United States House Committee on Ways and Means

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]

Committee on Ways and Means
118th United States Congress
Logo of the committee
History
Founded	December 21, 1795 (1795-12-21)
New session started	January 9, 2023 (2023-01-09)
Leadership
Chair	Jason Smith (R) since January 10, 2023
Ranking Member	Richard Neal (D) since January 10, 2023
Structure
Seats	43 members
Political groups	Majority   Republican (25) Minority   Democratic (18)
Joint committees	Senate equivalent: Senate Finance Committee
Website
waysandmeans.house.gov

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

Inside a Ways and Means meeting in November 2019.

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.^{[citation needed]}

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.^[10]

Members, 118th Congress

Majority

Minority

Jason Smith, Missouri, Chair Vern Buchanan, Florida, Vice Chair Adrian Smith, Nebraska Mike Kelly, Pennsylvania David Schweikert, Arizona Darin LaHood, Illinois Brad Wenstrup, Ohio Jodey Arrington, Texas Drew Ferguson, Georgia Ron Estes, Kansas Lloyd Smucker, Pennsylvania Kevin Hern, Oklahoma Carol Miller, West Virginia Greg Murphy, North Carolina David Kustoff, Tennessee Brian Fitzpatrick, Pennsylvania Greg Steube, Florida Claudia Tenney, New York Michelle Fischbach, Minnesota Blake Moore, Utah Michelle Steel, California Beth Van Duyne, Texas Randy Feenstra, Iowa Nicole Malliotakis, New York Mike Carey, Ohio

Richard Neal, Massachusetts, Ranking Member Lloyd Doggett, Texas Mike Thompson, California John B. Larson, Connecticut Earl Blumenauer, Oregon Bill Pascrell, New Jersey (until August 21, 2024) Danny Davis, Illinois Linda Sánchez, California Brian Higgins, New York (until February 2, 2024) Terri Sewell, Alabama Suzan DelBene, Washington Judy Chu, California, Vice Ranking Member Gwen Moore, Wisconsin Dan Kildee, Michigan Don Beyer, Virginia Dwight Evans, Pennsylvania Brad Schneider, Illinois Jimmy Panetta, California Jimmy Gomez, California (from February 6, 2024) Steven Horsford, Nevada (from September 10, 2024)

Resolutions electing members: H.Res. 14 (chair), H.Res. 15 (Ranking Member), H.Res. 56 (R), H.Res. 57 (D), H.Res. 999 (Gomez), H.Res. 1431 (Horsford)

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) (until August 21, 2024) Linda Sánchez (D-CA) (from September 10, 2024)[15]
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	Thomas Fitzsimons	Federalist	PA	1789	1789
2	William L. Smith	Federalist	SC	1794	1797
3	Robert G. Harper	Federalist	SC	1797	1800
4	Roger Griswold	Federalist	CT	1800	1801
5	John Randolph	Democratic-Republican	VA	1801	1805
6	Joseph Clay	Democratic-Republican	PA	1805	1807
7	George W. Campbell	Democratic-Republican	TN	1807	1809
8	John W. Eppes	Democratic-Republican	VA	1809	1811
9	Ezekiel Bacon	Democratic-Republican	MA	1811	1812
10	Langdon Cheves	Democratic-Republican	SC	1812	1813
11	John W. Eppes	Democratic-Republican	VA	1813	1815
12	William Lowndes	Democratic-Republican	SC	1815	1818
13	Samuel Smith	Democratic-Republican	MD	1818	1822
14	Louis McLane	Federalist	DE	1822	1827
15	John Randolph	Democratic	VA	1827	1827
16	George McDuffie	Democratic	SC	1827	1832
17	Gulian C. Verplanck	Democratic	NY	1832	1833
18	James K. Polk	Democratic	TN	1833	1835
19	Churchill C. Cambreleng	Democratic	NY	1835	1839
20	John W. Jones	Democratic	VA	1839	1841
21	Millard Fillmore	Whig	NY	1841	1843
22	James I. McKay	Democratic	NC	1843	1847
23	Samuel F. Vinton	Whig	OH	1847	1849
24	Thomas H. Bayly	Democratic	VA	1849	1851
25	George S. Houston	Democratic	AL	1851	1855
26	Lewis D. Campbell	Republican	OH	1856	1857
27	J. Glancy Jones	Democratic	PA	1857	1858
28	John S. Phelps	Democratic	MO	1858	1859
29	John Sherman	Republican	OH	1860	1861
30	Thaddeus Stevens	Republican	PA	1861	1865
31	Justin Morrill	Republican	VT	1865	1867
32	Robert C. Schenck	Republican	OH	1867	1871
33	Samuel Hooper	Republican	MA	1871	1871
34	Henry L. Dawes	Republican	MA	1871	1875
35	William R. Morrison	Democratic	IL	1875	1877
36	Fernando Wood	Democratic	NY	1877	1881
37	John R. Tucker	Democratic	VA	1881	1881
38	William D. Kelley	Republican	PA	1881	1883
39	William R. Morrison	Democratic	IL	1883	1887
40	Roger Q. Mills	Democratic	TX	1887	1889
41	William McKinley	Republican	OH	1889	1891
42	William M. Springer	Democratic	IL	1891	1893
43	William L. Wilson	Democratic	WV	1893	1895
44	Nelson Dingley, Jr.	Republican	ME	1895	1899
45	Sereno E. Payne	Republican	NY	1899	1911
46	Oscar W. Underwood	Democratic	AL	1911	1915
47	Claude Kitchin	Democratic	NC	1915	1919
48	Joseph Fordney	Republican	MI	1919	1923
49	William R. Green	Republican	IA	1923	1928
50	Willis C. Hawley	Republican	OR	1928	1931
51	James W. Collier	Democratic	MS	1931	1933
52	Robert L. Doughton	Democratic	NC	1933	1947
53	Harold Knutson	Republican	MN	1947	1949
54	Robert L. Doughton	Democratic	NC	1949	1953
55	Daniel A. Reed	Republican	NY	1953	1955
56	Jere Cooper	Democratic	TN	1955	1957
57	Wilbur Mills	Democratic	AR	1957	1975
	Al Ullman (acting)	Democratic	OR	1973	1975
58	Al Ullman	Democratic	OR	1975	1981
59	Dan Rostenkowski	Democratic	IL	1981	1994
	Sam Gibbons (acting)	Democratic	FL	1994	1995
60	Bill Archer	Republican	TX	1995	2001
61	Bill Thomas	Republican	CA	2001	2007
62	Charles Rangel	Democratic	NY	2007	2010
	Pete Stark (acting)	Democratic	CA	2010	2010
63	Sander Levin	Democratic	MI	2010	2011
64	Dave Camp	Republican	MI	2011	2015
65	Paul Ryan	Republican	WI	2015	2015
66	Kevin Brady	Republican	TX	2015	2019
67	Richard Neal	Democratic	MA	2019	2023
68	Jason Smith	Republican	MO	2023	Present

