Why does it matter who chairs the House Ways & Means Committee?
The Committee on Ways and Means is the oldest committee of the United States Congress. It is the chief tax-writing committee in the House of Representatives. Its power derives from Article I, Section VII of the U.S. Constitution which declares, “All Bills for raising Revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives.”
First established in 1789, its committee roster has produced eight Presidents (including George H.W. Bush of Houston), eight Vice Presidents, 21 Speakers of the House of Representatives, and four Justices of the Supreme Court.
Over its 226 years of storied existence, only three Texans have been selected to lead it: Roger Q. Mills in 1887, Bill Archer of Houston in 1995, and now Kevin Brady representing the 8th District of Texas. It’s pretty humbling.
The work of the committee impacts the daily lives of every American worker, business and retiree. The panel has authority over the U.S. tax code, health care, Social Security, Medicare, welfare and free trade. Together, its jurisdiction covers a staggering two-thirds of the federal budget. Because of its far-reaching impact, states and whole regions of the country compete ferociously simply to place a representative on the committee – much less to lead it.
At this key moment in history — with so many Americans feeling their future is dimming — the stakes for the committee have never been higher. Under my leadership, we are working hard on Speaker Paul Ryan’s pro-growth agenda: creating a fairer, flatter and simpler tax code, replacing ObamaCare with patient-centered care, reforming welfare, saving Social Security and Medicare for the long–term and tearing down barriers so America’s workers and farmers can sell their products around the world.
Conservative leaders are applauding our commitment. Last week Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist George Will wrote “Brady now wields Congress’s most important gavel. If there is going to be growth-igniting tax reform, Brady will begin it.”
Tom Giovanetti, president of the freedom-oriented Institute for Policy Innovation, recently wrote “Now that Texas Republican Kevin Brady chairs the Ways & Means Committee, he will have more to say about the details of any eventual tax reform than will the future president. So what really matters is Brady’s priorities…and they are encouraging”.
Stephen Moore, founder of the Club for Growth and a leading economic voice at the Heritage Foundation, says “The crusade for tax reform, free trade, a sound dollar, and ObamaCare repeal got a big lift when House GOP leaders chose Kevin Brady of Texas to replace newly elected Speaker Paul Ryan as chair of the powerful Ways and Means Committee — which has oversight over the $3.5 trillion tax system, the 14 percent of our economy devoted to health care, the $1 trillion welfare system, and laws governing trillions of dollars in international trade. With Ryan running the show in the full House and Brady running Ways and Means, the table is well set for seismic fiscal reforms in 2017 — provided a Republican wins the White House.”
U.S. Congressman Kevin Brady chairs the House Ways and Means Committee.