[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 20]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 27530]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




     IN RECOGNITION OF NEW YORK CITY COUNCIL SPEAKER GIFFORD MILLER

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. CAROLYN B. MALONEY

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, November 18, 2005

  Mrs. MALONEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to Gifford Miller, 
Speaker of the New York City Council. Speaker Miller led the Council 
through four contentious years, winning on issues that are important to 
New Yorkers. He has been an exceptional City Council Speaker who has 
truly made New York City a better place to live. As a colleague, an 
ally and a friend, he has been one of the best public servants around.
  Speaker Miller began his political career in my office. He rose 
quickly from an entry level position in my Washington office to running 
my New York district office. From the beginning his talents were 
obvious. He was hard-working and dedicated, drafting legislation to 
fund the development of pocket parks in urban areas and other matters. 
Recognizing his abilities, I soon promoted him to run my district 
office.
  As Chief of Staff in my New York office, he established himself as a 
knowledgeable, committed leader in the community. Most of all, Speaker 
Miller clearly loves New York City, and wants to make this the best 
possible place to live. Thus, when he ran for City Council in a special 
election, he had enormous credibility and was able to defeat a well-
known opponent.
  I will never forget that election. Called for the dead of winter, 
petitioning took place on chilly street comers in dreadful weather. I 
joined Miller and his volunteers in standing out in freezing 
temperatures. People were impressed by his energy, drive and 
cheerfulness, even in appalling conditions. They saw clearly that he 
was going to work hard for his constituents, and he always has.
  Miller quickly established himself as a smart and aggressive 
legislator, who was able to stand up for his district. He passed laws 
to reduce noise, increase voter participation and protect the 
environment.
  On January 9, 2002, Miller was unanimously elected by his colleagues 
to the post of City Council Speaker. For the last 4 years, Miller has 
led the New York City Council, overseeing the passage of all new laws 
and the city's $47 billion budget. As part of the budget agreement for 
FY2005, Miller fought for and won $50 million in tax cuts for more than 
700,000 workers through the passage of New York City's first Earned 
Income Tax Credit.
  Under his leadership, the Council has passed more legislation than 
any previous council, including bills to extend a living wage to 50,000 
workers, protect children from lead paint poisoning, provide training 
and education to people moving from welfare to work, require every city 
hospital to offer emergency contraception to sexual assault victims, 
provide more school nurses to more city students and establish tax 
credits to encourage greater energy saving and cleaner air.
  Throughout his term as Speaker, Miller was forced to battle the mayor 
and Governor to preserve New York's priorities. He was remarkably 
successful. Miller led the Council in overturning mayoral vetoes 21 
times, more times than any previous Council. These mayoral overrides 
enabled much-needed legislation to become law, including measures to 
provide rape victims with emergency contraception, expand access to 
birth control, provide training for people moving from welfare to work, 
prevent homeowners from being unreasonably fined and protect our air 
and water. As a result of his efforts in budget fights, hundreds of 
millions of dollars have been restored to the City budget for health 
care, child care, college scholarships, libraries, senior citizens and 
HIV/AIDS prevention. In 2002, Miller's Education First campaign helped 
prevent hundreds of millions in proposed cuts to New York City's public 
schools.
  Gifford Miller is an extraordinarily talented and hard-working public 
servant. Although term limits are bringing an end to his Speakership, I 
am hopeful that he will remain active in public life. New York city 
needs him.
  Mr. Speaker, I request that my colleagues join me in paying tribute 
to Speaker Gifford Miller, a remarkable public servant and community 
leader.

                          ____________________