WASHINGTON — Today, the House passed H.R. 622, the State and Local Sales Tax Deduction Fairness Act. Upon passage, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI) issued the following statement: "Making this deduction permanent will level the playing field for taxpayers in different states and give them the certainty they deserve. Doing your taxes is already stressful, and we… Read more

WASHINGTON — This morning, the House voted to permanently repeal the unnecessary and unfair death tax. This bill, authored by Congressman Kevin Brady (R-TX), will repeal the estate tax and the generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax for all future transfers. After the bipartisan vote, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI) issued the following statement: "The death tax… Read more

WASHINGTON — House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI) released the following statement marking Tax Day, the deadline for Americans filing their income taxes. "Today is more than a deadline; it’s a call to action.  "There's no getting around the fact that our tax code is a mess. It sends jobs overseas, it discourages productivity, and it punishes hard… Read more

WASHINGTON — House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI) released the following statement in response to Senate passage of H.R. 2, the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act, legislation permanently repealing the flawed Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR).  "Years of hard work have finally paid off. Medicare is now on sounder footing, and our seniors have… Read more

WASHINGTON — Representative Charles Boustany (R-LA) and Representative Dave Reichert (R-WA) released the following statement after the Senate passed the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015, which included an extension of the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) programs through September 30, 2017. The MIECHV programs fall under the jurisdiction of… Read more

WASHINGTON — Earlier today, the House passed a series of commonsense reform bills to ensure the IRS remains accountable to taxpayers. These seven bills were passed with bipartisan support and are part of a continued effort by House Republicans to rein in and clean up the IRS. Upon passage of these bills, House Ways and Means Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI) released the following… Read more

WASHINGTON — Today, Ways and Means Social Security Subcommittee Chairman Sam Johnson (R-TX) introduced H.R. 1800, the Guiding Responsible and Improved Disability Decisions Act of 2015 (the GRIDD Act). The legislation would require the Social Security Administration (SSA) to update the medical and vocational regulatory guidelines for determining disability, which have not been… Read more

WASHINGTON — The Social Security Administration's (SSA) Office of the Inspector General (OIG) recently issued a report on the determination of disability claims from applicants who cannot communicate in English. The OIG found at least 218 cases in Puerto Rico where a disability rule was applied to the advantage of a claimant who was unable to communicate in… Read more

WASHINGTON — Today, Ways and Means Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI) released the following statement in response to the March jobs report: "We're still not meeting our potential. Americans are working harder than ever to get ahead, but there just isn't enough opportunity to go around. So this committee is going to redouble our efforts on the real reforms we need, like tearing down barriers… Read more

WASHINGTON — Today, Ways and Means Oversight Subcommittee Chairman Peter Roskam (R-IL) issued the following statement on the Department of Justice’s announced civil asset forfeiture policy change. The new policy follows Roskam’s February hearing on protecting small businesses from having their bank accounts seized by federal authorities without due process. “I was pleased to see that… Read more