United States House Committee on Ways and Means explained

Background Color:	000090
Committee on Ways and Means
Legislature:	118th United States Congress
Coa Pic:	Seal of the United States House of Representatives.svg
Coa Res:	125px
Coa Alt:	Seal of the U.S. House of Representatives
Logo Pic:	Ways and Means (118th Congress).svg
Logo Res:	250px
Body:	United States Congress
Leader1 Type:	Chair
Leader1:	Jason Smith
Party1:	(R)
Election1:	January 10, 2023
Leader2 Type:	Ranking Member
Leader2:	Richard Neal
Election2:	January 10, 2023
Party2:	(D)
Members:	43 members
Political Groups1:	Majority Minority
Joint Committees:	Senate equivalent: Senate Finance Committee

The Committee on Ways and Means is the chief tax-writing committee of the United States House of Representatives. The committee has jurisdiction over all taxation, tariffs, and other revenue-raising measures, as well as a number of other programs including Social Security, unemployment benefits, Medicare, the enforcement of child support laws, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, foster care, and adoption programs. Members of the Ways and Means Committee are not allowed to serve on any other House Committee unless they are granted a waiver from their party's congressional leadership. It has long been regarded as the most prestigious committee of the House of Representatives.^[1]

The United States Constitution requires that all bills regarding taxation must originate in the U.S. House of Representatives, and House rules dictate that all bills regarding taxation must pass through Ways and Means. This system imparts upon the committee and its members a significant degree of influence over other representatives, committees, and public policy. Its Senate counterpart is the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance.

In the 118th Congress, the committee's chair is Jason T. Smith.^[2] Recent chairmen have included Bill Thomas, Charlie Rangel, Sander Levin, Dave Camp, Paul Ryan, Kevin Brady, and Richard Neal.

History

The Ways and Means Committee was first established during the first Congress, in 1789. However, this initial version was disbanded after only 8 weeks; for the next several years, only ad hoc committees were formed, to write up laws on notions already debated in the whole House. It was first established as a standing committee by resolution adopted December 21, 1795,^[3] and first appeared among the list of regular standing committees on January 7, 1802.^[4] Upon its original creation, it held power over both taxes and spending, until the spending power was given to the new Appropriations Committee in 1865.^[5]

During the Civil War the key policy-maker in Congress was Thaddeus Stevens, as chairman of the committee and Republican floor leader. He took charge of major legislation that funded the war effort and permanently transformed the nation's economic policies regarding tariffs, bonds, income and excise taxes, national banks, suppression of money issued by state banks, greenback currency, and western railroad land grants.^[6] Stevens was one of the major policymakers regarding Reconstruction, and obtained a House vote of impeachment against President Andrew Johnson (who was acquitted by the Senate in 1868). Hans L. Trefousse, his leading biographer, concludes that Stevens "was one of the most influential representatives ever to serve in Congress. [He dominated] the House with his wit, knowledge of parliamentary law, and sheer willpower, even though he was often unable to prevail."^[7] Historiographical views of Stevens have dramatically shifted over the years, from the early 20th-century view of Stevens and the Radical Republicans as tools of enormous business and motivated by hatred of the white South, to the perspective of the neoabolitionists of the 1950s and afterwards, who applauded their efforts to give equal rights to the freed slaves.

Three future presidents – James Polk, Millard Fillmore, and William McKinley – served as Committee Chairman. Before the official roles of floor leader came about in the late 19th century, the Chairman of Ways and Means was considered the Majority Leader. The chairman is one of very few Representatives to have office space within the Capitol building itself.^[8]

Political significance

Because of its wide jurisdiction, Ways and Means has always been one of the most important committees with respect to impact on policy. Although it lacks the prospects for reelection help that comes with the Appropriations Committee, it is seen as a valuable post for two reasons: given the wide array of interests that are affected by the committee, a seat makes it easy to collect campaign contributions^[9] and since its range is broad, members with a wide array of policy concerns often seek positions to be able to influence policy decisions. Some recent major issues that have gone through the Ways and Means Committee include welfare reform, a Medicare prescription drug benefit, Social Security reform, George W. Bush's tax cuts, and trade agreements including the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA).

From 1911 to 1974, the Ways and Means Committee also had the responsibility to appoint members of other committees in addition to its legislative duties.^[10] When Ways and Means chair Wilbur Mills' career ended in scandal, Congressman Phillip Burton transferred the committee's selection powers to a separate, newly created committee.

Members, 118th Congress

Resolutions electing members: (chair), (Ranking Member), (R), (D), (Gomez)

Subcommittees

There are six subcommittees in the 118th Congress. In 2011, the Subcommittee on Income Security and Family Support was renamed the Subcommittee on Human Resources, returning to the name it held prior to the 110th United States Congress.^[11] In 2015, the Select Revenue Measures was renamed the Subcommittee on Tax Policy.^[12] In 2019 these two subcommittees were again renamed under Democratic control; Human Resources became Worker and Family Support and Tax Policy was renamed to Select Revenue Measures. In 2023 and under a return to Republican control, they were again renamed to Work and Welfare and Tax respectively.

