Message from the Chairman

Howard L. Berman grew up in Los Angeles and attended UCLA and UCLA law school. Upon his graduation, he began his career in public service with a year's work as a VISTA volunteer in Baltimore. From 1967 until 1973, he practiced law in Los Angeles, specializing in labor relations. In 1973, he was elected to the California State Assembly, where he served until 1982, when he was elected to Congress.

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. In 1982, Berman was elected to Congress where he was named to the Foreign Affairs and Judiciary Committees.

From 1991-94, Berman served as Chairman of International Operations subcommittee, and in that capacity, took the lead in writing a number of major pieces of legislation — including two State Department authorization bills – and shepherding them through the legislative process. From 1995-98, he served as the senior Democrat on the Asia and Pacific subcommittee.

Over the years, Berman has taken a strong interest in strengthening the vital U.S.-Israel relationship and preventing the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and the means to deliver them. He has also been involved in a wide range of other foreign policy initiatives, from legislating the first sanctions on apartheid South Africa, to strengthening our public diplomacy programs, to promoting people-to-people and track-two diplomacy in regions of conflict.

Following his appointment as Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee in March 2008, Berman negotiated a five-year, $50 billion reauthorization of our global HIV/AIDS programs, authored legislation that removed Nelson Mandela and other members of the African National Congress from the U.S. terrorism list, and passed a bill to strengthen U.S. assistance to Israel.

Berman is particularly well-known for his ability to form bipartisan coalitions. Together with the late Rep. 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.

"There are few House members who have made such an imprint on legislation in so many areas as Howard Berman," says 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."

Chairman Berman and his wife, Janis Gail Berman, have two daughters, Brinley and Lindsey.

Howard L. Berman