CONWAY, Ark. (November 30, 2012) - Hendrix alumnus U.S. Rep. Tim Griffin was selected by the House Republican Steering Committee to serve on the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee.
Griffin, a 1990 Hendrix graduate who represents Arkansas' 2nd congressional district, is the first Arkansas Republican selected to serve on the committee. He won his first re-election bid in November. The appointment means he won't run for governor or challenge Democratic U.S. Sen. Mark Pryor in 2014, he told The Associated Press.
Griffin is the ninth Arkansan to serve on the committee. One of his 2nd district predecessors, Wilbur Mills, a Democrat, is also a Hendrix alumnus. Mills, a 1930 graduate, was chairman of Ways and Means from 1958 to 1975, making him the longest-serving chairman in the committee's history.
Griffin was interviewed by Hendrix classmate Roby Brock '88 for this article in the fall 2011 issue of Hendrix magazine.
Founded in 1789, the Ways and Means Committee is the oldest committee in Congress and is responsible for considering legislation related to trade agreements, the national debt, federal revenues and programs such as Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security.
Founded in 1876, Hendrix College is a national leader in engaged liberal arts and sciences education. For the fifth consecutive year, Hendrix was named one of the country's "Up and Coming" liberal arts colleges by U.S. News and World Report. Hendrix is featured in the 2012 edition of the Princeton Review as one of the country's best 377 colleges, the latest edition of Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think about Colleges, Forbes magazine's annual list of America's Top 650 Colleges, and the 2013 edition of the Fiske Guide to Colleges. Hendrix has been affiliated with the United Methodist Church since 1884. For more information, visit www.hendrix.edu.