Mountain View Voices for Peace

c/o PSC, 278-A Hope Street, Mountain View, CA 94041-1308 650/969-1545; Fax 650/961-8918

February 14, 2004

Hon. Anna Eshoo

698 Emerson Street

Palo Alto, CA 94301

Dear Representative Eshoo:

Mountain View Voices for Peace (MVVP) would like to thank and commend you for your January 20 article in the Mercury News on current threats to and restrictions on the civil liberties and freedoms we have enjoyed so long in the United States. As you point out, terrorism can be fought without giving up the rights that Americans consider central to their sense of democracy.

Central to the current attacks on civil liberties is the USA PATRIOT Act. As you point out, “the worst provisions of the Patriot Act should be repealed.”

There are a number of proposals in Congress to limit the reach of the PATRIOT Act and to protect civil liberties. Two important pieces of pending legislation in the House of Representatives are the Safety and Freedom Ensured (SAFE) Act – HR 3352 – and the Freedom to Read Protection Act – HR 1157. Both have broad bipartisan support.

We urge you to encourage your colleagues to join in supporting these reasonable and necessary proposals to safeguard our constitutional rights.

Respectfully,

For Mountain View Voices for Peace