President Joe Biden’s infrastructure proposal has a price tag in the trillions, but few voters have independent perceptions and would prefer a more modest plan, according to results of a recent poll.
A Dallas Express poll conducted by Scott Rasmussen found that most voters would prefer $600 billion plan to the president’s $1.9 trillion proposal.
The poll, a national survey of 1,000 likely U.S. voters conducted May 3-4, also notes that 53% of respondents favored Biden’s proposal to pay for – among other things – highway, bridge, train, electric vehicle and other green energy projects. Thirty-five percent of those polled opposed Biden’s, while 12% are not sure.
The infrastructure proposal, “The American Jobs Plan” that started making the rounds last month after passage of his massive coronavirus relief package, has a price tag of about $2 trillion. The plan would spend that money to improve transportation infrastructure, homes, schools and buildings, the nation’s workforce, innovation and water, internet and electric systems.
The poll also found that participating Republican voters support the more modest plan by a 67% to 12% margin while 44% of independent voters polled supported the $600 billion plan, with 29% of those voters preferring the more expensive proposal. Democrats polled were more divided with just under half, 47%, preferring Biden’s plan and 38% saying they would opt for the more modest plan.
The poll also found that the more people participating in the poll learn about Biden’s infrastructure proposal, the more they oppose that proposal. When first asked about the plan, 47% said they were in favor, with 35% opposed. After being provided information about the provisions in Biden’s proposal, support dropped by 3% to 44% and opposition grew 11 points to 46%.
The poll also elicited some strong reactions from participating voters over some of the proposal’s provisions. For instance, the Infrastructure proposal would end the American mining of rare earth materials required for smartphones and laptops. That provision could make the U.S. far more dependent upon China, which dominates the market in rare earth production.
Doubling the federal workforce didn’t seem to bother most participants in the poll but increasing government jobs while decreasing private sector workers did, with only 30% seeing it as a positive.
Biden has said GOP voters support his Infrastructure plan.
“Overwhelming majority of the American people — Democrats, Republics, and independents — support infrastructure investments that meets the moment,” Biden said during his April 7 remarks about his infrastructure proposal. “So, I urge the Congress: Listen to your constituents and, together, we can lay a foundation for an economy that works for everyone and allows America to remain the world leader. When we do that, I believe, as I said last week, that in 50 years from now, when people look back, they’ll say this was the moment, together, that we won America’s future. I really believe that.”
The Dallas Express poll and an NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll, show the people do not agree.