Two congressional committee chairmen from California endorsed Barack Obama today. In an afternoon press release, the Obama campaign announced the support of House Oversight committe chairman Henry Waxman and Foreign Affairs committee chairman Howard Berman.

Both Waxman and Berman represent Los Angeles-area districts, which include large Jewish populations. The two congressmen have been political allies since their college days at UCLA and have been major players in California politics since the early 1970s.