In the 113th Congress, Representative Miller was appointed to serve as chairman of the Committee on House Administration (CHA), and in the 114th Congress she continued to serve as the committee's chair. CHA was established in 1947 and is charged with the oversight of federal elections and the day-to-day operations of the House of Representatives.The committee ensures that the House of Representatives runs in an effective and efficient manner. It also has jurisdiction over the federal election process.
Under her leadership as chair, the U.S. House received consecutive "clean" audits. She also played a major role in advancing legislation to end the practice of using millions of dollars in taxpayer funding to host political party conventions and, instead, redirected that funding for pediatric research. Working with House officers, she helped to increase the availability of low-cost digital tools used by the House to improve the House's daily functions and reduce operating costs. She also oversaw the Committee's review of the report generated by the Bauer-Ginsberg Commission, which focused on using local governance over elections and made recommendations to help locals election administrators improve upon their own voting processes.[2]
As chairman of the Subcommittee on Border and Maritime Security, Representative Miller initiated legislative efforts to ensure the nation's borders are adequately secured against international terrorist organizations, illegal immigration, drug and human smuggling, and exploitation of the legitimate visa process.
During the 113th Congress, Representative Miller sponsored legislation to formally authorize Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and clarify the security mission of the agency for the first time since the Department of Homeland Security was created in 2002. The legislation passed the House on July 28, 2014. She also advocated for ways to strengthen the Department of Homeland Security's ability to identify and stop terrorists with western passports, authoring legislation in that would allow DHS to suspend a country's participation in the U.S. Visa Waiver Program if it fails to provide the U.S. with pertinent traveler information related to terror threats. Representative Miller also crafted legislation to increase oversight of the maritime security mission of DHS, as well as to strengthen domestic maritime security connected to U.S. trade with its trusted partners.
Michigan's 10th Congressional District is a border district. It is home to the Blue Water Bridge, the second-busiest border crossing on the northern tier; Selfridge Air National Guard Base, which has expanding missions in the area of homeland security; Coast Guard stations at Selfridge, Port Huron, and Harbor Beach; it borders Chemical Valley, which is one of the largest collections of petro-chemical operations in North America; the CN Rail Tunnel, the busiest rail artery in the U.S. Two important trade arteries, interstates I-94 and I-69, also originate in Michigan.
Miller focused her efforts on building a stronger presence of homeland security assets at Selfridge, enhancing the security of airways, roadways, railways, and waterways, and securing domestic food and water supplies by enhancing Northern Border security.
The Committee on Homeland Security was established in 2002 to provide congressional oversight for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and better protect the nation against a possible terrorist attack. Many of the programs at Selfridge and the armed service reserves throughout the 10th Congressional District fall under the purview of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The Committee on Homeland Security provides oversight for the department and handles issues dealing with transportation security, border and port security, critical infrastructure protection, cyber security, and science and technology, emergency preparedness, emerging threats, intelligence and information sharing, investigations, and management and procurement.[2][5]
In 2014, Representative Miller was appointed to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure's Public-Private Partnership Special Panel. As the only Michigan Member, she focused her involvement on innovative ways that P3s can benefit infrastructure projects in Michigan like the expanded Customs and Border Plaza at the Blue Water Bridge in Port Huron.
The committee's broad oversight portfolio includes many federal agencies, including the Department of Transportation, the U.S. Coast Guard, Amtrak, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the General Services Administration, the Army Corps of Engineers, and others.[2]
Throughout her career in public service, protecting the Great Lakes has been one of Representative Miller's priorities. During the 113th Congress, as the only member of the committee from the state of Michigan, Miller advocated for the Great Lakes during House and conference negotiations of the Water Resources Reform and Development Act (WRRDA) which included her provision designating all ports and harbors on the Great Lakes as a single, comprehensive navigation system (the Great Lakes Navigation System) for budgeting purposes. This created a unified front for Great Lakes ports and harbors for purposes of federal funding.
For the 110th Congress Miller was appointed to continue her service on the House Armed Services Committee and was added to the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, which has jurisdiction over not only surface transportation but also water quality issues related to the Great Lakes. During the 2003 invasion of Iraq, Miller was a member of the Armed Services committee, and part of a "war room" team that relayed information from the Bush administration to Republican members, the news media, and the public.[6]
Admonishment by House Ethics Committee
During the 108th Congress, Miller was admonished by the House Ethics Committee for improperly attempting to influence the vote of fellow Michigan Congressman Nick Smith on a Medicare vote.
The subcommittee released a 62-page report ... that admonished Rep. Candice Miller (R-Mich.) and House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas) for possibly breaking House rules by offering support for Smith's son in exchange for a vote and threatening retaliation if Smith did not vote for the Medicare bill.[7]
The report ... admonished Rep. Candice S. Miller (R-Mich.) for making comments about Brad Smith during the Nov 22 roll call that appeared to be "a threat of retaliation" for Nick Smith's vote against the bill.
