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Poll: Huge majority doesn't want Democrats' health care bill
By: Byron York
Chief Political Correspondent
11/06/09 3:41 PM EST
With House Democrats racing to pass their 2,000-plus page health care reform bill this weekend, a new CNN/Opinion Research poll shows that an overwhelming majority of those surveyed -- 72 percent -- want Congress either to make major changes, start over from scratch, or simply stop working on health care legislation. Just 26 percent want Congress to pass the current health care proposal as is, or with minor changes.
This was the question asked by the CNN/Opinion Research pollsters:
As you may know, several health care bills have been passed by committees in the U.S. House and Senate and they can be brought before Congress for debate and a final vote at any time. Which of the following do you think Congress should do:
** Continue working on those bills this fall and make relatively minor changes
before passing final legislation.
** Continue working on those bills this fall but pass final legislation only if major changes are made.
** Start work on entirely new bills that would not be ready until some time next year.
** Stop working on any bills that would change the country's health care system.
The results: 26 percent want the bills passed with relatively minor changes; 33 percent want the bills passed but only with major changes; 24 percent want Congress to start work on entirely new bills; and 15 percent want Congress to stop work altogether. Just one percent have no opinion.
That means 72 percent of those surveyed either want Congress to make major changes, start over, or stop work on health care reform, versus 26 percent who want the bills passed with minor changes.
On another question, the CNN/Opinion Research pollsters found that 53 percent of those surveyed oppose President Obama's plan to reform health care, with 45 percent favoring the plan. Just two weeks ago, the same pollsters found the public evenly split on the issue, 49 percent to 49 percent.
The 53 percent opposition to ObamaCare is the highest figure in any of six CNN/Opinion Research polls since June. The question asked was whether respondents "favor or oppose Barack Obama's plan to reform health care." Even though the president has not put forth a plan of his own, the White House released a statement today saying that he strongly supports the House Democrats' health care bill.
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