CBS News Poll For release: Monday, March 4, 2013 6:30 PM ET

Spending Cuts and Sequester March 1-3, 2013 Congress and President Barack Obama continue to remain at odds on how best to reduce the federal deficit -- causing the automatic spending cuts referred to as sequester to start taking effect on March 1. A CBS News Poll conducted as the sequester cuts were about to begin finds:

53% say they personally will be affected by the cuts in the sequester. More (46%) say those cuts will be bad for the country overall than say they will be good (34%). Most Americans (56%) want to cut spending and raise taxes to reduce the deficit. But 63% would prefer to see cuts planned without the automatic sequester. On this, partisans agree. 38% of Americans place more blame on the Republicans in Congress, while 33% blame President Obama and the Democrats in Congress more for the difficulty in reaching agreement on spending cuts by the deadline. But both sides are urged to compromise. 73% want the Republicans in Congress to do so, and 78% say the same for the Democrats and the President.

Impact and Blame Many Americans expect the budget cuts in the sequester to have a negative impact on the country overall. 46% expect the cuts will be bad for the country, because it forces cuts to important programs and services, while 34% expect them to be good for the country, because it forces the government to cut spending. There are differences by party. 46% of Republicans expect the sequester to have a positive effect on the country, while 60% of Democrats think the impact will be negative. Impact of Sequester on Country All Reps Dems Good for country 34% 46% 23% Bad for country 46 32 60 No impact 12 16 10 And more than half, 53%, foresee their own lives being affected. Will Sequester Cuts Affect You? Yes 53% No 39 Inds 35% 43 11

Women (57%) are more likely than men (50%) to expect to be affected by the cuts in the sequester. Those with lower incomes are also more apt to think they will be impacted. There is plenty of blame to go around for the inability to reach agreement on deficit reduction by the March 1 deadline. 38% of Americans place more blame on the Republicans in Congress for the failure, while 33% blame President Obama and the Democrats in Congress more. 19% volunteer that they blame both sides. For the most part, America's partisans point their fingers at the other party. 69% of Republicans blame the President and Democrats in Congress, while 72% of Democrats blame the Republicans in Congress. Blame More for Failure to Reach Agreement by March 1 All Reps Dems Republicans in Congress 38% 6% 72% Obama/Democrats in Congress 33 69 6 Both 19 17 14 Cutting the Deficit Generally, a majority of Americans prefers to reduce the deficit by both raising taxes and cutting federal spending, a finding similar to last month's. A third thinks that spending cuts alone, as Republican leaders in Congress propose, is the best way to do that. Partisanship colors views on this question. Among most Republicans, spending cuts alone are the preferred method to reduce the deficit (55%). Most Democrats (74%) and independents (55%) prefer a combination of tax increases and spending cuts. Best Method of Deficit Reduction All Only cut federal spending 35% Only raise taxes 5 Combination of spending cuts and taxes 56 Inds 33% 31 24

Reps Dems Inds 55% 16% 36% 2 7 5 36 74 55

When considering spending cuts, 63% of Americans - including majorities of Republicans, Democrats, and independents alike - say that those cuts should be made without use of the sequester. 18% want them made through the sequester, and 13% want no cuts at all. Most Democrats and Republicans want cuts made without the sequester. Still, more than a quarter of Republicans support cuts made via the sequester. Views on Spending Cuts All Should cut spending with sequester 18% Should cut spending without sequester 63 Should not cut spending 13 Reps Dems Inds 27% 8% 19% 62 65 63 4 23 12

As was the case during the battle over raising the debt ceiling in January, there is broad public support for compromise. 78% want the President and Democrats in Congress to compromise

their positions and come to an agreement, and 73% want the Republicans in Congress to do the same. Few want either side to stick to their positions, even if it means not coming to an agreement. Compromise over Tax Increases and Spending Cuts? Pres.Obama and Dems should Cong. Reps should Compromise 78% 73% Stick to positions 15 21 Following the Sequester More than seven in ten Americans are following the news about the automatic spending cuts, including 28% who are following it very closely. Following News about Sequester? Very closely 28% Somewhat closely 43 Not too closely 28

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This poll was conducted by telephone from March 1-3, 2013 among 861 adults nationwide. Phone numbers were dialed from samples of both standard land-line and cell phones. The error due to sampling for results based on the entire sample could be plus or minus three percentage points. The error for subgroups may be higher. This poll release conforms to the Standards of Disclosure of the National Council on Public Polls.

