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Gary Miller
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California's 42nd district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 3, 2003
Preceded by	Joe Baca
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California's 41st district
In office January 3, 1999 – January 3, 2003
Preceded by	Jay Kim
Succeeded by	Jerry Lewis
Member of the California State Assembly from the 60th district
In office 1995–1998
Preceded by	Paul Horcher
Succeeded by	Bob Pacheco
Personal details
Born	(1948-10-16) October 16, 1948 (age 76) Huntsville, Arkansas, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Cathy Miller
Residence(s)	Diamond Bar, California, U.S.
Alma mater	Mt. San Antonio College
Occupation	Real estate executive
Military service
Branch/service	United States Army
Years of service	Early September – October 1967

Gary Gene Miller (born October 16, 1948) is the U.S. Representative for California's 42nd congressional district, and previously the 41st, serving since 2003. He is a member of the Republican Party.

Early life, education and career

Miller was born in Huntsville, Arkansas, attended Mount San Antonio College in Walnut, California, and served briefly in the United States Army in 1967.

He is a businessman who founded several companies bearing his name, including G. Miller Development, G. Miller Masonry, and G. Miller Framing. At the age of 20, he began his first company, which built single-family and custom homes. His business expanded to the development of planned communities. Miller remains active in real estate through his development company.

Miller and his wife, Cathy, have three sons and one daughter.

Miller was appointed to the Diamond Bar, California Municipal Advisory Council in 1988. In 1989, he was elected to the city's first council that helped incorporate the city. He served as mayor in 1992. He ran and lost for state Senate in 1990 and 1994.

In 1995, Miller won a special election for a seat in the California State Assembly. He was elected to the U.S. House in 1998, defeating incumbent Republican and fellow Diamond Bar resident Jay Kim in the primary and then Democrat Eileen Ansari in the general election with 53 percent. He won again in 2000 with 59 percent of the vote and was re-elected in 2002 with 68 percent of the vote. In 2004, he defeated Democrat Lewis Myers with 71.5% of the vote per OCvote.com, the official county elections office website. Similarly, he won in 2008 with 63.8% of the vote, defeating Democrat Ed Chau.

Political positions

In 2005, Miller co-sponsored The Border Protection, Antiterrorism, and Illegal Immigration Control Act of 2005 (H.R. 4437) with representative Jim Sensenbrenner. In 2006, after widespread demonstrations by immigrants, Miller wrote: "Too bad their protest didn't include giving up government-paid social services — because a day without illegal aliens would be a boon to U.S. taxpayers."

Miller has backed the development of a rail link between Ontario, California and Anaheim, part of a proposed 269-mile (433 km) line between Orange County and Las Vegas. "Once completed, there would be no need for an airport in south Orange County, and the Inland Empire will reap the economic benefits as a true transportation hub," Miller said.

Miller, a history buff, become involved in the preservation of Civil War battlefields, after he played a bit part in the 2003 movie Gods and Generals.

Miller has signed the Taxpayer Protection Pledge.

Committee assignments

• Committee on Financial Services
  • Subcommittee on Insurance, Housing and Community Opportunity
  • Subcommittee on International Monetary Policy and Trade (Chairman)
• Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
  • Subcommittee on Highways and Transit
  • Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials
  • Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment

Caucus membership

• Chairman of the Building a Better America Caucus
• Republican Study Committee
• Tea Party Caucus

Sheltering profits of real estate sales

2002

Miller sold 165 acres (0.67 km) to the city of Monrovia in 2002, making profit of more than $10 million. Normally, he would have had to pay state and federal taxes of up to 31% on that profit.

Instead, Miller told the Internal Revenue Service and the state of California that Monrovia had forced him to sell the property under threat of eminent domain. That allowed him to shelter the profits from capital gains taxes for more than two years before he had to reinvest the money.

But Monrovia officials say that Miller sold the land willingly and that they didn't threaten to force him to sell. A videotape of a February 2000 City Council meeting shows Miller asking city officials four times to buy his land. Another, earlier videotape confirmed Miller's position that the city had refused to let him develop the land and threatened "condemnation" of his property for public use. Although all early drafts of Monrovia's sales contract with Miller included the phrase "friendly condemnation," it was deleted when the final deal was made. Miller and his wife signed an amendment to the escrow instructions on August 1, 2002, saying, "condemnation deleted," or no longer in effect.

2005 and 2006

Miller took an exemption again in 2005 when he sold the 10 lots to the city of Fontana and again in 2006 when he sold a building to Fontana, claiming both were compulsory sales. The lots and building had been purchased in late 2004 with proceeds from the Monrovia sale. Such exemptions give him another two years after each sale to reinvest the funds without paying capital gains taxes.

In each of those cases, those involved in the purchases say eminent domain was neither used nor threatened. On January 31, 2007, the Los Angeles Times reported that Miller's transactions are being investigated by the FBI.

Response

Miller declined to comment on the sales. The FBI also declined to comment. As of 2008, no investigation or legal action could be confirmed.

2005 profits from dealings with business partner and federal transportation bill

As a member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Miller pushed for a provision in the 2005 transportation bill that allowed the city of Rialto to close its airport, the first time an act of Congress has ever shuttered an airport. It is a power the Federal Aviation Administration traditionally has had sole authority to exercise. The closing of the airport paved the way for Lewis Operating, a business partner and campaign contributor, to win a multimillion dollar contract from the city to develop the airport land and build a planned community consisting of 2,500 homes, parks and 80 acres (320,000 m) of retail space on the former airport and adjacent land.

Miller also helped secure $1.28 million in that bill for street improvements in front of a planned housing and retail center, including a Target store that he co-owned with Lewis Operating.

