Exploring Internship Opportunities with Senator Tim Kaine
Internships with Senator Tim Kaine offer invaluable experiences for students interested in public service and the workings of the U.S. Senate. These internships are available in both his Washington, D.C., office and various state offices throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia, providing diverse opportunities to contribute to his work.
Internship Opportunities in Washington, D.C.
Full-time and part-time internships are available in Washington, D.C. Interns in the D.C. office engage in a variety of tasks that support the legislative process and the Senator's engagement with the broader political landscape. D.C. interns research legislative issues, give tours of the Capitol, attend committee hearings, and provide administrative support to the staff. For further information about internship opportunities in Washington, D.C., interested individuals are encouraged to inquire.
Application Details and Timing
Due to the large number of applications we receive, the office is unable to offer an internship to every applicant. The summer session is reserved for rising seniors in college due to the large number of applications we receive during that time of the year. The fall/winter and spring sessions are open to students at any point in their college careers. Interested candidates should fill out an application by following the instructions and send the completed application to the office at the address provided.
Internship Opportunities in Virginia State Offices
Internships in the state offices allow students to see how the Senator's work helps Virginians throughout the Commonwealth. Interns assist in research as well as special projects and events. For more information about interning in the state offices, individuals may contact the Regional Directors in each office. Hiring decisions will be made by the Regional Director in each office.
The Role of Congressional Interns
An intern is an individual who provides assistance, paid or unpaid, to a congressional office on a temporary basis. The internship experience is typically considered to provide an educational benefit for that individual. An intern's role does not substitute for or replace the duties of regular employees. If an intern is paid, then some of the rules applicable to congressional employees may apply.
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Distinctions from Other Roles
It is useful to distinguish the role of an intern from those of volunteers, fellows, and pages. Although the titles used to describe these positions are sometimes used interchangeably, but there can also be some key differences. A volunteer also provides assistance to a congressional office, and the experience is generally considered to be of educational value for the volunteer. In many cases, a volunteer's role in a congressional office can be similar to that of an unpaid intern. A volunteer cannot receive financial compensation for his or her service from any source. The volunteer's assignments are not to replace the regular duties of paid employees. A fellow is an individual who also performs services in a congressional office on a temporary basis, but typically through participation in an established, graduate-level or mid-career education program. Fellows often receive compensation from a sponsoring employer, professional association, or other organization while working in Congress during the course of the fellowships. A page is a high-school junior, at least 16 years old, who participates in a more structured program for a semester or summer. Pages continue to serve in the Senate, but the House program was discontinued. Although they are appointed by individual Senators, the pages provide assistance as a group in the Senate chamber, and receive housing, education, and a stipend from the Senate.
Rules and Regulations Governing Interns
Few statutes or standing rules of the House or Senate make specific references to congressional interns. In many cases, the distinction between a paid internship and an unpaid internship affects which formal rules apply to interns. Fewer House or Senate rules may apply to unpaid interns than to paid interns. To enhance accountability for unpaid interns, the House or Senate ethics committees or individual congressional offices can set standards for unpaid interns to abide by that mirror some of the same rules that paid interns or congressional employees follow. The House Committee on Ethics, for example, advises that offices obtain an agreement in writing from unpaid interns at the outset of an internship. The Senate Select Committee on Ethics requires that unpaid interns file a disclaimer with the Financial Clerk of the Senate acknowledging that their service is voluntary, or gratuitous, in nature. The committee also notes that the conflict-of-interest provisions in the Standing Rules of the Senate "apply to any intern, fellow, or volunteer providing Senate services," even if the individual is only working for a single day. Because information sent and received from a congressional computer or network may be traced back to a particular office, an office may choose to implement additional standards for interns' incidental computer and internet usage. Paid interns are required to follow the House or Senate gift rules that apply to regular employees, and the House and Senate ethics committees advise that unpaid interns should also abide by the gift rules. Generally, these rules prohibit (1) receiving gifts from lobbyists or foreign agents, (2) receiving any individual gift valued at over $50, and (3) receiving $100 or more in gifts (each valued at $10 or more) from a single source.
Office Guidance and Information
Offices often provide additional information or guidance to interns about congressional operations or resources. Offices, for example, might provide an overview of the House or Senate rules that apply to interns, or clarify their own office policies regarding attendance, technology use, phone etiquette, and other expectations. Information about emergency procedures and contact information for the appropriate police or medical services is commonly provided (the Capitol Police and Office of the Attending Physician, for staff in Washington, DC, and local contacts for interns in district or state offices). Some offices may provide interns with a basic overview of the legislative process or how to perform legislative research. Locations of buildings or offices within the Capitol Complex and information on dining facilities and other on-site services may be useful for interns on Capitol Hill, and similar information about the area surrounding a state or district office could be provided to interns in those offices.
