Transcripts For CSPAN3 History Of The House Ways And Means Committee 20240622

Ready . Okay. You can see this and all other american artifacts programs on our website, cspan. Org history. On the next washington journal, a look at the Donald Trump Campaign and his positions on key policies with Michael Warren of the standard. And then policy issues impacting millennial voters including student debt and health care. Later our spotlight features mark perry about in fighting at the pentagon over how to combat c china. Washington journal, live every morning at 7 00 a. M. Eastern on cspan and you can join the conversation with your calls and comments on facebook and twitter. This sunday night on q a, institute for policy studies fellow and antiwar activist phillies on u. S. Foreign policy since 9 11. The recent negotiations with iran and the war on terrorism. Who is isis . What do they believe . Why are they so violent . I address all those questions in the book. Whats more important is because its something we can do something about is what is the u. S. 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Coming up next, the house ways and Means Committee paul ryan and Ranking Member are joined by political commentator roberts to celebrate the history of congresss oldest Committee House ways and means. His father served on the committee from 1949 to 1971. This hourlong program is hosted by the Historical Society in the Committee Hearing room in the Office Building on capitol hill. We have distinguished guests with us this evening. Im going to ask some of them to stand. And please hold your applause until the keynote speaker has been introduced and that will be the end of the group. Congressman paul ryan, chairman of the ways and Means Committee. Congress levin, Ranking Member of the committee. Well hear from both of these gentlemen later in the program. Former distinguished Committee Chairman bill archer. Bill thomas, charlie wrangle, dave khan, former Ranking Member jim mcrery and all the sitting members of the committee, please rise. We have two former Committee Members, a democrat of connecticut. And Nancy Johnson a republican of connecticut. Barbara and nancy were two of the very first congresswomen to serve on the ways and Means Committee. And then we have our keynote speaker. And well hear from her a little bit later. Were obviously very pleased that all of you who are here could be with us this evening. Another distinguished former Committee Member is not able to be here in person but sends his best wishes. Let me read this letter from president george h. W. Bush. Greetings to all assembled, a special tribute to the house ways and Means Committee. I sure wish i could be there with you. Being appointed to the ways and Means Committee as a freshman member of congress was a high honor and a lucky break for me. To say the least, i was at the right place at the right time. I loved every minute i spent working with my fellow Committee Members and i learned a lot from them, most especially from chairman mills. My tenure in the house and on the committee was brief, but the happy memories endure. To the current members serving on this distinguished committee, i send my respect. These are challenging times, but i know each of you is up to the task. All the best to you in your very first work, signed, george bush. What a wonderful tribute. [ applause ] what a great tribute to this committee. This evening is possible because of the generous support of several sponsors. Bank of america, grant thornton, northwestern mutual, the securities industry and Financial Markets association. Were grateful for their support. And now the chairman of the u. S. Capital Historical Society and former member of congress from missouri will offer a toast to the committee and then we will have dinner. Before i offer the toast this evening, i want to give a very brief history of the committee. But i want to set the record straight first as far as the history goes. The Ranking Member was chairman of this committee as well. I want to set the record straight on that. It was 226 years ago and ten days from now that this committee was created in 1789. Its responsibility is very clear. Its to raise money to pay for the government. The newly signed constitution, as we all studied, declared that all laws to raise revenue must originate right here in the house of representatives. For the first two months, thats exactly what happened. Committee drafted and considered bills to impose tariffs and taxes. But a turf battle arose. Imagine, a turf battle in washington, its unheard of. This one arose between the committee and the secretary of the treasury alexander hamilton. Hamilton won that battle. The committee was actually disbanded. Thereafter hamilton himself drafted the bills and smutted them directly to the whole house of representatives bypassing the entire committee system. Congress did not reassert its authority, as it should have, until after six years when hamilton vacated the office of the secretary of treasury and the white house developed a new relationship with congress. The ways and Means Committee was reestablished. As we know that uneasy e quill lib yum between congress and its exercising of its constitutional power to raise revenue, exercising the authority to actually collect and disperse the money continues to this day. In 1975 to the 1860s shs the committee was the center of power in the house. In addition to revenue, it had jurisdiction over appropriations in banking. The chairman was, in fact, the defacto leader of the house. The Committee Room was located right next to the House Chamber where boggs reading room is now located. Now i dont wish to single out any former chairman, but lets face it. Some modern chairman have been noted, but none come closer