In early December, a new Republican Ranking Member of the House Ways and Means Committee will be elected, with the current top GOPer on this key House Committee, Jim McCrery of Louisiana, retiring at the end of this term. The race to succeed McCrery has developed into a two-man competition, between Californian Wally Herger, who is next highest in seniority on the Committee, and Michigan Congressman David Camp.
I have known Congressman Herger for nearly two decades, and he is the kind of Reagan conservative that House Republicans need to elevate to these important posts as we work to re-earn our brand name as being a party of true fiscal conservatism. Congressman Herger is the kind of strong and articulate conservative that is essential in order to take on the notoriously liberal Chairman of the Committee, New York liberal Charlie Rangel who is infamous for his egregious Monument To Me earmark to create the Rangel Center at a College in his District (to house his 
“library”).
Last week, I had a chance to talk with Congressman Herger (a keen eye will see the FlashReport up on his computer in the photo to the right!). The Congressman told me that, “Some of the most important issues facing our nation today will be before the Ways and Means Committee – all tax issues, healthcare reform, the entitlement crisis, and free trade agreements. I believe we need a principled conservative who came up under the foundation of Ronald Reagan’s Presidency to lead this Committee. No committee is more important.”
The Congressman was quite direct when I asked him about the Chairmanship of Rangel, “Through Charlie Rangel’s leadership, Congress is poised to take a hard left turn. Rangel has promised to deliver, ‘The mother of all tax hikes,’ and we need to stand ready to fight that!”
HERGER LAUNCHES NEW WEBSITE
I spoke with the Congressman just before he prepared to launch a new website featuring an in-depth look at the major issues facing the Ways and Means Committee today. Taxes, 
entitlement reform, health care solutions, and the need to continue pursuing free trade each having their own section with a combination of big picture thinking on the issues along with specific policy solutions. Also included in the site are previous news releases, speeches, opinion pieces, and videos of Congressman Herger’s efforts on the Ways & Means Committee. The site has a multimedia flavor to it, with short videos explaining Congressman Herger’s policy positions on each page. I encourage you to check out the site here.
Herger hails from California’s sprawling 2nd District, which many call the “North State” above Sacramento. A husband, a father and a grandfather, Herger spent four years on his local school board before his election in 1980 to the California State Assembly, and then his election to Congress six years later.
THE CHALLENGER
Herger’s challenger for the position of Ranking Member, Congressman Dave Camp of Michigan, is said to be the favorite of the lobbyist crowd on K Street, which instantly makes this columnist a bit nervous. Now more than ever, we need a leader who is going to dig in their heels against the onslaught of liberal legislation that Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Charlie Rangel will be anxious to put on President Obama’s desk. It is also worth noting that Congressman Camp has signed a letter to Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson and Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke urging that the federal “bail out” funds authorized by Congress be used to bail out American automobile makers. Most disturbing.
I asked Congressman Herger about his colleague, Congressman Camp – and as I suspected, knowing that Herger is a true statesmen, he said that his run for Ranking Member would be focused on his qualifications and his achievements on the committee. He actually said, "I have a great deal of admiration and respect for Representative Camp.”
As Congressman Herger and I ended our chat, he reminded me that, “The Ways and Means Committee is the major battleground for our fiscal future.”
He isn’t kidding.
Wally Herger is the right man to lead Republicans on that Committee, and his election would be a strong signal, as we saw with many of the House GOP leadership post elections last week, that strong conservatives are moving into key positions – essential to achieving a principled Republican majority in Congress.
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