Partisan Polarization: Political Perceptions of the American Jobs Plan

The COVID-19 pandemic has heightened political polarization which has transformed American policy. The American Jobs Plan (AJP) is one notable policy proposed by the current Biden Administration which has come under intense debate and deliberation within the federal government, from issues with the precipitated federal expenditure to the various tenets of the proposal. The main trouble lies within satisfying the requests of the various elected officials who vote in the passing of the AJP, while still successfully tackling all the issues elucidated in the original plan. To address this dispute, this research study performs case studies and data analysis on elected officials’ responses at the local, state, and federal level from every American state and the District of Columbia. The case studies compare the politicians' stances on issues addressed in the American Jobs Plan with their legislative voting history and response to the American Jobs Plan. The data analysis quantified the viewpoints of the elected officials on a set scale to use in performing data visualization and statistical tests. After analyzing the data and responses, it was found that both Republicans and Democrats support the same issues despite often disagreeing with one another. The findings of this study will prove beneficial in revealing which aspects of the American Jobs Plan can be kept or changed to best satisfy all elected officials. This may help expedite the voting and discussion process, allowing the Plan to be carried out in the best interest of benefitting all Americans.