Howard Berman | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Chair of theHouse Foreign Affairs Committee | |
| In office February 11, 2008 – January 3, 2011 | |
| Preceded by | Tom Lantos |
| Succeeded by | Ileana Ros-Lehtinen |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromCalifornia | |
| In office January 3, 1983 – January 3, 2013 | |
| Preceded by | John H. Rousselot |
| Succeeded by | Brad Sherman(redistricting) |
| Constituency | 26th district(1983–2003) 28th district(2003–2013) |
| Majority Leader of the California Assembly | |
| In office December 2, 1974 – December 1, 1980 | |
| Preceded by | Jack R. Fenton |
| Succeeded by | Mike Roos |
| Member of theCalifornia Assembly | |
| In office January 8, 1973 – November 30, 1982 | |
| Preceded by | Charles J. Conrad |
| Succeeded by | Gray Davis |
| Constituency | 57th district(1973–1974) 43rd district(1974–1982) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Howard Lawrence Berman (1941-04-15)April 15, 1941 (age 83) Los Angeles,California, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Janis Berman |
| Children | 2 |
| Education | University of California, Los Angeles (BA,LLB) |
Berman speaks in support of a resolution recognizing the 50th anniversary of the1959 Tibetan uprising Recorded March 11, 2009 | |
Howard Lawrence Berman (born April 15, 1941) is an American attorney and retired politician who served as aU.S. representative fromCalifornia from 1983 to 2013. A member of theDemocratic Party, he represented the state's26th congressional district until redistricting and the28th congressional district—which both encompassed parts of theSan Fernando Valley—for a combined 15 terms.
Berman was born inLos Angeles, toJewish parents,[1][2] the son of Eleanor (née Schapiro) and Joseph Berman. His maternal grandparents immigrated fromRussia.[3] He graduated fromAlexander Hamilton High School in 1959 and earned hisB.A. ininternational relations in 1962 and hisLL.B. in 1965 at theUniversity of California, Los Angeles where he befriended future congressmanHenry Waxman.[4] Blanche Bettington, his high school civics teacher, inspired him to enter politics and government.[5]
He was aVISTA volunteer (1966–1967) inBaltimore andSan Francisco, and was anassociate at aLos Angeleslaw firm, Levy, Van Bourg & Hackler (1967–72) specializing inlabor relations.[6][7][8][9][10]
Berman won election to the Assembly in 1972 from a district in theHollywood Hills, unseating the incumbent Republican speaker pro tempore. His brother Michael,campaign manager inHenry Waxman's 1968 Assembly race, again ran a targeted mail operation.
In 1974, Berman and Waxman both opposedWillie Brown's unsuccessful revolt againstSpeaker of the California State AssemblyLeo McCarthy, who rewarded Berman's loyalty by appointing him the youngestmajority leader in Assembly history. McCarthy fired Berman when Berman tried to replace him in 1980. Although McCarthy failed to retain the speakership, Berman failed to win it and Brown became speaker. Other members remarked on what a tough politician he was; the Bermans helped arrange aprimary defeat for at least one colleague (Jack R. Fenton) who had opposed his bid.[11][12][13][14][15]
He also served as Chairman of the Assembly Democratic Caucus and on the Policy Research Management Committee of the Assembly.[12]
After redistricting made the 26th district significantly more Democratic, incumbent Republican CongressmanJohn Harbin Rousselot decided to run inCalifornia's 30th congressional district in 1982. Berman won the Democratic primary for the open seat with 83% of the vote,[16] and the general election with 60% of the vote.[17]
Berman was reelected 14 times, never dropping below 61% of the vote, from 1984 through 2010.[18]
The2000 census allocated California one new House seat, 53 in all. Berman, "dad of the delegation" on redistricting, made a deal with RepublicansTom Davis andDavid Dreier to keep 34 safe seats for Democrats, add one new Republican district, and protect nineteen incumbent Republicans. Many California Democrats in the House andCalifornia State Senate hired Michael Berman, Howard Berman's brother, as a redistricting consultant, for a fee of $20,000 each.[19] When the August 2001 plan was unveiled, CongressmanBrad Sherman, a fellow Democrat from California, complained that it undermined the safety of his seat with too manyHispanic voters, saying, "Howard Berman stabbed me in the back."[20] Berman agreed to redraw the boundary between their districts, giving himself 56% and Sherman 37%Latino population. The redistricting plan survived a court challenge from theMALDEF, which argued that the redistricting diluted Hispanic representation.[21] The Republicans suffered some slippage; they had only 19 members in thedelegation to the110th Congress.[22]
From 2001 to 2006, Berman paid his brother Michael Berman's consulting firm Berman & D'Agostino $195,000 from campaign funds.[23] In the 2002 campaign, Berman & D'Agostino was paid $75,000 in political consulting fees. 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. In 2006, $70,000 was paid in consulting fees.[24]
Following redistricting, Berman decided to run in the newly redrawn30th Congressional District, facing fellow DemocratBrad Sherman. Sherman had the advantage because he previously represented over half of the district.[25] About 60% of voters of the new30th district resided in Sherman's former district, while just 20% of voters resided in Berman's.[26][27]
The race, unprecedented in pitting two very similar candidates of the same party against each other in the general election, was called a "slugfest".[28] Berman received the endorsements from about two-thirds of California's Democratic congressional delegation. Among Sherman's endorsements were then-Lieutenant GovernorGavin Newsom of California, then-State ControllerJohn Chiang of California, former PresidentBill Clinton, and CongressmanJohn Conyers of Michigan.[29]
