More Than Half Of Voters Believe Debt Limit And Spending Should Be Separate

Monmouth University Polling has released a survey at odds with recent polls which have appeared to show that most Americans support attaching spending cuts to a debt ceiling hike.

• Monmouth: “Just 1 in 4 (25%) Americans think the debt ceiling should be tied to negotiations over spending on federal programs, while half (51%) say the two issues should be dealt with separately. Among those who have heard a lot about the current debate, the number who say the two issues should be dealt with separately rises slightly to 58%.”
• Monmouth Director Patrick Murray said: “About half the public feels they have a handle on what the consequences of a federal default would mean, and most of them want a clean deal on the debt ceiling.”
• On Congress, “the public generally has a negative view of how all the players involved have handled the debt ceiling issue, including Biden (34% approve and 55% disapprove), the Democrats in Congress (32% approve and 55% disapprove), and the Republicans in Congress (29% approve and 60% disapprove).”

Figure 1: “Debt Ceiling Opinion”