CBS NEWS NATIONAL POLL Spending Cuts and Sequester MARCH 1-3, 2013 q1-2 BLANK q3 Overall, what do you think is the best way to reduce the federal budget deficit--by cutting federal spending, by increasing taxes, or by a combination of both? ** TOTAL RESPONDENTS ** *** Party ID *** Total Rep Dem Ind % % % % 35 55 16 36 5 2 7 5 56 36 74 55 5 7 3 4

Cut federal spending Raising taxes Combination of both DK/NA

Feb13a % 32 3 59 5

q4 In the current discussions over tax increases and spending cuts, which do you think Barack Obama and the Democrats in Congress should do--compromise some of their positions in order to come to an agreement, or stick to their positions even if it means not coming to an agreement? Compromise Stick to positions Depends (Vol.) DK/NA 78 15 1 6 85 6 0 9 65 28 2 5 82 12 1 5 Dec12a* 81 13 1 5

*wording change: current negotiations

q5 In the current discussions over tax increases and spending cuts, which do you think the Republicans in Congress should do--compromise some of their positions in order to come to an agreement, or stick to their positions even if it means not coming to an agreement? Compromise Stick to positions Depends (Vol.) DK/NA 73 21 0 6 40 50 1 9 93 4 0 4 78 16 0 5 78 16 1 4

*wording change: current negotiations

q6 As you may know, automatic spending cuts to military and domestic programs were scheduled to go into effect on March 1st because President Obama and Republicans in Congress could not agree on a plan to reduce the federal budget deficit. These automatic spending cuts are commonly referred to as the Sequester. How closely have you been following news about these automatic spending cuts? Would you say you have followed this very closely, somewhat closely, or not too closely? Very closely Somewhat closely Not too closely DK/NA 28 43 28 1 28 49 22 2 24 45 30 0 31 39 30 0

q7 Who do you blame more for the failure to reach an agreement by March 1st and avoid the automatic spending cuts known as the Sequester -- the Republicans in Congress or Barack Obama and the Democrats in Congress? ** TOTAL RESPONDENTS ** *** Party ID *** Total Rep Dem Ind % % % % 38 6 72 33 33 69 6 31 19 17 14 24 2 1 1 3 8 8 7 9

Republicans in Congress Barack Obama Both (Vol.) Neither (Vol.) DK/NA q8-9 BLANK

q10 Which comes closest to your view about the Sequester - 1. We should cut spending with the Sequester, even if that means cuts to important programs, 2. We should cut spending, but should find a different way to do it without the Sequester, or 3. We shouldn't cut spending right now. Cut spending with Sequester Cut without Sequester Shouldn't cut spending DK/NA 18 63 13 6 27 62 4 7 8 65 23 4 19 63 12 6

q11 Over the long run, do you think the spending cuts in the Sequester will be 1. Good for the country, because it forces the government to cut spending, 2. Bad for the country, because it forces cuts to important programs and services, or 3. It will have no real impact on the country. Good for the country Bad for the country No impact DK/NA 34 46 12 8 46 32 16 6 23 60 10 7 35 43 11 10

q12 Do you think you will be personally affected by the spending cuts in the Sequester, or not? Yes No DK/NA 53 39 7 48 46 6 58 37 5 53 37 9

Total Respondents Total Republicans Total Democrats Total Independents

Unweighted 861 229 262 370

Weighted 218 263 380 (25%) (30%) (45%)