Historical membership rosters

117th Congress

Majority

Minority

Richard Neal, Massachusetts, Chairman Lloyd Doggett, Texas Mike Thompson, California John B. Larson, Connecticut Earl Blumenauer, Oregon Ron Kind, Wisconsin Bill Pascrell, New Jersey Danny Davis, Illinois Linda Sánchez, California Brian Higgins, New York Terri Sewell, Alabama Suzan DelBene, Washington, Vice Chair Judy Chu, California Gwen Moore, Wisconsin Dan Kildee, Michigan Brendan Boyle, Pennsylvania Don Beyer, Virginia Dwight Evans, Pennsylvania Brad Schneider, Illinois Tom Suozzi, New York Jimmy Panetta, California Stephanie Murphy, Florida Jimmy Gomez, California Steven Horsford, Nevada Stacey Plaskett, U.S. Virgin Islands

Kevin Brady, Texas, Ranking Member Devin Nunes, California (until Jan. 3, 2022) Vern Buchanan, Florida Adrian Smith, Nebraska Tom Reed, New York (until May 10, 2022) Mike Kelly, Pennsylvania Jason Smith, Missouri Tom Rice, South Carolina David Schweikert, Arizona Jackie Walorski, Indiana (until Aug. 3, 2022) Darin LaHood, Illinois Brad Wenstrup, Ohio Jodey Arrington, Texas Drew Ferguson, Georgia Ron Estes, Kansas Lloyd Smucker, Pennsylvania Kevin Hern, Oklahoma Carol Miller, West Virginia Greg Murphy, North Carolina (from Jan. 19, 2022) David Kustoff, Tennessee (from June 8, 2022)

Resolutions electing members: H.Res. 9 (chair), H.Res. 10 (Ranking Member), H.Res. 62 (D), H.Res. 63 (R), H.Res. 875 (R), H.Res. 1159 (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

Majority

Minority

Richard Neal, Massachusetts, Chairman Lloyd Doggett, Texas Mike Thompson, California John B. Larson, Connecticut Earl Blumenauer, Oregon Ron Kind, Wisconsin Bill Pascrell, New Jersey Danny Davis, Illinois Linda Sánchez, California Brian Higgins, New York Terri Sewell, Alabama, Vice Chair Suzan DelBene, Washington Judy Chu, California Gwen Moore, Wisconsin Dan Kildee, Michigan Brendan Boyle, Pennsylvania Don Beyer, Virginia Dwight Evans, Pennsylvania Brad Schneider, Illinois Tom Suozzi, New York Jimmy Panetta, California Stephanie Murphy, Florida Jimmy Gomez, California Steven Horsford, Nevada Cedric Richmond, Louisiana (since September 22, 2020)

