Ami Bera

Ami Bera
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California's 7th district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 3, 2013
Preceded by	Dan Lungren
Personal details
Born	(1965-03-02) March 2, 1965 Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Janine Bera
Children	1
Alma mater	University of California, Irvine
Religion	Unitarian Universalism[1]
Website	House website Campaign website

Amerish Babulal "Ami" Bera (born March 2, 1965) is an American physician who has been the U.S. Representative for California's 7th congressional district since 2013. He is a member of the Democratic Party. Bera was re-elected in both 2014 and 2016 in very competitive races.^[2][3][4] Bera is the only Unitarian Universalist in Congress.^[5]

Early life, education, and career

Bera's father, Babulal Bera, immigrated to the United States from Rajkot (the fourth-largest city in the Indian state of Gujarat) in 1958.^[6][7] Two years later, Babulal Bera was joined by his wife, Kanta.^[8] Ami Bera was born in Los Angeles and raised in the neighboring Orange County city of La Palma.^[9]

He has a bachelor's degree in biological sciences from the University of California at Irvine, also earning his Doctor of Medicine degree there in 1991.^[9][10] He served as associate dean for admissions at the UC Davis School of Medicine and later served as the chief medical officer for the County of Sacramento.^[11]

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

2010

Bera at an October 2010 rally for Jerry Brown

Bera challenged three-term Republican incumbent Dan Lungren in the general election for California's 3rd congressional district. Also running were American Independent Party nominee Jerry Leidecker, Peace and Freedom Party nominee Mike Roskey, and Libertarian Douglas Art Tuma. He ran unopposed for the Democratic nomination in California's 3rd congressional district.^[12] He raised more money than incumbent Dan Lungren for the five quarters through mid-2010,^[13][14] making him the only Democratic challenger with more cash than a sitting Republican member of the House.^[15] Bera was one of 17 candidates the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee targeted to take over Republican-held or open seats in 2010.^[16]

Lungren was the only incumbent Republican whose race was rated as a "tossup" by CQ Politics, but was later rated back to "Lean GOP" in the final days before the election;^[17] and the district was considered competitive by both parties. Polling by the liberal website Daily Kos in September 2010 showed Lungren leading Bera, 46%–38%.^[18][19] Bera cited health care, education and economic recovery among his top legislative priorities. In November, Lungren won re-election, defeating Bera 51%–43%.^[20]

2012

Bera announced a rematch against Lungren in 2012. The district had been renumbered as the 7th District, and made slightly friendlier to Democrats in redistricting.

On Tuesday, November 13, 2012, Bera attended freshman orientation as congressman-elect while votes were still being counted.^[3] Candidates in these tight races sometimes attend the orientation by the Committee on House Administration, which was overseen by Bera's opponent, Dan Lungren.^[21]

On November 15, 2012, the AP called the race for Bera, who won 51%–49%.^[22][23]

In May 2016, Babulal Bera, Ami Bera's father, pleaded guilty to two felony counts of election fraud related to the 2010 and 2012 elections,^[24] and was convicted of illegally funneling $250,000 to Bera's campaigns between 2010 and 2012.^[25] In August 2016, he was sentenced to one year and one day in federal prison.^[26]

2014

Bera ran for re-election in 2014, facing former Republican congressman Doug Ose, who had represented what was then the 3rd from 1999 to 2005, in the general election.^[27] The Rothenberg Political Report rated the 7th district "Lean Democratic," but The Sacramento Bee reported that Bera was "viewed by both parties as one of the most vulnerable Democrats in the country."^[2][3] Bera was a member of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee's Frontline program, designed to support vulnerable candidates.^[28] In June 2014, Politico reported that the DCCC planned to support Bera with $1.7 million in ads throughout fall 2014, and the House Majority PAC, a political action committee designed to support Democratic candidates, reserved $200,000 for late-election television ads.^[29]

The Hill reported that Bera's campaign received donations from parents of another Democratic candidate, Kevin Strouse, only to have Bera's parents then donate a similar amount to Strouse's campaign. According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, "The donations appear legal, campaign finance experts say, though two said any agreement among the parents to trade donations could be viewed as an attempted end run around contribution limits."^[30][31][30] In May 2016, Bera's father, Babulal, pleaded guilty to two felony counts of elections fraud.^[24]

No Labels co-founder and former George W. Bush advisor Mark McKinnon said of Bera, "He is the most important member of our Problem Solvers – of the entire group. He stepped up immediately as a freshman to take a leadership position. He was out early advocating on our big issues like No Budget, No Pay.”^[32]

In response to a poll, from the American Sikh Committee to Evaluate Congressional Candidates, Bera did not answer two questions relating to the Indian government's part in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. Instead, he noted that in 2005, the former Indian Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, had publicly apologized to the Sikh community for the government's role. Bera also stated that, while it was a tragedy, he was more focused on the treatment of Sikhs in the U.S. and could not dictate how the Indian government should approach the matter.^[33] In response, some members of the Sikh-American community publicly withdrew their support for Bera. But with the majority of the Sikh-American population coming from outside of Bera's district, the advocates acknowledged that they were unlikely to affect the outcome of the race.^[33]

Bera won re-election, receiving 50.4% of the vote to Ose's 49.6%. In May 2016, Ose was present at the proceedings against Bera's father, Babulal, to "observe justice".^[24][30]

2016

Bera ran for re-election in 2016. He faced Republican Scott Jones, the sheriff of Sacramento County, in the general election.^[34] Bera defeated Jones in the general election, winning 51% of the vote to Jones' 49%. The margin of victory was 4,802 votes.^[35]

Tenure

In an interview covered in the Elk Grove Citizen, Bera said his first year in Congress "was about being focused here in the district but also building my reputation in Washington, D.C."^[36]

In October 2013, Bera announced that he would give up his federal pay for the duration of the government shutdown. He also announced that in response to sequester cuts, he would donate 8.2% of his check each month to local organizations impacted by sequester cuts.^[37]

In May 2013, Bera voted against repeal of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.^[38][39]

Bera voted on Nov. 19, 2015, for HR 4038, legislation that would effectively halt the resettlement of refugees from Syria and Iraq to the United States.^[40]

Bera plagiarized corporate talking points in an editorial he wrote in support of his vote for the TPA (fast track authority for the Trans Pacific Partnership). He later wrote an apology for copying the corporate line too closely.^[41]

In January 2016, the Elk Grove-South County Democratic Club, Bera's home club, voted against endorsing him, citing concerns with Bera's record on trade and Syrian refugees.^[42]

According to the Sacramento Bee, "for years [Bera] has engaged in a complex series of campaign donations involving his parents and the families of other congressional candidates." Bera and his family have written checks to other Democrats, almost always for the maximum amount allowed under federal law, and those candidates or their families in turn have given similar amounts to Bera. The contributions usually occur within days of one another. This form of 'donor swapping' is legal under current law.^[43]

Committee assignments

• Committee on Foreign Affairs
  • Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, and Human Rights
  • Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific
• Committee on Science, Space and Technology
  • Subcommittee on Environment
  • Subcommittee on Space

Personal life

Bera and his wife, Janine Bera, have one child.^[9] They reside in Elk Grove, California.^[44]

Electoral history

See also

• Physicians in the United States Congress

References

External links

• Congressman Ami Bera official U.S. House site
• Ami Bera for Congress
• Ami Bera at Ballotpedia
• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Profile at Project Vote Smart
• Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission
• Legislation sponsored at The Library of Congress