The Select Committee on Ways and Means

On this date, during the 1st Congress (1789–1791) the House of Representatives created the Select Committee on Ways and Means. The Committee on Ways and Means, which became a standing committee during the 7th Congress (1801–1803), is one of the oldest established committees in the House. Thomas Fitzsimons of Pennsylvania was the first chairman of the select committee. Although the committee was originally conceived to review matters of taxation and finance, the committee’s jurisdiction also covered revenue and spending bills and eventually extended to oversight of social welfare programs. The committee’s power expanded greatly during the Civil War, as it legislated the creation of the first national income tax and a national paper currency. Due to the committee's heavy workload, Chairman Thaddeus Stevens of Pennsylvania delegated the new responsibilities to the subcommittees on revenue and banking and currency. According to The Committee on Ways and Means, A Bicentennial History, Stevens pioneered the technique of parceling out committee business by jurisdiction and assigning Members with expertise on particular subjects to chair specific subcommittees. By 1865, the growing committee workload spurred the creation of two new standing committees: Appropriations and Banking and Currency.