George Miller

George Miller III, a Democrat, has represented the 7th District of California in the U.S. House of Representatives since 1975.

Iraq War
Miller voted against the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002 that started the Iraq War.

Environmental record
For more information on environmental legislation, see the Energy and Environment Policy Portal

Reparations for Japanese Latin Americans
Miller cosponsored The Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Latin Americans of Japanese Descent Act in the 110th Congress which would establish a commission that would determine the facts and circumstances involving the relocation, internment and deportation of Japanese Latin Americans.

San Pablo Casino
Until recently, gambling in California had been restricted to "cardrooms" in which the "house" or room operator has no stake in the outcome, and on Indian reservations. In 2000, Miller inserted an amendment into a congressional appropriations bill which took an existing cardroom into federal trust for the Lytton Band of Pomo Indians. Having the land in trust gave the Lyttons the right to turn the cardroom into a full-fledged casino in San Pablo. Miller has said that he expected a small casino to be built, but the Lyttons eventually revealed plans to build a casino with 5,000 slot machines. After community uproar ensued over the size of the new casino, Miller wrote to state legislators in 2005 that this larger casino would be "inappropriately sized for the local community."

Employee Free Choice Act
On February 5, 2007, Miller introduced the Employee Free Choice Act, which would make it easier for workers to unionize. The bill passed the House but stalled in the Senate. All votes on the bill were divided almost entirely along party lines.

Minimum wage
On January 5, 2007, Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.), chair of the House Committee on Education and Labor, introduced [H.R. 2], a bill which would amend the 1938 Fair Labor Standards Act to increase the federal minimum wage from $5.15 to $7.25 in three steps over a period of twenty-six months. On January 10, the bill passed 315-116. All 233 House Democrats supported the measure, along with 82 Republicans.

College Cost Reduction Act of 2007
The College Cost Reduction Act of 2007 (H.R.2669), sponsored by House Committee on Education and Labor Chairman George Miller (D-Calif.), was introduced on June 12, 2007. If passed, the bill would increase college financial aid by $18 billion over the next five years. On June 13, 2007 the bill was approved 30 to 16 by the House Education and Labor Committee, and was expected to be voted on in July.

Biography
The son of prominent State Senator George Miller, Jr. the younger Miller was born May 17, 1945 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.

As a member of the House Committee on Resources, Miller has focused on environmental issues. He was the 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 Sacramento River Delta region. 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 helped draft President Bush's No Child Left Behind education law in 2001 and 2002. He 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,, increasing No Child Left Behind funding, and investigating the Bush Administration's hiring of Armstrong Williams to promote that law.

2006 elections
In 2006, Libertarian Camden McConnell announced his intention to challenge Miller in his November 2006 bid for reelection. (See U.S. congressional elections in 2006) Miller retained his seat.

Money in Politics
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Committees in the 110th Congress (2007-2008)

 * House Committee on Education and Labor - Chair
 * House Committee on Natural Resources
 * Subcommittee on Water & Power

Committee assignments in the 109th Congress (2005-2006)

 * House Committee on Education and the Workforce - Ranking Minority Member
 * House Committee on Resources
 * Subcommittee on Water and Power

Twitter
 George Miller posts on Twitter at http://twitter.com/askgeorge/

Latest posts: http://twitter.com/statuses/user_timeline/7356562.rss|title=none| max=3| short See all the members of Congress who Twitter

External resources

 * Official Website
 * Open Secrets - 2006 congressional races database
 * George Miller's wiki - hosted by Wikia.com

Local blogs and discussion sites

 * Tiger Beat: Music, Culture, and Politics.

External articles

 * John Amato, "(D) George Miller shows us how it’s done," Crooks and Liars, March 1, 2007.