Rep. Paul Ryan has been elected Speaker of the House and the next battle for conservatives centers on who will take his place as chairman of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee. The Ways and Means Committee is the central battleground for the future of tax reform. If we are ever to limit the power of the federal Leviathan, we will need a chairman willing to fight on principle for key conservative reforms. That person is Rep. Pat Tiberi (R-OH).
Tiberi is one of two members who have declared their candidacy for the vacant chairmanship. If you can tell a man by his friends, Tiberi is the right person to take the gavel. Tiberi has a perfect pro-life position throughout his career in Congress. Likewise he is pro-gun and has been endorsed repeatedly by the National Rifle Association with an "A" rating. He has also scored 90% by Gun Owners of America and has an outstanding record on tax issues, including support for the Americans for Tax Reform "No New Tax" Pledge.
On tax issues, which are the most pertinent for the Ways and Means Committee, Tiberi has supported reducing the capital gains tax, he supported effort to make the Bush tax cuts permanent, and wanted to eliminate the death tax. Most critically, Tiberi has pledged to push for a Reagan-type tax reform that will limit the power of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and reduce the tax burden on all Americans.
America sits at the tipping point. If we are ever going to stop the growth of federal power, we must limit the ability of the government to grab money from our wallets and pocketbooks. It is critical at the next chairman of the tax-writing committee share those beliefs. With a long history of support on reducing taxes, there is little doubt Tiberi would be a leader in the fight to reduce the power of Washington.
