[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 52 (Tuesday, March 21, 1995)]
[House]
[Pages H3398-H3399]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                LET US HOPE REPUBLICANS GET THE MESSAGE

  (Mr. RICHARDSON asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. RICHARDSON. Mr. Speaker, the other side is crowing about the 
success of the Contract With America. Well, here is a poll that came 
out today. Headlines: ``Public Growing Wary of GOP. More Now Trust 
Clinton To Help the Middle Class.''
  Here are some results of this poll: Most Americans think Republicans 
are going too far in cutting Federal programs that benefit children, 
the elderly, the poor, and the middle class. Fifty-nine percent of 
Americans think Republicans will go too far in aiding the wealthy. 
Fifty-two percent of Americans agree the more they hear about what 
Republicans do in Congress, the less they like it. Fifty-one percent of 
Americans think Republicans in Congress were trying to do too much in 
too short a time. Fifty-three percent of Americans trust the President 
more than Republicans in Congress in protecting Social Security. And 52 
percent of Americans trust the President more than Republicans in 
Congress in helping the middle class.
  Mr. Speaker, Americans are sending this message to the Republicans on 
the Contract With America: ``Hold it. Be careful. Do not rush it. You 
are overdoing it. There are some essential programs, cutting the middle 
class, cutting children, that are going too far.''
  Mr. Speaker, I am including at this point in the Record that 
newspaper article, as follows:
               [From the Washington Post, Feb. 21, 1995]

                    Public Growing Wary of GOP Cuts

                           (By Richard Morin)

       Most Americans believe that Republican lawmakers are going 
     too far in cutting federal social programs that benefit 
     children, the elderly, the poor and the middle class, 
     according to a new Washington Post-ABC News survey.
       As a result, the survey suggests, President Clinton may be 
     slowly winning back some of the political ground he 
     surrendered to Republicans immediately after the GOP 
     landslide in last November's congressional elections.
       Clinton also appears to be getting a sustained second look 
     from many middle-class voters who deserted the Democratic 
     Party last year. In a critical reversal of attitudes, people 
     now say they trust Clinton more than Republicans in Congress 
     to help middle-class Americans, the survey found. Barely a 
     month ago, Republicans enjoyed a clear advantage over 
     Clinton.
       Yet these doubts about congressional Republicans have not 
     yet appreciably helped Clinton's overall public standing. His 
     personal job approval rating stood at 52 percent in the 
     latest survey, essentially unchanged from last month. And 
     Republicans remain more trusted than Clinton to deal with the 
     ``main problems the nation faces.''
       A total of 1,524 randomly selected adults were interviewed 
     by telephone March 16-19. Margin of sampling error for the 
     overall results is plus or minus 3 percentage points.
       The survey suggests that the honeymoon may be over for the 
     House Republican ``Contract With America.'' While a majority 
     of
      those interviewed still give approval in concept to the 
     contract, 52 percent also agreed with the statement ``the 
     more I hear about what Republicans do in Congress, the 
     less I like it.'' Forty-four percent expressed the 
     opposite view.
       Among the public's biggest worries: the the Republican 
     majority in Congress will cut too deeply and too quickly into 
     social programs to finance tax cuts and other benefits to 
     wealthy Americans.
       Nearly six out of 10 persons--59 percent--agreed with the 
     statement that Republicans ``will go too far in helping the 
     rich and cutting needed government services that benefit 
     average Americans as well as the poor.'' That's a 14-point 
     increase since January in public concern with Republican 
     initiatives.
       Pluralities specifically said Republicans in Congress were 
     trying to make too many cuts 
     [[Page H3399]] in the nation's education programs and in the 
     school lunch program. (Republican lawmakers argue that they 
     would increase school lunch funding but slow its growth.)
       The survey also found that many Americans are wondering if 
     the GOP is moving too fast on other fronts to cut federal 
     spending and programs. According to the survey, 51 percent 
     said Republicans in Congress were trying to do too much in 
     too short a time, while 18 percent said they were trying to 
     do too little and 30 percent said they were doing ``about the 
     right amount.''
       In other ways, too, the survey results suggest people are 
     questioning whether Republicans' zeal to cut federal spending 
     and programs will end up hurting average Americans.
       By 52 percent to 38 percent, those interviewed chose 
     Clinton over Congress when asked who will do better in 
     ``helping the middle class.'' Barely two months ago, 
     Republicans held a 49 percent to 41 percent advantage on this 
     measure. And 55 percent said that Clinton understands the 
     problems of ``people like you,'' while an equally large 
     majority said the Republicans in Congress do not.
       Republicans retained their advantage over Clinton on such 
     traditionally GOP issues as managing the
      economy. But even here, the president appears to be closing 
     the gap. According to the poll, 47 percent of those 
     interviewed trusted Republicans in Congress more to deal 
     with the economy, down from 56 percent six weeks ago. At 
     the same time, the proportion trusting Clinton more on 
     economic matters increased from 34 percent to 43 percent.
       The survey also suggests that congressional Democrats were 
     successful in their efforts during the recent balanced budget 
     amendment debate to raise doubts about the willingness of 
     Republicans to spare Social Security entitlements from budget 
     cuts.
       By 53 percent to 34 percent, Clinton was trusted more than 
     Republicans in Congress to protect Social Security. In early 
     January, Republicans held a 7-point advantage over the 
     president.
       Overall, Clinton held the advantage over congressional 
     Republicans when asked who would do the better job in helping 
     the poor, protecting the environment and ``protecting 
     America's children,'' issues on which Democrats traditionally 
     do well.
       Republicans in Congress were trusted more than Clinton in 
     reforming welfare, handling crime, cutting taxes and reducing 
     the budget deficit, the survey found.
       With the 1996 presidential election 20 months away, Senate 
     Majority Leader Robert J. Dole (Kan.) emerged as the early 
     front-runner for the GOP nomination, volunteered as the 
     choice of 32 percent of those self-described Republicans 
     interviewed. Every other Republican was supported by less 
     than 10 percent of those interviewed.
       Clinton was the volunteered choice of 55 percent of those 
     Democrats interviewed, with every other Democrat finishing in 
     single digits.
       When matched in a hypothetical presidential election, 
     Clinton and Dole finished in a tie, with each receiving 46 
     percent of the projected vote.
                  Clinton and the Republican Congress

