Howard Berman

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Howard Berman
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California's 28th district
Incumbent
Assumed office  January 3, 1983
Preceded by	John H. Rousselot
Born	April 15, 1941 (1941-04-15) (age 67) Los Angeles, California
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Janis Berman
Residence	Los Angeles, California
Alma mater	UCLA
Occupation	attorney
Religion	Jewish

Howard Lawrence Berman (born April 15, 1941) has been a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives since 1983, representing the 28th District of California (map). He was born in Los Angeles, California, was educated at the University of California, Los Angeles, and was a lawyer and a member of the California State Assembly from 1973 to 1982 before entering the House.

[edit] Political views

A self-described liberal, Berman aligns with the progressive wing of the Democratic Party.^{[citation needed]} Howard Berman has championed protecting American film industry jobs from outsourcing ("runaway production"). He has also 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, banning soft money donations to national political parties, tax cuts supported by the Republican Party, drilling in ANWR, and welfare reform.^{[citation needed]}

However Berman is to the right on a number of issues particularly foreign affairs and trade. Berman voted in support of the invasion of Iraq in both 1991 and 2003, as well as for the FISA Amendments Act of 2008. [1] positions that has hurt his standing among many liberals in his district.^{[citation needed]} While he generally supports free trade, for instance voting in favor of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and various trade agreements with specific countries, he voted against the more recent the Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA). He opposes withdrawing U.S. support for the World Trade Organization. In that same year, he also 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.

Berman is known for his staunch protection of copyright interests and his alliances with the entertainment industry; he is sometimes referred to as the "representative from Hollywood."^{[citation needed]} The major industry contributing to his election campaigns has been the entertainment industry. ^[1] He proposed legislation under which copyright holders would be able to employ technological tools such as file blocking, redirection, spoofs, and decoys, among others, to curb piracy (Peer to Peer Piracy Prevention Act). Recently, he has been named as one of the primary politicians involved in the creation of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA). ^[2]In addition to Hollywood, his district also covers roughly the eastern half of Los Angeles' San Fernando Valley districts and the city of San Fernando.

Berman is also a strong supporter of Israel telling the Jewish newspaper, The Forward after being appointed Chairman of the United States House Committee on Foreign Affairs, "Even before I was a Democrat, I was a Zionist."^[3]

[edit] Congressional career

Berman was implicated as having invested in defense firms that directly profited from the War in Iraq, through an article released in April 2008. The numbers were not specific, but seriously hurt his credibility as he voted in favor of the war. [2]

FINANCE: U.S. Lawmakers Invested in Iraq, Afghanistan Wars

Berman paid his brother Michael Berman's consulting firm Berman & D'Agostino $195,000 from campaign funds from 2001 to 2006.^[4] This included $70,000 in consulting fees for the 2006 election.^[5] In 2005, $50,000 in consulting fees were paid to the company, and Michael Berman himself was paid a further $80,500 in campaign management and consulting fees.^[5] In the 2002 campaign, Berman & D'Agostino was paid $75,000 in political consulting fees.^[5]

On October 5, 2006, Berman was appointed the ranking member on the House Ethics Committee's subcommittee investigating the congressional page program in the wake of the Mark Foley scandal.[3]

In 2000, Berman received the First Annual Farmworker Justice Award.[4] He is an endorser of the Genocide Intervention Network, pressing for more U.S. action on the genocide in Darfur.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Committee assignments

• United States House Committee on Foreign Affairs (Chairman)
• United States House Committee on the Judiciary
  • Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet and Intellectual Property (Chairman)
  • Subcommittee on Immigration, Border Security, and Claims

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• ISP News Berman Scandal
• U.S. Congressman Howard L. Berman official House site
• Howard Berman at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Federal Election Commission — Howard L. Berman campaign finance reports and data
• On the Issues — Howard Berman issue positions and quotes
• OpenSecrets.org — Howard Berman campaign contributions
• Project Vote Smart — Representative Howard L. Berman (CA) profile
• SourceWatch Congresspedia — Howard Berman profile
• Washington Post — Congress Votes Database: Howard Berman voting record