Washington Internships. Deirdre Martinez

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СКАЧАТЬ Conroy describes the intern project in Senator Bob Casey's office:

      Interns who get to know and really work well with their legislative mentors can bring new ideas to the table. We ask our interns over the course of their internship to come up with a bill and what we really said was, this is not just a chance for you to come out of this internship with a writing sample, which is always good, but if there's a great idea you come up with we will work with you to see if that's something our office can do. As a freshman office we are constantly looking to define ourselves and figure out unique ways for the Senator to get involved in issues and prioritize his agenda and sometimes unique ideas from interns get the ball rolling.

       The People You'll Meet

      Like the House, there are pretty clear divisions between people who keep the office running smoothly and handle the more political end of things (the chief of staff, schedulers, front office staff) and legislative staff (i.e., legislative assistants and the director). You'll also have staff handling constituent concerns (i.e., legislative correspondents) and the press office. What these people do is mostly similar to what people do on the House side, just bigger. There are more staff doing these jobs, there are more constituents, more issues, more visitors—you get the idea. Also, probably because there are more staff to go around, staff on the Senate side are more likely to be specialists. On the House side, you'll typically have three legislative assistants; Members typically get two committee assignments, so two of those LAs will get a committee each, plus a few other issues to cover when they come to the full House for votes. The third LA covers everything that's left. On the Senate side, you'll have multiple staff assigned to each committee, and because of the more demanding schedule a Senator has, staff tend to do much more of the legwork before the Senator gets involved.

       What You'll Get

      As in the House, interns will likely gain a thorough understanding of the roles of each member of the staff and the busy life of a Senator. Liz Conroy in Senator Casey's office describes the ebb and flow of a summer internship on the Senate side: “Summer is great because there's a mix of recess time and heavy in-session time so they get to see everything from the drive and subsequent release when we finally get to recess. They'll see heavy mail and call in campaigns from interest groups and so they get to see how advocacy works from inside a Senate office and then in recess they get more time to work on their own projects.”

      Also as in the House, many senior staff started as interns. This means you're gaining valuable experience and it also suggests that staff are likely to see you as a potential hire in the future. You may get some great writing samples that you can use for your next application; we'll talk later about the writing skills that you'll probably acquire. You'll also get to be in the Senate, surrounded by some of the most powerful people in the world. If you're any kind of policy junkie, this is exciting stuff. One student shared her impressions of being on the Senate side: “It was just an incredible experience to be in the Senate. From the outside, it's hard to understand how the process works—it seems like nothing ever gets accomplished but when you work there you understand why the process is so slow and you learn how the process was designed to take a long time for things to change. You get a great understanding of how government really works and you also get to see Senators working down the hall so it was a really memorable experience.”

INTERNING AT THE WHITE HOUSE

      GOOD BOOKS, ARTICLES, AND WEBSITES

      The Modern Presidency by James P. Pfiffner (2007)

      The Executive Office of the President: A Historical, Biographical, and Bibliographical Guide edited by Harold C. Relyea; published in cooperation with the Center for the Study of the Presidency (1997)

      Articles in Presidential Studies Quarterly

       http://www.whitehouse.gov

       Where You'll Be

      Arriving at the White House complex each morning will likely give you a bit of a thrill every day of your internship. Once you are through the gates, however, it is important that your expectations are based on reality. If you are accepted to intern at the White House, do not expect to be placed in the West Wing. The White House accepts 100 interns each summer, the majority of whom work in the Old Executive Office Building, part of the White House complex but not part of the White House itself. Almost half of the White House interns are assigned to the Correspondence office, which is practically run by interns. See the box for other possible assignments.

       WHITE HOUSE OFFICES: INTERCHIP SPONSORS

      (http://www.whitehouse.gov/government/off-descrp.html)

      Advance: coordinates all logistical arrangements for presidential visits.

      Cabinet Liaison: primary point of contact for Cabinet members and agency heads.

      White House Counsel: advises the President on all legal issues.

      Communications: responsible for the President's media events.

      Correspondence: processes all correspondence addressed to the President.

      Domestic Policy Council: coordinates the domestic policymaking process.

      Fellows: oversees White House Fellows program.

      Intergovernmental Affairs: liaison to state, local, and tribal governments.

      Legislative Affairs: liaison to the United States Congress.

      First Lady's office: coordinates and schedules events involving the First Lady.

      National Economic Council: advises President on U.S. and global economic policy.

      Office of the Vice President: assists Vice President in his executive and legislative duties.

      Political Affairs: “ensures that the executive branch and the President are aware of the concerns of the American citizen.” (This office was started under President Reagan and has been involved in partisan activities. I'm not sure how they get away with being political on the public's dime but they do.)

      Public Liaison: plans briefings, meetings, and large events.

      Photo Office: photographically documents and maintains an archive.

      Presidential Personnel: recruits, screens, and recommends qualified candidates for Presidential appointments to federal departments and agencies.

      Scheduling: plans and implements the President's daily and long-range schedules. Speechwriting: crafts the President's formal speeches and other remarks.

      Strategic Initiatives: plans and implements strategy for achieving Presidential priorities.

      Travel Office: provides logistical travel support.

      White House Management: manages the daily operations.

      White House Personnel: manages staff employment and runs the intern program.

       What You'll Do

      Depending СКАЧАТЬ