A member of the U.S. House of Representatives for 28 years, Bill Thomas has spent his career strengthening health care legislation, reducing tax burdens, advocating free and open trade and protecting workers' pensions. Bill continues his examination of substantial economic issues in search of coalition-building solutions through his work as a visiting fellow at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), a national think tank that brings together some of the country's most accomplished public policy experts.

As former chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, Bill was responsible for reforming Medicare legislation, nearly $2 trillion in tax relief and the recently approved Pension Protection Act, which requires employers to fully fund their pension obligations and prevents employers from using bankruptcy to walk away from pension obligations. He also led efforts to reduce the tax burden on small businesses, manufacturers and other job creators through a new tax deduction for domestic manufacturing activities; enhanced Section 179 expensing for small businesses; and international tax reforms to make U.S.-based companies that operate abroad more competitive.

With regard to health care, Bill chaired the conference committee for the Medicare Modernization Act in 2003, which created the Medicare prescription drug benefit and made critical reforms to help ensure that Medicare is available in the future. In 2005, Bill led the effort to further reform Medicare by ensuring the program pays appropriately for a number of health care services, including home health services, hospital care, durable medical equipment, imaging services and Medicare Advantage plans. He also led the drive to help Americans with their health care costs through Health Savings Accounts (HSAs).

During his six years as chairman, Bill helped the president attain trade promotion authority and guided seven free trade agreements through Congress. He also created an energy tax package aimed at strengthening the nation's existing energy infrastructure while promoting alternative energy sources.

Throughout his congressional career, Bill has been recognized for his fiscal conservatism. He is a multiple recipient of the Golden Bulldog Award for fiscal restraint and has been honored by the National Tax-Limitation Committee for his fight against waste in government spending. Bill has been recognized by the National Federation of Independent Business as a "Guardian of Small Business" and has received the "Spirit of Enterprise" award from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. The League of Private Property Voters has honored Bill as a "Champion of Private Property."

In joining Buchanan, Bill hopes to continue to work with stakeholders in solving problems that will ensure a better future for all Americans.

In July 2009, Bill was appointed as vice chairman of the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission, a 10-member bipartisan commission established to investigate the causes of the financial crisis. The commission is consistently holding hearings on the role of financial institutions and federal regulators relating to the financial crisis. The commission was established as part of the Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act that passed last year and is required to issue a final report by December 15, 2010. The commission hopes to provide the president and Congress a repository of information that can be used to help fix future financial problems and prevent another financial crisis from happening again.