Committee Assignments

Members of Congress serve on committees that specialize in specific issues and review legislation pertaining to those issues. After bills are introduced, they are referred to the committees having jurisdiction over the issues the legislation addresses.

Most House committees are further divided into subcommittees. Legislation is first reviewed by a subcommittee, where testimony is presented and the bills are amended. Subcommittee members then vote on the amended bill. If it passes in subcommittee, the legislation is then eligible for consideration by the full committee. If the full committee passes the legislation, it is then eligible for consideration by the full House of Representatives. Only a fraction of bills that get introduced each year are considered by a subcommittee and a smaller percentage of those bills are considered by the full House of Representatives.

House Committee on Ways and Means

In the 112th Congress, Ron serves on the House Committee on Ways and Means, the oldest committee in the House of Representatives. It has jurisdiction over tax measures, the management of public debt, trade and tariff laws, Social Security, and Medicare. Ron joined the Ways and Means Committee because he wanted western Wisconsin and rural America to have a voice on these important issues. Ron serves on the Health and Oversight subcommittees.