Framing issues is all about the language used to do so, never more so than in the current debate about a new group of Democrats and Republicans who may be asked to balance America’s check book. Some have called this new group a “Super Congress;” others have called it a “Cost-Cutting Committee.” Not surprisingly, the labels affect what Americans think. To what extent? SurveyUSA interviewed 3,200 adults nationwide on 08/02/11 and 08/03/11, contacting both those who use a landline phone and those who use a cell phone, and randomly assigned the 3,200 USA respondents into 4 groups of approximately 800 each. Each adult was asked whether he/she was familiar with (only) one of the following descriptions:

1: “Super Congress”
2: “Super Committee”
3: “Cost-Cutting Committee”
4: “Bi-Partisan Commission”

SurveyUSA did not characterize the soon-to-be-created group in any further manner.

* 37% of Americans are familiar with a “Super Congress.”
* 42% of Americans are familiar with a “Super Committee.”
* 52% of Americans are familiar with a “Cost-Cutting Committee.”
* 51% of Americans are familiar with a “Bipartisan Commission.”

Only those “familiar” were then asked to react. Of those familiar:

* 21% say a “Super Congress” is a good idea, 43% say a “Super Congress” is a bad idea.
* 25% say a “Super Committee” is a good idea, 37% say a “Super Committee” is a bad idea.
* 48% say a “Cost-Cutting Committee” is a good idea, 29% say a “Cost-Cutting Committee” is a bad idea.
* 47% say a “Bipartisan Commission” is a good idea, 29% say a “Bipartisan Commission” is a bad idea.

* 21% say a “Super Congress” is constitutional, 39% say a “Super Congress” is unconstitutional.
* 29% say a “Super Committee” is constitutional, 20% say a “Super Committee” is unconstitutional.
* 44% say a “Cost-Cutting Committee” is constitutional, 20% say a “Cost-Cutting Committee” is unconstitutional.
* 43% say a “Bipartisan Commission” is constitutional, 17% say a “Bipartisan Commission” is unconstitutional.

Of the 3,200 adult respondents nationwide, 85% rely on a traditional home (landline) phone to receive calls, 15% rely on a cell phone to receive calls. Cell-phone respondents, at this stage, are less likely to be familiar with the concepts, more likely to have no opinion about them.

Full results of this research can be found right here .