Representative Howard Berman (Democrat from California) was formally chosen Tuesday as the next chairman of the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee. Berman has been acting head of the committee since former Chairman Tom Lantos (Democrat from California) died one month ago. Democratic lawmakers elected Berman to chair the panel, and that vote was later affirmed by the full House of Representatives. Berman said the most immediate challenge was dissuading Iran from developing nuclear weapons and completing the task of denuclearizing North Korea. He said he hoped to prepare the groundwork for a major overhaul of the U.S. foreign aid program to make it more effective and would work to give Congress a more active role in steering foreign policy. “I'll work very hard as chairman to repair the damage done to America's standing in the world over the past seven years by this administration,” Berman said in a statement. Like Lantos, Berman was a supporter of the Iraq invasion but has since been critical of Iraq policy.