to an early chairman John Randolph of virginia, who took the house floor in his entire of riding boots and accompanied by his hunting dogs. Its unclear whether or not the dogs were trained to hunt down members of congress or to scare off the opposition. Paul, you might want to take note of the dogs. 1865 banking and appropriations responsibilities with taken over by new committees. As we know, there was objection by the then current chairman of the ways and Means Committee. He claimed taxes and spending should be controlled by the same committee, quote, in order that they might make both ends meet, end quote. Something that we now call a congressional budgetary process. As the country grew and changed, so did the focus of the committee. From tariffs to taxes, from raising revenue to reducing deficits, trade, Social Security, unemployment compensation, Disability Insurance and provide iing the funding of our nations highways and infrastructure as we saw today are some of the issues now face i facing the committee. As ron said, distinguished leaders have served on this committee and have gone on to higher positions. Bush xli went on to become president. 21 became speakers of the house and 4 served as justices on the supreme court. Perhaps this will continue. Today without question the ways and Means Committee is one of the most powerful committees in the house. Serving on the committee is indeed a prestigious assignment. So please join me and rise to toast this committee. Heres to the house ways and Means Committee, where safeguarding the constitutional requirement that all bills for raising revenue should o originate in the house of representatives, the chamber closest to the people. Confronting complex financial, economic and International Trade issues affecting our nation and the world. For addressing with compassion the challenges facing older americans, the disabled, children, and those in need, and finally to the members who are serving with extraordinary commitment and dedication. Here, here. Thank you, you may be seated. Ladies and gentlemen, were going to begin our program. Coffee will be placed on the tables shortly. The desserts are already there and they will be clearing the plates, but were going to start the program. One of the special features of this dinner of course, is this setting. The elegant newly refurbished Committee Hearing room. Its really very well done. Thank you to the committee for opening this room and the library for us this evening. It is now my pleasure to introduce the chairman of the ways and Means Committee, congressman paul ryan represents the first Congressional District of wisconsin. Hes been a member of Congress Since 1999 and is now serving in his ninth term. As a member, paul quickly gained respect for his expertise in the budget process. He was chairman before elected chairman of ways and means. Under his leadership, ways and means recently passed major trade legislation, as we had mentioned earlier, that was just signed into law. And congratulations again on this major accomplishment. P [ applause ] as a diversion from his responsibilities on the hill, paul enjoys a variety of sports such as fishing, hunting with bow and arrow, thats impressive, and running marathons, thats even more impressive. He also makes his own bratwurst and polish sausage. Paul and his wife have three children, lisa, charlie and sam. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the chairman, paul ryan. [ applause ] welcome, everybody. You know, i think the last time we did an event like this, if im not mistaken, was bill thomas host ed in 2006. So its not very often that we do this. So for those of us on the committee, its a real treat for us to be able to do this. Ron, tom, thank you very much for doing this, appreciate all your kind words for our committee. And i want to thank the Historical Society for hosting us here. I also want to thank coky roberts. You spent part of your childhood here in this room. And sandy levin, i look forward to hearing from you, but i want to thank you hear as well. The Ranking Member of the ways and Means Committee. The past chairman, you just look around this room, a lot of us spend time here. We see the portraits. This past chairman, there are legends in their own right. Wilbur mills, oscar underwood, to be honest its a distinguished list that its a little intimidating for a guy with two first names. I try to relate by looking for similarities of things we share in common. To me, the most striking resemblance is John Randolph. He was tall, he was lean, he had hunting dogs, i have hunting dogs. He looks really young for his age. My staff, on the other hand, picked stevens, the youngest of four children and he liked to wear large, illfitting suits. A little bit of an Office Debate about this. But the chairman who had the biggest effect on me are the chairmen who are sitting here in this room tonight. Bill thomas, bill archer, dave camp, and a person who is a fantastic Ranking Member, jim mcrery, its great to see you guys. P [ applause ] i was the young guy. I came here when i was 28. I aspired to be on this committee. People told me no chance, you cant get on this committee. Ended up getting on here and just looked at the people who were in the fast lane, the people who actually knew how to get things done, and its these gentlemen right here that taught me so much. And i had just this it amazing flashback today. It was in one of the rooms that ways and means has and the flashback was bill thomas saw me, came up to me and started yelling at me. Exactly. And in this particular case, if youre here in the room, this is a newly redecorated hearing room. We were in other rooms until this year. And chairman thomas presided over redoing the room to historical accuracy of the