golden political opportunity. Given that Democrats are already telegraphing their plans to make inequality a central theme of their 2014 pitch, Republicans could come to regret living up to the caricature of a party that only cares for the rich.

More importantly, refusing to extend unemployment benefits would cast a blow against the tepid economic recovery. According to the White House Council of Economic Advisers, failing to extend unemployment benefits could cost 240,000 jobs in 2014, while reducing GDP by 0.2 to 0.4 percent.

AFP Photo/Saul Loeb

Poll: House Republicans Face Political Risk For Not Extending Unemployment Benefits

Poll: House Republicans Face Political Risk For Not Extending Unemployment Benefits

With temporary federal benefits for long-term unemployed Americans set to expire on December 28, a new Public Policy Polling poll finds that bipartisan majorities in Republican-controlled swing districts overwhelmingly support an extension of the program – something the GOP opposes and refused to include in the newest budget deal.

The PPP poll, released on Monday, shows that some vulnerable Republican congressmemembers risk losing support from voters over their stance on the Emergency Unemployment Compensation program.

In each of the districts – California’s 31st, Colorado’s 6th, Michigan’s 1st, Illinois’ 13th, and Ohio’s 8th – voters said they were less likely to re-elect the incumbent if their representative refused to extend the program.

Republican congressman Gary Miller represents the district with the greatest bipartisan support for an extension of unemployment benefits: 68 percent of voters say they want the benefits continued as opposed to 28 percent who do not. More notably, Republicans voiced support for an extension by 54 percent to 41 percent.

Similarly, in the districts represented by Dan Benishek (R-MI) and Rodney Davis (R-IL), majorities of voters support extending the program, 66 percent to 29 percent. In Michigan’s 1st district, 60 percent of Republicans say the benefits should be extended past the new year, and in Illinois’ 13th district, 53 percent say the same.

House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) says the progress showed in November’s job report should “discourage calls for more government ‘stimulus’,” but the voters in his district disagree — 63 percent want the program extended, while 34 percent do not. A majority of Republicans – 52 percent – also support an extension.

The only district in which a majority of Republicans did not voice support for an extension was Colorado’s 6th district, currently held by Mike Coffman (R). Still, 63 percent of voters say they want to see the program extended, and a plurality of Republicans – 48 percent – say the same.

With the poll also showing low approval ratings for the Republican lawmakers – Miller with 29 percent, Coffman with 42 percent, Davis with 33 percent, Benishek with 41 percent, and Boehner with 40 percent – there’s a chance that “voting to cut off benefits for unemployed people struggling to find work would make their existing problems worse,” as PPP director Tom Jensen said in a release accompanying the poll.

Still, it’s also possible that the issue will not be as politically salient in 2014. By then, voters may have prioritized other issues besides the extension of unemployment benefits — which is in the news now, with the passing of the budget deal and a looming expiration date.

Jeremy Funk of Americans United for Change, which funded the PPP poll, argues that Republicans should do what is “not just in America’s economic interest” but in “their own political interest.”

Americans United for Change also points out that congressional Democrats have been alone in their fight for extending the emergency unemployment benefits. A week ago, the liberal group posted a video highlighting the battle that Democrats can use to their advantage. You can watch the video below:

Video:Americans United via YouTube

Photo: Gage Skidmore via Flickr