[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 75 (Thursday, May 12, 2016)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E683-E684]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        HONORING JANICE ANN MAYS

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. SANDER M. LEVIN

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 12, 2016

  Mr. LEVIN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Janice Ann Mays on her 
retirement from the U.S. House of Representatives, and to thank her for 
over 40 years of public service. During a career spanning over 40 
years, from 1975 to 2016, she served the House of Representatives as 
Democratic Staff Director and Chief Counsel to the Committee on Ways 
and Means. She is a friend to all and well known for referring to 
everyone who meets her affectionately as ``Sweetie.''
  Janice received her undergraduate degree from Wesleyan College in 
Macon, Georgia. She then received her Juris Doctorate from the 
University of Georgia College of Law in Athens, Georgia.
  Janice joined the Ways and Means Committee staff on December 15, 
1975. She was one of three Tax Counsels and the only woman. Janice was 
given a small desk behind a door in 1104 Longworth. She was paid less 
than the men on her team and found women often excluded from 
organizations where tax policies were developed.
  To say that Janice overcame obstacles and flourished is an 
understatement. She worked hard and went to school in the evening. She 
received a Masters of Law in Taxation from the Georgetown University 
School of Law. She was a founding member of an organization that 
gathered women in D.C. working on tax policy to discuss ideas and 
legislative initiatives. In May 1987, she was promoted to the 
Committee's Chief Tax Counsel and Staff Director for the Subcommittee 
on Select Revenue. In 1993, she became the Democratic Staff Director 
and Chief Counsel to the Committee.
  Janice's exhaustive efforts on behalf of the Congress and legendary 
work on the Tax Reform Act of 1986 have improved the lives of millions 
of Americans. She has managed with grace a Committee with broad 
jurisdiction that touches all aspects of American life--tax, trade, 
Social Security, Medicare, unemployment compensation, and many other 
income security issues.
  If you ask Janice about her proudest accomplishment, she will smile 
and quickly tell you that it is encouraging people to work in

[[Page E684]]

government. She is proud of the Committee staff she has built. She has 
been a friend and a mentor to many on Capitol Hill--from interns to 
Staff Directors and Members. Staff on both sides of the aisle admire 
her and look up to her. For so many she has served as the model Capitol 
Hill staff person. If you catch her in a moment of reflection, she will 
say that it is leaving the people she has met, worked with, and 
mentored that cause her the most sadness.
  I know I speak for the Members of the Ways and Means Committee--
present and past--when I say we are truly honored to have worked with 
Janice. It is hard to imagine the Ways and Means Committee, and indeed, 
the House of Representatives, without Janice Mays. Her service has 
epitomized the very best in public service: hard work, loyalty and 
complete dedication to making government work for the people.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask that my colleagues on both sides of the aisle join 
me in thanking Janice for the lasting mark she has left on the Ways and 
Means Committee and the U.S. Congress. I wish her the best as she moves 
on to the next chapter in her career and her life. Congratulations. We 
will truly miss you.

                          ____________________