U. S. astronauts hover over an asteroid in this NASA illustration. Image Credit/NASA
NASA scores high in a new poll of U. S. federal agencies carried out during the October U. S. Government shutdown and worker furlough that disrupted many operations.
The poll of 1,504 adults was conducted by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press between Oct. 9 and 13. The 16-day government shutdown ended Oct. 17, as Congress and President Obama came to interim agreements on the 2014 budget and the debt ceiling.
Just 19% of poll respondents indicated they trust the government inWashingtonto do what is right just about always or most of the time, down seven points since January. The current measure matches the level reached in August 2011, following the last battle between the administration and Congress over the debt ceiling.
The bad feelings, however, do not extend across the board to the nation’s federal agencies.
The poll found that 73 percent of Americans view NASA favorably, a close second to the Centers for Disease Control, at 75 percent. The Department of Defense ranked just below at 72 percent. That compares with an overall 62 percent favorable view of federal agencies.
The Pew survey was released Oct. 18.