Report: President Biden, American Rescue Plan Viewed Favorably

The March 2021 Daily Kos/Civiqs Poll asked 1,673 registered voters in the United States about the American Rescue Plan, Joe Biden’s presidency so far, interest in voting for third parties, the coronavirus vaccine, daylight saving time, student debt relief, and more.

The American Rescue Plan

In March, President Joe Biden signed the American Rescue Plan, a $1.9 trillion pandemic relief and economic stimulus bill. A majority of Americans (53%) approve of the bill, while 39% disapprove of it. Support for the law is nearly universal among Democrats (93%) but it is opposed by 78% of Republicans.

Overall, 51% of Americans approve of the way Joe Biden is handling his job as president. One in three Americans (32%) say that Biden is doing a better job than they expected so far, including 61% of Democrats. Another third (30%) think that Biden is doing about the same as they expected, and 35% -- mostly Republicans -- think that Biden is doing a worse job as president than they expected.

COVID-19 Vaccination

As the United States’ COVID-19 vaccination campaign expands, Americans are divided over whether they will take the vaccine, and if so, which manufacturer’s vaccine they prefer. Through mid-March, 25% reported having already taken the vaccine, including nearly half (49%) of Americans over age 65. (For continually updated information on vaccination rates, please visit the results of Civiqs’ daily tracking survey.)

Of those who have not received the vaccine, there is not a consensus on a preferred manufacturer. While 32% would take any of the vaccines, 16% prefer the Moderna or Pfizer vaccine and 12% prefer the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. However, if offered a vaccine that was not from their preferred manufacturer, 48% would accept it, with only 12% holding out for their chosen brand.

One in four Americans (23%) still say that they will not take a COVID-19 vaccine. This represents nearly one third (31%) of those who are not already vaccinated. The biggest predictor of refusing the vaccine is identifying as a Republican. Almost half (46%) of Republicans say that they will not take the vaccine: that is 54% of all currently unvaccinated Republicans.

Over 540,000 Americans have died from COVID-19. The survey results reveal that more than half of Americans -- 58% -- have now either had coronavirus themselves, know someone who has recovered from coronavirus, or know someone who has died. Communities of color have been most severely impacted. Whereas 26% of Americans overall know someone who has died of COVID-19, this number increases to 36% among Hispanic Americans, and 42% among Black Americans.

Despite the vaccine rollout, Americans remain pessimistic about a return to normal life. A quarter (25%) think that life in the United States will never get back to normal. Most (42%) believe that it will be six months or more until the coronavirus outbreak settles down. These results are similar to December 2020 -- three months ago -- when 54% felt that a return to normal life was six months away, and 24% felt that normal life would never resume.

Beyond Democrats and Republicans

Americans want more political party options than Democrats and Republicans. Nearly half (48%) think that the two major parties do not do an adequate job of representing the American people, and more major parties are needed. Similar numbers of Democrats (29%) and Republicans (27%) feel that the current parties are sufficient.

Younger voters are the most interested in additional political parties. Fully 67% of registered voters aged 18-34 want more major parties, compared to only 30% of voters over age 65. Similarly, over half of young voters (51%) say that they would be interested in voting for a third party or independent candidate in the next presidential election.

Other Findings

In the face of historic winter storms, 83% of Americans now believe that global climate change is happening, but many disagree about the cause. A majority of Americans (57%) think that climate change is happening as a result of human activity, including 94% of Democrats, 55% of Independents, and 15% of Republicans. However, 26% of Americans -- including 53% of Republicans -- agree that the climate is changing, but think that the primary cause is not human activity.

President Biden recently announced that his administration would cancel $1 billion in student loans for those who were defrauded by colleges and universities. A majority of Americans (54%) support cancelling student debt, though they differ on the best course of action. One in three (29%) support debt cancellation in tiers based on income; 17% support the universal cancellation of all student loan debt; and another 8% support some other plan.

A majority of Americans (57%) support making daylight savings time permanent. The policy proposal has bipartisan support, including 56% of Democrats, 56% of Republicans, and 58% of Independents.

Civiqs surveyed 1,673 registered voters in the United States from March 12-16, 2021. The survey was conducted online, among selected members of the Civiqs research panel. Sampled individuals were emailed by Civiqs and responded using a personalized link to the survey at civiqs.com. The survey results are weighted by age, race, gender, education, party identification, and region to be representative of the population of registered voters in the United States. The general design effect due to weighting is 1.10. The survey has a margin of error of ±2.5% at the 95% confidence level, accounting for the design effect.