Over 2,500 Residents Join Congressman Brad Sherman’s First Post-Shutdown Telephone Town Hall

SHERMAN OAKS, CA – On November 19th, more than 2,500 residentsjoined Congressman Brad Sherman’s (CA-32) live Telephone Town Hall — his first since the federal government reopened after the longest shutdown in U.S. history. Sherman used the call to outline why he opposed the deal to reopen the government, warning that it failed to secure protections for the 24 million Americans whose health insurance premiums are poised to spike at the end of the year.

“I'm grateful that thousands of residents always join these town halls,” Sherman said. “Now that the government has finally reopened, there’s a tremendous amount of work ahead and that’s why I hold these town halls — to keep people informed and ensure they have a direct line into what’s happening every step of the way.”

During the call, Sherman reiterated why he voted against the agreement to reopen the government, emphasizing that the deal “protected virtually no one” and failed to extend critical Affordable Care Act subsidies set to expire at year’s end. He warned that millions of Americans now face steep premium increases and stressed the need to push back against what he described as President Trump’s increasingly reckless and authoritarian actions. Sherman also updated constituents on California’s Proposition 50, explaining that even though a federal court struck down the Texas redistricting plan that originally triggered the measure, Prop 50 remains in force unless overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Throughout the event, Sherman answered questions on major national concerns — including health care affordability, aggressive immigration actions, election integrity, presidential overreach, and the importance of safeguarding Social Security and Medicare from proposed cuts. Many constituents expressed alarm over rising extremism, threats to federal protections, and the direction of the country.

The Town Hall also featured Las Virgenes Unified School District Board Member Alan Lazar as a special guest. Lazar highlighted encouraging trends in local public education, including strong UC acceptance rates and improvements in post-pandemic test scores, while noting the challenges of rising costs, teacher retention, math achievement, and managing cell-phone use in schools. “There is a great deal to be proud of in our local schools,” Lazar said, “but we must continue investing in student safety, mental health, and academic recovery.”

During the Town Hall, Sherman requested input from residents by asking a series of survey questions about their thoughts and concerns. 

The results of the survey questions are as follows:

-Should Congress extend the enhanced ACA subsidies? 

• Yes, extend ACA enhanced subsidies: 81%
• Phase out ACA enhanced subsidies: 7%
• No, let ACA enhanced subsidies expire: 5%
• Unsure: 5%

-Without an act of Congress, should the President be able to unilaterally withhold federal funds, such as disaster relief? 

• Yes, the president should always be able to withhold federal funds: 4%
• Yes, but only for positions I disagree with: 5%
• No the president should not have the ability to withhold federal funds: 88%
• Unsure: 2%

-Should the President activate a state’s National Guard troops for federal deployment in cities that he (or she) believes are high in crime? 

• Yes, allow the President to activate troops: 4%
• No, leave it to the states to manage: 91%
• Unsure: 3%

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