Ileana Ros-Lehtinen

Ileana Ros-Lehtinen
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Florida's 18th district
Incumbent
Assumed office August 28, 1989
Preceded by	Claude Pepper
Personal details
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Dexter Lehtinen

Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (also known as Ileana Ros; born July 15 1952) is a Republican United States Representative for Florida's 18th congressional district (map), having held that office since 1989. She was born in Havana, Cuba, was educated at Florida International University where she received a BA in Education and an MA in Educational Leadership, and also attended the University of Miami where she received a PhD in Higher Education [1]. She was a member of the Florida House of Representatives and the Florida Senate before entering the House. Prior to entering political life, Ros-Lehtinen was an educator and the owner/operator of a private school in Miami-Dade County [2]. Upon her election to succeed the late Congressman Claude Pepper, she became the first Cuban American elected to the United States Congress.

Ros-Lehtinen has supported and sponsored legislation for the Church of Scientology [3], attended Scientology events [4], received recognition from Scientology publications [5], and collected numerous sizable campaign donations from prominent Scientologists [6]. Although earlier biographies listed her religious affiliation as Roman Catholic, she no longer makes reference to her religion in her official biography.[7] Project Vote Smart lists Ros-Lehtinen as Episcopalian [8]. Her mother was Jewish but converted to Catholicism.

Ros-Lehtinen is a moderate Republican who sides with liberal Democrats on some social issues, namely gay rights. She supports anti-hate crime laws, anti-discrimination bills, believes gays and lesbians should be allowed to serve openly in the armed forces, and voted against the Federal Marriage Amendment. She is however considered as a conservative on foreign policy, and is the Ranking Member on the United States House Committee on Foreign Affairs. Ros-Lehtinen is a supporter of President Bush's surge policy in Iraq, a strong supporter of Israel and is allied with the anti-Castro lobby.

She is also a frequent guest on Real Time with Bill Maher.

File:John-l.jpg

L to R: Art Estopiñan (Chief of Staff of Rep. Ros-Lehtinen), Actor John Travolta, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and Actress Kelly Preston at Church Of Scientology 35th Anniversary Gala.

Positions

Iraq: “Whether or not there is a direct link to the World Trade Center does not mean that Iraq is not meritorious of shedding blood. The common link is that they hate America.” [The Hill, June 17, 2004, http://www.thehill.com/news/061704/finding.aspx.]

State Department Passport Controversy: Ros-Lehtinen recently pressured the State Department to accelerate its processing of passports, something that had hindered American citizens’ travel during the crucial summer travel season. Calling the delay “outrageous, incomprehensible, unconscionable” at a hearing of the House Foreign Affair Committee, where she is Ranking Member, Ros-Lehtinen brought the pressure of committee Republicans to bear on the State Department and spur them to action. [9]

Darfur: This summer, Ros-Lehtinen joined Majority Leader Steny Hoyer on a Congressional delegation to the United Nations in order to encourage international support for an end to the genocide in Darfur. In addition, Ros-Lehtinen returned from a trip to Darfur in April of 2007 where she visited Sudanese refugee camps. Ros-Lehtinen returned and strongly encouraged the United States and the international community to find a solution to this humanitarian crisis. [10][11]

Miami River: During her tenure in Congress, Ros-Lehtinen has been successful in championing the issue of the Miami River. In July 2007, she signed a mock check for $20.5 million, much of it federal funds in addition to state and local money, in order to resume the dredging of the Miami River. [12]

Cuba

Ileana Ros-Lehtinen plays a prominent role in the Cuban-American lobby, which aims to put pressure on the Cuban government and encourage political change on the island. She is a member of the Congressional Cuba Democracy Caucus. She is the daughter of Enrique Ros, a Florida based Cuban business man and anti-Fidel Castro activist. Ros-Lehtinen also advances strongly held views on Cuba, and has lobbied against ending the United States embargo against that country. In 2004 she formed the Cuba Democracy Group aimed at curtailing U.S. agriculture exports and preventing U.S. banks from doing business with the Cuban government.

Ros-Lehtinen's rise to congress was coordinated by Jeb Bush, who became her campaign manager and was endorsed by Jorge Mas Canosa, former head of the Cuban-American National Foundation. Ros-Lehtinen has defended former fugitive Velentin Hernández, convicted of murdering Luciano Nieves, a fellow Cuban exile who supported negotiations with the Cuban government, In the 1980s Ros-Lehtinen lobbied for the release and pardon of Cuban exile Orlando Bosch, who had been convicted of terrorist acts and has also been accused of involvement in the 1976 bombing of Cubana Flight 455, which killed 73 people, helping organize an "Orlando Bosch day" to gain support for his release. Ros-Lehtinen played a prominent role in the failed attempt by relatives of Elian Gonzalez to gain custody of six year old from his Cuban father, describing Cuba as "that system of godless communism". She also attempted to block Jimmy Carter's visit to the island in 2002.

Calls to assassinate Fidel Castro

Ros-Lehtinen again stirred controversy by calling for the assassination of Cuban Leader Fidel Castro. She appears in the British documentary 638 Ways to Kill Castro, saying: "I welcome the opportunity of having anyone assassinate Fidel Castro and any leader who is oppressing the people."

After a 28-second clip began circulating on the Internet, the Havana-born lawmaker claimed the filmmakers spliced clips together to get the sound bite. Twenty-four hours after the controversy erupted, director Dollan Cannell sent unedited tapes of his interview with Ros-Lehtinen to reporters. The uncut version contradicted Ros-Lehtinen's response and showed that she had twice welcomed an attempt on Castro's life. Though she attempted to distance herself from her denial, filmmaker Cannell requested an apology, which has not been forthcoming.

"Ileana Ros-Lehtinen has made a very serious accusation against the team who made the films. You can't get more serious than that in terms of an accusation of gross professional wrongdoing. Her accusation is completely, totally false. I'd like her to retract what she said and to apologize."

Foreign Affairs Committee

Ros-Lehtinen was chosen as the Ranking Member on the House Foreign Affairs Committee for the 110th Congress.

Footnotes

External links

• U.S. Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen official House site
• United States Congress. "Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (id: r000435)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
• Federal Election Commission — Ileana Ros-Lehtinen campaign finance reports and data
• On the Issues — Ileana Ros-Lehtinen issue positions and quotes
• OpenSecrets.org — Ileana Ros-Lehtinen campaign contributions
• Project Vote Smart — Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (FL) profile
• SourceWatch Congresspedia — Ileana Ros Lehtinen profile
• Washington Post — Congress Votes Database: Ileana Ros-Lehtinen voting record
• — Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen's re-election website re-election website
• [13] Washington Post First Person Singular of Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen