Press Releases

Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA) announced today that he has received an appointment to the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, one of the five exclusive House committees. Ways and Means has a wide breadth of jurisdiction, including health care, trade policy and tariffs, and oversight of Medicare and Social Security. It is the House Committee directly responsible for writing tax legislation, and the oldest standing committee in the United States Congress.

Beyer said:

“I am thrilled to accept this appointment to the House Committee on Ways and Means.

“Ways and Means must lead the way on a carbon pricing program, and I am excited to serve on the Committee which will help develop this and other policies to address climate change. Ways and Means will also take the lead on reorienting 21st century capitalism, which, undergirded by our tax system, is primarily delivering for the wealthiest among us. This is the committee tasked with preserving Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid for future generations while funding fully universal healthcare that leaves no Americans behind. Additionally, in this next Congress, the committee will play a critical oversight role of an administration prone to scandal, as well as tax and financial opacity.

“I believe my experience from 44 years building a family business from eight employees to 320 has given me valuable insight into the best ways to support a modern workforce, and my service as Lieutenant Governor of Virginia gave me an important perspective into the impact of federal fiscal policy on my constituents. My service on the Joint Economic Committee has increased my expertise in many of the policy areas under the jurisdiction of Ways and Means.

“This is a moment of extraordinary challenge for the country, and I am grateful to have this chance to work with Chairman Neal on crafting progressive solutions to problems facing the American people. I thank my colleagues for this position, and my constituents in Virginia’s 8^th District for sending me back to Congress.”

The House Committee on Ways and Means will be Chaired in the 116^th Congress by Rep. Richard Neal (D-MA). The last Virginia Representative to serve on the panel was Republican Majority Leader Eric Cantor, and it has not had a Democratic Member from the Commonwealth of Virginia for over two decades.

Rep. Beyer previously served as the Vice Ranking Member of the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, and is co-Chair of the Congressional Safe Climate Caucus. He has also served on the House Committee on Natural Resources and the Joint Economic Committee. He previously served two terms as Virginia's Lieutenant Governor, and as President Obama’s Ambassador to Switzerland and Liechtenstein from 2009 to 2013.