Recent polling by YouGov and The Economist completed on February 6 shows an absolutely massive share of Americans in favor of a high-profile policy pursued and implemented by Congressional Democrats and the Biden administration, though the specific phrasing of the question left out such connections.
The policy in question is allowing Medicare authorities to negotiate over the prices of prescription drugs. The idea is opening up the opportunity for lower costs. A legal framework under which price negotiations have been kick-started was part of the Inflation Reduction Act, a sweeping piece of legislation approved and enacted as a budget reconciliation deal, meaning Democrats advanced the plan without needing to reach the 60-vote threshold normally demanded by procedural rules in the Senate. The bill also set up an eventual yearly cap on the amount individual Medicare recipients would pay for prescription drugs.
Asked whether they “support or oppose allowing Medicare to negotiate drug prices directly with prescription-drug manufacturers,” 72 percent of overall respondents in the YouGov polling replied in the affirmative. Some of the most extensive support was among respondents aged 65 and up, with 87 percent in favor.
Democrats have also focused on the extensive spending deal for infrastructure previously enacted under the Biden administration, under which funds keep coming.
A recently announced cache of federal funding for the Midwest even produced a repeat of the scenario under which a GOP legislator who actually voted against the facilitating legislation seemingly tries to take credit. GOP Rep. Pete Stauber (Minn.) touted more than $1 billion getting produced for a bridge update. “Oh boy. I hate to talk politics when there’s good news to celebrate but this is too brazen to ignore. Mr. Stauber voted against every screw, steel beam, and concrete pier in this bridge. Luckily @POTUS worked with Stauber’s colleagues and got it done without him. Thanks, Joe!” Minnesota Democratic Governor Tim Walz replied online.
