Most Voters Don't Expect Big Spending Cuts From New Congress

Despite the upcoming Republican takeover of the House, most voters are still not convinced Congress will actually cut government spending substantially over the next year. GOP voters are among the most doubtful.

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that just 33% of Likely U.S. Voters think it is at least somewhat likely that Congress will significantly reduce government spending over the next year, including nine percent (9%) who say it is Very Likely. (To see survey question wording, click here.)

Sixty percent (60%), on the other hand, say a significant reduction in government spending is unlikely, including 21% who say it is Not At All Likely.

Sixty-nine percent (69%) of voters are pessimistic about what Congress will accomplish in terms of government spending, an eight-point increase from 2006. Just 19% are optimistic about Congress’ efforts in this area.

Although the president's bipartisan deficit reduction commission is exploring options to reduce the federal deficit, most voters continue to expect government spending to increase under the Obama administration.

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The survey of 1,000 Likely Voters nationwide was conducted on December 1-2, 2010 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.