Dana Rohrabacher

Dana Rohrabacher is a Republican congressman from California's 45th district. He is considered to be an expert on Afghanistan and is rated by the Republican Liberty Caucus[?] to be one of the more libertarian members of Congress.

Currently serving his seventh term in Congress, Dana Rohrabacher represents California's 45th District. Stretching along the Pacific coastline of Orange County from Newport Beach to Seal Beach, the district includes Costa Mesa, Huntington Beach, Stanton, Westminster and Fountain Valley, as well as portions of Anaheim, Buena Park, Cypress and Garden Grove.

Rohrabacher is Chairman of the Space and Aeronautics Subcommittee, of the House Science Committee. Rohrabacher is also a member of the Energy Subcommittee, overseeing research of the Department of Energy, the Environmental Protection Agency and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

As a senior member of the International Relations Committee, Rohrabacher led the effort to deny Most Favored Nation trading status to Communist China, citing that nation's dismal human rights record and opposition to democracy. His subcommittee assignments are East Asia and Pacific, and Middle East and South Asia.

Rohrabacher is voice for lower government spending and taxes, with a record of fiscal restraint and pro-growth policies. He is a strong proponent of term limits and other congressional reforms.

Rohrbacher was the author of California's Proposition 187, a controversial but popular reform initiative which removes illegal aliens from the state's welfare and education rolls. Rohrabacher inspired the grassroots movement and, as a principal spokesman for Prop. 187, framed the debate that led to the passage of the measure.

Prior to his election to Congress in 1988, Rohrabacher served as Special Assistant to President Ronald 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 his family was active in Santa Ana's Calvary Church. During his college days, he resided in Sunset Beach, and 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 August 1997 he married an Orange County native (and fellow surfer), Rhonda Carmony.