Geography Surveyed: USA 50 States
Data Collected: 01/04/2006
Release Date: 01/05/2006 2:35 PM ET
Sponsors: KAAL-TV Rochester-Mason City-Austin, KABC-TV Los Angeles, KATU-TV Portland, KEYE-TV Austin, KFOR-TV Oklahoma City, KGTV-TV San Diego, KHON-TV Honolulu, KING-TV Seattle, KOB-TV Albuquerque, KPIX-TV San Francisco, KPNX-TV Phoenix, KSAX-TV Alexandria, MN, KSDK-TV St. Louis, KSL-TV Salt Lake City, KSTP-TV Minneapolis, KTHV-TV Little Rock, KUSA-TV Denver, KVBC-TV Las Vegas, KWCH-TV Wichita, KXTV-TV Sacramento, WABC-TV New York, WBIR-TV Knoxville, WBZ-TV Boston, WCAU-TV Philadelphia, WCPO-TV Cincinnati, WCSC-TV Charleston, WCSH-TV Portland, WDBJ-TV Roanoke, WDIO-TV Duluth, WDIV-TV Detroit, WFLA-TV Tampa, WFMY-TV Greensboro, NC, WFOR-TV Miami, WGRZ-TV Buffalo, WHAS-TV Louisville, WHEC-TV Rochester, WKMG-TV Orlando, WKRG-TV Mobile-Pensacola, WKYC-TV Cleveland, WLNE-TV Providence, WLTX-TV Columbia, SC, WMAR-TV Baltimore, WNEP-TV Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, WNYT-TV Albany, WOAI-TV San Antonio, WPTV-TV West Palm Beach, WTLV-TV Jacksonville, WTVD-TV Raleigh, WUSA-TV Washington, DC, WXIA-TV Atlanta, WXIN-TV Indianapolis, WYTV-TV Youngstown, WZZM-TV Grand Rapids
38% in USA Say Most Members of Congress Are Corrupt, Down Slightly from 42% in 1994: Corruption in Congress is in the news, so SurveyUSA asked 1,200 adults nationwide a dozen questions about Congress, questions which SurveyUSA first put to Americans in 1994. Today, 38% of Americans say "Most members of Congress are corrupt," down from 42% when the identical question was asked in 1994. In 1994, when Democrats controlled Congress, 43% of Republicans said most members of Congress were corrupt. Today, when Republicans control Congress, 31% of Republicans say most members of Congress are corrupt. A Gallup Poll released this week, conducted in December 2005, which asked a similar, but not identical question, found that 49% of Americans say most members of Congress are corrupt, largely unchanged from a Gallup poll conducted in October 2004. SurveyUSA's 1994 poll is here. The Gallup Poll is here. On 11 of 12 True-False statements read by SurveyUSA, Americans view Congress slightly more favorably in January 2006 than they did in August 2004. The biggest improvement came on a question about "common sense." In 1994, 48% of Americans said most members of Congress had "little or no common sense." Today, that number has dropped to 37%. The only 1 of SurveyUSA's 12 questions about Congress on which Americans today have a less favorable opinion was in response to a question about re-election. Details follow.
Just 22% Today Say Most Members of Congress Deserve To Be Re-Elected, Down Slightly From 25% in 1994: 22% of Americans nationwide today say "Most members of Congress deserve to be re-elected." That's down slightly from the 25% who answered the identical question in 1994. Then, 80% of Republicans said members did not deserve re-election. Today, 65% of Republicans say members do not. Then, 73% of Democrats said members did not deserve re-election. Today, 69% say members do not.
Introductory Question Text: I'm going to read you a dozen statements about Congress. As you know, Congress includes both the Senate and the House of Representatives. I want you to tell me whether each statement I read is true, or false. Here's the first statement:
1
Asked of 1200 Adults
Credibility Interval for this question = ± 2.5 percentage points.