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Congressman Berman speaks at the groundbreaking for the 405 freeway northbound carpool lane as Los Angeles Mayor Villaraigosa and California Governor Schwarzenegger look on. The groundbreaking is the culmination of years of work by Rep. Berman, who obtained significant federal funding for this project, which is critical to relieving congestion on the 405.
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Issue Areas & Legislative Accomplishments
Economy & Jobs |
Environment & Energy | Health Care | Housing | Foreign Affairs | Education |Retirement Security | Veterans | Crime |Transportation |Fighting Government Waste and Corruption
Economy & Jobs
- New infrastructure projects, including public transit and other efforts to reduce traffic and pollution
- Energy efficiency investments including renewable energy and weatherization
- Maintaining services of state teachers, police officers, and health care workers.
- Cosponsored the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, a law to combat wage discrimination on the basis of sex, race, or age.
- Working to strengthen intellectual property laws and protect jobs in the entertainment and hi-tech industries so important to the Southern California economy.
- Cosponsored the Performance Rights Act, to ensure musicians fair compensation for radio broadcasts of their work.
- Continued the fight against international copyright piracy.
- Was a key negotiator in securing passage of the landmark Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), which protects copy and access protection technologies against circumvention and creates a more secure environment for copyrighted works on the Internet.
- Led the fight in Congress for disaster relief funds after the Northridge earthquake.
- Helped Valley defense firms get tens of millions of dollars to continue vital programs and help preserve high quality jobs.
- Wrote legislation that led to the creation of Calstart, a public-private consortium dedicated to the development of advanced transportation technologies.
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Environment and Energy
- Supported the American Clean Energy and Security Act, a landmark bill to increase green jobs, reduce American dependency on foreign oil, and fight global warming through a cap-and-trade system and a strong renewable energy standard. Collaborated with Chairman Waxman in authoring the bill’s international affairs provisions to provide sufficient funding for international adaptation; reduce emissions from deforestation; deploy clean technology abroad; and coordinate activities of oversight agencies to minimize duplication and wasteful spending.
- Fought to strengthen and preserve the Endangered Species Act and cosponsored legislation to protect species from global warming, including polar bears, migratory birds, gray wolves, and sea otters.
- Supported “Cash-for-clunkers” legislation to allow people to trade in gas-guzzling vehicles and receive a tax credit to buy energy-efficient new vehicles.
- Supported the Omnibus Public Land Management Act, legislation to add millions of acres to federally-protected lands, including parts of the San Gabriel Mountains, the Eastern Sierra, and Sequoia and Kings Canyon Wilderness.
- Fought against an amendment to allow loaded guns in national parks.
- Repeatedly voted against oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR).
- Cosponsored the National Forest Roadless Area Conservation Act to ensure protection of wild forests by reinstating the Roadless Rule.
- Obtained federal funding in 2004 and 2005 for the Sun Valley Watershed, a project that will address the chronic flooding in the area and also create recreational spaces, aesthetics, and wildlife habitat.
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Health Care
![America's Affordable Health Choices Act - Quality Affordable Health Care](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20090831051025im_/http://www.house.gov/berman/images/healthcare_reform.jpg)
**Click here for resources on the health care reform bill currently before Congress.
We spend more per capita on health services than any other nation in the world, and yet we still have over 46 million uninsured.
- Supported President Obama’s FY 2010 budget, which includes a $634 billion reserve fund over ten years for a major healthcare overhaul, with options for employer coverage, private insurance, or a public plan option.
- Cosponsor of H.R. 676, the United States National Health Care Act, which would provide universal healthcare coverage through a single-payer national health plan.
- Supported expansion of State Children’s Health Insurance Program to cover low-income children in California and nationwide.
- Supported Paul Wellstone Mental Health and Addition Equity Act, “mental health parity” which requires that all health plans offer the same treatment benefits for mental health coverage as they do for other physical illnesses.
- Supported the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act, legislation to overturn Bush Administration cuts to Medicare physician payments and to eliminate Medicare caps on reimbursement for outpatient therapy such as physical and rehabilitative therapy.
- Supported research funding increases for cancer; HIV/ AIDS, psoriasis; diabetes; multiple sclerosis; lupus; autism; and other diseases and disorders.
- Wrote an amendment that prevented Kaiser Permanente from closing the Panorama City hospital after the Northridge Earthquake.
- Authored legislation to restore legal remedies for Americans with employer-provided health benefits under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).
