Wilbur (Daigh) Mills

US representative, born in Kensett, Arkansas, USA. He studied at Harvard, and became a Democratic county and probate judge in White Co, AR (1934–8), before going to the US House of Representatives (1939–77). He chaired the powerful Committee on Ways and Means (1957–73) and the Joint Committee on Internal Revenue before personal scandal forced him to resign. In 1977 he became a tax consultant for the Washington office of a New York law firm.

Wilbur Daigh Mills (May 24, 1909-May 2, 1992), was a powerful Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives from the state of Arkansas.

Mills was born in Kensett, White County, the son of Ardra Pickens Mills and Daigh Mills. Mills attended public schools in Kensett, graduated from Searcy High School as valedictorian and later graduated from Hendrix College in Conway, Arkansas as salutarian and with high honors.

Mills served as County Judge of White County, Arkansas during the depression years and began a county-funded program to pay medical bill, prescription drugs, and hospital treatment for the poor.

Mills served in the House of Representatives from 1939 to 1977 and served for eighteen years (1957-1975) as the chair of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, a post he held longer than any other person in American history. Mills initially had reservations about the program because he was worried about the eventual cost, but eventually shepherded it through Congress and had a large hand in shaping its program. Mills was also acknowledged as the primary tax expert in the Congress and a voice for the Tax Reform Act of 1969. Mills favored a conservative fiscal policy and a balanced budget but also supported various liberal programs.

Mills ran for President of the United States in the 1972 Democratic primaries. To position himself to appeal to senior citizens during the 1972 presidential campaign, Mills championed the automatic Cost Of Living Adjustment (COLA) to Social Security.

Unfortunately, Mills is perhaps best known for a drunken incident on October 7, 1974, with an Argentine stripper known as Fanne Foxe. Mills acknowledged his alcoholism, sought treatment at the West Palm Beach Institute, and joined Alcoholics Anonymous. Soon after this second embarrassment Mills was forced to step down from his chairmanship of the Ways and Means Committee.

Wilbur Mills died on May 2, 1992, in Searcy, Arkansas. Mills is buried at Kensett Cemetery in Kensett, Arkansas.

Various schools, highways, and other structures in Arkansas are named after Mills.