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Voters Don’t Want a Shutdown, They Want Action on the National Debt Instead

Congress faces a September 30 deadline to find agreement on a budget and avert a government shutdown. A vast majority of voters is urging them to come together to find a solution.

A new Peterson Foundation poll shows that nine-in-ten Americans want policymakers to work together to avoid a shutdown and focus on implementing solutions to our growing national debt. Strong majorities of voters across party lines believe a shutdown should be avoided because it harms the economy (77%) and because it distracts from America’s larger fiscal challenges (70%).

As Foundation CEO Michael Peterson said, “Nobody wins in a government shutdown, especially our economy and the American people.”

See the below infographic for further details on this new polling.

Voters don't want a shutdown, they want action on the national debt

Further Reading

Spending on Veterans in the Budget

Federal spending for veterans has increased relatively sharply in the past two decades as scores of veterans returned home from extended wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

U.S. Capitol Building

What Is a Continuing Resolution?

A continuing resolution is a temporary funding measure that Congress can use to fund the federal government for a limited amount of time.