Representative Miller told the Investigative Subcommittee that the first time she spoke to Representative Smith about his vote on the Medicare legislation was on the House floor while the vote was open, after Representative Smith had cast his vote. She estimated that she spoke with him during the first hour of the time that the vote was held open. Representative Miller saw Representative Smith's no vote on the board and she "didn't like the way that he voted." Representative Miller testified that, on her own initiative, she approached Representative Smith and said words to the effect of: "Is this how you're going to vote; or, This is how you're going to vote? And he said, Obviously."
Representative Miller recalled that she responded by saying words to the effect of: "Well, I hope your son doesn't come to Congress, or I'm not going to support your son, or something to that effect." Representative Smith then "rose up out of his seat and said, You get out of here." That was the end of the interaction between the two Members. Representative Miller estimated that the exchange lasted for about ten seconds. She told the Investigative Subcommittee that she did not at any point ask Representative Smith to change his vote on the Medicare legislation.
Representative Smith told the Investigative Subcommittee that Representative Miller specifically threatened to work against his son if he did not change his vote. Representative Smith's recollection was that Representative Miller "came up and said something like, I haven't been involved in this campaign before, but if you don't change your vote, I'll get involved, and I'll make sure Brad isn't elected."[8]
Miller also introduced a bill, the Visa Waiver Program Improvement Act of 2015 which has been criticized for casting US citizens of Arab, Iranian, and Muslim descent as second-class citizens in their own country – a "legislation that will effectively create two classes of Americans – Americans with Middle Eastern or Muslim background, and Americans without that background".[21]
Miller was ranked as the 71st most bipartisan member of the U.S. House of Representatives during the 114th United States Congress (and the most bipartisan member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Michigan) in the Bipartisan Index created by The Lugar Center and the McCourt School of Public Policy that ranks members of the United States Congress by their degree of bipartisanship (by measuring the frequency each member's bills attract co-sponsors from the opposite party and each member's co-sponsorship of bills by members of the opposite party).[22]
Opposed legislation
The bill Homeowner Flood Insurance Affordability Act of 2013 (H.R. 3370; 113th Congress) passed in the House on March 4, 2014.[23] The bill delayed indefinitely some of the reforms to the deeply indebted National Flood Insurance Program.[23] The primary issue what the premiums should be on home and business owners located in flood zones. Miller opposed the bill and argued that the state of Michigan should opt out of the National Flood Insurance Program entirely and urged the governor to do so. According to Miller, Michigan residents subsidize other, more flood prone parts of the country, by paying higher premiums than they should.[24] Miller suggested insurance premiums of being decided by politics rather than actuarial costs. She said that "too many Americans across this nation are paying rates far below what actual risk would dictate in the marketplace while others, including many who I represent, are being forced to pay into a program that they do not need or want to help subsidize lower rates for other favored groups whose risk is far greater."[24]
She was the first woman ever elected to the positions of Macomb County Treasurer and Secretary of State. Her 1992 upset of Democratic incumbent County Treasurer Adam Nowakowski was the first win for a Republican county-wide in Macomb County in more than 60 years.[25]
1994
Miller was elected Michigan Secretary of State, unseating 6-term incumbent Richard H. Austin. She was the first Republican to serve as secretary of state in Michigan in 40 years since Owen Cleary left office in 1955.
1998
Miller carried every county in Michigan (including Wayne County, home to Detroit) and beat both Democrat Mary Parks and the Reform Party's Perry Spencer by 1 million votes,[27] the largest margin of victory for a candidate running statewide in Michigan.
2000
Following her re-election it was reported in June 1999 that Miller, who was term-limited as Secretary of State, was considering running for Congress again, seeking a probable re-match against Bonior.[28] She was also rumored to be considering running for the Republican nomination for governor, to succeed three-term Republican Gov. John Engler, who was term-limited. She ultimately passed on both races.
2002
After the 2000 United States Census, the Michigan Legislature reconfigured the state's congressional map. In the process, they redrew the 10th District, represented by 13-term Democrat David Bonior. The old 10th had been a fairly compact district taking in most of Macomb and St. Clair counties. However, the reconfigured 10th was pushed all the way to the Thumb. In the process, the legislature moved Miller's home in Harrison Township into the district, while shifting Bonior's home in Mount Clemens to the neighboring 12th District. Bonior subsequently opted to run for the governor of Michigan[29] rather than run for re-election to the USA House of Representatives. Miller won the Republican primary unopposed,[30] and later in the general election in November she handily beat Democrat Carl Marlinga, the Macomb County Prosecutor since 1982. Marlinga called himself a "Hubert Humphrey Democrat", and Miller called herself a "George W. Bush Republican." She outraised Marlinga, and secured the Teamsters Union (but not AFL–CIO) endorsement.[31]
2006
Miller faced no opposition in the Republican primary, and was acclaimed as the Republican candidate on August 8, 2006. In the general election Miller was challenged by Democrat Robert Denison and three third-party candidates. Miller defeated Denison 178,843 to 84,574 votes.