Intern Selection and Qualifications
House and Senate offices are able to set many of their own requirements for intern selection, just as they are with general personnel decisions. Some offices, for example, may require that interns are currently enrolled students, have reached a certain level of education, or that interns live in a Member's district or state. In many instances, Members of Congress have broad discretion to determine who works in their offices, but different laws, rules, and considerations may apply to a noncitizen's potential service, based on the individual's status, particularly if the individual receives pay.
Considerations for Non-Citizens
House offices may wish to contact the Office of the General Counsel, Committee on Ethics, or the Committee on House Administration before employing a noncitizen as an intern. The House and Senate ethics manuals provide some general guidance for congressional offices on working with foreign-national interns. Conflict-of-interest considerations may affect the responsibilities an office chooses to assign to a foreign-national intern. policy in a way that benefits the intern's home country.
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Avoiding Conflicts of Interest
The respective ethics manuals remind Member offices to be careful not to mix official congressional resources with campaign resources. Interns working in a congressional office may also work for a political campaign, but the two responsibilities are to be carefully delineated and kept separate so that congressional time, property, facilities, equipment, or other resources are not used for electoral campaigns. If an intern is paid, then the standard prohibitions regarding nepotism or employment of relatives established in law and House or Senate rules apply. Because each congressional office is its own hiring authority, an intern may be related to another Member or staff in a different office without violating these rules.
Demographics and Internship Length
Often, interns in congressional offices are college-age individuals or recent college graduates between 18 and 24 years old. Historically, individuals under 18 generally served Congress as pages. There is also no maximum age for interns. Older individuals returning to higher education, considering a career change, or seeking a congressional internship for other reasons could also receive an educational benefit from such service and may have useful experience to share with a congressional office. Internship lengths often reflect time periods designated by the academic calendar, occurring, for example, over the course of the fall or spring semester, or during the summer. There are no minimum lengths for House or Senate internships in statute, but certain considerations may affect the parameters offices choose for how long an internship should last. More detailed guidance is available for the maximum length of internships.
Compensation and Funding
Interns may receive pay from the congressional office in which they work, if the office chooses to provide it. The continuing resolution for FY2025 and the FY2024 appropriations bill provide some designated funding for internships in House Members' personal offices, in House committees, in House leadership offices, and in Senators' personal offices. Members may also use their own office resources, such as from the Members' Representational Allowance (MRA) in the House and the Senators' Official Personnel and Office Expense Account (SOPOEA) in the Senate, to provide compensation for interns. Committees or other congressional offices may provide compensation for interns through their appropriate accounts designated for staff salaries. In the House, the Committee on House Administration has typically set a maximum and minimum gross annual rate of pay for interns for Member and committee offices. Previously, the Lyndon Baines Johnson Congressional Intern Program operated in the House from 1973 to 1994 and made two-month paid internships available for each Member office. Many educational institutions or other organizations sponsor congressional internships, and interns may receive stipends from these groups for their internships.
Academic Credit and Internship Requirements
The House and Senate expect that a congressional internship provides an educational experience but, institutionally, make no requirements that an intern receive school credit or be a currently enrolled student. Some congressional offices may choose to select interns on the basis of whether they will receive, or will not receive, academic credit for the experience. Each educational institution sets its own requirements for granting academic credit, and while some schools or academic departments encourage internships and grant academic credit for them, others do not allow students to receive academic credit for internships. School requirements may prevent a student from receiving academic credit for an internship experience that the intern may have personally found to be highly educational. A short internship, for example, may not meet a school's requirement for the number of hours served to receive credit, or students may be responsible for paying tuition on any academic credits earned.
Internship Availability and Office Capacity
There is no minimum required number of interns for each congressional office; offices are not obligated to hire any interns unless they choose to. If interns are unpaid, there is no cap on the maximum number of interns for either the House or Senate. Offices, however, may want to ensure there is enough office space for interns to work in, and that there is enough work available to provide interns with a sufficient educational experience. If interns are paid, there may be a maximum number of interns an office can employ, based on applicable staff ceiling rules for the office. The number of interns in offices can fluctuate from year to year and within seasons during the year. During the summer, for example, offices commonly have more interns than during other parts of the year. For Member offices, the location of an internship in Washington, DC, or in a state or district office may also affect the number of interested and available interns.
