Harman, Jane, 1936-

Legislative aide; White House attorney; Lawyer; Legislator.

Born 28 Jun 1945, Jane Harman was raised in Los Angeles. She graduated from Smith College in 1966 and Harvard Law School in 1969. She served as Legislative Director to U.S. Senator John Tunney, a California Democrat, and then worked as Chief Counsel and Staff Director to the Senate Judiciary Committee on Constitutional Rights. In the late 1970s, she served as Deputy Secretary to the White House Cabinet and Special Counsel to the Department of Defense. Later she went into corporate law practice and served as a director of Harman International Industries, a Fortune 500 manufacturer of hi-fidelity equipment. Since 1993, she has represented California's South Bay in the U.S. House of Representatives. She sits on the House National Security and the Select Permanent Intelligence Committees, using her position to fight for important defense programs. She has also worked to reduce the federal deficit and to reform Congress, supporting term limits for election and applying these limits to Congress members and Committee chairs. She is a supporter of "the war on crime," encouraging the "three strikes" measure and the death penalty. As a private lawyer and as a legislator, she has consistently fought for women's rights, cosponsoring the Freedom of Choice Act and playing a lead role in investigations of sexual misconduct in the military, roles for women in combat, and access to abortions for military women and their dependents. She resides in Rolling Hills, California with her husband Sidney Harman, chairman and CEO of Harman industries.

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