John McClelland ’87: Advisor to

John McClelland ’87 has spent the last 22 years working in Washington, D.C. in roles that provide advice to policy makers on how changes in tax policy impact the public and the economy. He joined the federal civil service in 1997 as a Financial Economist in the Office of Tax Analysis at the Department of the Treasury, and was later selected to join the Senior Executive Service which is the top rung of civil service and typically works closely with Presidential appointees. In that role, he became the Director of Revenue Estimating for the Department of the Treasury, and in 2012 he was appointed the Special Assistant to the Director of Tax Analysis where he helped to manage the work of the Office of

Tax Analysis. John left the Department of the Treasury in 2016 to work for the Congress. Now as Director of Tax Analysis at the Congressional Budget Office, he advises the CBO Director on tax and revenue issues and manages the work of CBO’s Tax Analysis Division. The Tax Analysis Division projects future federal revenues (from individual income taxes, payroll taxes, corporate income taxes, and other sources), using economic models and microsimulation techniques. The division also analyzes the distribution of federal taxes and spending, and examines how possible changes in tax law would affect the behavior of taxpayers and the overall economy.

John lives in Arlington, Virginia with his wife, Karen, who is Director of Auxiliary Programs at Sidwell Friends School, and their daughter, Sam, who is a senior at Sidwell. Their son, Keegan, is a junior at James Madison University. John’s mother, Jean McClelland, taught mathematics at Friends in the 80s and 90s, and his sister, Elizabeth McClelland Lutostansky ’88, is an alum. We recently asked John to tell us a bit more about his work and his WFS education.

of every individual. That as a community we were stronger if those voices could be heard and, just as importantly, be listened to. In my career in WashLQJWRQ,VHUYHRXUHOHFWHGRIˉFLDOVUHJDUGOHVVRISDUW\E\JLYLQJWKHPWKH information that they need to help them make decisions. My Quaker education has helped to listen to policy makers to understand what they need and to broadly synthesize diverse views and represent them fairly.

What do you value most about your Quaker Education? ,YDOXHWKHVHOIFRQˉGHQFHLWSURYLGHG,DOZD\VIHOWWKDWP\YRLFHFRXOGEH heard and that my views were valued. That helped me develop a sense of self which provided a strong foundation for life after Wilmington Friends.

Why did you choose Quaker Education for your children? WFS was the beginning of my education and it is where I learned how to learn. Those are the skills that I have used every day since and is the foundation for every success that I have had. A Quaker education has given my GDXJKWHUWKHVDPHJLIWDWUHPHQGRXVDSSHWLWHIRUOHDUQLQJDQG EHOLHIWKDW everyone should be treated with respect for their individual perspective.

What is the most interesting part of your job? My job is interesting because I am continually working on new and hard questions. Everything I work on results from a question from Congress and UHˊHFWVWKHPRVWLPSRUWDQWHFRQRPLFSROLF\LVVXHVRIWKHGD\ 2YHUWKH past few months I have worked on issues of income inequality, tariffs and international trade, impacts of the minimum wage, reforms of our healthcare system, and how to stimulate the economy. The most interesting part of my job is the breadth of issues I get to work on.

What is the most challenging? It is challenging to communicate the results of our analysis in a way that is clear to a broad audience. Users of our work range from very experienced members of Congress and their staffs to those who are brand new to Washington. We strive to communicate the nuances of our analysis clearly and concisely so that it is useful to the Congress.

Over your years in Washington, have you seen a change in the way Congress has approached the subject of budgets and taxation? :KHQ,ˉUVWVWDUWHGZRUNLQJLQ:DVKLQJWRQIRUWKH7UHDVXU\'HSDUWPHQWWKH IHGHUDOEXGJHWKDGMXVWPRYHGLQWRVXUSOXVIRUWKHˉUVWWLPHLQRYHU\HDUV At that time there was a lot of attention on spending and taxes and how to balance them. Those surpluses only lasted for four years and now we have KDGDOPRVW\HDUVRIODUJHGHˉFLWVWKDWDUHSURMHFWHGWRFRQWLQXHLQWRWKH IXWXUH7KHVHODUJHGHˉFLWVLQSDUWUHˊHFWWKDWSROLF\PDNHUVVHHEDODQFLQJ the budget as a lower priority than they did when I started in Washington.

Have you seen changes in Washington overall? The political discourse is less polite, and compromises seem rarer. This means that it harder to get big things accomplished.