Twice as many in new survey favor clean debt deal

Twice as many people support Congress passing a clean bill to raise the debt ceiling by itself as those who support it being tied to spending cuts, according to a poll. 

A Monmouth University poll released Wednesday showed 51 percent of respondents said the discussions about raising the debt limit should be kept separate from negotiations about the amount of federal spending, while 25 percent said they should be tied together. About a quarter said they had no opinion. 

The White House and congressional Republicans are in the midst of negotiations to reach a deal to raise the debt limit. Republicans have insisted on major spending cuts in exchange for voting to raise the debt limit, while the Biden administration has pushed for a clean bill to raise the limit alone and address spending separately. 

The Treasury Department has warned that the U.S. could default on its debts as soon as June 1 if an agreement is not reached to raise the debt ceiling. But some Republicans have questioned if June 1 is the exact date for a default and asked Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen to show how she determined that date. 

A plurality of respondents, 42 percent, said they believe a default will lead to significant economic problems. Three in 10 said they believe the concern is exaggerated, while 28 percent said they have no opinion. 

The Biden administration has warned that a default could send the country into a recession and have ripple effects throughout the global economy. 

Pollsters also found familiarity with the issue is significantly higher among respondents who believe the debt ceiling should be raised by itself and those who view a default as a significant economic challenge. 

More than half of those who support a clean bill to raise the debt limit and who believe a default would cause major problems said they have followed this issue closely. Only about a third of those who want raising the limit tied to spending cuts and those who do not believe a default would cause a major problem said the same. 

The results come as polls have shown conflicting results about whether Americans want a clean bill to raise the limit or one tied to spending cuts. A majority in an NPR-PBS NewsHour-Marist poll said that Congress should raise the debt limit by itself, while 6 in 10 said in a CNN poll that it should be tied to spending cuts. 

The Monmouth poll was conducted from May 18-23 among 981 adults. The margin of error was 5.6 percentage points.