Amid ample economic uncertainty, there is trepidation and doubt in the private sector, Eshoo said. But she noted that "we know as Americans that we are a can-do people -- we have always been innovators." She stressed that Silicon Valley companies that call her congressional district home should take the lead. "You are so integral to the changes that need to be made in our country. People are hungry for it, they're starving for it," Eshoo told a crowd of about 100 who gathered at the new Congressional Visitors Center.

She was joined at the reception by Reps. Jerry McNerney, D-Calif., David Wu, D-Ore., and Darrell Issa, R-Calif.