Scotts Valley Banner, CA
Oct 19 2007

Eshoo rates Iraq as `blunder,’ defends refusal to impeach Bush

Written by Peter Burke | Press Banner | Thursday, 18 October 2007
Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Palo Alto, admits extreme frustration with the
administration’s handling of the war in Iraq ….

Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Palo Alto, admits extreme frustration with the
administration’s handling of the war in Iraq.

`I think this is going to go down as the worst public policy blunder
the country has ever made,’ Eshoo said in Scotts Valley on Saturday,
Oct. 13, pointing out the $10 billion the United States spends on the
war every month.

But, despite his handling of the war, she won’t vote to impeach
President Bush, she said.
Eshoo wants a timeline for removing U.S. troops, and in May, voted
against additional funding for the war.

`We’re far from cutting our troops short,’ she told the 80-member
audience. `There is enough money in the pipeline to last well through
spring and possibly into next June.’

Some, including three men who stood up and asked loudly, inquired
about why she isn’t pushing to impeach the president.

`I’m not willing to bring everything to a halt,’ Eshoo said. She
experienced the process when President Bill Clinton was impeached in
1998. `It tears the country apart.’

Eshoo said she is unwilling to halt progress that Congress has made
in the 30 weeks since Democrats came to majority power, because of
their accomplishments.

The congresswoman voiced pride that Congress raised the federal
minimum wage for the first time in 10 years and made the largest
investment in student aid since the G.I. bill passed during World War
II.

Congress cut interest rates on federal student loans in half to help
students pay for college without facing daunting debts after they
graduate, she noted.

Eshoo is fighting an unwarranted surveillance program put forward by
the administration.

`Some people will give up their freedoms for security,’ Eshoo said.
`We don’t need to. I can tell you, we don’t need to. We cannot
tolerate the warrantless surveillance of Americans.’

Eshoo reported on the Blackwater contractor scandal in Iraq, saying
that it would haunt the U.S. for a long time, but that Congress is
taking the proper steps to find out the facts and make sure it
doesn’t happen again.

As for Resolution 106, which labeled Armenian deaths during the time
of the Ottoman Empire as `genocide,’ Eshoo did not find the bill as
menacing as the Turks have claimed.

`I seriously doubt that the relationship (between the United States
and Turkey) is seriously damaged because of something that happened
100 years ago.’

Congress also passed new lobbying and ethics guidelines, and Eshoo is
pushing for the State Children’s Health Insurance Program to cover
another 5 million uninsured children, despite a presidential veto
earlier this year.

Eshoo voted for a new veteran’s benefits bill, the largest so far,
and pay-as-you-go rules that force Congress to identify funding
sources for a bill before it can pass.

The congresswoman voted for a hate crimes prevention bill and the
Genetic Information Privacy Act, which will protect the results of
tests from insurers who might use genetic predisposition against
applicants when setting their rates.

Eshoo, whose 14th District covers much of Silicon Valley and reaches
into Scotts Valley, San Lorenzo Valley and Bonny Doon, said she was
pleased to see a large crowd at the Oct. 13 town hall meeting.

She visited the Scotts Valley City Hall to report on Congress’
activities and answer questions.

`It means a great deal to have constituents that come out and care,’
she said with a smile.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress