Six in 10 people surveyed say avoiding a government shutdown is more important than making changes to Obamacare, a CNN poll shows. A shutdown is 'just messing with people,' says one frustrated American.
Tourists pause to view the Statue of Liberty from the deck of a Liberty Island ferry boat at Battery Park in New York, Monday, Sept. 30, 2013. Most of the tourists near the Statue of Liberty Monday were from outside the US ? and many expressed bafflement when they heard of the budget battle to delay and defund the health-care law.
Mike Segar/Reuters
EnlargeIt?s a comfortably cool, bright-blue autumn day in Manhattan, and a steady stream of tourists is taking the ferries to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island ? both part of the federally run national park system that will likely close their gates to visitors?Tuesday?if members of Congress do not come to terms to avoid a government shutdown.
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But as the GOP-led House and the Democrat-led Senate on Monday volley competing bills back and forth that would keep the government running, like a tennis game played with at least two different balls in motion simultaneously, most observers believe that visitors to New York will have to find something else to see come Tuesday.
Such a government shutdown would be a bad thing for the country, nearly 70 percent of Americans believe, even if it lasts for just a few days, according to a CNN/ORC International poll released Monday. So far, an agreement to prevent the shutdown Tuesday of nonessential government services has eluded lawmakers in Washington.
?I don?t think we should have Obamacare, but I?d be mad if they shut down the Statue of Liberty,? says Pam Taylor, an executive administrative assistant from Houston, as she waits for a ferry to the iconic monument in full view in front of her. ?I mean, I really hope they don?t shut everything down, though. I think it would cause a lot of heartache and undue problems ? things that shouldn?t have to happen.?
The budget showdown has been tied to the dispute over Obamacare (the Affordable Care Act), which House Republicans have sought to defund or delay as a condition of funding the government. Notably, the health-reform law's signature insurance marketplaces, or "exchanges," are set to go live online on the very day a government shutdown would kick in. Most uninsured Americans must buy a health-care plan on their state?s insurance exchange or pay a tax penalty starting in 2014.
The CNN poll found that the public is growing more skeptical of Obamacare ? 57 percent say they oppose the law, up 3 percentage points from a poll in May. But 6 of 10 say it is more important to avoid a shutdown than to make major changes to the health-care law.
One-third of those polled said it is more important for Congress to gut the law?s provisions by cutting its funding. This has been the primary goal of House Republicans, who have voted to repeal the 2010 health-care law at least 42 times, even though such legislation stands no chance of winning approval in the Senate, let alone President Obama?s signature.
So despite Obamacare?s unpopularity, 46 percent of Americans would blame Republicans for a shutdown, while 36 percent would blame Mr. Obama, the CNN poll shows. That outcome is similar to the finding of a?CBS News/New York Times survey released late last week, which showed 44 percent blaming congressional Republicans and 35 percent blaming the president.
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