Representative Brad Sherman Contact information

Bradley James Sherman, known as Brad Sherman, was born on October 24, 1954, in Los Angeles, California. He is an American accountant and politician serving as the U.S. representative for California’s 32nd congressional district. A member of the Democratic Party, he first entered Congress in 1997.

Sherman represented California’s 24th congressional district for three terms, California’s 27th congressional district for five terms, and California’s 30th congressional district for five terms. His district includes parts of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County and the eastern part of the Simi Hills in Ventura County.

Sherman was born in Los Angeles, the son of Lane (from the Philadelphia area) and Maurice Hyman Sherman (from Indiana). His parents were both of Russian Jewish descent. He attended Mark Keppel High School and Corona del Mar High School. He received a B.A. in political science from the University of California, Los Angeles, in 1974, and a J.D. from Harvard Law School in 1979. He is a Certified Public Accountant who worked at one of the nations’ Big Four accounting firms.

As part of his work there, he helped represent the Philippine government under Corazon Aquino in a successful effort to seize assets of deposed president Ferdinand Marcos. Sherman was an instructor at Harvard Law School’s International Tax Program.

Sherman served on the California State Board of Equalization from 1991 to 1996. He chaired the board from 1991 to 1995. It was reported that the campaign for the Board of Equalization involved numerous attacks. Claude Parrish, Sherman’s opponent, said that an attorney general candidate declined to endorse Sherman due to a post on the state’s elected tax appeals board. Sherman replied, calling it “one of the most outrageous hit pieces in contemporary California political history”.

Sherman is currently serving his thirteenth term in Congress and has served in the House of Representatives since 1997. Congressman Sherman currently serves on three major House Committees. He is a senior member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, a senior member of the House Financial Services Committee, and a member of the House Science, Space and Technology Committee.

In 2019, Sherman was elected to serve as Chairman of the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Investor Protection, Entrepreneurship and Capital Markets. He previously served as Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Asia Subcommittee.

During his tenure in Congress, Sherman has developed a reputation as a strong advocate for the interests of working families. He has worked to craft and advance priorities such as robust environmental standards, federal aid to education, real healthcare reform, and the protection of Social Security and Medicare.

The Congressman has also supported policies to expand U.S. exports, prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons, and promote a just and effective U.S. foreign policy. A consumer rights advocate, Sherman was among the leaders behind the formation of the Consumer Financial Protection Agency, which protects consumers from financial institutions issuing credit cards and offering costly overdraft protection.

Sherman also protected families’ retirement funds and college savings and put controls on companies which reward corporate CEOs multi-million dollar bonuses for bad performance. Early in his congressional career, while serving on the House Budget Committee in 1997, Congressman Sherman authored an amendment to the annual Budget Resolution providing an additional $700 million for the acquisition of environmentally important lands in FY ‘98. The Sherman Amendment was included in the Joint Budget Resolution and effectuated by a $699 million appropriation.

Sherman also secured $20 million to acquire land and to complete the Backbone Trail through the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area. Congressman Sherman’s public service career includes serving on the California State Board of Equalization from 1991 to 1996. He was Chairman of the Board from 1991 to 1995. As a board member, Sherman led the successful fight to repeal the snack tax, which previously required grocers to differentiate between a cupcake and a muffin, imposing an inconsistent tax burden on Californians for food.

Sherman received a BA from UCLA, where he graduated Summa Cum Laude. Later he received his law degree from Harvard, where he graduated Magna Cum Laude. Sherman then worked as a CPA [inactive], attorney and Certified Tax Law Specialist.

Congressman Sherman is married to Lisa Kaplan Sherman and they have 3 daughters, Molly, Naomi, and Lucy. Congressman Brad Sherman (D-Sherman Oaks) was born and raised in southern California and represents California’s San Fernando Valley.