CDC, Surgeon General's Office Do Well in Latest Harris Poll
Agencies with the lowest positive ratings were the IRS, the Securities and Exchange Commission, EPA, the Transportation Security Administration, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
The U.S. Mint was the highest-rated agency among 17 government agencies tested in the latest Harris Poll®, with the results of the online survey of 2,232 U.S. adults done between Jan. 14 and 20, 2015, released Feb. 26. Harris' release on the survey stated that it asked the public to rate 17 of the most visible federal government agencies -- and the list did not include OSHA or the Department of Labor. Other agencies with strong positive ratings included the Federal Aviation Administration, the FBI, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, The National Institutes of Health, the CIA, and the Office of the Surgeon General.
Agencies with the lowest positive ratings were the IRS, the Securities and Exchange Commission, EPA, the Transportation Security Administration, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
The poll used the same questions as in six previous polls during the past 15 years, but this time two new government agencies: the Federal Communications Commission and HHS.
Harris noted that with media coverage of the U.S. Ebola cases a few months ago, the Disneyland measles outbreak, and vaccination debates, ome volatility in ratings for CDC and NIH "might be expected." CDC, 69 percent, saw its positive rating drop by 7 points from 2009 and by 21 points from its 2003 peak of 90 percent, while NIH's ratings have grown to 68 percent from 2000 (63 percent) and 2009 (65 percent) but remains down 12 points from its 2003 peak of 80 percent.