Our Opinion: Jason Smith's experience will be valuable in second term as Ways and Means chairman

Sailors know the deep blue seas are unpredictable and powerful. One minute, the water is glass, and the gentle breeze is warm and inviting. The next, Poseidon himself seems to be churning the briny depths, and ferocious winds threaten to send hapless victims to their death.

The imagery may be a bit much to compare with Congress, but not by much. We just witnessed a near-miss of a federal government shutdown, for example.

That’s why we need experienced, rational leaders running things on Capitol Hill.

Enter Jason Smith, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee.

A member of Congress since 2013, the 8th District congressman has more than a decade of experience. He knows how things work and how to get things done.

For more than half his time in the U.S. House, he has been part of the Republican leadership.

In 2021, caucus members elected him Republican leader on the House Budget Committee, and in 2023, he took the gavel of Ways and Means, the tax-writing committee in the House. His colleagues recently awarded him a second term as chairman.

What will the committee be working on in the next two years?

Federal tax policy. Trade and tariffs. Social Security. Medicare. Medicaid.

Most of the most important things our federal government oversees, to put a fine point on it. The committee’s actions will touch the lives of everyone in the country, and their work will produce real-world results that will affect our economy for years to come.

We believe the congressman will use his rural Missouri upbringing to guide not only his stewardship of the committee but its priorities and policies as well.

As rural America goes, so goes our nation, and after a Biden administration that disproportionately focused on urban areas, rural America is under challenge. It takes success in both rural and urban areas for America to fully thrive.

We wish Jason Smith a successful term as chairman of Ways and Means and a successful term for Congress in general.

To return to the open oceans metaphor for a moment … Even though Republicans will be holding a tiny majority in the House and have regained a majority in the Senate, with Donald Trump returning to the Oval Office, we expect resistance and opposition to be loud if not effective. There are likely choppy waters ahead. We don’t expect smooth sailing, but Jason Smith has earned a powerful role of trust between many factions, and he will need all of his talent to broker compromises to succeed.