While many Capitol Hill lawmakers insist they’re confident the congressional debt reduction “supercommittee” will reach a deal by its Nov. 223 deadline, a new poll finds that the public isn’t so sure.
Results of a survey commissioned by The Hill newspaper showed that only 19 percent of respondents are confident Congress will produce a deal to lower the federal deficit. Five percent said they were “very confident,” while 14 percent said they were “somewhat confident.”
Seventy-five percent of respondents said they weren’t’ confident, with 5 percent saying they weren’t sure.
Blame for the debt-reduction impasse was nearly split between the two parties, with 46 percent of those responding saying it was the fault of Democrats and President Obama, while 45 percent pointed the finger at Republicans.
The bipartisan supercommittee has until a week from Wednesday to agree on a plan to lower the federal budget deficit by $1.5 trillion. Failure would trigger $1.2 trillion across-the-board spending cuts, about half directed at the Pentagon.
The Hill poll of 1,000 likely voters was conducted by Pulse Opinion Research on Thursday. It has a margin of error of 3 percentage points.
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