Poll: Huge majority favor alt-fuel bill

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PRINCETON, N.J., Feb. 2 (UPI) -- A bill that would push alternative energy did the best among eight possible actions the U.S. Congress could take this year, a Gallup Poll indicated.

Eighty-three percent of respondents said they favored an energy bill that would provide incentives for using alternative forms of energy, followed by an overhaul of the federal tax code, pulling 76 percent; and speeding up the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan, at 72 percent, results released Tuesday indicated.

The two least popular proposals tested concerned immigration issues, the Princeton, N.J., polling agency said. By a 55 percent to 43 percent margin, U.S. residents surveyed said they oppose legislation that would give some illegal immigrants living in the United States a path to legal status. By a 54 percent to 44 percent margin, respondents said they oppose taking steps to deny automatic citizenship to children born in the United States whose parents are illegal immigrants.

Falling in the middle were measures that would expand oil and gas exploration, passage of a free-trade agreement with South Korea and gun control, Gallup said.

The proposals tested in the Gallup-USA Today poll include some of the actions Congress could take, but aren't meant to be a comprehensive list, pollsters said. The survey also reflects how Americans view the idea of each policy, not necessarily a specific bill.

Results are based on nationwide telephone interviews conducted with 1,032 adults Jan. 14-16. The margin of error is 4 percentage points.