Mixed Reviews for EPA—47% Favorable, 45% Unfavorable
Protecting the environment is a concept most Americans embrace, but they’re not so sure about the agency set up to handle that mission.
Just 47% of Likely Voters nationwide have a favorable opinion of the Environmental Protection Agency, sometimes known as the EPA. A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found that nearly as many, 45%, have an unfavorable view of the regulatory giant.
Those figures include 13% with a Very Favorable opinion of the EPA and 18% with a Very Unfavorable view.
One of the challenges for the EPA comes from the fact that 40% believe most EPA regulations are bad for the economy. Only 35% believe they offer a positive economic benefit. Nine percent (9%) think they have no impact and 16% are not sure.
There is also a desire by many for increased accountability. Forty-nine percent (49%) believe that all proposed EPA regulations should be approved by Congress before implementation. Thirty-one percent (31%) disagree. (To see survey question wording, click here.)
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The survey of 1,000 Likely Voters was conducted on June 18-19, 2011 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.
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