Mr. Chairman: The Life and Legacy of Wilbur D. Mills

by Kay Collett Goss Ph.D.

Overview

No-holds barred bio of national budget czar (during the 1950s and 1960s), Wilbur D. Mills, who was Chairman of the United States House of Representatives Committee on Ways and Means for nineteen years.  Mills tutuladge of young congressman, such as George H.W. Bush (the future president #41) and detailed knowledge of the United States Tax Code, as well as his behind-the-scenes network of information and the leanings of congressional members earned him high regard in the eyes of presidents Eisenhower, Kennedy, and Nixon.  Mills' career came to an abrupt end when he was found at the Tidal Basin with exotic dancer, Fanny Foxe.  The text describes both Mills the powerful politician and Mills' sometimes troubled personal life with clarity and in detail.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781935166498
Publisher:	Parkhurst Brothers Publishers Inc
Publication date:	12/01/2012
Edition description:	1st Edition
Pages:	256
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.70(d)
Age Range:	3 Months to 18 Years

About the Author

Kay Collett Goss served as administrative aide to Congressman John Paul Hammerschmidt and later Wilbur Mills, who was then chair of the House Committee on Ways and Means.  Subsequently, she held senior posiitons in FEMA after nomination by President Clinton and confirmation by the Senate.  Since leaving the Clinton Administration, Dr. Goss has held senior positions in several D.C. area think tanks and presently heads a consulting firm engaged in crisis management planning for nations, states, and metropolitan governments.

Editorial Reviews

In my 30 years in Congress, I never knew any other member that I respected as a legislator more than Wilbur Mills. He was always fair and respectful of other Members irrespective of their party affliation or philosophy. Under his chairmanship, the Ways and Means Committee always functioned on a non-partisan basis. The only criteria was ‘Is it good or bad tax policy?’ What I learned in my experience with Wilbur Mills profoundly affected me and helped me to be far more effective when I became Ways and Means Chair in 1995. Goss’s book will be a real benefit to future members of Congress and to scholars."

now retired United States House of Representatives Ways and Means Chairman Bill Archer

"Wilbur, by the way, was of the two most able guys I ever served with. The United States Tax Code is an incredibly complicated document, but Wilbur knew every comma in it. He was also a power, and had been Chairman of Ways and Means since 1958."

Tip O'Neil

“Essential reading for anyone interested in a better understanding of modern American history, this comprehensive narrative of one of Arkansas’s greatest contributors to United States history is sympathetic in tone, analytical in style."

C. Fred Williams

“…Captures the greatness and the human frailties of Wilbur Mills, the most powerful and highly respected member of Congress during my tenure there, when I was honored to earn his friendship.”

Retired Congressman John Paul Hammerschmidt

“In my 30 years in Congress, I never knew any other member that I respected as a legislator more than Wilbur Mills. He was always fair and respectful of other Members irrespective of their party affliation or philosophy. Under his chairmanship, the Ways and Means Committee always functioned on a non-partisan basis. The only criteria was ‘Is it good or bad tax policy?’ What I learned in my experience with Wilbur Mills profoundly affected me and helped me to be far more effective when I became Ways and Means Chair in 1995. Goss’s book will be a real benefit to future members of Congress and to scholars."

now United States House of Representatives Ways and Means Chairman Bill Archer