43 percent in new poll say Biden spending package will make inflation worse

Forty-three percent of registered voters in a new poll said they believe President Biden’s expansive social spending and climate package, which the House passed last week after months of negotiations, will make inflation worse.

The survey, conducted by Politico and Morning Consult, found that 27 percent of registered voters said the package will make inflation much worse, while 16 percent said the legislation will make inflation somewhat worse.

Twenty-six percent of respondents said the spending package will make inflation better: 9 percent said the legislation would make matters much better, and 17 percent said matters would become somewhat better with the new funding.

Fifteen percent of registered voters said the package will not have any impact on inflation.

The poll results come days after the House passed Biden’s mammoth spending bill, which includes investments in education, health care and combating climate change. The vote capped off months of negotiations that were marked by internal party clashes.

The bill, dubbed the Build Back Better Act, now heads to the Senate for a vote. It is being considered through budget reconciliation, meaning a simple majority vote is needed for passage in the upper chamber. The legislative process allows Democrats to buck a potential GOP filibuster.

The bill includes $1.64 trillion in new federal spending over the span of 10 years, according to a tally from the Congressional Budget Office. When including tax credits in that number, however, the price tag spikes to $2.4 trillion, which is significantly higher than Biden’s initial $1.75 trillion framework.

Passage of the package comes as inflation is already on the rise in the U.S. due in part to supply chain issues, which have caused prices to increase nationwide.

The White House has argued that the package will help assuage inflation concerns, contending that several provisions will help lower costs for American families, while Republicans are convinced that the bill will worsen inflation.

The new poll found that 74 percent of Republicans said the spending package will make inflation worse, while only 14 percent of Democrats agree. Independents are split: 48 percent said the bill will make inflation worse.

Roughly half of registered voters support the Build Back Better act, according to the poll. Forty-nine percent of respondents said they back the measure, while 38 percent said they oppose it.

Thirteen percent said they do not know or do not have an opinion.

When broken down by political party, however, support for the spending package is overwhelmingly centered among Democrats. Eighty percent of Democrats said they back the bill, compared to 41 percent of independents and 20 percent of Republicans.

The poll, conducted between Nov. 20 and Nov. 21, surveyed 1,999 registered voters. The margin of error is 2 percentage points.