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Differences Between D.C. and State Office Internships
The substance of the work performed in an internship may vary between district/state offices and Washington, DC, offices if the roles assumed by those different Member offices vary. For example, an intern's tasks may involve more constituent service activities in a district or state office than they would in a Washington, DC, office where the emphasis may be more on legislative activities. The same House and Senate rules and policies generally apply to district or state office interns and to Washington, DC, office interns. Due to the high concentration of congressional interns on Capitol Hill, some training opportunities and congressional programs may be available to Washington, DC, interns, but not to interns serving in district or state offices further away. House interns who are paid under the House Paid Internship Program may work in Washington, DC, in the office of a Member, in a committee office, or in a House leadership office, or interns may work in a Member's district office. The Committee on House Administration has also stated that paid House interns may be eligible for telework in the event of a disaster, pandemic, or other emergency. For security purposes, interns in Washington, DC, offices can obtain a congressional ID badge, available from the Office of the Sergeant at Arms for the appropriate chamber. District or state office interns are also eligible to receive ID badges at the request of the employing Member office. ID badges are to be returned to the Office of the Sergeant at Arms upon completion of an internship.
Training and Development
If interns are paid by Congress, then they are to take many of the mandatory trainings discussed below that new House or Senate employees are required to take. If interns are unpaid, however, fewer House or Senate trainings are mandatory for them. Because interns may be working with Congress or in a professional environment for the first time, congressional offices may want to have their interns attend additional trainings to better ensure they are prepared for their work and can represent the office appropriately. All interns in the House of Representatives are required to complete a training session on workplace rights and responsibilities. Also in the House, any individual who has access to the House network needs to complete an information security training online. A paid intern who is employed for 60 days or more is to take a House ethics training, which is mandatory for new House employees. In the Senate, all interns or fellows are required to receive the same antiharassment training as paid employees. The Senate Office of Education and Training has provided a number of courses specifically designed for interns. A few, including harassment prevention and an overview of the Senate Code of Conduct, have been listed as required courses, whereas others, like information security training, have been listed as recommended or optional. Many of these courses are online and can be accessed via the Senate intranet in a state or Capitol Hill office. Other courses offered by the Senate Office of Education and Training or the Senate Library may be open to interns if space permits. Some programs and courses offered by CRS are open to congressional interns, provided that they have completed the CRS intern orientation. Many summers, the Committee on House Administration and the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration have cosponsored the Congressional Summer Intern Lecture Series, providing congressional interns with insights about politics and policymaking from Members of Congress, other government officials, and journalists.
Advice from Former Interns
Monica, as a summer intern for Senator Kaine, attended committee hearings and meetings with constituents, and she assisted staff members with special projects and press clips. One of her duties as an intern for Senator Kaine was to help the press assistant record articles about Senator Kaineâs vetting process for the vice presidential nomination. As media outlets began to capitalize on speculation surrounding Secretary Clintonâs decision, every day she would receive an increasing number of press clips to record, with titles like âWill Tim Kaine Be Clintonâs VP?â or âTen Things You Need to Know about Tim Kaine.â
Networking and Resource Utilization
Donât be afraid to network! The Hill is all about building personal relationships. Getting a recommendation from someone with a connection in the senatorâs office could mean your resume gets pulled from the bottom of the pile. Also make sure to keep in touch with the office after your internship. Take advantage of all the resources that are available to you. When else will you be able to roam the halls of the Capitol, talk to specialists in five different policy areas, and attend a speaker series with politicians all in one day? During the Congressional breaks (when the Senate was in recess), I had the unique opportunity to get lunch with several staff members, who gave me advice on everything from law school to networking. I also made sure to attend as many committee meetings as I possibly could, and I believe that these briefings have given me a deeper understanding of issues Congress is working on, including combatting the Zika virus and the implementation of the Every Child Achieves Act. I would also recommend using your fellow interns as resources.
Making a Lasting Impression
Act as if every day on the job is another interview, and to bring the same energy and enthusiasm to all assignments. Oftentimes, interns arenât given the most interesting work. Many donât think of their ideal job entailing receptionist work or the organization of filing cabinets, but the fact of the matter is that if it has been assigned to you, it will probably make someone elseâs day a bit easier, and that person wonât forget it.
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