By Jennifer Agiesta, June 1, 2015, CNN
Washington (CNN)Americans overwhelmingly want to see Congress renew the law enabling the government to collect data on the public's telephone calls in bulk, though they are split on whether allowing that law to expire increases the risk of terrorism in the U.S.
With the provisions of the Patriot Act which allow the National Security Administration to collect data on Americans' phone calls newly expired, a new CNN/ORC poll finds 61% of Americans think the law ought to be renewed, including majorities across party lines, while 36% say it should not be reinstated.
Republican leaders in the Senate are working to pass a bill to reinstate the law, after delays led by Sen. Rand Paul (R-Kentucky), whose presidential campaign has been noted for its appeal to independent voters and younger Republicans, and other surveillance opponents led to the law's expiration at 12:01 a.m. Monday. But Paul's stance on the issue is unlikely to bring him many fans within his own party.
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By Jennifer Agiesta, CNN Polling Director, Apr. 23, 2015, CNN
Washington (CNN)Americans see ISIS as a bigger threat to the United States than Iran, Russia, North Korea or China, according to a new CNN/ORC poll.
Overall, 68% say ISIS is a very serious threat, compared with just 39% who say so about Iran, 32% about North Korea, 25% on Russia and 18% on China. Nearly 9 in 10 see ISIS as at least a moderately serious threat.
The partisan divides that often drive public opinion around foreign policy issues are less prominent when Americans rate the threat from ISIS. Majorities across political and ideological lines say ISIS is a deeply serious threat to the U.S., including 68% of Democrats, 79% of Republicans and 63% of independents.
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With active fighting against the Islamic State militant group in Iraq and the arrests Sunday of six Minneapolis men accused of trying to join ISIS, concerns about the threat posed by the group grow alongside worries that the military battle could spread. While a CNN/ORC Poll in March found the public remained mostly confident that the U.S. effort to combat ISIS would succeed, it also showed 79% of Americans were worried that the conflict would develop into a larger war that would spread throughout the region and to other parts of the world.
