Howard Berman

Howard L. Berman (1941-) is a Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives, representing the 28th District of California in the greater Los Angeles area. First elected in 1982, he chairs the House Committee on Foreign Affairs and is vice-chair of the House Committee on the Judiciary.

Berman is particularly well-known for his ability to form bipartisan coalitions. Together with Republican Henry Hyde, Berman wrote a law authorizing embargoes on nations that support terrorism. With Republican Senator Chuck Grassley, he wrote amendments to the False Claims Act that have saved over $20 billion in taxpayer money since 1986.

"There are few House members who have made such an imprint on legislation in so many areas as Howard Berman," says The Almanac of American Politics. The Almanac goes on to call Berman "one of the most aggressive and creative members of the House and one of the most clear-sighted operators in American politics."

Committee assignments

• Chair, House Committee on Foreign Affairs
• Vice-Chair, House Judiciary Committee
  • Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, Refugees, Border Security, and International Law,

Issues

Foreign affairs

HIV/AIDS

• five-year, $50 billion reauthorization of our global HIV/AIDS programs

Terrorism

He introduced legislation to remove Nelson Mandela and other members of the African National Congress, now part of the democratic government of South Africa, from the U.S. terrorism list.

Israel and Palestine

See also: J Street

See also: Zionist Organization of America

Berman is a strong supporter of the State of Israel and has proposed additional funding. On 16 February 2010, he asked for perspective on recent tensions, “We need to disentangle bilateral relations from the peace process...The United States and Israel have very good cooperation on any number of matters, and this will continue. These include keeping Iran from developing nuclear weapons, the Goldstone Report, and security assistance. U.S.-Israel security ties are in many ways closer than they have ever been, and they are certainly far stronger than the news stories of the past few days would lead one to believe.Let’s keep in mind that peace talks are not a gift to one party or the other... "

The Administration had real justification for being upset with the timing of the settlements announcement. A process was supposed to be in place to keep the United States from being blindsided by just such a development, and yet once again we were blindsided. The Israeli leadership needs to get this right and put a system in place so it won’t happen again.

Of the peace process, he said they are an "opportunity for both parties, not a gift to either...The Palestinians may not like an Israeli announcement about prospective housing in Jerusalem, and the Israelis may not like the Palestinians naming a town square after a brutal terrorist, but the talks need to go forward."

Iran

He is convinced that the State of Iran intends to develop nuclear weapons, and, while he supports the Obama Administration's diplomatic efforts, he feels more pressure is needed.

Several members of the Security Council seem unwilling to recognize the extreme urgency of the situation we now face. If recalcitrant governments seek to block or dilute the ability of the United Nations to take strong, swift action, then we Americans will have no choice but to act on our own.

In the House, he introduced the Iran Refined Petroleum Sanctions Act (H.R. 2194), which imposes penalties on U.S. firms that export refined petroleum to Iran or assist its domestic production, and bars U.S. government grants or contracts with Iran. There are House and Senate versions of this legislation, which he hopes will be reconciled and go to the President for signature in April 2010. The draft is supported by groups as diverse as the Zionist Organization of America, American Israel Public Affairs Committee, and J Street.

Department of State

In the 111th Congress, his top priorities include improving America’s diplomatic strength through a reauthorization of the State Department, assistance to fight terrorism in Pakistan, and improving the efficiency of U.S. foreign aid.

Intellectual property

In the Judiciary Committee, in trade legislation, combating international copyright piracy, and immigration reform.

Caucuses and groups

• Congressional Internet Caucus

Before Congress

Upon his graduation from law school, he began his career in public service with a year's work as a VISTA volunteer. From 1967 until 1973, he practiced law in Los Angeles, specializing in labor relations. In 1973, he was elected to the California State Assembly.

In his first term in the state legislature, then-Assemblyman Berman was named Assembly Majority leader, the youngest person ever to serve in that leadership capacity. He also served as Chair of the Assembly Democratic Caucus and the Policy Research Management Committee of the Assembly.

Voting ratings

Organization	Rating	Date
AFL-CIO
American Civil Liberties Union
American Conservative Union
Americans for Democratic Action
Cato Institute
Christian Coalition
Human Rights Campaign
League of Conservation Voters
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
NARAL
National Rifle Association
National Right to Life Committee
National Taxpayers Union
U.S. Chamber of Commerce

Sources: Links to the voting ratings guides of the above organizations together with brief descriptive information on the organizations themselves, may be found at: http://en.citizendium.org/wiki/Interest_group/Catalogs

2008 Election

Candidate	Party	Vote total	Percentage
Howard L. Berman	Democrat	137,471	99.89%
Michael J. Koch	Write-in	150	0.11%

Source: Federal Election Results - final official tally

2010 Election

Primary election: June 8

• See also: 2010 U.S. Congressional election

Education

• B.A., University of California at Los Angeles, 1962
• LL.B. , University of California at Los Angeles, 1965