Howard Berman
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Howard Lawrence Berman (born April 15 1941), an American politician, 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 1972 to 1982 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, banning soft money donations to national political parties, tax cuts supported by the Republican Party, drilling in ANWR, and welfare reform 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). 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. 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. Notably, Berman voted to authorize military force in Iraq in both 1991 and 2003, a position that has hurt his standing among many liberals in his district. 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."
In 2000, Berman received the First Annual Farmworker Justice Award.[link] He is an endorser of the Genocide Intervention Network, pressing for more U.S. action on the genocide in Darfur.
Contact
Honorable Howard L. Berman2221 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515
(202) 225-4695
External links
- [Official U.S. House website]
- [2004 campaign finance data]
- [Americans for Better Immigration]
- [record maintained by the Washington Post]
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