Asked in polls, overwhelming majorities of Americans believe that if Members of Congress were to consult the people, they would be more likely to find common ground on many of the issues that have led to partisan gridlock.
The Program for Public Consultation has found that the public is largely right. On a wide range of issues that have vexed Congress, citizens—going through policymaking simulations—have found bipartisan common ground on such issues as:
170 Policy Positions Supported by both Republicans and Democrats
Voice of the People’s The Common Ground of the American People project seeks to identify policy positions that have bipartisan public support. The project has so far found 170 common ground positions over a wide range of issues:
| THE FEDERAL BUDGET Discretionary Spending Revenues Taxes | GOVERNMENT REFORM Campaign Finance Lobbying Restrictions House Redistricting Term Limits 3rd Party & and Independent Candidates | ENVIRONMENT & ENERGY Tax Incentives Regulations Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fossil Fuel Extraction |
| POLICE REFORM Use of Force Increasing Accountability | SENTENCING REFORM Mandatory Minimum Sentencing | CRIMINAL RECORDS Employment & Licensing Public Housing Sealing Criminal Records Voting Rights |
| SOCIAL SECURITY Addressing the Shortfall Increasing Benefits | IMMIGRATION REFORM Immigrants Without Legal Status Reducing Illegal Immigration Work Visas Refugees | FEDERAL POVERTY PROGRAMS Food Assistance Child Poverty Helping the Working Poor |
| MEDICARE Reducing Benefit Payments Reducing Payments to Providers Increasing Revenues Controlling Costs in Other Ways | HEALTHCARE Expanding Health Insurance Options Preserving ACA Rules on Insurance Cost Reducing Healthcare Costs | NET NEUTRALITY Repeal of Net Neutrality Regulations |
| INTERNATIONAL TRADE International Trade Agreements Mitigating the Negative Effects of Trade | INTERNATIONAL SECURITY & MILITARY ALLIANCES Principle of Collective Security Mutual Defense Treaties | NUCLEAR WEAPONS POLICY Arms Control Treaties Nuclear Weapon Capacities First Use of Nuclear Weapons Iran Nuclear Agreement |
| SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS United Nations Sustainable Development Goals |
The analysis of public opinion is conducted by the Program for Public Consultation (PPC) at the University of Maryland. It draws not on standard polls, but in-depth surveys in which respondents receive briefings on key policy proposals and evaluate pro and con arguments for each, only then making their recommendations. Expert opponents and proponents of each policy review the content of the surveys, ensuring that the briefings are accurate and balanced, and the arguments are the strongest possible ones. As a result, the support these policies elicit is resilient and not likely to fade as soon as someone hears a counter argument.
The majority of the findings are from PPC, which conducts its surveys online so that respondents can take whatever time they need to fully consider the briefings and arguments. Others are from the “deliberative polls” of the Center for Deliberative Democracy at Stanford University which include an in-person event with briefings and discussions.