House Ways and Means committee adopts rules, ratifies subcommittee slates and approves oversight plan

The House Committee on Ways and Means on an organizational call (date not specified) adopted its rules for the 119th Congress, ratified a slate of subcommittee chairs and ranking members, and approved an oversight and authorization plan, all by voice vote.

The rules package, which the committee chair described as consistent with past practice, includes a change to the trade subcommittee’s membership and a change allowing the chair to consider member attendance when recognizing members to question witnesses. "This committee has a responsibility to make sure taxes do not go up on over 200,000,000 filers in this country," the chair said in opening remarks, outlining tax and oversight priorities the committee intends to pursue.

The committee adopted the rules after a motion to adopt was offered by Mr. Buchanan. The vote was conducted by voice; the chair read the result as the "yeses" prevailing. Committee staff summarized the two explicit rule changes included in the package: under proposed Rule 8(a) the trade subcommittee’s ratio would change from 19 members to 21 members, with 12 Republicans and 9 Democrats; under proposed Rule 15 the chair may consider member attendance at the start of a hearing in conjunction with seniority for purposes of recognition to question witnesses.

The panel also ratified the subcommittee slates and announced subcommittee chairs, including Mr. Buchanan for the Health Subcommittee; Adrian Smith for the Trade Subcommittee; Mike Kelly for the Tax Subcommittee; David Schweikert for Oversight; Ron Estes for Social Security; and Darren LaHood for Worker and Family Support. Ranking members for the subcommittees were entered into the record by the committee’s ranking member.

Later in the meeting, Mr. Buchanan moved to adopt the committee’s oversight and authorization plan for the 119th Congress, which the committee approved by voice vote. The oversight plan, as described in the meeting, directs the committee to pursue hearings and reviews to protect and preserve enacted tax provisions—including expiring provisions of the 2017 tax law—inspect administration of tax-advantaged programs, and increase oversight of certain federal agencies. The chair said the committee would work with the incoming administration and referenced the IRS in the context of accountability and enforcement.

Ranking committee leadership also used opening remarks to frame the panel’s priorities. The committee’s ranking member emphasized bipartisan oversight responsibilities and urged the committee not to condition disaster or emergency assistance on unrelated budget negotiations, saying, "I never asked once, how did Alabama vote? I voted for the money without any qualifications." The chair’s opening remarks listed tax policy, enforcement, trade concerns (including a referenced trade step with Taiwan), and expanding rural access to health care among planned priorities.

There were no recorded roll-call tallies attached to the motions in the transcript; both the rules package and the oversight plan were adopted following voice votes in which the chair declared the "yeses" to have prevailed. The committee authorized staff to make technical and conforming edits to the adopted oversight plan and allowed members two additional days to file supplemental views.

The meeting concluded after the votes and the chair adjourned the committee.