Subcommittee	Chair^[13]	Ranking Member^[14]
Health	Vern Buchanan (R-FL)	Lloyd Doggett (D–TX)
Oversight	David Schweikert (R-AZ)	Bill Pascrell (D-NJ)
Social Security	Drew Ferguson (R-GA)	John B. Larson (D-CT)
Tax	Mike Kelly (R-PA)	Mike Thompson (D-CA)
Trade	Adrian Smith (R-NE)	Earl Blumenauer (D-OR)
Work and Welfare	Darin LaHood (R-IL)	Danny K. Davis (D–IL)

List of chairs

	Chair	Party	State	Start of service	End of service
1			Federalist	PA	1789	1789
2			Federalist	SC	1794	1797
3			Federalist	SC	1797	1800
4			Federalist	CT	1800	1801
5			Democratic-Republican	VA	1801	1805
6			Democratic-Republican	PA	1805	1807
7			Democratic-Republican	TN	1807	1809
8			Democratic-Republican	VA	1809	1811
9			Democratic-Republican	MA	1811	1812
10			Democratic-Republican	SC	1812	1813
11			Democratic-Republican	VA	1813	1815
12			Democratic-Republican	SC	1815	1818
13			Democratic-Republican	MD	1818	1822
14			Federalist	DE	1822	1827
15			Democratic	VA	1827	1827
16			Democratic	SC	1827	1832
17			Democratic	NY	1832	1833
18			Democratic	TN	1833	1835
19			Democratic	NY	1835	1839
20			Democratic	VA	1839	1841
21			Whig	NY	1841	1843
22			Democratic	NC	1843	1847
23			Whig	OH	1847	1849
24			Democratic	VA	1849	1851
25			Democratic	AL	1851	1855
26			Republican	OH	1856	1857
27			Democratic	PA	1857	1858
28			Democratic	MO	1858	1859
29			Republican	OH	1860	1861
30			Republican	PA	1861	1865
31			Republican	VT	1865	1867
32			Republican	OH	1867	1871
33			Republican	MA	1871	1871
34			Republican	MA	1871	1875
35			Democratic	IL	1875	1877
36			Democratic	NY	1877	1881
37			Democratic	VA	1881	1881
38			Republican	PA	1881	1883
39			Democratic	IL	1883	1887
40			Democratic	TX	1887	1889
41			Republican	OH	1889	1891
42			Democratic	IL	1891	1893
43			Democratic	WV	1893	1895
44			Republican	ME	1895	1899
45			Republican	NY	1899	1911
46			Democratic	AL	1911	1915
47			Democratic	NC	1915	1919
48			Republican	MI	1919	1923
49			Republican	IA	1923	1928
50			Republican	OR	1928	1931
51			Democratic	MS	1931	1933
52			Democratic	NC	1933	1947
53			Republican	MN	1947	1949
54			Democratic	NC	1949	1953
55			Republican	NY	1953	1955
56			Democratic	TN	1955	1957
57			Democratic	AR	1957	1975
	Al Ullman (acting)		Democratic	OR	1973	1975
58			Democratic	OR	1975	1981
59			Democratic	IL	1981	1994
	Sam Gibbons (acting)		Democratic	FL	1994	1995
60			Republican	TX	1995	2001
61			Republican	CA	2001	2007
62			Democratic	NY	2007	2010
	Pete Stark (acting)		Democratic	CA	2010	2010
63			Democratic	MI	2010	2011
64			Republican	MI	2011	2015
65			Republican	WI	2015	2015
66			Republican	TX	2015	2019
67			Democratic	MA	2019	2023
68			Republican	MO	2023	Present

Historical membership rosters

117th Congress

Resolutions electing members: (chair), (Ranking Member), (D), (R), (R), (R)

Subcommittees

Subcommittee	Chair	Ranking Member
Health	Lloyd Doggett (D–TX)	Vern Buchanan (R–FL)
Oversight	Bill Pascrell (D-NJ)	Tom Rice (R-SC)
Select Revenue Measures	Mike Thompson (D-CA)	Mike Kelly (R–PA)
Social Security	John B. Larson (D-CT)	Tom Reed (R-NY)
Trade	Earl Blumenauer (D-OR)	Adrian Smith (R–NE)
Worker and Family Support	Danny Davis (D–IL)	Vacant

116th Congress

Resolutions electing members: (chair); (Ranking Member), (D), (R)