committee, but the committee here serves as the alternative for the house floor. And the audio system had to be redesigned in order to accommodate putting 435 members in here. We had to do a big overhaul of this thing. During that overhaul things got changed. The curtains are different, the carpet is different and i would like to let you, bill, know and anybody else who has concerns, complaints, problems, criticisms about this, to email those to dave camp at the private sector. He is the gentleman who made all those decisions. So let me get serious for a moment. Whatever the superficial similarities about all of us, the tenures we had here, what every member of this committee shares is a love for public policy. Were in the right place in this committee. Because the way i see it is the ways and Means Committee is basically the Mission Control of congress. This is where the Big Decisions about where this country will go are being made. The things we do here, the jurisdiction we have, the laws we write, they have a huge impact on peoples lives. Social security, medicare, welfare, trade, taxes, health care, this is why both parties, both parties put their best members on this committee. The moment knowledgeable, the most passionate, and the hardest working people in congress are on this committee, republican and democrat. [ applause ] the people on this committee came here not to be someone, but to do something. Ways and Means Committee, we are not beers, we are doers. Why do we talk so much about the ways and Means Committee . Will rogers once said, outside of traffic, there is nothing that has held this country back as much as committees. I would like to argue that this one has made a very special contribution to our democracy. Remember how we started. The house ways and Means Committee was create d in the first session of congress in 1789 and dismissed after two months of that time. Congress needed to raise money for the federal government. Most members thought it would be more efficient just to defer to alex apderh ee ee eapder hamilt. With wasnt until later that they didnt like what he was doing. So they wanted to make their own judgments independent of the administration. So the house recreated the committee and this is where we have been here in business ever since then. We conduct oversight of the administration. We double check their numbers. And of course, most often we draft our own legislation. You could say we offer a Second Opinion and more importantly an example. Here the people rule. We dont outsource the job to some specially trained elite. Elected officials in this committee come from all walks of life to do the hard work of government. They study up on the issues. They take on a specialty. They struggle with the trade offs, each and every one of us do this this, and through it all they have always maintain ed tht fierce sense of independence. One of my favorite examples, because we used to have this book on the history of the ways and Means Committee that was always handed out when you became a member of the committee. One of my favorite examples is chairman who earned president wilsons eternal grat. Tud when he passed a bill to establish the income tax. He earned wilsons eternal hatred when he passed a bill to tax the president s salary after that. It makes you almost want to forgive. Him, not quite though. Its the same fearless attitude that we need today. Were looking at two enormous challenges in particular. A huge debt that is dragging us down and a tough global competition that is racing ahead. This committee will make the reforms that we need to do to make this country great to move our country ahead. The questions we face are really simple. Will we shape the World Economy or will it shape us . And on the home front, do we control our budget or does it control us . Ill leave you with this. Every question of ways and means is also a question of aims and ends. You look at our history. First, we argued over tariffs. Then we argued over the income tax. Now we argue over all sorts of things. On the surface, the issues look different, the people, the numbers, the policy, but at the core s core, they are the same. Who pays, how much do they pay, what do we discourage, what do we reward. On the surface they seem like technical issues. Things like tariff rates and tax exemptions, but at their core, they are really fundamental issues. They are not just about whats efficient or whats effective. They are about whats right, whats fair, whats good, whats just. These questions are not distractions. They are the essence of selfgovernment. Of seeing things for yourself of a making your own decisions. The reason we bother with all of this, the hearings and the meetings and the speeches and the votes and the mark ups is because we believe in selfgovernment. We believe its the way of life. We believe that its the happiest and most fulfilling way of life. We believe it demands that e we wrestle with eternal questions. In fact, we believe that it is the very wrestling with these z questions that actually makes us free. So tonight we celebrate the ways and Means Committee. That great workshop of democracy. This great form of freedom. This is a committee that has produced so much and it is a committee thats attracted such great talent and its a committee that has been so well led by these fine men who chaired it before, by these names we have seen in history that are hanging on our walls, and its a committee thats got a lot of work ahead of it and its a committee thats grateful for this opportunity to serve in the greatest country. Thank you very much. [ applause ] thank you, paul, thank you very much. Senator levin is the Ranking Member of the ways and Means Committee and represents the ninth Congressional District of michigan is and