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Housing
- Cosponsor of the Helping Families Save their Homes Act, a plan to help families avoid foreclosure and stay in their homes by allowing bankruptcy judges to write down mortgages to their current market value.
- Supported housing provisions in President Obama’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to expand an $8,000 Homebuyer Tax Credit for people purchasing a new home; increase neighborhood stabilization funds to slow the spread of foreclosures and falling home prices; expand access and job-creating improvements to public housing; and support emergency shelters that provide housing and food to area homeless.
- Supported American Housing Rescue and Foreclosure Prevention Act to help cities buy up foreclosed properties that drive down housing prices; expand veteran housing programs; provide tax credits to encourage new home buyers; and increase affordable rental housing.
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Foreign Affairs
Congressman Berman serves as Chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs. For more detailed information, please visit the committee website.
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Education
- Supported the GIVE Act, landmark public service legislation o triple AmeriCorps volunteers and create new Veterans, Education, Environment, and Disaster volunteer corps programs as well as opportunities for middle and high school students to become involved in service.
- Supported President Obama’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which provides California with:
- $1.2 billion in additional Title I funding for the education of low-income children, including an estimated $398 million for Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD)
- $1.2 billion in additional funding for the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), including an estimated $168 million for LAUSD
- An increase in funding for California’s estimated 774,000 college students receiving Pell Grants
- $6 billion for a state fiscal stabilization fund to keep kids’ teachers in classrooms and pay for school infrastructure improvement projects.
- Increases Pell grants
- Simplifies the Free Application for Federal Student Aid for low-income students
- Requires colleges to disclose and rein in price increases
- Improves transparency and accountability in college loans
- Increases funding for college students to join teaching or other public service careers.
- Cosponsored the Keep our PACT Act, legislation that would require Congress to fulfill its commitment to education by fully funding both Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (No Child Left Behind) and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).
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Retirement Security
- Reintroduced the Social Security Fairness Act, H.R. 235, legislation that would repeal the Government Pension Offset (GPO) and the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) so that teachers, firefighters, police officers, and other public employees are not penalized when claiming Social Security benefits [link to press release]
- Supported the Worker, Retiree, and Employer Recovery Act to ensure that seniors’ retirement savings can weather the storm of the economic crisis.
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Veterans
- Founded the San Fernando Valley Veterans Day Parade, in which now approximately 60 veterans groups and thousands of California residents participate each year
- Supported the GI Bill of Rights for the 21st Century, legislation that provides for full, four-year college scholarships for Iraq and Afghanistan veterans and fully restores the educational benefits that were available after World War II.
- Supported preserving land at the Westside VA facility for veterans’ use.
- Introduced the “Assure our Veterans and Surviving Spouses a Life in Dignity Act” to raise earned income limits to make more veterans and surviving spouses eligible for the VA’s Improved Pension.
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Crime
- Supported President Obama’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which includes California grants to support local law enforcement efforts; crime victim compensation assistance; and efforts to investigate and prosecute internet crimes against children and violence against women.
- Supported the COPS Improvement Act of 2009, continuing Berman’s advocacy for the Clinton-era “Cops on the Beat program” that brought more police officers to the Valley.
- Supported the “Brady bill” ban on assault weapons and many other bills to keep guns out of the hands of criminals.
- Passed an amendment to create the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program to repay L.A. County and other state and local governments for the costs of incarcerating illegal aliens convicted of crimes.
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Transportation
- Worked to obtain federal funding for the 405 freeway northbound carpool lane project, which broke ground in May 2009.
- Sought funding for Metrolink’s Sealed Corridor Program, touted as the most aggressive grade-crossing safely plan in the country.
- Backed the creation of the Orange line dedicated busway and addressed concerns about pedestrian safety within the route’s immediate vicinity.
- Led the fight to limit aircraft noise at Burbank Airport.
- Strongly supported funding for North Hollywood subway line.
- Secured millions of dollars for transportation projects in the 2005 five-year reauthorization of the federal surface transportation bill.
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Fighting Government Waste and Corruption
- Authored False Claims Act Amendments which have saved taxpayers over $20 billion since 1986 through whistleblower lawsuits.
- Was an original cosponsor of the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act, which tightened gift and travel rules and toughened public disclosure of lobbying activities, mandated public disclosure of earmark sponsorship, extended the lobbying ban to two years, and prohibited cronyism and contracting abuses.
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