Biden's COVID relief plan is literally more popular than puppies

American voters like President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion pandemic relief bill more than puppies. Really.

A Public Policy Polling survey, released Tuesday, found widespread support for the American Rescue Plan’s major provisions — $1,400 checks for most Americans (supported by 74%), more vaccines and coronavirus tests (71% support), and improving health care access for those who lost their jobs in the pandemic (77% backing).

In the poll, registered voters were also asked: “Which would you rather have: the American Rescue Plan to respond to the pandemic as described earlier in this survey, or a puppy?”

A 55% majority said they’d rather have the $1.9 trillion relief bill. Just 23% preferred to have a puppy. The remaining 21% said they were unsure.

Despite this widespread popularity, House Republicans unanimously voted against the bill on Saturday, attacking it as a “payoff” for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat. Not a single Senate Republican has backed the legislation to date.

In addition to the described provisions, the bill provides hundreds of billions to more safely reopen schools for in-person learning and to help states, localities, and territories address the pandemic.

While other pollsters have not compared coronavirus relief to canines, the popularity of the American Rescue Plan does match up with more traditional surveys.

A Politico/Morning Consult survey last week found 76% of voters back the $1.9 trillion plan — including 60% of Republican voters.

A week earlier, a Navigator Research poll showed 73% support for the bill, including 53% GOP support.

In 2013, Public Policy Polling surveyed Americans about their views on pets. They found 81% “love” or “like” dogs — while 3% were afraid of them and 4% wished they would just “all live in the woods.”

The Senate is expected to take up the relief bill this week.

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.