Ways & Means
With its broad jurisdiction, the Ways and Means Committee impacts our pocketbooks, and in turn, nearly every aspect of our daily lives. The countries where Nebraskans can buy and sell goods, the taxes we pay, and the Social Security benefits some may receive are just a handful of the topics which fall under the committee's influence.
Learn more about how the Committee on Ways and Means impacts you by visiting the links below.
More on Ways & Means
America’s economy is stagnant and showing few signs of growth. The private sector is being strangled by government regulation, an overly-complex and uncompetitive tax code, and uncertainty generated by the threat of tax increases, an onerous health care law, and the ever expanding national debt.
The U.S. economy added just 80,000 jobs in June and the national unemployment rate remained above 8 percent for the 41st consecutive month. With millions of Americans out of work or underemployed, it is the latest indication the President’s policies of massive deficit spending, increased federal regulation and calling for added taxes on America’s small businesses are failing to create economic growth.
Later this month, the Supreme Court is expected to rule on the constitutionality of President Obama’s health care law, formally known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Make no mistake, this will be a landmark decision with profound implications for the future of our country. But the significance of this decision goes beyond the dubious constitutional standing of the law’s individual mandate.
Washington, DC –Congressman Adrian Smith (R-NE) today participated in a Ways and Means Committee hearing which examined tax fraud. The hearing also focused on whether the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Social Security Administration (SSA) are doing enough to protect Social Security numbers to prevent and detect false returns.
Washington, DC – Congressman Adrian Smith (R-NE) today sent a letter to U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk and U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack asking they work with the Colombian government to remove its unjustified sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) requirements on certain pork imports. This unscientific trade barrier would cause U.S. pork producers not to realize the full economic benefits possible under the recently-passed Colombia Free Trade Agreement.
Washington, DC – Congressman Adrian Smith (R-NE) released the following statement on Tax Day:
“As families and businesses across Nebraska file their taxes, the absence of comprehensive tax reform continues to hurt our economy,” said Smith. “There is bipartisan recognition our tax code is unnecessarily confusing. This complexity is especially burdensome to small businesses, who often times must commit considerable resources into tax planning and compliance.
While pranks are common on such a day, it was no joke when on April 1st the United States’ 35 percent corporate tax rate became the highest in the world. Our current system is a relic of the Post-War era, when the U.S. reigned as the unchallenged industrial leader, and government efficiently regulated the market. Now the marketplace is global and capital has become increasingly mobile. It is time our tax code modernizes as well.
Washington, DC – Congressman Adrian Smith (R-NE) today voted for the Medicare Decisions Accountability Act (H.R. 452), which would repeal the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB), during consideration in the House Ways & Means Committee.
Washington, DC – Congressman Adrian Smith (R-NE) released the following statement on President Obama’s corporate tax reform proposal:
“I am pleased President Obama has finally joined the conversation on tax reform,” said Smith. “I am encouraged the President’s framework includes many of the same principles of reform we have worked on in the Ways & Means Committee which will make businesses in Nebraska more competitive globally while creating good jobs here at home: lowering rates, reducing loopholes, and broadening the tax base.