DFP Newsletter: our anxiety is chronic but the CPC’s iconic

Welcome to the Data for Progress Newsletter.

We didn’t blink

In a win for progressives, the 96-member Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) held the line and refused to vote on the bipartisan infrastructure bill before the Senate passed reconciliation. The CPC cited our polling on national support for the Build Back Better Agenda in a statement made on Tuesday.

But the staring contest between House progressives and Sinemanchin (yeah, that’s like, a thing now) continues. And it’s why our latest polling in moderate districts is so important.

This week, Data for Progress partnered with Climate Power to poll frontline Congressional districts on the reconciliation bill’s climate provisions. We polled eight key frontline districts: AZ-01, FL-07, GA-07, IA-03, ME-02, MI-08, NY-04, and NJ-05. What we found? Voters in these frontline districts support the Build Back Better plan by double-digit margins.

Voters in these districts aren’t just supportive of the infrastructure bill, they also want Congress to make additional investments in climate beyond what’s being proposed in that bill. To that end, we find voters support keeping or increasing the $3.5 trillion price tag of the reconciliation bill.

Also notable: voters say they are more likely to vote for a candidate that supports the Build Back Better reconciliation bill. This matters because of the eight frontline districts we polled, three reps — Reps. Carolyn Bourdeaux (GA-07), Jared Golden (ME-02), and Josh Gottheimer (NJ-05) — were a part of the nine Congressional Democrats that stalled passage of reconciliation in the House. In 2020, they either faced tough general elections or primary challenges from the left, or both — and our polling makes clear that not supporting the reconciliation bill is the wrong move for them politically.

Help us Fund More Swing District Polling: Donate to DFP

Green is the new black: Every Climate Provision of the Build Back Better Agenda is Above Majority Support

Despite what corporate Dems might have you believe, climate legislation is really, really popular. In new polling fielded earlier this month, we find national likely voters support every climate provision of the Build Back Better reconciliation bill by wide margins. Most of these initiatives carry support across partisan lines:

Voters ExCEPPtionally Support The Clean Energy Performance Program (CEPP)

Lawmakers have introduced a plan to achieve one of President Biden’s key policy goals: transitioning the United States to 80 percent clean power by 2030. We find that voters widely support the plan for a Clean Electricity Performance Program (CEPP) — even when shown talking points pushing back on the proposal. We also find that voters want utilities to prioritize reducing consumer costs; emphasizing the tangible consumer benefits of the CEPP is an effective message to combat opposition to the proposal.

Dems Can Run and Win on American Manufacturing with “Made Clean in America”

DFP and the National Wildlife Federation have partnered on a policy and polling series called Made Clean in America, which identifies a series of powerful and popular investments to rebuild American manufacturing and tackle our climate crisis.

63% of voters say that they’re more likely to support government investments in clean energy if the materials and component parts are made in America rather than in foreign countries. 64% of Democrats, 62% of Independents, and 62% of Republicans all say they’re more likely to support federal investments that would support American-made clean energy products.

Another White House x Data for Progress crossover episode

The White House continues to cite our polling on the Build Back Better Agenda. Their memo to Members of Congress on Monday made clear that the Build Back Better plan and the bipartisan infrastructure bill were both popular among voters by using polling from Data for Progress that finds strong support in key states.