Wilbur D. Mills Autographs, Memorabilia & Collectibles

Wilbur Daigh Mills (1909-1992) represented Arkansas in the US House of Representatives from 1939 to 1977. He chaired the powerful House Ways and Means Committee for 18 years (1957-1975), longer than anyone else in history. Mills was considered Congress' principal tax expert, and his support was crucial to passage of the Medicare bill. Mills sought the Democratic Presidential nomination in 1972. In 1974, when Mills was stopped for drunk driving in Washington, stripper Fanne Foxe, "the Argentine firecracker," dashed from his car and leaped into the Tidal Basin. Re-elected despite this scandal, Mills wrote a finish to his career by appearing on stage with Foxe at a Boston burlesque and then giving a press conference in her dressing room. Pleading alcoholism, Mills retired from Congress. When he sobered up, Mills redeemed himself by becoming a national advocate and fund-raiser for treatment of substance abuse. The Wilbur Mills Treatment Center is named for him.