Griffin Named to Ways and Means Committee

WASHINGTON – Congressman Tim Griffin (AR-02) issued the following statement after being selected by the House Republican Steering Committee to serve on the Ways and Means Committee:

“I am honored to be selected to serve on the House Ways and Means Committee.  This is good news for my constituents and good news for all of Arkansas.  The Ways and Means Committee handles everything from Medicare and Social Security to the tax code and the opening of new markets for American-made goods.  Like the Arkansans I represent, I think the tax code is too complex and too burdensome, and as a Member of the Ways and Means Committee, I’ll continue to fight for a fairer, flatter and simpler tax code that will better serve all Americans and encourage job creation.”

The Ways and Means Committee is the oldest committee in Congress and is responsible for considering legislation related to trade agreements, the national debt, federal revenues and programs such as Medicare and Social Security.

Since its founding in 1789, only eight Arkansans have served on the committee.  Griffin’s predecessor in the Second Congressional District and fellow Hendrix College alumnus, Wilbur D. Mills, was chairman from 1958 to 1975, making him the longest-serving chairman in the Committee’s history.  No Arkansan has served on the Committee since 1992.

Griffin will be the first Arkansas Republican ever to serve on the Ways and Means Committee. 

Eight Presidents, 21 Speakers of the House of Representatives and four Supreme Court Justices have served on the Ways and Means Committee.