George Miller (politician)

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George Miller
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California's 7th district
Incumbent
Assumed office  January 14, 1975
Preceded by	Jerome R. Waldie
Born	May 17, 1945 (1945-05-17) (age 63) Richmond, California
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Cynthia Caccavo Miller
Residence	Martinez, California
Religion	Roman Catholic

George Miller III (born May 17, 1945) is an American politician who has been a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives since 1975, representing California's 7th congressional district (map).

The son of State Senator George Miller, Jr., he was born in Richmond, California. He was educated at San Francisco State University and the University of California, Davis law school, after which he was admitted as an Attorney and served as legislative assistant to California Senate majority leader George Moscone before entering the House. Since 2007, Miller has served as chairman of the Education and Labor Committee, formerly known as the Education and the Workforce Committee.

[edit] Environmental issues

In the House, Miller has been a member of the Natural Resources Committee; he was that Committee's chairman from 1991 to 1994. Miller has supported efforts to preserve public lands such as the 1994 California Desert Protection Act, which among other things created Death Valley National Park and Joshua Tree National Park. In addition, Miller was the chief sponsor of the Central Valley Project Improvement Act of 1992, which mandated that the federal government's Bureau of Reclamation manage the Central Valley Project in order to better protect the fish and wildlife populations of California's Bay-Delta region.^[1] Miller lost his chairmanship when Republicans won control of Congress in 1994. He stayed as the committee's Ranking Member until 2000, and remains on the committee. Miller is also a member of the Congressional Wildlife Refuge Caucus.

[edit] Education and labor issues

From 2001 to 2006, Miller was the ranking Democrat on the Education and the Workforce Committee. With that committee's chairman, and their Senate counterparts, Miller helped draft the No Child Left Behind education law in 2001 and 2002. Miller has focused on pension issues, reinstating Davis-Bacon Act wage protections for Gulf Coast workers in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. In addition, Miller has worked on education issues such as protesting student aid cuts,^[2], increasing No Child Left Behind funding, and investigating the Bush administration's hiring of Armstrong Williams to promote that law. Miller has also been a vocal advocate of labor and immigration reform in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.^[3]. In 2007, as chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, Miller sponsored the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007, which was enacted into law as an amendment to another bill.

[edit] Port Chicago disaster

Miller has petitioned to clear the names of the sailors of the World War II Port Chicago disaster in which more than 200 black men were court-martialed and 50 convicted of mutiny for refusing to continue to load ammunition onto warships after a tremendous explosion killed hundreds. For the most part, Miller's efforts failed, and fewer than four of the sailors convicted of mutiny are still alive. However, in 1999, during a flurry of pardons signed as he left office, President Bill Clinton pardoned Freddie Meeks, one of the 50 "mutineers".^[4] In addition, Miller wrote the legislation to designate the site of the event as a National Memorial.^[5][6]

[edit] Darfur

Miller recently went on a bipartisan trip to the Sudanese region of Darfur where there is an ongoing genocide. He advocates for U.N. intervention into the situation.^[7]

[edit] Indian gaming

Miller is a supporter of Indian gaming. In 2000, as ranking member of the House Resource Committee, Miller inserted an amendment to the Omnibus Indian Advancement Act that took an existing cardroom into federal trust for the Lytton Band of Pomo Indians. The amendment made the land acquisition retroactive to 1987, stating that "[s]uch land shall be deemed to have been held in trust and part of the reservation of the Rancheria prior to October 17, 1988."^[8]. This allowed the Lyttons to open a casino at the cardroom under the terms of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988. Some members of Congress and the gambling industry have called the amendment "underhanded," while other politicians have called the maneuver nothing out of the ordinary^[9].

[edit] 2008 presidential election

Miller is a superdelegate in the Democratic Party's 2008 presidential primary. He has pledged support for Barack Obama, despite the fact that his district voted for Hillary Clinton. Miller cited Obama's grassroots fundraising campaign, first-place win the Iowa caucus and strong showing in the New Hampshire primary, leadership style and opposition to the Iraq War as reasons for his endorsement. The endorsement was first reported in the Contra Costa Times on January 9, 2007.^[10]

[edit] Committee assignments

• Education and Labor Committee (Chairman)
• Natural Resources Committee
  • Subcommittee on Water and Power
• Chairman, House Democratic Policy Committee

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• U.S. Representative George Miller official House site
• George Miller (politician) at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Federal Election Commission — George Miller campaign finance reports and data
• On the Issues — George Miller issue positions and quotes
• OpenSecrets.org — George Miller campaign contributions
• Project Vote Smart — Representative George Miller (CA) profile
• SourceWatch Congresspedia — George Miller profile
• Washington Post — Congress Votes Database: George Miller voting record
• Employee Free Choice George Miller, The Nation, January 19, 2006