During the 2008 Presidential election, Miller endorsed Former New York City MayorRudy Giuliani for president. At the Michigan Republican convention, she explained, "When deciding what candidate I wanted to be our next President of the United States I knew we needed someone who would continue the fight against terrorism, who has proven leadership and who has the record and experience of managing government and improving the economy. Again and again on the most important issues facing America I came to the same conclusion, that former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani is the man we need to lead our nation."
Miller spoke on behalf of Senator John McCain and was a vocal supporter of Governor Sarah Palin. She was a member of Gov. Palin's "truth squad" leading up to the 2008 presidential election.
Miller was challenged by Democratic nominee Henry Yanez, a Sterling Heights firefighter and paramedic. He is currently the chairman of the 10th District Democrats and was a delegate to the 2004 and 2008 Democratic National Conventions.[33] Miller won reelection November 3, 2010 with nearly 72% of the vote, beating Yanez, two minor party candidates, and a write-in.[31][34][35][36]
Miller's choice for chairman of Michigan's 10th congressional district Republican committee[citation needed] lost to her former assistant secretary of state, Stanley Grot, a local Tea Party activist. Grot is chairman of the district committee, clerk of Shelby Township, and formerly a constituent relations representative in the Michigan Attorney General's office. He has been president of the American Polish Cultural Center.[37][38][39][40]
Miller was challenged by Democratic nominee Chuck Stadler and Green nominee Harley Mikkelson, but she won reelection with 68.7% of the vote.
Post-congressional career
Macomb County Public Works Commissioner
In March 2015, Miller announced she would not seek re-election to Congress, and resigned at the end of the 114th Congress.[41] Even though she was leaving Congress, Miller insisted that her career in public service was not over.[42]
In March 2016, Miller announced she would seek the Republican nomination for the position of Macomb County Public Works Commissioner, challenging six-term incumbent Democrat Anthony Marrocco.[43]
Miller defeated Marrocco in the general election, taking 55 percent of the vote. Marrocco is the third 24-year incumbent that Miller has defeated in her political career, after Nowakowski and Austin.[44] She resigned her seat in the House on December 31, 2016, in order to take office as Public Works Commissioner the next day.[45]
On January 1, 2017, her first day as Public Works Commissioner, Miller held a press conference at the site of a sinkhole in Fraser, Michigan. Miller, alongside County Executive Mark Hackel, announced she had spoken with Gov. Rick Snyder about obtaining emergency funds from the state and said that she believed Snyder would tour the site.[46]
Miller's first act upon taking office was placing Dino Bucci, who was a top deputy to Marrocco, on administrative leave, as he became the subject of a federal investigation along with Marrocco.[47]
In May 2017, Miller confirmed that 10 employees from the public works department had been subpoenaed by the FBI to testify before a grand jury in a wide-ranging investigation into public corruption in Macomb County.[48] Miller said the corruption that occurred under Marrocco was pervasive and widespread and that people used the office's resources for personal use. In November 2017, Bucci was indicted on 18 felony counts including bribery, extortion, mail fraud, money laundering and embezzlement for his role in a decade-long conspiracy alleging a "pay-to-play" scheme under Marrocco. Bucci faced up to 20 years in prison if convicted[49] On May 27, 2020, Marrocco was indicted on two counts of extortion and one count of attempted extortion for allegedly using Bucci and other county employees to force contractors and business people who wished to do business with the Public Works Department to buy tickets to his fundraisers.[50] Bucci pleaded guilty the next day in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, admitting his role in Marrocco's corrupt acts.[51]
Miller announced plans to run for re-election in June 2018[47] and won the GOP nomination uncontested in August 2020 and faced Democratic nominee, Toni Moceri, a former Macomb County Commissioner in the general election.[52] Miller won re-election in a landslide, taking more than 61 percent of the vote.[53]
Miller has long been courted by the Michigan Republican Party to run for governor, with speculation on her gubernatorial aspirations dating back to 1999.[28] Miller was considered one of the leading contenders for the Republican nomination in Michigan's 2018 gubernatorial election to succeed term-limited Republican incumbent Rick Snyder[54] She ultimately passed on the race and announced on September 23, 2017, that she was endorsing Michigan Attorney GeneralBill Schuette, saying "...I think he's actually going to be the next governor."[55]
Following her re-election as Public Works Commissioner, Miller was again at the top of the Michigan GOP to run for governor in 2022 to challenge Democratic incumbent Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. In December 2020, former Republican Lt Gov.Brian Calley said Miller was the "dream candidate" for many in the Republican Party.[56] In January 2021, Miller announced that she would not run for governor.[57]
^Gizzi, John (May 17, 2011). "There's Lots of Opportunity Here". Human Events. Archived from the original on August 23, 2011. Retrieved May 10, 2012. ... Stanley Grot, longtime GOP activist in Macomb County. "He came to talk to our Tea Party group...
^"Our Judges". Macomb County Veterans' Treatment Court. Archived from the original on December 17, 2012. Retrieved May 9, 2012. Judge Don Miller was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan on June 17, 1938. After high school, he attended Michigan State University, majoring in physics and enrolling in Air Force ROTC. He graduated in 1969 with a Bachelor of Science degree and a commission as a second lieutenant in the USAF.
