A genuine legend on Capitol Hill Janice Wesleyan’s graduating seniors anxiously awaited the call to action and inspiration of commencement speaker Janice Mays, Democratic Chief Counsel and Chief Tax Counsel for the House Ways and Means Committee. A member of Wesleyan’s Class of 1973, Mays said, “Wesleyan is a shared experience for all of us. It does not matter when we attended. We share an excellent education, common traditions, and lifelong friendships as did our predecessors and as will the many women who follow us.” In an article for The Washington Post, Mary Ann Akers called Mays “the most powerful woman in Congress you’ve never heard of…a genuine legend on Capitol Hill.” Janice Mays joined the House Ways and Means Committee staff in 1975, the same year she graduated from law school. Initially, she was one of three tax counsels for the body and, throughout several presidential administrations, she has assumed greater responsibility on the committee. Today, Mays assists Democratic members with their legislative efforts related to those issues within the jurisdiction of the Ways and Means Committee – including tax, trade, Social Security, Medicare, welfare, 38
A. Mays
and unemployment compensation. Janice Mays has been instrumental in passing every major tax bill during her 36-year tenure on Capitol Hill and is widely recognized as a leading tax policy expert. Mays earned a bachelor’s degree (graduating cum laude) from Wesleyan College in 1973, where she was the only student at the time to major in political science. She went on to earn a Juris Doctor (J.D.) from the University of Georgia School of Law in 1975, and in 1981, she earned a Master of Law in Taxation from the Georgetown University Law Center. While at Wesleyan, she engaged in a three-month stint in the State Capitol as a legislative intern which led to a lifelong passion for service to others. She began law school planning to work in legal services for the underprivileged, but ended up in public service with the legislative branch of our nation’s government. “I am amazed to look back on my life at those seemingly random but fateful events that led me in unexpected directions,” she said. “Like many, at first I didn’t plan to stay in Washington long. Today I am
’ 7 3 happy that I never left. I was fortunate to find my purpose in life, and that is to help make government work best for all of us.” The Committee on Ways and Means is the oldest committee of the United States Congress, and is the chief taxwriting committee in the House of Representatives. The Committee derives a large share of its jurisdiction from Article I, Section VII of the U.S. Constitution that declares, “All Bills for raising Revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives.” The committee exercises jurisdiction over revenue and related issues such as tariffs, reciprocal trade agreements, and the bonded debt of the United States. Revenue-related aspects of the Social Security system, Medicare, and social services programs have come within Ways and Means’ purview in the 20th century. The roster of committee members who have gone on to serve in higher office is impressive. Eight Presidents and eight Vice Presidents have served on Ways and Means, as have twenty-one Speakers of the House of Representatives, and four Justices of the Supreme Court.
Pictured above: Wesleyan College Board of Trustees Chair Gena R. Franklin ’71 with 2011 Commencement Speaker Janice A. Mays ’73