<P> The U.S. Constitution requires that all bills regarding taxation must originate in the House of Representatives . Since House procedure is that all bills regarding taxation must go through this committee, the committee is very influential, as is its Senate counterpart, the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance . </P> <P> Recent chairs have included Bill Thomas, Charlie Rangel, Sander Levin, and Dave Camp . On November 4, 2015 Representative Kevin Brady of Texas was chosen to succeed Representative Paul Ryan as chairman . </P> <P> The idea of a ways and means committee to handle the financial matters of a legislature is an old one, having been used in the British Parliament and the colonial and early state legislatures in America . </P> <P> The Committee was first established during the first Congress, in 1789 . However, this initial version was disbanded after only 8 weeks; for the next several years, only ad hoc committees were formed, to write up laws on notions already debated in the whole House . It was first established as a standing committee by resolution adopted December 21, 1795, and first appeared among the list of regular standing committees on January 7, 1802 . Upon its original creation, it held power over both taxes and spending, until the spending power was given to the new Appropriations Committee in 1865 . </P>

What is the purpose of a ways and means committee