Howard Berman

Howard Lawrence Berman, a Democrat, was a U.S. Representative from California. He represented the 28th District (formerly the 26th District) from 1983 to 2013. (map)

Iraq War
Berman voted for the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002 that started the Iraq War.

Environmental record
For more information on environmental legislation, see the Energy and Environment Policy Portal

Support for gun control
In 1991, Berman cosponsored H.R. 3104, which intended "To amend title 18, United States Code, to prohibit the importation and the manufacture of firearms designed to accept a silencer, bayonet, grenade launcher, flash suppressor, or folding stock, of certain ammunition feeding devices, and of related devices, and to provide for the imposition of enhanced penalties for the possession or the use of any such item in a crime of violence or in a drug trafficking crime."

He also cosponsored H.R. 1312 (Assault Weapons Ban and Law Enforcement Protection Act of 2005) on June 8, 2005.

On March 13, 2007, he cosponsored H.R. 1022 (Assault Weapons Ban Reauthorization Act of 2007).

Point man for Israel
Berman is one of the leading promoters of Israeli interests in the US Congress. In November 2009 he stated: "I was a Zionist before I was a Democrat."

Biography
Berman was born April 15, 1941, in Los Angeles, was educated at the University of California, Los Angeles, and was a lawyer and a member of the California Assembly before entering the House.

A self-described liberal, Berman aligns with the progressive wing of the Democratic Party. He has voted against amending the constitution to require a balanced-budget, banning the desecration of the American flag, the Defense of Marriage Act, restrictions on abortion, the death penalty, lawsuit reform, tax cuts supported by the Republican Party, drilling in ANWR, and welfare reform. On some issues he is more moderate: he broke with the majority of his party to vote in favor of NAFTA and has voted for some subsequent free trade agreements. He opposes withdrawing U.S. support for the World Trade Organization. In 1996 Berman voted for the Immigration in the Natural Interest Act of 1995, which cracked down on illegal immigration, also in that same year he voted to phase out many farm subsidy programs put into place by the administration of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt as part of the New Deal. Notably, Berman voted to authorize military force in Iraq in both 1991 and 2003.

In 2000, Berman recieved the First Annual Farmworker Justice Award.

2006 elections
In 2006, the Republicans nominated Stanley Kesselman, and the Green Party nominated Byron Delear to face Berman in his November 2006 bid for reelection. (See U.S. congressional elections in 2006) Berman retained his seat.

Committees

 * House Committee on Foreign Affairs
 * Subcommittee on Middle East and Central Asia
 * House Committee on the Judiciary
 * Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property, Chairman
 * Subcommittee on Immigration, Border Security, and Claims

Committee assignments in the 109th Congress (2005-2006)

 * House Committee on International Relations
 * Subcommittee on the Middle East and Central Asia
 * Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations
 * House Committee on the Judiciary
 * Subcommittee on Task Force on Antirust
 * Subcommittee on Courts the Internet and Intellectual Property - Ranking Minority Member
 * Subcommittee on Immigration Border Security and Claims

Contact
DC Office: 2221 Rayburn House Office Building Washington, DC 20515-0528 Phone: 202-225-4695 Fax: 202-225-3196 Email: howard.berman AT mail.house.gov Website

District Office: 14546 Hamlin Street, Suite 202 Van Nuys, CA 91411 Phone: 818-994-7200 Fax: 818-994-1050

Resources

 * Official website

Local blogs and discussion sites

 * Tiger Beat: Music, Culture, and Politics