DeLauro opposed the Iraq war in 2002 and criticized the Bush administration for its handling of the war. She has, however, consistently brought home funding for the Black Hawk helicopter, which is produced by the Connecticut-based Sikorsky Aircraft Corp.

DeLauro is an avid advocate for women's rights, including equal pay and abortion rights. For years, she has pushed for the Paycheck Fairness Act, which would allow women to sue for punitive damages under the Equal Pay Act, which was signed into law 40 years ago. The bill was passed by the House in August 2008.

She is also a powerful advocate for women's medical issues.

Health Care

Ever since her early days in the House, DeLauro has argued for universal health care. "As America approaches the dawn of a new millennium, the great unfinished business before Congress still remains the provision of health care to every American citizen," she wrote in in 1996.

DeLauro was successful in her push to require insurance companies to pay for two-day hospital stays after mastectomies, a bill that she had advocated since 1995.

A survivor of ovarian cancer, she pushed for Johanna's Law, which was designed to create awareness of and facilitate early detection of gynecological cancer.

She worked to bar discrimination by insurance companies against people with preexisting conditions, and she introduced May 2008 legislation allowing paramedics to bill Medicare directly, eliminating the need for patients to front the costs for or fight with Medicare over ambulance expenses.

Food Safety

As the chair of the House Appropriations Agriculture subcommittee, DeLauro has taken a keen interest in the proper inspection and labeling of food, often criticizing the Food and Drug Administration for what she sees as its lack of oversight.

She introduced 2007 legislation that would create an early-warning system for tainted foods and allow fines against companies that don't report contamination, and she has persistently tried to get a single food safety administration to authorize federal recalls.

"Food safety at the FDA is a stepchild," she said. "It is nothing about prevention. It is all about after-the-fact."

The Economy

DeLauro reluctantly voted in fall 2008 for the $700 billion bailout of Wall Street, saying she knew it would be an unpopular vote but she felt that, "I have a responsibility to avert [economic meltdown] in the interest of the country."

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