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Welcome back to the Data for Progress newsletter, your weekly update on our research, blog posts, and memos.
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On Wednesday, President Biden released a sweeping series of climate-focused executive orders — a far more ambitious slate than any of his predecessors. And our polling shows that he can be confident that these actions will expand his base of support.
Biden’s announcement included plans to transform the entire federal fleet to electric vehicles and use the government’s buying power to purchase sustainable products — an idea that has cross-cutting support among Democrats, Independents, and Republicans.
Our polling also shows strong voter support for Biden’s plans to:
—> Conserve at least 30 percent of our lands and oceans by 2030 (+67 net support)
—> Host an international climate summit (+34 net support)
—> Ensure at least 40 percent of new green investments go to disadvantaged communities (+29 net support)
—> Mobilize all agencies and departments to address climate change (+22 net support)
For years, the climate movement has been fighting for an agenda to create green jobs and advance climate justice. Now, thanks to the hard work and dedication of progressive organizers, the Biden administration is using executive action to push for exactly that.
"One thing that our polling clearly showed is that voters really reject the kind of jobs versus environment framing that Republicans have kind of tried to shove down everyone’s throats for the last two years,” DFP’s political director Marcela Mulholland told Earther. “Voters are actually overwhelmingly supportive of a job-creating approach to climate, [and] racial justice is a way to make climate policy resonate with voters more.”
Here are some other highlights from DFP this week:
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Bernie is on the blog — again! This time he’s making the case for raising the minimum wage to $15 and ending the tipped minimum wage loophole. Sanders also cites our polling showing that despite decades of conservative backlash against raising the minimum wage, a $15 an hour minimum wage is favored by two-thirds of voters. Democratic support is overwhelming, Independents are firmly on board, and even Republicans are split.
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Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand also took to our blog this week to show why Democrats should use their trifecta to push for emergency paid family leave. With our polling finding seven in ten voters in favor, it’s a clear political winner and should be a top priority for the Biden administration. “No one should have to choose between their life and their livelihood — not in the middle of a pandemic, not ever,” Gillibrand wrote.
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Democrats have a choice: they can expand benefits by making tweaks to the tax code that voters won’t notice, or they can create highly-visible public options that will deliver tangible benefits to voters. Our polling shows that Americans favor the latter approach — voters across the political spectrum prefer public options over tax credits for infrastructure, broadband, housing, and childcare.
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H.R.1, the For the People Act, is one of the most important bills in the House. It would expand voting rights, end gerrymandering, and limit the influence of big money in politics. Our polling finds that even after hearing pro and con arguments, voters on both sides of the aisle favor the bill.
- The climate-related executive orders mentioned above are important, but Biden can’t stop there. A great new Vox piece uses our polling to lay out new unilateral actions Biden can push for while building voter support, including enrolling more people in DACA (60 percent support), increasing access to food and housing aid (70 percent support), and withdrawing U.S. combat troops from Afghanistan (54 percent support).
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