Internship in the United States House of Representatives

Internship Location: The United States House of Representatives

Time period: Summer 2010

Student: Adam C. Brown

Congresswoman Velázquez, a democrat, is a Representative of the 12th Congressional District of New York (N.Y), Chair of the Committee on Small Business, Chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, and a senior member of the Financial Services Committee. This summer I interned for Congresswoman Velazquez and I worked in the Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill (Hill) in Washington D.C alongside thirteen interns. However, there were hundreds of interns working on the Hill, for either the United States Senate (Senate) or the House, and each person worked for one of 538 representatives in Congress.

Getting an internship on Capitol Hill is very difficult. When you apply for the internship, you're competing with thousands of students from all over the world. Therefore, it is essential to get the application in on time and to be recommended by someone who has previously interned in the office you are applying. The internship is very challenging, duties may require you to brief a hearing on a $600 million appropriation request, research legislation, or write questions for a hearing on intellectual property. It is essential to be able to research, have excellent writing skills, and work fast.

I enjoyed this internship because it granted flexibility to interns, by allowing interns to attend hearings and meetings of their interest. Therefore, the autonomy allowed me to assist counsels with projects rather than to be confined to the office exclusively answering the phone calls. As an aspiring attorney, my primary interest is in business law, for this reason I was eager to hear debates on the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. Moreover, it was my pleasure to assist the Banking Counsel on a brief of amendments to the Small Business Jobs and Credit Act of 2010. In this internship one of my projects required me to create a forty-three page brief, which described eighty amendments contained in 200 pages of legislation. This brief was just one of many projects that I worked on.

If you are an aspiring attorney this is the dream internship. Capitol Hill is where the laws are made for the United States of America. I witnessed the greatest law makers and the greatest debates. The first hearing I attended was on the House Floor, the general public sat behind me because my internship identification authorized me to sit in the front row. Distinguished press- such as the Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post- had assigned seating on the opposite side of the room, where they were accommodated with laptops, desks, and beverages. There were two high definition televisions- one hanging on the wall to my right and the other hanging on the wall to my left- hooked up to four CSPAN cameras- one to my right, one to my left, one in the front of me, and one behind me- all focusing on the center of the room. In the center of the room there were two long tables parallel to each other, on two separate aisles with chairs positioned so that the House members sitting at one table were facing the Senate members sitting at the other. Sitting were the senior members of the House Financial Services Committee and the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, both republicans, and democrats. At this meeting I witnessed debates by -Congressman Barney Frank, Congresswoman Maxine Waters, Congressman Jeb Hensarling, Congressman Ron Paul, Senator Christopher Dodd, etc- on amendments to the most sweeping piece of financial legislation since the Great Depression.

In conclusion, if you're interested in-law, business, science, agriculture, technology, political science, and other politcal issues- working for the Committee on Small Business will be beneficial to your future. In all respects, this internship is as challenging as it is rewarding, the possibilities that come with this internship are endless...