Report · Politics

Most Americans know Congress controls how federal money is spent

Reading

About three-quarters of Americans (77%) identify Congress as the branch the Constitution gives the power to decide how federal money is spent, according to a June 2026 Verasight survey.

Among the remaining options, 13% say none of the branches listed, 7% point to the president, and 3% to the courts.

Topline

single choice

Topline distribution

Most Americans know Congress controls how federal money is spent.

Under the U.S. Constitution, which part of government has the power to decide how money is spent?

  • Congress 77.2%
  • None of the above 12.9%
  • The President 7.1%
  • The Courts 2.7%

2026 · base n 1,000 · +/- 3.2%

1

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Methodology

Full methodology
Mode
Verasight panel recruited via random address-based sampling, random person-to-person text messaging, and dynamic online targeting
Field dates
2026-06-21 → 2026-06-21
Base (unweighted)
1,000
Margin of error
+/- 3.2%
Module
1

Source

Citation

Verasight MPSA Omnibus Survey #2026-050, fielded June 21-21, 2026, N=1,000 US adults age 18+, +/- 3.2%.

https://reports.verasight.io/r/mpsa26

Verasight survey methodology

How Verasight conducts surveys.

This page describes the Verasight general survey contract, separate from how the Data Library packages it. When a wave report is published, its field dates, sample sizes, and module breakdown are listed in that report.

Mode
Verasight panel recruited via random address-based sampling, random person-to-person text messaging, and dynamic online targeting.
Population
US adults age 18+.
Sample design
Surveys are run as omnibus or single-topic waves. Omnibus waves are split into modules with their own respondent set, typically around one thousand respondents per module.
Field window
Each wave specifies its own field dates. Most omnibus waves field across roughly two weeks.
Weighting
Per-module weighting to CPS targets including age, race and ethnicity, sex, income, education, region, and metropolitan status.
Partisanship benchmark
Pew Research Center's NPORS benchmarking surveys, three-year running average.
Vote benchmark
2024 presidential vote population benchmarks.
Margin of error
Typically about plus or minus 3.4 to 3.6 percent per module at standard module sizes. Question-level MoE is recomputed when a base shrinks materially below the module baseline.
Reporting
The canonical report hub is reports.verasight.io. Verified legacy reports remain on their original hosts, and unpublished reports are marked pending.
Transparency
Verasight is a member of the American Association for Public Opinion Research Transparency Initiative.

The canonical report hub is reports.verasight.io; older reports may remain on verified legacy hosts.