WASHINGTON (AFP) – The United States must force reforms at the United Nations and play "hardball" with Iran and North Korea, incoming House Foreign Affairs Committee chair Ileana Ros-Lehtinen said Wednesday.
"There is much fat in these budgets, which makes some cuts obvious. Others will be more difficult but necessary to improve the efficiency of US efforts and accomplish more with less," she said.
"We must shift our foreign aid focus from failed strategies rooted in an archaic post-WWII approach that, in some instances, perpetuates corrupt governments, to one that reflects current realities and challenges and empowers grassroots and civil society," she said in a statement.
Ros-Lehtinen, a strong critic of Cuba's government and staunch backer of sanctions on Iran and North Korea over their defiance of world pressure to halt their nuclear programs, said she would continue to take a hard line.
"Rogue regimes never respond to anything less than hardball," she said.
"I support strong sanctions and other penalties against those who aid violent extremists, brutalize their own people, and have time and time again rejected calls to behave as responsible nations," said Ros-Lehtinen.
Ros-Lehtinen, currently the panel's top Republican, will formally ascend to the post when a new Congress convenes in January.
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| AFP – US congresswoman Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, seen here in 2009. Ros-Lehtinen, the incoming House Foreign Committee Chair |
"I pledge to do all that I can to isolate US enemies while empowering and strengthening our allies, and I will not make apologies for doing either," the Florida Republican said upon being designated to head the panel.
The Cuba-born Florida lawmaker also vowed to use US dues to international organizations like the United Nations "as leverage to press for real reform" and warned she "will not hesitate" to call for cutting off money to "failed entities" like the world body's rights council.
Ros-Lehtinen, the senior Republican woman in the House of Representatives, said she would push for unspecified cuts in the US State Department and foreign aid budgets."There is much fat in these budgets, which makes some cuts obvious. Others will be more difficult but necessary to improve the efficiency of US efforts and accomplish more with less," she said.
"We must shift our foreign aid focus from failed strategies rooted in an archaic post-WWII approach that, in some instances, perpetuates corrupt governments, to one that reflects current realities and challenges and empowers grassroots and civil society," she said in a statement.
Ros-Lehtinen, a strong critic of Cuba's government and staunch backer of sanctions on Iran and North Korea over their defiance of world pressure to halt their nuclear programs, said she would continue to take a hard line.
"Rogue regimes never respond to anything less than hardball," she said.
"I support strong sanctions and other penalties against those who aid violent extremists, brutalize their own people, and have time and time again rejected calls to behave as responsible nations," said Ros-Lehtinen.
Ros-Lehtinen, currently the panel's top Republican, will formally ascend to the post when a new Congress convenes in January.
