AP-AOL poll shows strong support for the agenda that Democrat's are going to start enacting Thursday:
The survey results come as the 110th Congress is set to convene at noon Thursday, with Democrats eager to keep their promises to pass several pieces of legislation in the first 100 hours of business, including the minimum wage increase and stem cell research funding. Voters, exasperated by investigations into the ethics of GOP lawmakers and unhappy with the situation in Iraq, toppled Republican majorities in the House and Senate last November.The GOP will do what they can to obstruct the Democratic agenda. In doing so, the Republicans will be denying the wishes of the American people -- their constituents.
Democrats will hold a 233-202 edge in the House and will control the Senate by 51-49.
A boost to the $5.15-an-hour federal minimum wage would be the first since 1997. Democratic leaders have proposed raising it in stages to $7.25 an hour. President Bush has said he supports the idea, along with help for small businesses.
Fully 80 percent of survey respondents favor an increase, too.
Support is strongest among Democrats, 91 percent, while 65 percent of Republicans back the idea. Women, men without college degrees and single women all are especially likely to favor a minimum wage hike.
Nearly seven of 10 adults, 69 percent, favor the government taking steps to make it easier for people to buy prescription drugs from other countries, where some medicines cost significantly less than in the U.S.
Importing prescription drugs to the United States is illegal, but the Food and Drug Administration generally does not bar individuals from bringing in small amounts for personal use. At the same time, the government has estimated that buying drugs from other countries would do little to influence what they cost at home.
Some 56 percent of adults support easing restrictions on using federal money to pay for research on embryonic stem cells. Supporters say such research could lead to treatments for everything from Parkinson's disease to spinal cord injuries. Bush and other opponents say the embryos from which the cells are extracted are human lives that should not be destroyed in the name of science.
