What Democrats, Republicans Think of 12 Parts of the Inflation Reduction Act

Democrats’ latest iteration of their legislative framework for addressing climate change, health care, the economy and the tax system, the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, has been approved by the Senate and is expected to pass the House of Representatives and to be signed by President Joe Biden.

The Program for Public Consultation of the School of Public Policy at the University of Maryland analyzed its own public consultation surveys and deliberative polls conducted by Deliberative Democracy Lab on the major proposals included in the bill.

PPC tested 17 proposals, using public consultation surveys in which a nationally representative sample of respondents were briefed on the proposal and evaluated arguments for and against before coming to their conclusions. PPC said experts on different sides reviewed survey content in advance to ensure that the briefing was accurate and balanced and that the arguments were the strongest ones being made.

Deliberative Democracy Lab tested three proposals related to health care, using deliberative opinion polls in which a nationally representative sample of respondents were provided a detailed briefing on each issue and proposal, and deliberated in person with experts and peers before making their final recommendation.

“Majorities support 19 of 20 major proposals in the legislation,” Steven Kull, PPC’s director, said in a statement. “While there has been grave concern about the state of our democracy, the movement of this bill should give Americans hope that our system can and does work, and that Congress is acting to reflect the will of the people.”

PPC noted in the statement that public consultation surveys have found more than 172 policy positions on which majorities of Democrats and Republicans agree, 13 of which are components of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022.