is now serving his 17th term. Sandy is married to pamela cole and has four children. Hes been described as a leading architect of trade policy that embraces globalization while protecting jobs for american workers. His tenacity and striving for a level Playing Field in International Trade is legendary. And it is memorialized by a universal joint hanging on a plaque in his office. Its the same joint he carried to japan to protest unfair tax bayerie barriers. The cost was much more expensive here than it was there. Sandy and his brother carl had the unusual experience of serving together in congress for 32 years. Sandy in the house and carl in the senate. At one time both were Committee Chairman. Sandy the chairman of the house ways and means while carl was chairman of the Senate Armed Services committee and not since 1881 held such powerful positions in congress. Sandy recently announced hes going to run again for his 18th term next year. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Ranking Member sandy levin. [ applause ] i dont know how you heard about that universal joint. Im so glad to be here. I want to make a correction right away to ron and tom. Were not one of the most powerful committees in the house. The ways and Means Committee is the most powerful committee in the u. S. House. Paul, im glad to be here with you. People ask me quite often how we get along. And the answer is, and i want to say a few words about that aspect of life here. I think theres a kind of a happy personal relationship, an ability to talk back and forth. Im sorry that all of my colleagues here havent been formally introduced. For paul and me, if i might say so, were honored to serve with each and every one of you. So i want to say a few things more personally. I think you know i dont shy away from ideas, the clash of ideas. As you said, paul, thats why were on this committee. Anybody who joins this committee and i look about and see all of my colleagues here, i dont think you joined this committee primarily for any reason except the issues that come before us. Everything else was secondary and in some cases irrelevant and now and then contradictory perhaps. Because you dont want anything to get in the way of our work. I think back when i first came here. Talking about getting along. There was a meeting of democrats and republicans. And i sat down to a republican and i looked up and who was it . It was my classmate from 25, 30 years ago, Nancy Johnson. We hadnt seen each other in decades. And your sister was the girlfriend of the brother of my girlfriend. And i tell my staff we went skiing together and they want to know more and i say theres nothing more. And if i might say for some reason i was asked by a subcommittee of ways and means the trade subcommittee to join them on a trip to eastern europe. It was my first year i think here. I wasnt on the committee. Maybe it was because i had been administrator. So i went on this trip and i must say, and some of you get bored hearing me talk about it, but it really set the stage for my feelings about this committee. Jim jones and others, we traveled on a bus around eastern europe. And there was so much comradery that he decided he would give the honors of introducing us to the various leaders of these governments. He would spread the honors. Fortunat fortunately, i wasnt yet on the committee being chosen to introduce the members of the committee. That was an honor that i didnt want. So we had a fabulous time and i was struck by the comradery, the good feeling within that group. That i was able to share. And then i was also thinking of Social Security effort. You know it was a clash of ideas, but i went back and i looked at the role call on the Social Security and i was somewhat surprised it was so bipartisan. 80 republicans voted aye and 48 no and democrats, 163 and 54, if i have the figures correctly. And then i went back and i looked at the tally on the tax reform of 86. I wasnt yet a member of the committee, but had he let a few of us that wanted to be on the committee sit in. And it was such a clash of ideas. In those days i think there was a better ability of people to work across party lines. So i looked at the role call. Democrats, yes, 176, no, 116. Republicans, 74, 62, no. And john ding l and i voted on opposite ways. Thats how bipartisan it was. And then i was thinking further. Bill archer is here and bill thomas. We were struggling so i said to them id like to go to china and id like to go. Myself. And id like to spend a week there to really understand what it was all about. And bill at first said to me, because the chairman has the power in this institution of approving travel or not. First he said to me, sandy, how are you going. To vote . Then i said thats why im going. And bill said, thats exactly why you should be going and he signed on and off i went, and i got into terrible political trouble as a result because i came back and worked on amendments. But with bill thomass help an amendment was added, which passed and the rest is history. Then the ambience within the committee began to be less close in terms of partisanship and bipartisanship. And charlie wrangle and i began to work on trade issues and to essentially negotiated a Free Trade Agreement with peru. But there was still some major bipartisanship at that time. So i just want to say a few words about that. I dont want to gloss over the differences of opinion among us. I dont want to indicate for a moment that because of the jurisdiction of this committee there isnt a strong likelihood there will be deep differences of opinion. But under dave camp and jim, there always was a sense of not only civility, but respect for each others ideas. Dave, when we said this, and i just wanted to repeat it, your work on tax reform was