56 percent in new poll support bipartisan infrastructure bill

More than half of voters in a new poll support Congress’s bipartisan infrastructure bill as Democrats scrounge for the votes needed for the legislation to pass the House.

In a new Morning Consult-Politico poll, 56 percent of registered voters surveyed said they approve of the bill, including 27 percent who “strongly support” it. Only 27 percent either “somewhat” or “strongly” oppose it, and 17 percent were unsure.

The results are split along partisan lines, with 77 percent of Democratic respondents supporting the legislation and only 37 percent of Republicans backing it. A narrow majority of 52 percent of independents polled support the bipartisan bill.

A slight plurality of respondents approves of the bill’s $1 trillion price tag, with 43 percent of registered voters saying it’s the “right amount” to spend on infrastructure and 42 percent saying it’s “too much.”  Fourteen percent said $1 trillion is “too little.” 

The poll comes as Democrats in the House squabble over the legislation, which passed the Senate by a 69-30 margin in August. 

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said the House will vote on the bill Thursday, though it is unclear if it has the votes to pass despite bipartisan support for it in public and in its Senate passage. A broad swath of progressive lawmakers has threatened to tank the bill unless the House first passes a $3.5 trillion social spending bill, and Democrats can only afford to lose about three votes if House members vote along party lines.

The infrastructure bill is being voted on the same day that some surface transportation programs are set to expire. Among other things, the legislation includes money for new investments for infrastructure projects like roads, bridges, broadband, water and rail.

The jostling comes as President Biden is desperate for a legislative win after drawing criticism for his handling of the coronavirus pandemic, immigration, the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan and more. 

The weekly Morning Consult-Politico poll surveyed 1,999 registered voters from Sept. 24-27 and has a margin of error of 2 percentage points.