Rep. Eshoo fields questions at City Hall Rep. Eshoo fields questions at City Hall (May 27, 2005)

By Julie Trescott

Congresswoman Anna Eshoo paid a visit to her constituents last Saturday, holding a public meeting at Mountain View City Hall to field questions about everything from the privatization of Social Security to the Patriot Act.

More than 100 community members filled the small auditorium, with some standing in the aisles or sitting on the floor, to find out where their representative stood on various matters. The May 21 meeting was held in a "town hall" format, with audience members turning in cards with their questions on them and Eshoo reading the questions aloud.

Many local residents asked Eshoo for her thoughts on President Bush's plan to privatize Social Security, drawing a blunt response from the congresswoman.

"We shouldn't destroy Social Security in order to save it," she said. "The president needs to realize that Americans don't support privatization." Eshoo added that she would vote against any privatization legislation.

Theodore Cook asked about upcoming public hearings on the Patriot Act. Eshoo explained that the public is getting a chance to comment on what parts of the controversial act need to be "fixed and nixed." On a side note, she expressed her desire for policymakers to set higher standards for U.S. troops, an apparent reference to recent human rights scandals such as the Abu Ghraib prison scandal.

"When America sinks low, we don't have any moral standing," she said.

Roland Finston wanted to know why Eshoo wasn't supportive of setting a termination date for the war in Iraq. "No one would like to see our troops come home sooner than myself," she answered. However, Eshoo said, because of the way the Bush administration has chosen to execute this war, "the area would implode if we were to withdraw by a certain date." Citing her recent visit to the Middle East, Eshoo said it is more important to develop an exit plan than set an evacuation date.

Dorothy Bell asked about the creation of the Central American Free Trade Agreement, or CAFTA. Eshoo said that it has been hard to make a decision on CAFTA, because her constituents are evenly divided on the issue. She still doesn't know how she will vote, she said.

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