Dana Rohrabacher represented coastal Southern California in the U.S. House Representatives from 1989 - 2019. Prior to that, he served as a senior speechwriter and Special Assistant to President Reagan for 7 ½ years,
While serving in the Reagan Administration, Rohrabacher helped craft the Reagan Doctrine which pledged American support for anti-Communist fighters around the world who resisted Soviet aggression and expansion. This bold strategy led to the end of the Cold War, freed millions of people, and lifted the threat of nuclear annihilation. Rohrabacher inherited Reagan’s moral clarity that always leads him to support those who are under the thumb of totalitarian oppressors, even when doing so is unpopular. Fighting for America, he believes, goes hand in hand with fighting for freedom.
In the Reagan White House, Rohrabacher worked closely with Oliver North, Gen. Singlaub and other members of the National Security Council. As Special Assistant to President Reagan, Rohrabacher personally traversed to geopolitical flashpoints in Central America, Afghanistan and Eastern Europe to carry the day for liberty and justice and to bring an end to the Cold War. Inspired as a young boy after watching the Hungarian Revolution in 1956, Rohrabacher’s lifelong commitment to freedom’s cause started at age 19 when he was sent to Cold War hotspots in Vietnam and Czechoslovakia. The latter aimed at establishing communications with and supporting anti-Communist activists and students under the nose of Soviet occupation troops in 1968.
After he was elected to Congress in 1988, Rohrabacher travelled to Afghanistan to aid the Mujahideen fighters who he had helped to arm in their war against the Soviet occupation. During this tumultuous time, he was also an outspoken critic of Chinese human rights abuses, including its practices of illegal organ harvesting and forced labour camps. In 2007, the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation awarded him with the Truman-Reagan Medal of Freedom.
Whenever and wherever people were struggling for their freedom, human rights and democracy, Dana Rohrabahcer rallied to champion their cause. He firmly believes that this is in the best interest of freedom loving people throughout the world, including those who live in the United States.
In 1996, Congressman Rohrabacher spearheaded and helped pass California's Proposition 187, a reform initiative which removed 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.
During his 30 year tenure in the House, Rohrabacher served as a senior member of the House Foreign Affairs and Science Committees and as chairman of the following subcommittees:
Committee on Foreign Affairs:
● Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia
● Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations
● Subcommittee on Europe, Eurasia & Emerging Threats
● Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific
Committee on Science, Space and Technology
● Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics
● Subcommittee on Energy and Environment
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 flag achievement as chairman was the passage of the Commercial Space Act of 2004. With inspiration from Elon Musk, Rohrabacher wrote the Commercial Space Act which has yielded billions in private sector investment, pushing the envelope of human achievement in space.
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.
In 2010 Congressman Rohrabacher was named Chairman of the Investigations and Oversight Subcommittee of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs. As part of her drive to revamp the House Foreign Affairs Committee, incoming chairwoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) named Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) as her point man on oversight and investigations related to the Obama administration. "I will be establishing mechanisms for Americans to blow the whistle on waste, fraud, and abuse in State Department and Foreign Aid operations by welcoming anonymous tips," RosLehtinen said, in announcing that Rohrabacher would chair the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations. Ros-Lehtinen touted Rohrabacher’s past work with the subcommittee in investigating corruption in the U.N. Oil for Food program.
From 2013 - 2018, Rohrabacher served as Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Europe, Eurasia & Emerging Threats. Under Rohrabacher's leadership, several key issues were addressed:
● Energy security in Europe: The subcommittee focused on promoting energy security for European allies, particularly through the development of the Southern Gas Corridor. This initiative aimed to diversify Europe's energy sources and reduce dependence on Russian gas.
● Mass migration and integration: The subcommittee held hearings on the challenges of mass migration in Europe, discussing issues of assimilation, integration, and security concerns related to the influx of migrants and refugees. Rohrabacher was a strong proponent of countries establishing strong border policies to enhance their security and retain their cultural identity.
● Resource competition in Central Asia and the Caucasus: The subcommittee investigated issues related to resource development and competition in these regions, with a focus on supporting U.S. allies in developing their energy resources
● U.S. policy toward national self-determination movements: The subcommittee explored the role of self-determination movements in promoting peaceful political change
● Relations with Russia: Rohrabacher championed stronger ties with Hungary and more peaceful relations with Russia.
Despite the continued tensions between the U.S. and Russia, Rohrabacher has been in the forefront of advocating a more constructive engagement rather than continued belligerence. He has argued that the U.S. should pull Russia into a Western orbit rather than pushing them away into a closer relationship with China.
Those who have worked with Rohrabacher on the House Foreign Affairs Committee knew him as a tireless advocate of policies that put America first by his support of democracy movements and freedom fighters around the world.