Public support for the economic recovery plan crafted by President Obama and congressional Democrats has slipped a bit over the past week. At the same time, expectations that the plan will quickly become law have increased.

Forty-two percent (42%) of the nation’s likely voters now support the president’s plan, roughly one-third of which is tax cuts with the rest new government spending. The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey shows that 39% are opposed to it and 19% are undecided. Liberal voters overwhelmingly support the plan while conservatives are strongly opposed.

Last week, support for the President’s plan was at 45% and opposition at 34%.

As they consider the size and scope of the $800-billion-plus economic recovery plan, 46% are worried that the government will end up doing too much while 42% worry that it will do too little (see trends).

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A plurality of women now support the recovery plan, but a plurality of men take the opposite view. Those who earn less than $40,000 a year are more likely to support the plan than those with higher incomes.

Over the course of the past week, there has been little change in the views of either Republicans or Democrats towards the legislation. Seventy-four percent (74%) of Democrats support the plan along with just 18% of Republicans. Both those figures are up just a single point from the previous poll.

However, support among unaffiliated voters has fallen. A week ago, unaffiliateds were evenly divided on the plan, with 37% in favor and 36% opposed. Now, 50% of unaffiliated voters oppose the plan while only 27% favor it.

The House of Representatives passed an $819-billion version of the plan Wednesday night with all but 12 Democrats voting in favor of it and all Republicans voting against. Democrats argue the plan is full of essential stimulus measures for the economy; Republicans say it has far too much new spending in it. The telephone survey was conducted on Tuesday and Wednesday with nearly half the interviews conducted after the House vote was concluded.

Debate now shifts to the Senate where a different version of the bill is expected to pass and where its price tag could rise to $900 billion. If so, a conference with representatives from the Senate and the House will be needed to resolve the differences. Eighty-six percent (86%) of voters expect the plan to become law during the president’s first 100 days in office. That figure includes 52% who say it’s Very Likely to pass.

While support for the plan has slipped, support for a recovery plan that includes only tax cuts - like the one proposed by House Republicans - has grown during the past week. Forty-three percent (43%) of voters support that approach while 39% are opposed. Though the topline numbers are virtually the same as support for the president’s plan, the partisan demographics are distinctly different. Republicans solidly support a tax-cutting recovery plan while Democrats are solidly opposed. Forty-eight percent (48%) of unaffiliated voters like the idea while 33% do not.

Voters continue to soundly reject a recovery plan that includes only new government spending without any tax cuts. Just 15% support such a plan while 70% are opposed. Survey data released yesterday showed most voters believe that tax cuts are always better than government spending. Other recent polling shows that 59% are concerned that government spending will increase too much.

As the legislation works its way through Congress, President Obama continues to earn very high ratings in the Presidential Approval Index and consumer confidence continues to hover around all-time record lows.

Pollster.com offered a good overview of public attitudes towards the economic recovery plan.

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