Though Americans are still deeply divided over the health care law, a clear majority disapprove of a Republican plan to choke off funding for it, according to a new CBS poll.
In the poll, 55% of respondents said they oppose the plan to block health care funding, while only 35% said they support that proposal.
Having failed in their efforts to repeal the law outright, some Republicans, including House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) have suggested scuttling President Obama’s signature achievement through the legislature’s power to appropriate funds. By blocking funding for some of the law’s provisions, Congress could in effect cancel out pieces of the law without actually repealing them.
Yet the poll suggests that Republicans, who have at times framed the midterm elections as a referendum on the health care bill, would actually be bucking public opinion if they go ahead with their plan to cut off health care funding.
That result comes despite strong opposition to the law overall. In the same poll, 51% of respondents disapproved of the law, while only 33% approved of it.
When it comes to repealing the law, though, public opinion is far more mixed. While most Americans aren’t happy with the law, polls suggest that only about one in five want to see the whole thing scrapped.
The CBS poll was conducted February 11-14 among 1,103 Americans nationwide. It has a margin of error of 3.0%.
