WASHINGTON — Rep. Brad Miller, D-N.C., one of the leading liberal voices in the House on financial services issues, announced Thursday that he will not seek re-election this fall.
Miller, who sponsored predatory lending legislation that became part of the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act, said he will not run again after Republicans in his state carved up his district during the redistricting process. The new map meant he would have had to run in a primary against fellow Democrat David Price, who is also an incumbent.
"I told David within a week of the election last year that with Republicans in control of redistricting, we would almost certainly be drawn into the same district," Miller said in a lengthy statement posted to his congressional website.
"And to be honest, since David has broadly hinted to me and others that he would only serve one more term, I believed that he would retire a term earlier than he intended in the circumstances. That obviously has not happened. David has made it very clear that he intends to run again. I have two choices: run in a primary with David, or not seek another term."
Miller went on to deny rumors that he has a deal with Price, or has tried to strike one, to step aside now and run for the congressional seat when Price retires in 2014.
"The reality is that if I sat out a term and returned to Congress, I would be starting over for most purposes," Miller wrote. "I would have no assurance of my committee assignments and even if I won assignment to the same committees, I would lose all seniority.
"Just as important, the debate on the issues that I care about, and on which I am now a leader, would move on. No, I could not simply pick up where I left off."
In his statement, Miller expressed pride in the work he did on the House Financial Services Committee, noting that predatory lending legislation that he had first introduced in 2004 was included in Dodd-Frank.
He also pointed to other legislation that he has introduced — but that has not become law — that has made him a thorn in the side of banks, including his bills to break up the biggest banks, to establish standards for mortgage servicing and to allow bankruptcy judges to modify mortgages.
"What has happened in our economy in the last few years has offended most Americans' sense of justice, including mine," Miller stated. "The financial crisis was not caused by a 'perfect storm' of unforeseeable events. The financial crisis was the result of blameworthy conduct, what Franklin Roosevelt called 'heedless greed.'
"The people who were responsible for the crisis, and for the painful recession that followed, have suffered very little. The people who have suffered the most, who have lost their jobs and their homes, were almost entirely blameless."
