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House Ways & Means Committee Director Janice Mays to Deliver Commenment Address
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MACON, Ga. — Wesleyan College’s graduating seniors anxiously await the call to action and inspiration of commencement speaker Janice A. Mays, U.S. House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee Democratic Staff Director, Chief Counsel, and Chief Tax Counsel. Wesleyan expects to graduate 94 candidates for undergraduate Bachelor of Arts degrees on May 14, 2011. In separate ceremonies during July and August, Wesleyan will award 7 graduate degrees to professionals through its Executive Master of Business Administration program and 18 graduate degrees to professionals through its Master of Education program.
2011 Commencement Speaker Janice Mays has devoted her entire career to public service. She 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 holds the titles of Democratic Staff Director, Chief Counsel, and Chief Tax Counsel and 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, and unemployment compensation.
Janice Mays has been instrumental in passing every major tax bill during her 36-year tenure on Capital Hill and is widely recognized as a leading tax policy expert. Since 1987, she also has served as the Staff Director for the Subcommittee on Select Revenue Measures. She is the first woman to hold these influential staff positions. Mays earned a bachelor’s degree (graduating cum laude) from Wesleyan College in 1973, and a Juris Doctor (J.D.) from the University of Georgia School of Law in 1975. In 1981, she earned a Master’s of Law in Taxation from the Georgetown University Law Center.
The Committee on Ways and Means is the oldest committee of the United States Congress, and is the chief tax-writing 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 21 Speakers of the House of Representatives, and four Justices of the Supreme Court.
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 has helped write scores of major tax bills that have become law, and said, “I believe in government. I believe a government can help people. Being in a position here to help people has been very special.” Widely respected by Congress, Cabinet members, and top Presidential advisors as one of the truly outstanding public servants in government today, Mays’ contributions to the country have been, and continue to be, significant and selfless. By virtue of her legal expertise, political savvy, and disarming Southern charm, Janice Mays has had a profound influence on all tax legislation considered by the Congress over the last three decades, as well as on much other legislation that directly affects the daily lives of millions of Americans. In 2004, the University of Georgia Law School Association awarded Mays with the inaugural Alumni Distinguished Public Service award. During the 2011 Commencement, Wesleyan will honor Mays with an honorary Doctor of Laws degree.
While an undergraduate student at Wesleyan College, Janice Mays served on Mortarboard, was Chairman of Honor Court, and editor of the campus newspaper Times & Challenge. She was a member of Who’s Who in American Colleges and Universities, Phi Kappa Phi, Pi Gamma Mu, Pi Delta Epsilon, and Kappa Delta Epsilon. Mays received the Katherine Rogers Scholarship, Stunt Scholarship, Times and Challenge Communications Award, and was a Legislative Intern (State House of Representatives), Vice President of SGA, and Judicial Secretary of SGA.
Marker & Baccalaureate Ceremonies
Friday, May 13, 2011. 6:15PM Marker ceremony at Old Wesleyan campus site located in downtown Macon is followed at 7:00PM by Baccalaureate at Mulberry Street United Methodist Church. Students and faculty process in regalia from Old Wesleyan campus site (at main post office on College Avenue) to the church.
2011 Commencement Exercises
Saturday, May 14, 2011. 10:00AM Commencement Exercises
Wesleyan College Porter Auditorium. (First woman) U.S. House of Representatives Ways & Means Committee Staff Director and Democratic Chief Tax Counsel Janice A. Mays, Wesleyan Class of 1973, will give the commencement address. |
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