Washington Internships. Deirdre Martinez

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СКАЧАТЬ increase my taxes that's being voted on today”). If you are interested in the policy process and the influence of constituents on voting, these are interesting phone calls! You might also be giving tours of the Capitol to constituents visiting Washington. Boring? Only if you think having a special-access pass that you get to flash at Capitol security as you airily escort your party through one of the most important buildings in the country is not really cool. And, as we'll discuss later, being thrilled to do grunt work is just about the best way to land yourself some really interesting projects-like writing talking points for your Member of Congress that you later get to watch her use on the floor of the House. From a student who was in Washington this past summer:

      I think one of the really key things about doing well in a Washington internship is to recognize the culture of Washington and always say yes to assignments and not pestering people but being there. People who are there and diligent at the beginning always get good assignments by the end and the people who annoy their supervisors or aren't as eager or act affronted when they get a menial assignment definitely has repercussions and that person will still be doing coffee and copies in the eighth week of their internship. I think more than other places, there's a culture of Washington that rewards enthusiasm and so by the end you can get really good projects if you show that enthusiasm.

       The People You'll Meet

      Let's start with the people you'll be working with. First, the internship coordinator role varies from office to office; in some offices the receptionist/staff assistant (the first job on the congressional office career ladder) gets that privilege. Yes, they're just a receptionist, but be careful not to dismiss him or her; having an ally who makes assignment decisions could be very useful. Also, people move very quickly in Washington, with job changes/promotions happening as often as once every year or two. That means you should be nice to everyone and keep in touch with them after you leave, because you never know where they might be and what they might be able to do for you.

      Moving up the ladder, an office may have an LC, a legislative correspondent. They are in charge of responding to constituent mail, which means you may well be working with them while you're there. The scheduler is the gatekeeper; that person takes meeting requests, arranges visits with constituents, and prepares a daily schedule for the Member of Congress. The scheduler is frequently putting out fires: shuffling appointments, giving someone the politest brush-off, sending urgent emails to a MIA MOC telling him he's about to miss a vote. If you can do anything for the scheduler, you should; otherwise, stay out of his way.

      The chief of staff is in charge of the running of the office; managing staff, budgets, strategizing with the Member, and (on their own time, of course) assisting with campaign fundraising. A letter of recommendation from a chief of staff is very, very valuable, but not if you didn't actually do anything that she noticed. So if you want to cash in, you need to be sure to make a good impression.

      On the legislative side, most offices have a legislative director (known as the LD), who manages the legislative staff, tracks legislative floor and committee activity, and may do some long-term strategizing with the Member of Congress to define and achieve legislative priorities. When I was a legislative director I also supervised interns and gave them assignments. Other staff include legislative assistants, who are assigned to particular committees or issues, and a press secretary, whose job is to keep her boss in the news (particularly the local news), so long as the news is good. Press secretaries field lots of calls from the media, schedule press conferences, and write press releases. If your particular interest is media, getting assigned to a press secretary would be a great introduction.

      In addition to the people in the office, you never know who you may meet as you staff the front desk or carry out your other duties. Lobbyists, activists, analysts—they all spend lots of time in the front offices of Members of Congress. You never know where a little friendly conversation may lead.

       What You'll Get

      While interns are not likely to spend a great deal of time directly with the Member of Congress (this came as a surprise to some of the interns I supervised when I was an LD), it is possible in this sort of position to be very close to the day-to-day action. Interns will gain a thorough understanding of the legislative process, the roles of each member of the staff, and the work of a Member of Congress. Internships are also now the first rung in the ladder of congressional employment; having had a congressional internship makes you a strong candidate for an entry-level position in a congressional office.

INTERNING IN THE SENATE

      GOOD BOOKS AND WEBSITES

      The Most Exclusive Club: A History of the Modern United States Senate by Lewis L. Gould (2006)

       http://www.senate.gov

       http://thehill.com

       Where You'll Be

      The Capitol Complex is kind of like a sandwich; on one side you have the House buildings, in the middle is the Capitol itself, and on the other side, running along Constitution Avenue (and a bit to the north), are the Senate Office Buildings. The Russell building, completed in 1908, is nearest the Capitol. The Dirksen Senate Office Building was the second of three office buildings constructed for the United States Senate. Located northeast of the Capitol on a site bounded by Constitution Avenue, C Street, First Street, and Second Street N.E., it adjoins the more modern looking Hart Senate Office Building. Like most things about the Senate, the buildings on the Senate side are more glamorous and grand than the House buildings. Remember that in the House, each of the 435 Members represents a little over 600,000 people; in the Senate, most of the 100 Senators represent millions each. While there are states with populations the size of a congressional district (North Dakota, Vermont, Delaware), think of states the size of California (population 36 million) or Texas (23 million). As a result, offices in the Senate are larger than in the House, with staffs of as many as forty, depending on the size of their staffing budget, which is based on the population of the state the Senator represents.

      During the summer, a Senate office will generally have three to seven interns, though some offices find room for as many as ten, and often they run two six-week sessions to give more students the opportunity to intern. The physical size of the office, which dictates how many staff and interns a Senator can house, depends somewhat on the Senator's seniority, which building she is in, and the population of the State they represent. Offices in Russell are smaller than those in Hart or Dirksen and may be divided among several floors.

      As in the House, you are most likely to find an internship with one of the two Senators from your home state, though committee offices are always worth a try. Also look at the websites for the leadership offices; there are very few internship positions available in these but it can't hurt to ask.

       What You'll Do

      All interns will be expected to help the staff assistants in answering phones, sorting and sometimes responding to constituent mail, and conducting tours of the Capitol for constituents. As an example of the funny things interns are sometimes asked to do, you might be asked to save a field on the National Mall (the national park area that runs from the Congress, past the White House, up to the Lincoln Memorial) for office softball games. If an intern is particularly interested in press issues, he may become the special intern of the press office. This person will be expected to arrive around 7:30 A.M. to search for articles that mention the Senator and send out a staff email. Occasionally, a legislative assistant might ask an intern to conduct research on a new or developing issue area, draft talking points, or attend hearings. Depending on the office, there may be special projects that interns work on over the course of the СКАЧАТЬ