Miller took out nearly $7.5 million in promissory notes in 2004 from Lewis Operating, which he used to purchase land from the company. In 2005, he sold some of that land to a part of the company, making a profit of between $1.1 million and $6 million, according to his financial disclosure report (which requires reporting a dollar range, not an exact dollar figure). The majority of the parcels that Miller bought are about two miles (3 km) from the airport.

House Rules explicitly state that before entering into loans from an entity other than a financial institution, members of Congress and staff must submit the terms of the loans for review and a determination from the ethics committee on whether the loan is acceptable under the gift rule. It is not clear if Miller complied with this requirement.

December 2006 allegations

In December 2006, the Los Angeles Times reported that Miller had used "congressional muscle" for "personal business matters." This included having congressional staff do Miller's personal errands, collecting nearly $25,000 a year in rent from his campaign committee, using the offices of his real estate development firm as his campaign office, and ordering an aide to find a way to get a city business-friendly council member on the National Park Board who was involved in a city purchase of Miller's property. The Times noted that when the campaign office was visited just prior to the November 2006 election, there was no evidence of campaign activity.

May 2010 allegations

In May 2010, the FOX affiliate MyFOXLA interviewed Miller over claims led by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) that he "directed millions of dollars in government money to non-profits headed by one of his campaign contributor, developer Jeffrey Burum." Burum, his company, and his wife donated more than $30,000 to Miller's campaign for what CREW alleges is over a million dollars in congressional earmarks kicked back to Burum's non-profit Hope Through Housing Foundation. A request has been made to the San Bernardino County District Attorney's office to investigate.

Military record

In June 2010 facts came to surface and were made that Miller inflated his military service, stating that he had served from 1967–1968 and implying he served in Vietnam when he only spent 7 weeks in boot camp and then was discharged. The Harper's Magazine article recounting these facts also included this quote from Miller spokeswoman Jessica L. Baker: "Congressman Miller volunteered to the U.S. Army and was Honorably Discharged due to medical reasons within a matter of months." Baker's statement has since been questioned because it is impossible to receive an honorable discharge due to medical reasons and according to government records Miller only served a month.

Controversy with anti-Muslim rallies

In February 2011, Congressman Miller along with Congressman Ed Royce attracted international media attention for speaking in support of an anti-Muslim rally held in Orange County, California (inside his home district). Protesters at the rally lined up to intimidate and harass Muslims as they entered a dinner event to raise money for women's shelters. Congressman Miller said of the rally participants, "That's the only reason I'm here today, is to give you a flag and to say 'I'm proud of you.' I'm proud of what you're doing. . . . and let's not let people who disagree with America destroy it."

Abduction and recovery of grandchildren

On November 19, 2007, three of Miller's grandsons, Brian (8) and twins Evan and Christian (6), were abducted by their estranged mother, Jennifer Lopez DeJongh, from their Diamond Bar home. DeJongh was divorced from Miller's son, and the boy's father, Brian Miller, and the two were in dispute over certain custodial rights regarding medical and educational decisions for the children, though at the time Brian had sole custody. In August 2011, DeJongh and the boys were located in Mexicali, Mexico. DeJongh was charged with three counts of child custody deprivation in Los Angeles County, but federal charges of flight to avoid prosecution were dropped following her extradition. The boys, now 12 and twins 10, were reunited with the Miller family. Congressman Miller commented that, "My wife and I are extremely relieved that after more than 3 1/2 years our grandchildren have been found unharmed and returned safely to the United States" and that he was "eternally grateful" to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, Mexican authorities and "all those whose hard work and unwavering dedication made this possible."

Notes

1. ^ Silverstein, Ken (June 1, 2010). ""It has been a tremendous honor to have served": Congressman Gary Miller's Vietnam Odyssey". Harpers.org. Retrieved 2010-06-03.
2. Gary Miller (2006-05-05). "Capitol Connection: April 29 to May 5, 2006". Archived from the original on 2007-02-05. Retrieved 2007-02-06.
3. Current Taxpayer Protection Pledge Signers
4. ^ Heisel, William (2006-08-13). "Official's Tax Break: on Firm Ground?". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2007-02-06.
5. Heisel, William (2007-01-31). "FBI probing Rep. Miller's land sales". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2007-02-06.
6. Crabtree, Susan (2006-08-09). "Miller may have violated House ethics rules by borrowing $7.5M". The Hill. Archived from the original on 2006-12-19. Retrieved 2007-02-06.
7. ^ Heisel, William (December 12, 2006). "Ex-aides allege abuse of power". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2006-12-13.
8. Silva, Gina (May 6, 2010). "Congressman Under Fire Over Earmarks". MyFOXLA. Retrieved 2010-05-07.
9. "Individuals Who Gave To: MILLER, GARY G. G". Federal Election Commission. May 19, 2010. Retrieved 2010-05-20.
10. Adams, Richard (2011-03-03). "The ugly face of Islamophobia in Orange County, California". Guardian. Retrieved 2011-03-03.
11. Greenwald, Glenn (2011-03-03). "Growing anti-Muslim hatred in the U.S." Salon. Retrieved 2011-03-03.
12. Blankstein, Andrew (2011-08-12). "Rep. Gary Miller's three missing grandchildren found in Mexico". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2011-08-12.
13. Girardot, Frank C. (2011-08-12). "Former Miss Diamond Bar arrested in Mexico with congressman's missing grandkids". Whittier Daily News. Retrieved 2011-08-12.

External links

• Official website
• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission
• Profile at Vote Smart
• Profile at SourceWatch
• Associated Press profile

Template:Persondata

• 1948 births
• Living people
• Members of the California State Assembly
• Members of the United States House of Representatives from California
• Mayors of places in California
• People from Madison County, Arkansas
• California Republicans
• American anti–illegal immigration activists
• Mt. San Antonio College alumni