Kevin Brady, Texas, Ranking Member Devin Nunes, California Vern Buchanan, Florida Adrian Smith, Nebraska Kenny Marchant, Texas Tom Reed, New York Mike Kelly, Pennsylvania George Holding, North Carolina Jason Smith, Missouri Tom Rice, South Carolina David Schweikert, Arizona Jackie Walorski, Indiana Darin LaHood, Illinois Brad Wenstrup, Ohio Jodey Arrington, Texas Drew Ferguson, Georgia Ron Estes, Kansas

Resolutions electing members: H.Res. 7 (chair); H.Res. 8 (Ranking Member), H.Res. 42 (D), H.Res. 68 (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

Majority

Minority

Kevin Brady, Texas, Chairman Sam Johnson, Texas Devin Nunes, California Dave Reichert, Washington Peter Roskam, Illinois Vern Buchanan, Florida Adrian Smith, Nebraska Lynn Jenkins, Kansas Erik Paulsen, Minnesota Kenny Marchant, Texas Diane Black, Tennessee Tom Reed, New York Mike Kelly, Pennsylvania Jim Renacci, Ohio Kristi Noem, South Dakota George Holding, North Carolina Jason Smith, Missouri Tom Rice, South Carolina David Schweikert, Arizona Jackie Walorski, Indiana Carlos Curbelo, Florida Mike Bishop, Michigan Darin LaHood, Illinois Brad Wenstrup, Ohio

Richard Neal, Massachusetts, Ranking Member Sander Levin, Michigan John Lewis, Georgia Lloyd Doggett, Texas Mike Thompson, California John B. Larson, Connecticut Earl Blumenauer, Oregon Ron Kind, Wisconsin Bill Pascrell, New Jersey Joseph Crowley, New York Danny Davis, Illinois Linda Sánchez, California Brian Higgins, New York, Vice Ranking Member Terri Sewell, Alabama Suzan DelBene, Washington Judy Chu, California

• Resolutions electing members: H.Res. 6 (chair); H.Res. 7 (Ranking Member); H.Res. 29, H.Res. 131, (R); H.Res. 45, H.Res. 95 (D)

See also

• United States portal
• Politics portal

• List of current United States House of Representatives committees

References

1. "Panic Rooms, Birth Certificates and the Birth of GOP Paranoia". Politico. April 2, 2021.
2. Weiss, Laura (January 9, 2023). "Rep. Jason Smith wins three-way contest for Ways and Means gavel". Roll Call. Retrieved January 17, 2023.
3. "Ways and Means Bicentennial History, Page 38" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on September 23, 2008. Retrieved March 12, 2007.
4. "Ways and Means Bicentennial History, Page 58" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on September 10, 2008. Retrieved March 12, 2007.
5. Cannon, J. M., Time and Chance: Gerald Ford's Appointment with History (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1994), p. 58.
6. Heather Cox Richardson (1997). The Greatest Nation of the Earth: Republican Economic Policies During the Civil War. Harvard University Press. pp. 9, 41, 52, 111, 116, 120, 182, 202. ISBN 9780674059658.
7. Trefousse, H. L. (1991). Historical Dictionary of Reconstruction. Greenwood. p. 214. ISBN 9780313258626.
8. Schraufnagel, S., Historical Dictionary of the U.S. Congress (Lanham: The Scarecrow Press, Inc., 2011), p. 239 Archived February 13, 2021, at the Wayback Machine.
9. Grier, Kevin; Munger, Michael (1991). "Committee Assignments, Constituent Preferences and Campaign Contributions". Economic Inquiry. 29 (1): 24–43. doi:10.1111/j.1465-7295.1991.tb01250.x.
10. Committee on Ways and Means (1989). A Bicentennial History, 1789-1989. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. pp. 215, 354, 355. ISBN 0-465-04195-7.
11. "Chairman Camp Announces Republican Membership on Ways & Means Subcommittees for 113th Congress". January 15, 2013. Retrieved January 22, 2013.
12. "Chairman Brady Announces Republican Subcommittee Chairs, Members". November 18, 2015. Retrieved November 18, 2015.
13. Foster, Tim (January 27, 2023). "Smith Announces 118th Congress Ways and Means Subcommittee Chairs". House Committee on Ways and Means. Retrieved January 28, 2023.
14. "Ranking Member Neal Announces Ways and Means Democrats' Subcommittee Assignments for the 118th Congress". Ways and Means Committee - Democrats. January 27, 2023. Retrieved January 28, 2023.
15. "Neal Celebrates Sánchez Breaking a Glass Ceiling for Ways and Means Democrats | Ways and Means - Democrats". democrats-waysandmeans.house.gov. September 10, 2024. Retrieved September 19, 2024.

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

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