controversial and many of us had differences of opinion, as you know, on both parties, but we respected your willingness to step up to the plate and Say Something meaningful about tax reform for the United States u of america. [ applause ] so i close with this because i think the differences have deepened between the two parties. I think the differences have deepened within the United States of america. This is really the most polarized atmosphere that i have been in in the 32 plus years that ive been in the u. S. Congress. But i do think we have a legacy here within this committee. Its a legacy of acknowledging the unusual, often unique importance of the issues facing this committee. And therefore, because the issues run so deeply, theres a special need for the members of this committee to honestly and forthrightly exchange their differences of opinion and see if theres common ground. And thats our legacy here. Its alive. It isnt in addition to pictures on the wall. Its something that was engrained in me in the first trip that i took with ways and Means Committee. I loved it, to finish. I enjoyed it. I found the atmosphere on that bus, and we were stuck on that bus forever. I had to listen to barbara speak five different languages. I had to listen to bills terrible jokes. And i had to listen to sam gibbons tell me why it was good that japan could take over the American Auto industry. That was cruel and unusual punishment. But i learned there what has been such an important part of this committee. And as you take over and give us your thoughts, i know because of your fathers legacy having served on this committee for so many years and so many sessions, my guess is youre going to say to all of us here, you have special power and, therefore, you have special responsibility. Do it well. Thank you for having us at this dinner. [ applause ] sandy, thank you very, very much. I doubt theres a person here who does not know or know of coky roberts. She comes into our homes via npr and tv. We read her books, we see her in the halls of congress and in the Congressional Press office. We value her astute observations of congress and the legislative process. Shes also known to us because of family ties to congress. Her father was elected to congress when she was a toddler. He served here for 28 years. He was a member of this committee until he was elected House Majority leader. Her mother was a member of congress for 18 years. In addition, shes been an outstanding member of the board of trustees of the u. S. Capital Historical Society for many years. She came to us when she was a toddler as well. And were very grateful for her service on the committee. So ladies and gentlemen, please welcome coky roberts. Thank you, i think the congressman said it. I can just go home. You have a lot of power. Do it well. Excellent message. But really, its lovely to be with you. I didnt know i was your keynote speaker until i got the invitation. I thought i was the mc. But i actually studied. And that was useful. I was happy to do that. I am thrilled to be here. Congressman levin i have known for many years and its so nice to be in a room with someone older than me. And congressman ryan is the age of my youngest child. But its also very gracious of you to have us here. I did grow up in this room. I absolutely did. My father, i did look it up last night. My father came on this committee. He was actually elected before i was born. He was 26 in 1940. I think about it now, him and mom, coming here. She was 24, he was 26. They had two babies, neither of whom was me. And it was prewar washington. It was just like the books i write about women in history because it was all calling on people and all of that was exactly the way it was. Washington wasnt here, in jeffersons time. And it was really something to have to do. And then he was defeated in 1942. Went into the navy and came back in 46 and that huge post war congress, which was a republican congress. He was a democrat and then there was the huge 1948 congress that was the democratic congress. Jerry ford was elected, who was such a close friend of our familys for all of those decades. And so in 1949, my father came on this committee. I had just turned 5. I grew up in this room. My parents both worked on the hill. And they would just park me here. Nice people who worked here took care of me. My parents would now go to jail for this. But it was fun. I liked it. Everybody was really nice to me. And i liked being here. By the time my father left this committee when he was elected majority leader, i was 27 and had two children. So that was my duration as a child of congress in this room. And i learn not only to just be happy here and like the people here, but i did grow up in awe of the committee and of the work it did. When my mother came to congress, she went on an offshoot of the original ways and Means Committee called the appropriations committee. And thats awe of a different sort. My mother always said it was wonderful to be raised by nuns that was happy to spend other peoples money. But i really even as a little kid really i understood what happened here was important. My father was always really proud of the role he played in funding the interstate highway system. It was it needs tweaking now. This was more than 50 years ago, but he was the person who came up with the idea of how to fund the interstate highway system that president eisenhower was very keen on having be. A part of his legacy. And it had to happen in this committee. Now it didnt hurt that it made it easier for us as we drove back and forth from new orleans with five or six people and a dog in a small car and we were in an integrated car going through the segregated south. It was nice that the roads got better, but still, it was something my father was