Committee InfoDescriptionHello representatives, and welcome to the House Committee on Ways & Means. This committee is a very prominent one. It is the main tax-writing committee of the House of Representatives, and is in charge of taxation and many revenue-raising measures. Ways & Means’ responsibilities include governing Social Security, unemployment benefits, Medicare, foster care and adoption programs, and many other important issues. The Senate Committee on Finance is the Ways & Means Committee’s counterpart, although the latter is far more powerful: all bills regarding taxation must originate in the House.As of recent, the Ways & Means Committee has passed several important pieces of legislation. On December 3, 2009 the House approved H.R. 4154, the Permanent Estate Tax Relief for Families, Farmers, and Small Businesses Act of 2009 that was introduced by the Ways & Means Committee. This legislation extends current law that would exempt estates up to $3.5 million per individual ($7 million total for married couples) with a maximum rate of 45 percent on estates above this threshold. In 2008 the Ways & Means Committee also passed the “Energy and Tax Extenders Act of 2008†which amended the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide incentives for energy production and conservation, to extend certain expiring provisions, and to provide individual income tax relief. The Ways & Means Committee has a Democratic majority. There are 26 Democrats and 15 Republicans. The committee chairman is Charlie Rangel of New York and the ranking member is Dave Camp of Michigan. There are six subcommittees in the committee. They include: Trade, Oversight, Health, Social Security, Income & Family Support, and Select Revenue Measures. The Ways & Means Committee held its bicentennial in 1989. Since being founded in 1789, it is among the oldest committees in the House of Representatives. Ways & Means is the chief tax-writing committee in the House. Because the Senate is unable to levy taxes, Ways & Means is an extremely powerful committee. Its members are not permitted to serve on any other House committees. If you are interested in learning more about the committee you can access its website at http://waysandmeans.house.gov/. This website will provide you with more updated information on the committee as the conference grows closer. If you need help with writing/researching bills, http://thomas.loc.gov/ is a great resource. --------------------- Hey everybody and welcome to Penn Model Congress! My name is Lauren Dinella and I'm a freshman in the nursing school here at Penn. I'm from Moorestown, New Jersey (not too far away) and I went to high school at Moorestown High School. My school was heavily involved in model congress. I myself attended 12 conferences. I've been a delegate many times, so if you have any concerns or questions regarding anything please don't hesitate to contact me at ldinella@nursing.upenn.edu I really look forward to meeting you and I hope you'll take the time to prepare for conference so we can have an exciting four days of debate! Hello, my name is Stephen Fritz, from Lexington, Kentucky. I'm a freshman in the College of Arts and Sciences, where I'm considering double majoring in history and political science. I participated in Kentucky's version of Model Congress (KYA!) for seven years throughout middle and high school, so if you have any questions about procedure or bill topics, feel free to e-mail me at jafritz@sas.upenn.edu. For those of you in the Supreme Court program, I'll be Chief Justice for one chamber. I can point you in the direction of precedent or basic arguments if you need any help. Besides Penn MC, I'm involved in Penn Democrats, the Penn Political Review, Penn Quiz Bowl, Penn ACLU, and Penn Cycling. Please don't hesitate to e-mail me if you have any questions, and I look forward to many rounds of riveting debate! Chairs
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Account LoginConference DatesMarch 31 - April 3, 2011 RegistrationRegistration is now closed. InformationClick here for more details about PENNMC 2011! Check us out on Facebook!
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