As Chairman of the Oversight and Investigation Subcommittee of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Rohrabacher is a most forceful spokesman for human rights and democracy around the world. For example, during the 110th Congress, Rep. Rohrabacher championed the effort to boycott the 2008 Beijing Olympics by introducing a resolution to that effect emphasizing China's litany of human rights violations. Rohrabacher is also committed to securing our borders and a staunch opponent of amnesty for illegal immigrants. During his tenure as Chairman, one of his first priorities was to investigate the U.N. Oil for Food program and potential foreign influence in the Oklahoma City Bombing. Rep. Rohrabacher will continue to look into technology transfer issues, visa policies practiced by the State Department, Chinese proliferation of nuclear weapons technology as well as other volatile areas of concern such as the massive cultivation of opium poppies in Afghanistan. As a senior member of the International Relations Committee, Rohrabacher led the effort to deny Most Favored Nation trading status to Communist China, citing the rogue nation's dismal human rights record and opposition to democracy.

Rohrabacher is a strong voice for lower government spending and taxes. His record of fiscal restraint and pro-growth policies has won him acclaim from the National Taxpayers Union, Citizens Against Government Waste, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Federation of Independent Business.

Past Accomplishments

Rohrabacher served as Chairman of the Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics from 1997 to January 2005, having been given a two-year waiver to serve beyond the normal six-year term limit. His final achievement as chairman was to secure the enactment of his Commercial Space Launch Amendments Act, signed into law by President Bush on December 23, 2004. The law clears the way for small and middle-sized entrepreneurs to build commercial space passenger vehicles and bolsters private sector participation in space travel.

Rohrabacher led efforts in the 104th and 105th Congresses to restore the intellectual property rights of American inventors legislated away with the implementation of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), authoring the Patent Term Restoration Act.

The 46th congressional district is the birthplace of California's Proposition 187, a reform initiative which removes illegal aliens from the state's welfare and education rolls. Rohrabacher inspired the grassroots movement and, as a principal congressional spokesman for Prop. 187, framed the debate that led to the passage of the popular measure.

Prior to his first election to Congress in 1988, Dana served as Special Assistant to President Reagan. For seven years he was one of the President's senior speechwriters. During his tenure at the White House, Rohrabacher played a pivotal role in the formulation of the Reagan Doctrine and in championing the cause of a strong national defense. He also helped formulate President Reagan's Economic Bill of Rights, a package of economic reforms that the President introduced in a historic speech before the Jefferson Memorial.

Rohrabacher's roots in Orange County run deep. He attended elementary school locally and during his college days, he resided in Sunset Beach. Prior to joining Ronald Reagan's White House staff, he was an editorial writer for the Orange County Register. Rohrabacher was born June 21, 1947, in Coronado, California. He graduated from Palos Verdes High School, attended Harbor Junior College and received his bachelor degree in history from Long Beach State College in 1969. He received his master's degree in American Studies from the University of Southern California. In 1997, he married his wife, Rhonda, and in 2004, they became parents of triplets, Annika, Tristen, and Christian.