Every president since Franklin Delano Roosevelt has had some mechanism like trade promotion authority (TPA) to help advance America’s trade agenda. Otherwise, it’s difficult to complete agreements and get the best deals from our trading partners. Still, some have asserted that our 40th president, Ronald Reagan, didn’t have or need TPA to expand trade. That, however, is just a myth. The… Read more

WASHINGTON — House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI) and Ranking Member Sander Levin (D-MI) and House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R–MI) and Ranking Member Frank Pallone (D–NJ) this afternoon released the following joint statement: "Last year, the Ways and Means and Energy and Commerce Committees came together, on a bipartisan basis, to… Read more

With oral arguments at the Supreme Court behind us, now the wait begins. In a few months, we’ll learn whether the Court has found—as any fair-minded reading of the law demands— that the Obama administration went beyond its authority by paying out Obamacare subsidies in states that used the federal health care exchange. But instead of simply standing by, Republicans in… Read more

WASHINGTON — Today, Ways and Means Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI) issued the following statement in response to the Congressional Budget Office's report on President Obama's fiscal year 2016 budget proposal. "No matter how you look at it, the President’s plan is irresponsible. His proposal would raise taxes by over $1 trillion, and yet it still wouldn’t balance the budget. Hardworking… Read more

American job creators need fair and strong rules that hold people in other countries accountable when they violate our intellectual property rights. And that’s one more reason why we need to pass trade promotion authority (TPA). A healthy economy requires strong protections for intellectual property, as a study by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office shows. The study finds: … Read more

*UPDATE: NEW LOCATION* All other details remain unchanged Congressman David Reichert (R-WA), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Select Revenue Measures, today announced that the Subcommittee will hold a hearing on the burdens family businesses and farms face planning for and paying the estate tax. The hearing will take place immediately following a brief Subcommittee… Read more

Today, Ways and Means Human Resources Subcommittee Chairman Charles Boustany (R-LA) announced that the subcommittee will hold a hearing titled, “Expanding Opportunity by Funding What Works: Using Evidence to Help Low-Income Individuals and Families Get Ahead.” This hearing is the second in a series focused on ways to help move America’s families forward. The hearing will take place at… Read more

Here's a stat: 98 percent of American exporters are small- and medium-sized companies—and they represent 40 percent of the value of U.S. exporters. It’s no secret that small businesses drive a healthy economy, but less understood is that they stand to gain enormously from breaking down barriers to trade with other nations.  Of course, 96 percent of the world’s customers live… Read more

WASHINGTON — Today, Ways and Means Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI) released the following statement in response to the February jobs report: “It’s always good news when more people find work. But too many families are still struggling to get by. So at the Ways and Means Committee, we’re moving full steam ahead on real reforms that will create more opportunity in this country, like… Read more

Support for expanding American trade spans the ideological spectrum, and now a bipartisan group of former top presidential economic advisors is underscoring that fact. In a letter to congressional leaders, 14 men and women who served as chair of the President's Council of Economic Advisers are calling on Congress to pass trade promotion authority, noting that it… Read more