By Chloe Lister

Congressman Brad Sherman will speak in the junior class meeting fifth period today.

Sherman, a Democrat, represents the 27th Congressional district, which includes the San Fernando Valley cities of Burbank, Calabasas, Hidden Hills and San Fernando as well as the Valley portion of the City of Los Angeles.

“We got to know him a year and a half ago when we were building O’Malley Family Field [the school’s baseball field], and he and his staff were helpful with the Army Corps of Engineers,” President Tom Hudnut said.

Sherman, in his eighth term in office, has served in the United States House of Representatives since 1997.

During his congressional career, Sherman is best known for criticizing the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, commonly referred to as the bailout of the U.S. financial system, and for leading the House revolt against that act. This led the Washington Post to call him “spectacularly unpopular with both the Republican and Democratic leaderships, not to mention K Street [lobbyists].”

Sherman serves on the Committee on Financial Services, in the Capital Markets, Insurance, and Government-Sponsored Enterprises subcom,ittee and the subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunity.

He also serves on the Committee on Foreign Affairs in subcommittees on Terrorism, Nonproliferation and Trade and another on Asia and the Pacific.

“[Sherman is] a frequent guest on the talk shows – ‘Meet The Press’, ‘Face The Nation’, etc. – because he’s one of the really smart people in Congress and he understands things like the federal budget and terrorism,” Hudnut said.