George Miller
Chair of theHouse Education Committee
In office January 3, 2007 – January 3, 2011
Preceded by	Buck McKeon
Succeeded by	John Kline
Chair of theHouse Natural Resources Committee
In office May 4, 1991 – January 3, 1995
Preceded by	Mo Udall
Succeeded by	Don Young
Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromCalifornia
In office January 3, 1975 – January 3, 2015
Preceded by	Jerome Waldie
Succeeded by	Mark DeSaulnier
Constituency	7th district (1975–2013) 11th district (2013–2015)
Personal details
Born	(1945-05-17)May 17, 1945 (age 80) Richmond,California, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Cynthia Caccavo
Children	2
Relatives	George Miller Jr. (father)
Education	Diablo Valley College San Francisco State University (BA) University of California, Davis (JD)
Miller's voice Miller opening aHouse Education Committee hearing on the proposedEmployment Non-Discrimination Act of 2009. Recorded September 23, 2009

George Miller III (born May 17, 1945) is an American politician who served as aU.S. representative fromCalifornia from 1975 to 2015. A member of theDemocratic Party, he represented the state's7th congressional district until redistricting in 2013 and11th congressional district until his retirement. Miller served as Chairman of theHouse Natural Resources Committee from 1991 to 1995 and Chairman of theHouse Education and Labor Committee from 2007 until 2011.

He is unrelated toGary Miller, aRepublican who served in congress alongside him from 1999 until he also retired in 2015.

He was born inRichmond, California, the son ofGeorge Miller Jr., a leader of the liberal wing of the California Democratic Party at the time. He graduated fromDiablo Valley Community College andSan Francisco State University.

After his father died on New Year's Day 1969, Miller ran in a March 1969 special election to succeed him inCalifornia's 7th State Senate district, but RepublicanJohn A. Nejedly defeated him 57% to 42%.^[1]

He then attended theUniversity of California, Davis School of Law (King Hall), where he received hisJuris Doctor. Miller served as legislative assistant toCalifornia State Senate Majority LeaderGeorge Moscone before entering theUnited States House of Representatives.

In 1974, incumbent Democratic U.S. RepresentativeJerome Waldie gave up his seat to make an unsuccessful run forGovernor of California. Miller decided to run for the open seat, which had been renumbered from the14th congressional district to the7th congressional district in a mid-decade redistricting. He won the primary with a plurality of 38%.^[2] In the general election, he defeated Republican Gary Fernandez 56% to 44%,^[3] the lowest winning percentage of his career. He went on to win reelection 18 times and never won with less than 60% of the vote.^[4]

On April 10, 1975, Miller walked out of the House chamber during President Ford'sState of the Union Address when he requested military aid forSouth Vietnam.^[5]

2012

After redistricting, Miller's district was redrawn and renumbered the 11th. He ran against, and defeated, Republican Virginia Fuller in the general election.^[6]

In a 2012 campaign ad, Miller said that the main challenge the U.S. faces is the need “to correct the disparities that exist in our country.”^[7]

According to a 2013 article in theNational Journal, Miller was one of seven members of the113th Congress House of Representatives who tied for most liberal.^[8]

In 2011–12, Miller sponsored 10 bills (placing him at #40 out of 440 House members), none of which were made into law (ranks 18 of 440). He co-sponsored 199 bills (placing him at #138 out of 440), 4 of which were made into law (ranks 17 of 440).^[9]

During Miller's 1974 campaign, he routinely disclosed his donors and expenses, taking advantage of theWatergate scandal that was still in the minds of voters. This helped get him a seat in the House at the age of 29, becoming one of theWatergate Babies. At the time of his retirement, he was one of the last surviving members of the large Democratic freshman class of 1974, and had spent over half of his life in Congress.^[10] Miller has been described as someone who has "proven himself both a liberal lion ...and savvy about working both sides of the aisle.”^[11]

With his father being the former chairman of the state Senate Finance Committee and mentor Phillip Burton being an integral part of liberal politics in the 1970s, Miller has been described as the “heir to a tradition of Bay Area working-class politics.” Miller had one of the most liberal voting records in the House, and brings "a zest for political combat." A review of Miller's career states that, although he has been unsuccessful in his pursuit of top party positions, he has "learned a legislator’s virtues of patience, timing, and creativity."^[12]

Environmental issues

In the House, Miller was a member of the Natural Resources Committee; he was that Committee's chairman from 1991 to 1994. Miller supported efforts to preserve public lands such as the 1994 California Desert Protection Act, which among other things createdDeath Valley National Park andJoshua 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'sBureau of Reclamation manage theCentral Valley Project in order to better protect the fish and wildlife populations of California'sBay-Delta region.^[13] Miller lost his chairmanship whenRepublicanswon control of Congress in 1994. He stayed as the committee's Ranking Member until 2000, and remained on the committee as a member until 2015. Miller was also a member of theCongressional Wildlife Refuge Caucus.

