Public approval of Congress is rising, poll finds

Veto anticipated
That is a tougher stand than either the House or Senate took last month, and the next step will be for lawmakers to reach a compromise when they return from a spring break.

A veto is widely expected, and the president is likely to demand Congress then send him a replacement measure that meets his conditions. That would pose a challenge to Pelosi and Reid as they try to satisfy the anti-war members of their rank and file while fending off charges they are leaving the troops without sufficient funds.

Against that backdrop, the AP poll indicates the public wants Congress to push for an end to a war that has claimed the lives of more than 3,200 U.S. troops.

Forty percent of those surveyed said they approve the job Congress is doing, up from 25 percent approval registered for the Republican majority in the weeks leading to last fall's elections. Disapproval of Congress totals 57 percent.

The public opinion split is identical on the issue of Democratic handling of Iraq — 40 percent approve, 57 percent disapprove.

Fewer Independents approve
Support is lower among self-described political independents, who deserted Republicans in last fall's elections to give 57 percent of their votes to Democrats. Now, only 32 percent of them register approval of the job Congress is doing; 36 percent favor the way Democrats are handling Iraq.

Even anti-war Democrats seem slow in warming to the new majority in Congress. While 59 percent of that group approve of the way their party is handling Iraq, 39 percent disapprove.

Among Republicans, 86 percent disapprove.

The poll relied on interviews with 1000 adults, including 819 registered voters, from April 2-4. The margin of error was 3 percentage points.

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