On June 5, 2012, Sherman ranked first in the seven-candidate open primary, with 42% of the vote. Berman ranked second, with 26% of the vote.[30] The state's top-two primary system, implemented in 2010, allows for two candidates of the same party to face-off in the general election.[31] Berman ran as the more conservative Democrat, hoping to divide the Democratic vote and dominate in the independent and conservative vote. However, in the November general election,Sherman defeated Berman, 60.3%–39.7%.[32][33]
Berman has been described as "one of the most creative members of the House, and one of the most clear-sighted operators in American politics". He has been an active legislator on several issues, but has also been described as "not one who gets much publicity".[34]
Berman was the House sponsor of the 1986False Claims Act that authorizedcivil litigation bywhistleblowers. It led to recoveries for the United States Government exceeding $1 billion dollars.[12]
Berman has championed protecting American film industry jobs fromoutsourcing ("runaway production"). He has also voted against amending theconstitution torequire a balanced budget, against banning thedesecration of the American flag,[11] against theDefense of Marriage Act, and against restrictions onabortion.[11]
However, Berman concurs with many on theright on a number of issues, particularlyforeign policy andtrade. Berman voted in support of the invasion ofIraq in both1991 and2003, as well as for theFISA Amendments Act of 2008,[22][35] positions that have hurt his standing among many liberals in his district.[36] While he generally supportsfree trade - for instance, voting in favor of theNorth American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)[37] and various trade agreements with specific countries -, he voted against the more recentCentral America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA).[22] He opposes withdrawing U.S. support for theWorld Trade Organization. In that same year, he also voted to phase out manyfarm subsidy programs put into place by the administration of PresidentFranklin Delano Roosevelt as part of the "New Deal".
In Congress, Berman led the investigation into the conduct of House members in theMark Foley page scandal.[38]
In May 2012, Berman co-sponsored a bill with Republican CongressmanDavid Dreier of California to reinstate tax credits given to films produced mainly in the United States. The credits were active from 2008 until 2011, and were aimed at keeping films inHollywood. Berman stressed that we "must make every effort to keep American productions here in the United States".[39]
Berman is known for his protection ofcopyright interests, and his alliances with the entertainment industry; he was sometimes referred to as the "representative fromHollywood".[40] The major industry contributing to his election campaigns has been the entertainment industry.[41] 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). He has been named as one of the primary politicians involved in the creation of theStop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and theAnti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA).[citation needed] In a September 2008 hearing of the HouseIntellectual Property Subcommittee, Berman criticized theNational Institutes of Health's policy requiring NIH-sponsored research to be submitted to a database open to the public by saying that "the N in NIH shouldn't stand forNapster."[42][43]
According toLA Weekly, "Berman played a key and under-appreciated role in securing passage of a resolution that gave PresidentGeorge W. Bush broad authority to use force".[44] TheNational Journal reports that Berman, "played a critical role in winning passage, by a wide margin, of the Iraq War resolution in October 2002. He strongly supported military action against Iraq, and in September, he organized a group of Democrats who shared his views. Berman's discussions led to House DemocraticLeaderDick Gephardt's agreement with the administration on the terms of the resolution—talks that undercut the demands of other senior Democrats, including then House DemocraticWhipNancy Pelosi andSenate Foreign Relations Committee ChairmanJoe Biden. In June 2006, Berman voted for the Republican resolution to reject a timetable for withdrawal from Iraq."[34]
Berman is also a supporter ofIsrael, telling the Jewish newspaper,The Forward, after being appointed Chairman of theUnited States House Committee on Foreign Affairs, "Even before I was a Democrat, I was aZionist."[40] He has sponsored the Anti-Boycott Act in the House, which prohibits American individuals and organizations from actively boycottingIsraeli goods.[45]
In 2003, Berman expressed his concerns over the Patriot Act with then-United States Attorney GeneralJohn Ashcroft, specifically on the method to hold illegal immigrants until they prove they are not terrorists.[46]
In 2000, Berman, along with then-SenatorGordon Smith ofOregon, proposed an amnesty, which would have granted legal status to hundreds of thousands of undocumented farm laborers. In exchange, requirements that growers provide housing to guest workers, and pay them a minimum wage adjusted annually for inflation, would have been relaxed.[47] In 2005, Berman was part of the bi-partisan group in Congress that fought for immigration reform efforts.[48] That path to citizenship was also supported by PresidentGeorge W. Bush and SenatorJohn McCain.[citation needed]