               [Washington Post-ABC News Poll--March 19]

       Do you approve or disapprove of the way Bill Clinton is 
     handling his job as president since taking office in January 
     1993?
       Approve 52 percent; disapprove, 45 percent; no opinion, 3 
     percent.
       Which of these two statements would you say represents the 
     greatest danger for the country:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                      Jan. 4    March 19
                                                    (percent)  (percent)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Republicans will go too far in helping the                          
     rich and cutting needed government services                        
     that benefit average Americans as well as the                      
     poor.........................................       45         59  
    Democrats in Congress will go too far in                            
     keeping costly government services that are                        
     wasteful and out-of-date.....................       43         34  
------------------------------------------------------------------------

       For each specific issue I name, please tell me who you 
     trust to do a better job handling that issue.
       Areas where President Clinton received more trust:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                             Republicans
                                                   Clinton   in Congress
                                                  (percent)   (percent) 
------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Helping the poor............................       61          27   
    Protecting the environment..................       54          36   
    Protecting Social Security..................       53          34   
    Helping the middle class....................       52          38   
    Protecting America's children...............       49          40   
  Areas where Republicans in Congress received                          
                   more trust:                                          
    Cutting taxes...............................       36          52   
    Reforming the welfare system................       38          51   
    Reducing the federal budget deficit.........       36          50   
    Handling the crime problem..................       41          48   
    Handling the nation's economy...............       43          47   
    Handling the main problems the nation faces.       39          46   
 Areas where Clinton and Republicans are equally                        
                    trusted:                                            
    Upholding family values.....................       44          45   
------------------------------------------------------------------------
NOTE: Figures may not add to 100% because ``no opinion'' is not         
  included. The most recent figures are from a Washington Post-ABC News 
  national telephone poll of a random sample of 1,524 adults March 16-  
  19. Other data are from Washington Post-ABC News polls of             
  approximately the same sample size. Margin of sampling error for all  
  polls is plus or minus 3 percentage points overall. Sampling error is,
  however, only one of many potential sources of error in this or any   
  public opinion poll. Interviewing was conducted by Chilton Research of
  Radnor, Pa.                                                           

  

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