Gary Miller
| Gary Miller | |
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| Assumed office |
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| Preceded by | Jay Kim |
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| Succeeded by | Incumbent |
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| Born | October 16 1948 |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | Cathy Miller |
| Religion | Non-denominational |
Gary Gene Miller (born October 16 1948),
American politician, has been a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives since 1999, representing
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 grown children.
Political career
Miller was appointed to the
In 1995, Miller won a special election for a seat in the
Political positions
In 2005, Miller co-wrote the The Border Protection, Antiterrorism, and Illegal Immigration Control Act of 2005
(H.R. 4437) with
representative
Miller has backed the development of a rail link between
Miller, a history buff, has become involved in the preservation of Civil War battlefields, after he played a bit part in the 2003 movie "Gods and Generals."
Controversies
In September 2006, the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) released its second annual report on the most corrupt members of Congress, titled "Beyond DeLay: The 20 Most Corrupt Members of Congress (and five to watch)". Miller was one of the 20. The organization said "His ethics issues stem from his relationship with Lewis Operating Company and the sale of property."[2] CREW has filed a complaint with the IRS concerning what it says is Miller's "failure to report or pay capital gains taxes."[3]
Sheltering profits of real estate sales
2002
Miller sold 165 acres 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
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. Although early drafts of Monrovia's sales contract with Miller included the phrase "friendly condemnation," it was stricken when the final deal was made. Miller and his wife signed an amendment to the escrow instructions on Aug. 1, 2002, saying, "condemnation deleted."[4]
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[4]. On Jan. 31, 2007, the
Response
Miller declined to comment on the sales[4].
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 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 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[6].
December 2006 allegations
In December 2006, the Los Angeles Times reported that Miller had used "congressional muscle" for "personal business matters."[7] 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 councilmember on the National Park Board who was involved in a city purchase of Miller's property.[7] The Times noted that when the campaign office was visited just prior to the November 2006 election, there was no evidence of campaign activity.[7]
Notes
- ^ Gary Miller (2006-05-05). Capitol Connection: April 29 to May 5, 2006. Retrieved on 2007-02-06.
- ^ Rep. Gary Miler (R-CA) - Beyond Delay. Retrieved on 2007-02-06.
- ^ CREW Files IRS Complaint Against Rep. Gary Miller. Retrieved on 2007-02-06.
- ^ a b c Heisel, William.
"Official's Tax Break: on Firm Ground?",
Los Angeles Times , 2006-08-13. Retrieved on 2007-02-06. - ^ Heisel, William. "FBI probing Rep. Miller's land sales",
Los Angeles Times , 2007-01-31. Retrieved on 2007-02-06. - ^ Crabtree, Susan. "Miller may have violated House ethics rules by borrowing $7.5M", The Hill, 2006-08-09. Retrieved on 2007-02-06.
- ^ a b c Heisel, William.
"Ex-aides allege abuse of power",
Los Angeles Times , December 12, 2006. Retrieved on 2006-12-13.
External links
- Official Web Site
- Associated Press profile
- [http://projects.washingtonpost.com/congress/members/m001139/ Voting record] maintained by the
Washington Post - SourceWatch Congresspedia — Gary Miller profile
| Preceded by Paul Horcher |
60th District 1995 – |
Succeeded by |
| Preceded by Jay Kim |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1999 – |
Succeeded by |
| Preceded by Joe Baca |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from |
Incumbent |
| California's current delegation to the United States Congress | |
|---|---|
| Representative(s) | |
| All delegations | |
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