Video of Congressman Sherman in Action
"With the help of my staff, I have been analyzing the views of Valley resident and I wanted to share some of the results. Obviously, these results do not reflect the views of everyone in the Valley, only those who chose to respond," said Sherman. "It is not a scientific poll but rather reflects the views of those who cared enough to complete the questionnaire. I appreciate this input and hope Valley residents will continue to contact my office to share their views."
Foreign Policy: With regard to the current strife between Israel and the Palestinians, two out of three Valley residents expressed the view that the United States should continue to lend strong support to Israel. Of those who responded that we should either strongly support Israel or give equal support to the Palestinians, 65% expressed support for Israel.
On a related issue, over 75% of Valley residents who responded to the survey are convinced that the United States should expand the war on terrorism to other countries that support terror and seek to build nuclear weapons, specifically Iraq.
Federal Priorities: Almost 100% of respondents expressed a strong belief that the federal government should spend more money to target specific concerns. The greatest number, 56%, want funding for a prescription drug benefit for Medicare recipients.
Just over 50% support increased spending to protect the environment. Funds for national security and education were the only other areas on which more than 40% of respondents supported additional spending.
Abortion and Gun Control: On the issue of abortion, 85% expressed support for a woman's right to choose. Of these, 23% support some limits, such as minors having to obtain parental consent. Less than one in eight respondents, 12%, expressed their view that abortion should be illegal.
Some form of gun control regulation is supported by 87% of respondents. This included 52% who strongly believe that we need tough new gun control laws, and 35% who believe that we should simply retain and enforce existing laws. Only 9% would like to see gun control laws repealed.
