Issue Position: Foreign Affairs

Issue Position

Our foreign policy must embody our nation's noblest traditions. As Chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs I will be a voice of support to our allies and of warning to our enemies. I was the Committee's Ranking Member from 2007 to 2010. I have also served as Chair of the Subcommittee on the Middle East and Central Asia, the Subcommittee on International Operations and Human Rights, the Subcommittee on International Economic Policy and Trade, and the Subcommittee on Africa, as well as Vice-Chair of the Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere.

I believe that America's role in the world should be one that isolates U.S. enemies while empowering and strengthening U.S. allies. America's allies are often the only stabilizing presence in otherwise chaotic regions of the world. To that end, I am a strong supporter of Israel, and believe that the U.S.-Israel alliance is critical to the national security interests of both nations. Rogue regimes and lawless nations should not be coddled or appeased. I am a strong supporter of sanctions and other penalties against those who support violent extremists, brutalize their own people, and have time and time again rejected calls to behave as responsible nations. I have authored or helped author numerous bills which have been signed into law to impose sanctions against rogue states including Iran, Syria, and North Korea for their illegal weapons programs and gross human rights abuses.

As the child of political refugees, I understand the inherent dignity of all individuals. The United States has a responsibility to speak for those who are silenced by oppression and live in the darkness of tyranny. I am and will continue to be a champion of human rights, religious freedom, and democracy. I am a fierce opponent of the Castro regime in Cuba, the Chavez regime in Venezuela, and other dictatorial regimes in Latin America that subvert the will of the people and seek to erode democratic institutions. Our Hemisphere must not be allowed to follow the insidious example of Castro's Cuba. I will continue to speak out against human rights abuses in China, North Korea, Russia, and around the globe.

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