Biography (Official)

Congressman George Miller is chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee and chairman of the Democratic Policy Committee, a leadership position. George is a leading advocate in Congress on education, labor, the economy, and the environment. He has represented the 7th District of California in the East Bay of San Francisco since 1975. His district includes portions of Contra Costa and Solano counties, including Richmond, Concord, Martinez, Pittsburg, Benicia, Vallejo and Vacaville. He is a life-long Democrat and Californian.

George’s most recent accomplishments include co-authoring the historic health care reform bill signed into law this year, and co-authoring the landmark legislation that will make college more affordable for millions of Americans.  

Leadership
Appointed by Speaker Nancy Pelosi to chair the House Democratic Policy Committee, George helps develop and articulate a wide range of policies of benefit to all Americans.

He was re-elected by his colleagues in January 2009 as chairman of the Education and Labor Committee, a panel he has served on since first coming to Congress. George also sits on the House Natural Resources Committee, one of Congress’ primary committees overseeing the environment, energy and public lands. He was chairman of that Committee from 1991 to 1994 and was the panel’s Senior Democrat until 2000.

Priorities
Among George’s top priorities in Congress are strengthening and growing middle class families and ensuring the creation of good jobs that stay in this country. He is a recognized leader in the effort to improve the quality of public school education.  Supporting quality education, George says, is the most important investment a society can make.  He is also working hard to protect Americans’ retirement and health security, to further innovation in technology, science and education, to stop climate change, and to make college more affordable.

Legislative Achievements
The first bill signed into law by President Obama, on January 29, 2009, was written by George and passed out of the Education and Labor Committee. The Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act overturned a Supreme Court ruling that restricted a woman’s right to challenge her employer on the basis of pay discrimination. Also, in response to President Obama’s call to action, George passed out of his committee in March of last year the GIVE Act, now called the Sen. Edward M. Kennedy Service Act, to expand national service opportunities. The President signed this bill into law on April 21, 2009.

George was also one of three committee chairmen who worked together with the White House and their Senate counterparts to draft national health care reform legislation. The legislation, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, was signed into law by President Obama in March. The historic law, something that nearly every president and Congress tried but could not accomplish for nearly 100 years, will allow all families, individuals and small business access to affordable, quality health care for the first time in American history.

George also co-wrote legislation that makes the single largest investment in federal student aid in U.S. history, and delivers on many of President Obama’s key education initiatives. The legislation was signed into law by president Obama in March to expand Pell Grants, reduce interest rates, and reduce the federal deficit by $10 billion over ten years.

In 2007, immediately after the Democrats were elected to a majority in Congress after 12 years of being the minority, it was George’s bill that increased the minimum wage -- from $5.15 an hour to $7.25 an hour -- for the first time in 10 years. That same year, George authored and passed the College Cost Reduction and Access Act, which at the time was the single largest expansion of federal financial aid for college since the GI Bill. The bill was passed by Congress and signed by President Bush. The law cut interest rates for Stafford Loans in half, increased Pell grants, and provided loan forgiveness to qualified public service employees with student loan debt.

George is one of the four original congressional authors of the No Child Left Behind Act in 2001. Now, he is leading a bi-partisan effort to reauthorize the law to make it more fair, more flexible, and better funded, while adhering to the law’s key goals of accountability, high standards and improved student achievement.

George is an expert on California water issues. In 1992, he passed and saw enacted into law the historic California water reform law, known as the Central Valley Project Improvement Act. He also co-authored with Senator Dianne Feinstein the 1994 California Desert Protection Act. George has a long history of other legislative achievements on a wide range of education, labor and environmental issues.

The Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan
George was a vocal critic of President Bush’s war in Iraq, voting against the war resolution in 2002 because he did not believe evidence supported the President’s claim that Saddam Hussein was behind the tragic attacks of 9/11.  George supports President Obama’s call to withdraw American forces from Iraq as quickly and responsibly as possible.  George is also deeply concerned about the ongoing war in Afghanistan and has urged President Obama to wind down U.S. involvement there as soon as a possible.

George was born in Richmond, CA, on May 17, 1945 and lives in Martinez. He graduated from Diablo Valley Community College, San Francisco State University, and earned his law degree from the University of California, Davis, Law School. He served on the staff of then-State Senate Majority Leader George Moscone in Sacramento. He is married to Cynthia Caccavo Miller, a life-long resident of Contra Costa County. They have two sons, George and Stephen, and six grandchildren.

Updated: June, 2010