Subcommittee

Subcommittee	Chair	Ranking Member
Health	Lloyd Doggett (D–TX)	Devin Nunes (R–CA)
Worker and Family Support	Danny Davis (D–IL)	Jackie Walorski (R–IN)
Oversight	Bill Pascrell (D-NJ)	Mike Kelly (R–PA)
Select Revenue Measures	Mike Thompson (D-CA)	Adrian Smith (R–NE)
Social Security	John B. Larson (D-CT)	Tom Reed (R-NY)
Trade	Earl Blumenauer (D-OR)	Vern Buchanan (R–FL)

115th Congress

• Resolutions electing members: (chair); (Ranking Member);,, (R);, (D)

See also

• List of current United States House of Representatives committees

Sources

• H. Doc. 100–244, The Committee on Ways and Means a Bicentennial History 1789-1989

Further reading

• Cataldo, Everett Felix. "The House Committee on Ways and Means" (PhD dissertation, The Ohio State University, 1965) online.
• Curtis, Thomas B. "The House Committee on Ways and Means: Congress Seen Through a Key Committee." Wisconsin Law Review(1966): 121+ online.
• Davidson, Roger. Masters of the House: Congressional leadership over two centuries (Routledge, 2018)
• Kennon, Donald R., and Rebecca Mary Rogers. The Committee on Ways and Means: A Bicentennial History 1789–1989 (US Government Printing Office, 1989).
• Manley, John F. "The House Committee on Ways and Means: Conflict management in a congressional committee." American Political Science Review 59.4 (1965): 927–939.
• Manley, John F. The politics of finance: the House Committee on Ways and Means (Little, Brown, 1970).
• Sullivan, Terry. "Voter's paradox and logrolling: An initial framework for committee behavior on appropriations and ways and means." Public Choice (1976): 31–44. online
• Winfree, Paul. A History (and Future) of the Budget Process in the United States (Springer Nature, 2019).

Primary sources

• Rangel, Charles B.

Wynter, Leon (2007). And I Haven't Had a Bad Day Since: From the Streets of Harlem to the Halls of Congress. New York: St. Martin's Press.

External links

• (Archive)
• House Ways and Means Committee. Legislation activity and reports, Congress.gov.
• House Ways and Means Committee Hearings and Meetings Video. Congress.gov.

Notes and References

1. Web site: Panic Rooms, Birth Certificates and the Birth of GOP Paranoia. Politico. April 2, 2021 .
2. News: Weiss . Laura . January 9, 2023 . Rep. Jason Smith wins three-way contest for Ways and Means gavel . Roll Call . January 17, 2023.
3. Web site: Ways and Means Bicentennial History, Page 38 . March 12, 2007 . September 23, 2008 . https://web.archive.org/web/20080923192306/http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/04feb20050244/www.gpoaccess.gov/serialset/cdocuments/100-244/pdf/1789-1801.pdf . live .
4. Web site: Ways and Means Bicentennial History, Page 58 . March 12, 2007 . September 10, 2008 . https://web.archive.org/web/20080910111312/http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/04sept20041029/www.gpoaccess.gov/serialset/cdocuments/100-244/pdf/1801-1829.pdf . live .
5. [James M. Cannon|Cannon, J. M.]
6. Book: Heather Cox Richardson. Heather Cox Richardson. The Greatest Nation of the Earth: Republican Economic Policies During the Civil War. 1997. Harvard University Press. 9, 41, 52, 111, 116, 120, 182, 202. 9780674059658.
7. Book: Trefousse, H. L.. Historical Dictionary of Reconstruction. 1991. Greenwood . 214. 9780313258626.
8. Schraufnagel, S., Historical Dictionary of the U.S. Congress (Lanham: The Scarecrow Press, Inc., 2011), p. 239 .
9. Grier. Kevin. Munger. Michael. Michael Munger. 1991. Committee Assignments, Constituent Preferences and Campaign Contributions . Economic Inquiry . 29 . 1 . 24–43 . 10.1111/j.1465-7295.1991.tb01250.x.
10. Book: Committee on Ways and Means . A Bicentennial History, 1789-1989 . U.S. Government Printing Office . 1989 . 0-465-04195-7 . Washington, DC . 215, 354, 355 . English . registration.
11. Web site: Chairman Camp Announces Republican Membership on Ways & Means Subcommittees for 113th Congress. January 15, 2013. 2013-01-22.
12. Web site: Chairman Brady Announces Republican Subcommittee Chairs, Members. November 18, 2015. 2015-11-18.
13. Web site: Foster . Tim . 2023-01-27 . Smith Announces 118th Congress Ways and Means Subcommittee Chairs . 2023-01-28 . House Committee on Ways and Means . en-US.
14. Web site: 2023-01-27 . Ranking Member Neal Announces Ways and Means Democrats' Subcommittee Assignments for the 118th Congress . 2023-01-28 . Ways and Means Committee - Democrats . en.