Cuba

Ros-Lehtinen has long used an anti-Cuban government plank to galvanize the Cuban-American base in her district. She has consistently supported retaining U.S. sanctions against Cuba.

In 2000, she was a prominent supporter of giving relatives of Elian Gonzalez custody rights of the 6-year-old boy rather than returning him to his father in Cuba. She cast the situation as one of ''a humble, hard-working Cuban-American family'' based in Miami locked in a fight with ''bureaucratic sadism."

In 2005, Ros-Lehtinen, along with Sen. Mel Martinez (R-Fla.), Reps. Lincoln Diaz-Balart (R-Fla.) and Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Fla.), created the Congressional Cuba Democracy Caucus, which promotes Cuba's democracy movement, favors strengthening pro-democratic Cuban media and opposes easing U.S. trade and tourism restrictions.

Ros-Lehtinen appeared in the 2006 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 it aired, she claimed the filmmaker took her quote out of context, though the video could be seen unedited on YouTube. She later admitted to the quote, reaffirming that she "would welcome" Castro's death.

In May 2009, Ros-Lehtinen co-signed a letter with the Diaz-Balart brothers denouncing the Obama administration's proposal to open high-level meetings on migration-related issues with the Cuban government.

Ros-Lehtinen has supported the release of Cuban exile militants who have been held in U.S. prisons for political violence. Some of them were released in 2001, including Jose Dionisio Suarez Esquivel and Virgilio Paz Romero, both convicted for the 1976 car-bomb murder of Chilean diplomat Orlando Letelier and an American assistant in Washington.

Other Foreign Affairs Issues

A 2006 bill sponsored by Ros-Lehtinen altered the Iran-Libya Sanctions Act of 1996, imposing mandatory sanctions on those who provide goods and services for Iran's nuclear program. The bill also removed restrictions on Libya.

Ros-Lehtinen is also a key Congressional ally of Israel. In a 2008 Jerusalem Post interview she said that if Israel deems military action against Iran necessary, "I believe the U.S. will stand shoulder to shoulder with Israel." In 2007, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee was one of the groups endorsing her to become the top Republican on the Foreign Affairs Committee.

In 2006, Ros-Lehtinen successfully convinced the Bush administration to grant a one-year extension of temporary permits allowing 300,000 immigrants from Honduras, Nicaragua and El Salvador to remain legally in the United States.

Ros-Lehtinen, whose stepson and daughter-in-law have served in Iraq, has been a staunch supporter of the Iraq war.

Abortion Rights

Ros-Lehtinen is a prominent anti-abortion rights advocate and has introduced several bills aimed at curbing the practice. She has repeatedly introduced the Child Custody Protection Act, making it illegal for any girl under the ago of 17 to receive an abortion without parental consent. It passed the House in 1999 and 2002, but never became law. ;

In 2005, her bill that sought to make it illegal to cross state lines to get abortions passed the House with some Democratic support, but failed to pass the Senate.

LGBT Issues

While she initially supported the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy implemented during the Clinton administration, Ros-Lehtinen co-sponsored a 2005 bill seeking to allow people in the military to be openly gay.

In 2005, Ros-Lehtinen was one of the lead sponsors of a proposed federal hate-crimes bill that sought to explicitly protect gay and transgender people from violence and discrimination.

The Economy

Ros-Lehtinen voted against the first edition of the fall 2008 financial bailout bill, but voted for the final version, saying its $110 million in tax breaks and sweeteners made it "an economic rescue package."

In February 2009, Ros-Lehtinen said a focus on infrastructure spending and removal of other spending would have gained her vote for the $787 billion economic stimulus bill. But like all other House Republicans, she voted against the plan. She has publicly supported some of its funding, including $25.4 million for a wastewater system in the Florida Keys.

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