OpenSecrets named 151 members of Congress who had investments (as of year end 2006) in companies that do business with theUnited States Department of Defense, suggesting that such holdings conflict with their responsibility for U.S. security policy. The most important such companies, ranked by estimated total value of members' holdings, wereProcter & Gamble,General Electric,Pepsi,ExxonMobil,Berkshire Hathaway,IBM,Microsoft,Johnson & Johnson,H. J. Heinz Company, andWm. Wrigley Jr. Company.OpenSecrets identified the top ten members of Congress, and the report named no other members among the 151, savecommittee chairmen SenatorJoseph Lieberman and Representative Berman.[49][50] None of the firms listed above ranked among the top tenDOD contractors in 2008,[51] nor in the top twenty for 2009.[52]
Alan Mollohan,ranking member of theHouse Ethics Committee, resigned from the committee after he himself became the subject of an ethics complaint. Berman had been its senior Democrat from 1997–2003, and on October 5, 2006,Minority LeaderNancy Pelosi re-appointed him to replace Mollohan. Berman served on the subcommittee investigating theHouse's page program in the wake of theMark Foley scandal.[22][53][54] "This is an honor I could have done without."[22]
TheCenter for Public Integrity reported in 2006 that members of the House Ethics Committee and their staffs had taken many privately sponsored trips, about 400 trips from 2000 to mid-2005, at a total expense nearly $1 million. Of these, Democrats took about 80% of the trips at about 70% of the cost. Berman and his staff were at the top of the chart, with trips costing more than $245,000. Berman himself had taken 14 trips at theAspen Institute's expense, including two toChina with Mrs. Berman. Aspen replied that its events for members were like graduate seminars, and did not push any policy agenda. "Gene Smith, Berman's chief of staff, said that the bulk of the congressman's foreign travel can be attributed to his being a senior member on the House Committee on International Relations." Five private groups (Campaign Legal Center,Democracy 21, theLeague of Women Voters,Public Citizen andU.S. PIRG) jointly sent a letter to the ethics committee urging it to ban or restrict such travel.[55][56]
Berman joined Washington, D.C. law firmCovington & Burling as a senior advisor in March 2013.[57] Berman also serves on the Board of Directors ofthe National Democratic Institute.[58] He serves on the board ofThe Washington Institute for Near East Policy,[59] and is an advisory board member of theCounter Extremism Project.[60]
Berman married Janis Gail Schwarz in 1979; they have two daughters, Brinley and Lindsey.[11][12][21][22][37][61]
On top of that, Michael Berman was after votes. He figured if he'd knock off Jack Fenton, another vote for Howard. ... He did it to Jack Fenton, he'd do it to them.
To amend theForeign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 to establish a procedure for authorizing certain acquisitions of foreign intelligence, and for other purpoes (sic)
About 40 peace activists from multiple groups in theSan Fernando Valley gathered in front of Congressman Howard Berman's home in Valley Village on Sat, May 26, 2007. Berman did NOT VOTE on the supplemental Iraq appropriations bill HR2206 that funds the war without timelines for withdrawal. Groups represented included Neighborhood Peace and Justice,Progressive Democrats of America, Progressive Caucus CDP, So. Cal. Grassroots, Valley Democrats United.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)Other panel chiefs who invested in defence firms include Sen. Joseph Lieberman, the Connecticut Independent who presides over the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, and Rep. Howard Berman, the California Democrat who heads the House Foreign Affairs Committee. In all, 151 current members of Congress – more than one-fourth of the total – have invested between 78.7 million dollars and 195.5 million dollars in companies that received defense contracts of at least $5.0 million, according to CRP.
... lawmakers are personally invested in companies reaping billions of dollars from defense contracts.
Congressman Howard Berman, who previously served as the senior member of the Ethics Committee, has agreed to accept my appointment to return temporarily as ranking member.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)The Board of Directors of the Farmworker Justice Fund, Inc. presented the 2000 Farmworker Justice Award to Rep. Howard Berman of California. The presentation was made byDolores Huerta, Secretary-Treasurer of the United Farm Workers, a long time friend of Howard Berman. The award reception was held at the Mott House in Washington, D.C. during the evening of May 24, 2000.
| California Assembly | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of theCalifornia Assembly from the57th district 1973–1974 | Succeeded by Mike Cullen |
| Preceded by | Member of theCalifornia Assembly from the43rd district 1974–1982 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Majority Leader of theCalifornia Assembly 1974–1980 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
| Preceded by | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromCalifornia's 26th congressional district 1983–2003 | Succeeded by David Dreier |
| Preceded by | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromCalifornia's 28th congressional district 2003–2013 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Ranking Member of theHouse Ethics Committee 1997–2003 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Ranking Member of theHouse Ethics Committee 2006–2007 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Chair of theHouse Foreign Affairs Committee 2008–2011 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Ranking Member of theHouse Foreign Affairs Committee 2011–2013 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial) | ||
| Preceded byas Former US Representative | Order of precedence of the United States as Former US Representative | Succeeded byas Former US Representative |
| International | |
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| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
