As the House and Senate pursue major tax and spending initiatives as part of this year’s budget process, American voters are calling for greater attention on the $36 trillion and rising national debt. This month’s U.S. Fiscal Confidence Index from the Peter G. Peterson Foundation shows that Republican voters in particular are deeply concerned about the debt, and they want their party leaders — who control the House, Senate and the White House — to prioritize policies to improve the nation’s fiscal standing. 

Approximately 9 in 10 Republican voters …

• Are calling for President Trump and Congress to spend more time addressing the national debt (88% of Republicans; 78% overall; 72% of both Democrats and independents);
• Agree that stabilizing the debt should be a top-three priority for the president and Congress (88% of Republicans; 74% overall; 71% independents; 62% Democrats); and
• Say that their concern about the debt has increased (86% of Republicans; 78% overall; 74% of independents; 71% of Democrats).

Overall, the Index, modeled after the Consumer Confidence Index, remains low at 62 in February (100 is neutral), with a high level of voter concern across party lines about America’s fiscal condition.

“Strong majorities of voters, and Republicans in particular, are sending a clear message that now is not the time to make our fiscal outlook any worse,” said Michael A. Peterson, CEO of the Peterson Foundation. “As it stands, we are already on track to add $22 trillion in red ink over the next decade, so the bare minimum for lawmakers this year should be to ‘do no fiscal harm.’  Voters are calling on their leaders to improve our fiscal outlook, avoid budget gimmicks and put us on a stronger more sustainable path.”

Additionally, results from a post-Inauguration poll last month show 84% of voters nationwide agree that any bill passed by Congress should reduce the deficit by raising revenue, cutting spending or both; and 78% of voters say that any changes to tax policy should not add to the national debt. The House budget reconciliation bill is projected to increase debt by an additional $3 trillion over the next 10 years, increasing the projected total deficits from $22 trillion to $25 trillion.

The Fiscal Confidence Index measures public opinion about the national debt by asking six questions in three key areas:

• CONCERN: Level of concern and views about the direction of the national debt.
• PRIORITY: How high a priority addressing the debt should be for elected leaders.
• EXPECTATIONS: Expectations about whether the debt situation will get better or worse in the next few years.  

The survey results from these three areas are weighted equally and averaged to produce the Fiscal Confidence Index value. The Fiscal Confidence Index, like the Consumer Confidence Index, is indexed on a scale of 0 to 200, with a neutral midpoint of 100. A reading above 100 indicates positive sentiment. A reading below 100 indicates negative sentiment.

Fiscal Confidence Index Key Data Points: 

• The February 2025 Fiscal Confidence Index value is 62. (The January 2025 value was 57. The December 2024 value was 54.)
• The current Fiscal Confidence Index score for CONCERN about the debt is 55, indicating deep concern about the debt. The score for debt as a PRIORITY that leaders must address is 32, indicating that Americans want elected leaders to make addressing long-term debt a high priority. The score for EXPECTATIONS about progress on the debt is 97. The Fiscal Confidence Index is the average of these three sub-category scores.

The Peter G. Peterson Foundation commissioned this poll by Democratic firm Global Strategy Group and Republican firm North Star Opinion Research to survey public opinion on the national debt. The online poll surveyed 1,005 registered voters nationwide between February 18 and 19, 2025. It has a margin of error of +/- 3.1%.

Detailed results can be found online at www.pgpf.org/FiscalConfidenceIndex.