Labor issues

From 2001 to 2006, Miller was the ranking Democrat on theEducation and the Workforce Committee. With that committee's chairman and theirSenate counterparts, Miller helped draft theNo Child Left Behind Act in 2001 and 2002. Miller has focused onpension issues, reinstatingDavis-Bacon Act wage protections forGulf Coast workers in the wake ofHurricane Katrina. In addition, Miller has worked on education issues such as protesting student aid cuts,^[14] increasingNo Child Left Behind Act funding, and investigating theBush administration's hiring ofArmstrong Williams to promote that law. Miller has also been a vocal advocate oflabor andimmigration reform in theCommonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.^[15] In 2007, as chairman of theHouse Education and Labor Committee, Miller sponsored theFair Minimum Wage Act of 2007, which was enacted into law as an amendment to another bill. In 2001, Miller said, "The secret ballot is absolutely necessary in order to ensure that workers are not intimidated into voting for a union they might not otherwise choose." He was an "outspoken critic of the apparel industry record on worker safety in foreign factories, most recently in Bangladesh."^[16]

Education

Miller's biggest defeat was when he lost 424-1^[17] in congress for his amendment to House Resolution 6 of 1994.^[18] His refusal to make provision forhomeschooling caused the national home school community to lobby the whole congress against Miller's amendment^[19] to theImproving America's Schools Act of 1994. Miller sponsored theProtecting Students from Sexual and Violent Predators Act, a bill that would require school districts receiving federal funds to give all employees criminal background checks.^[20] The bill passed the House of Representatives on October 22, 2013.^[20]

Port Chicago disaster

Miller has petitioned to clear the names of the sailors of theWorld War IIPort Chicago disaster in which more than 200 black men werecourt-martialed and 50 convicted ofmutiny for refusing to continue to load ammunition onto warships after a tremendous explosion killed hundreds. For the most part, Miller's efforts failed. By 1999, only three of the sailors convicted of mutiny were still alive. That year, at Miller's behest,PresidentBill Clinton pardoned Freddie Meeks, one of the 50 convicted mutineers.^[21] In addition, Miller wrote the legislation to designate the site of the event as a National Memorial.^[22][23]

Native American gaming

Miller was a supporter ofNative American 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 theLytton 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."^[24] This allowed the Lyttons to open a casino at the cardroom under the terms of theIndian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988. Some members of Congress and the gambling industry called the amendment "underhanded," while other politicians have judged the process to be nothing out of the ordinary.^[25] When Donald Trump protested the issuance of gaming licenses to Native Americans, saying the recipients didn't look like Indians to him, Miller responded:^[26]

"Thank God that's not the test of whether or not people have rights in this country or not – whether or not they pass your 'look' test."

In 2024, Ana Cabrera of MSNBC remarked, "Congressman George Miller of California, who had confronted Trump in 1993...said that was the most irresponsible testimony he had heard in his 40 years in Congress."^[26]

2008 presidential election

Miller, asuperdelegate in the Democratic Party's2008presidential primary, pledged his support toBarack Obama despite the fact that his district voted forHillary Clinton. Miller cited Obama'sgrassroots fundraising campaign, first-place win in theIowa caucus and strong showing in theNew Hampshire primary, leadership style and opposition to theIraq War as reasons for his endorsement. The endorsement was first reported in theContra Costa Times on January 9, 2008.^[27]

Relationship with Nancy Pelosi

Miller has been consideredNancy Pelosi's most trusted confidant, with conservative columnistRobert Novak describing him as "her consigliere, always at her side."^[28] Pelosi receives advice from Miller as well as protection from potential adversaries in the Democratic Caucus. Miller describes her as the leader he has been waiting for 30 years and supported her when the Democrats lost the majority in 2010, saying that the Obama administration did not defend her or her accomplishments. Pelosi also named Miller chairman of theDemocratic Policy Committee, where he had an influential role in preparing the "New Direction" for the 2006 election.^[12]

Their friendship has spanned "over 30 years and many plane trips to Washington from their neighboring California districts," with some colleagues saying that they have become so close that they finish each other's sentences. The New York Times reported that "In the concerns of some Democrats — and the I-told-you-so’s of some Republicans — Mr. Miller represents Mrs. Pelosi’s true liberal soul.”^[11]

SunPower controversy

It was reported that Miller and his son, George Miller IV, a lobbyist, were involved in the controversy surrounding theU.S. Department of Energy awarding a $1.2 billion loan to the strugglingSunPower Corporation.^[29] The loan was awarded hours before the DOE program was set to expire. It was reported that by April 2012, the company's stock had fallen nearly 50% since the loan had been awarded. SunPower paid Miller's son and his lobbying firm US$138,000 to represent them. Miller asserted that he and his son never discuss legislation; his son, however, does boast openly of political connections in Washington.^[29]

Accepting free travel

In January 2012, Miller was cited as one of the members of Congress who had accepted the most free travel the previous year.^[30]

• Committee on Education and Labor (ranking member)
  • As ranking member of the full committee, Miller may serve as anex officio member of all subcommittees of which he is not already a voting member.
  • Subcommittee on Workforce Protections
  • Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions
• United States House Select Committee on Children, Youth, and Families (Chair)^[31]

• Congressional Progressive Caucus
• Congressional Wildlife Refuge Caucus
• International Conservation Caucus
• House Democratic Steering and Policy Committee (Co-Chair for Policy)

Miller owned atownhouse inCapitol Hill, Washington, D.C. for decades, renting rooms to fellow members of the U.S. House, even after some moved to the Senate. His longest-standing tenants wereNancy Pelosi and SenatorsChuck Schumer andDick Durbin.^[32][33] Miller purchased the residence in 1977 and sold it when he retired from the House at the end of2014.^[34] Prior tenants included former RepresentativesMarty Russo,Leon Panetta andSam Gejdenson.^[35]

• George Miller,Employee Free Choice,The Nation, January 19, 2006

• Biography at theBiographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Financial information (federal office) at theFederal Election Commission
• Legislation sponsored at theLibrary of Congress
• Profile atVote Smart
• Appearances onC-SPAN

• 1945 births
• 21st-century United States representatives
• Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from California
• Living people
• Members of Congress who became lobbyists
• Politicians from Richmond, California
• San Francisco State University alumni
• UC Davis School of Law alumni

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