A plurality of Republicans support letting longterm unemployment benefits expire, according to a new poll released by the Democratic Public Policy Polling firm Tuesday.
Forty-four percent of Republicans said they support an end to the unemployment benefits, while 33 percent said they were opposed and 23 percent were neutral.
Overall, 50 percent of respondents said they opposed the expiration of unemployment benefits and 35 percent supported it.
Federal emergency unemployment benefits, which let people collect benefits for up to 99 weeks, are set to expire on Dec. 28. An extension to these emergency benefits was not included in the budget deal reached between Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) and Sne. Patty Murray (D-WA), and GOP leaders have indicated that they are willing to let the benefits expire.
The Congressional Budget Office in December found that extending unemployment benefits would boost the economy and add jobs because more people would be spending money.