very proud of. And then in the Kennedy Administration the trade expansion act, sandy talked about sam gibbons, he and my father basically did that bill. And it was a huge part of the kennedy legacy. And aside from the work that was always fun, this committee was always a place where everybody got together and had a good time. When steve and i got married almost 49 years ago, the ways and Means Committee took up a collection for us. I cant tell you how grateful we were for this because at our wedding, im not making this up, there were 1500 people and my mother cooked for the whole thing. True story. And i still live in the house i grew up in. Our daughter got married 31 years later and it did not occur to me to cook. And i said to my mother at that point, why did you do that . She said, well, because it was cheap and also when you have people to your house youre supposed to entertain them yourself. Okay, fine, but then i said why do we have 1500 people any way . I mean we were still living off the wedding presents. She said, well, you know, i got daddy on a bad night, which could be easy and she said, who in the house do you want to have the wedding. We really have to know now. He said all the democrats. Now this was after the 1964 landslide so there were more than 300 democrats in the house. By the time we had them and some friendly republicans and enemy, the senate, and the extended family and we got to people we actually liked, it was 1500 people. And most members of Congress Gave you something from the Stationary Office with their name on it. I have so many things like tommy, senator from california, it looks like you stole it. And so i was really thrilled to get money from the ways and Means Committee. Its the only time they have actually given money. It was 250 in 1966. And we bought a very pretty piece of furniture, which is quite appropriately our liquor cabinet. One of the great characters of that time was a long time member of this committee. Tom obrien of chicago or blind tom, as he was familiarly known. He was known as that because he was the sheriff of cook county when al capone was there. He had been in congress. He quit congress to go home to chicago to become sheriff because it was a better job and really a better job in that circumstance. And came back to congress, by this time known as blind tom, and people thought that it was handic handicapped so he would get all these letters saying its so brave of you to serve in congress with your disability. Yeah, it was a disability, all right, it worked for him. My parent hs a Birthday Party for him and he was known as a great aficionado of the racetrack. They had a big cake that had a racetrack on it. And one of the long time employees of this committee, walter little, and i was in my teens, picked up a cake to move it to put something on a table. Not knowing that it had sort of box at each end, but nothing under the middle. So we dropped the cake. So walter says you stay here and ill fix it. So i stood, i remember exactly what i was wearing. And i had a green and white dress that i held out just in case anybody wanted to walk by so they couldnt see the cake. A glass of hot water and fixed it. Fast forward not that many years i come back to cover congress. Walter little is sitting outside the door of the ways and Means Committee. E he looks up at me and says, baby and then realizes my advanced age and says, im 30 by this time and said ms. Baby, how are you doing . I had more information about what was going on in committee than anybody else in the press corps and nobody could figure it out. It was fabulous. And in fact, he became my secret source for many, many years. His younger half brother then was here. Tim little, it was perfect. I knew things that nobody could figure out. We use d to all stand out there. The other body used to say all anyone was doing was just waiting until he made up his mind and trying to figure it out. It was true that for a long time it just seemed that wilbur mills was chairman forever. When i was growing up, i thought he had been chairman since 1789. And by the way, alex aander hamilton, all that business. About the 10 bill. Its fine to have him gone. He cheated on his wife and left her destitute. So lets just get him out of there. He was cute, ill give him cute. But when the by centennial was celebrated, they were furious that i talked about wilbur mills, but yesterday i did talk to the immediate past chairman and he told me this wonderful story of he had come on the committee and he was being summoned by the chairman to talk about trade. And he goes into the back office and he hears danny screaming at somebody over the phone. And his language was never polite. And congressman camp is thinking, dear god, whats going to happen to me. Then he says to the chairman, who were you talking to . He said, the president of mexico. So that was the chairman that you have come before. I must say i have to be eternally grateful to danny because one summer through a whole series of peculiar events a young girl came to work as his page and it was the same summer that my son was working as a page and they are now the parents of three of my grandchildren. So it is true that from the beginning you have had colorful chairman because its always going to be a powerful committee. And i really have to say you really dont want to emulate John Randolph. Yes, he had hunting dogs, but he was crazy. And he constantly challenged people to duels. His cousin was thomas jefferson, who was his enemy. And two of Thomas Jeffersons sonsinlaw, who were also John Randolphs cousins were in congress. He challenged both of them to duels. Now Dolly Madison managed to stave off one of them because it would have been a disaster for her husband. But that didnt stop jop randolph for accusing her of being overly sexed and the rul of that was she had unsexed her husband. It was charming in those days and he threatened to name the names of her amothers. So things have not changed in terms of how things play out. Then there was the fabulously odd stevens. Under him the ways and Means Committee pushed through the legal tender act of 1862 to print green backs to pay for the civil war. And it was just as women were arriving in washington any way because their husbands were off at war and needed jobs. And so the government starts printing money and then as now the money came off the Printing Presses in these enormous sheets of paper and now its cut up by machine. Its one of the most fun things to do in washington is to watch. But then you had to cut the green backs out with a a pair of scissors. Bill by bill by bill. So the treasurer of the United States hired women to do that saying quite simply women are just bet. Er with scissors than men are. It took awhile to fix that for women in america, thank you, both. And then there was a huge investigation about the women in the Treasury Department headed by a member of the ways and Means Committee named james garfie garfield. And his investigation had people saying it was a perfect at the Treasury Department with members of congress stashing their women there. There was a majority report and a minority report just in case you think things have changed. And the minority report got all of the attention because it described the treasury as a mass of immorality. Do we think they were trying to embarrass psimon chase, just a chance. But the good news out of that is that the women stayed in washington and their lives became much, much better as a result of that. I love that story because its a wonderful sort of historical washington story. But it tells you something more than the partisan posturing that was happening then as well as now. It tells you that the committee did come together to pay for the war and to win it. As the committee did on all kinds of important things throughout our history. Louisiana purchase, something very important to me. And modern time Social Security, medicare, all the major trade legislation, welfare reform and on and on. As dave camp said to me yesterday, so much goes through this committee that is so substantiative that you have to deal. Its really like its being in congress and then theres like being on the ways and Means Committee. And theres a lot of truth to that. But i would also Say Something beyond that. And what im going to say now both the left and the right will disagree with. But thats what i do for a living. This committee, in my view, shaped post world war ii america in a way that was a society where government, business and Nonprofit Institutions could come together to try to affect change for the better. That happened in this committee. As europe was going about its rebuilding after the war through government programs, which is now over taxed and i dont just mean that by taxing, but overtaxed in all kinds of ways. The u. S. Decided on this hybrid where tax incentives would stimulate private action. Now there was lots of opposition and there remains lots of opposition to that on the left saying that it should go through the appropriations process. You should set priorities. It should be more rational and business shouldnt get the kinds of breaks that sometimes happen as a result of these decisions. And theres been lots of opposition on the right saying government shouldnt be involved in these decisions at all. That its not governments role to decide whats worthy and whats not worthy. But i think that the ways and Means Committee has used the tax code to create an e enormous after the war to create a huge post war economy with research and development encouraged, with fostering the best in the world, educational institutions, plus an entire network of social Service Agencies supported by a combination of charitable contributions and in some cases government assistance. Its far from perfect. It always needs recalibrating. It needs to be adapted to changing times and circumstances, but in my view, its served the country much better than any alternative would have. So thats why i was actually pleased to be asked to keynote and celebrate with you tonight. Im also really happy to celebrate your coming together. As sandy talked about the trips, they are always so important. Dave camp said to me yesterday again, he said you have regular meals together so that the committee gets to know each other better than other committees in the house. But he told me the republicans eat with the republicans and the democrats eat with the democrats. I would suggest that maybe every fourth one or so of those meals you eat with each other and get to know each other. As you do it tonight, even John Randolph discovered that he had to go to Dolly Madisons squeezes, because thats where political information got exchanged and political deals got made. And she despite the evil things he had said in the public press about her received him because she knew that that was how people could come together to make the country operate at a time when it was very fragile and threatening to fall apart. So i think you might also find that there is value in that as well. Information to be exchanged and obtained, good fellowship to be enjoyed and a smoothing of the path to get things done so that the ways and Means Committee can continue to serve the country in the way it is done by and large admirably since the beginning of the republic. Thank you very much. [ applause ] thank you very, very much. Ladies and gentlemen, just a quick explanation of the u. S. Capital Historical Society and what we have tried to accomplish with this dinner. We were created by a member of congress 50