Daniel Webster Congressional Fellowship Act - Establishes the Daniel Webster Congressional Fellowship Program, under which up to 40 eligible law school graduates shall be selected by specified congressional leaders as Daniel Webster Congressional Fellows for each Congress.
Requires a Fellow to serve as an employee in a participating office of the House or Senate during the Congress for which the individual is selected.
Specifies eligibility criteria for a Fellow, including a juris doctor degree.
[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6216 Introduced in House (IH)]
109th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 6216
To establish the Daniel Webster Congressional Fellowship Program for
qualified graduates of law schools to serve in temporary positions in
offices of the House of Representatives and Senate, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
September 27, 2006
Mr. Daniel E. Lungren of California (for himself and Ms. Zoe Lofgren of
California) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on House Administration
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To establish the Daniel Webster Congressional Fellowship Program for
qualified graduates of law schools to serve in temporary positions in
offices of the House of Representatives and Senate, and for other
purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Daniel Webster Congressional
Fellowship Act''.
SEC. 2. DANIEL WEBSTER CONGRESSIONAL FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM.
(a) Establishment.--There is hereby established the Daniel Webster
Congressional Fellowship Program (hereafter referred to as the
``Program''), under which up to 40 eligible law school graduates shall
be selected as Daniel Webster Congressional Fellows (hereafter referred
to as ``Fellows'') for each Congress.
(b) Selection by Joint Congressional Leadership.--The Fellows for a
Congress shall be selected jointly from among eligible individuals by
the Speaker and Minority Leader of the House of Representatives and the
Majority and Minority Leaders of the Senate, or their designees.
(c) Employment With Participating Office.--
(1) In general.--An individual selected as a Fellow shall
be appointed to serve as an employee in a participating office
of the House of Representatives or Senate during the Congress
for which the Fellow is selected.
(2) Compensation.--Notwithstanding any other authority
regarding the salaries of employees of the House of
Representatives or Senate, for each session of a Congress
during which a Fellow is employed in a participating office
under the Program, the individual shall receive compensation at
an annual rate established by the Committee on House
Administration of the House of Representatives and the
Committee on Rules and Administration of the Senate, except
that the rate established by the Committees may not be less
than the average annual rate of compensation for pay periods
during that session for judicial clerks of the United States
District Court for the District of Columbia.
SEC. 3. CRITERIA FOR ELIGIBILITY.
(a) In General.--An individual is eligible to serve as a Fellow
under the Program if the individual--
(1) meets the criteria for eligibility described in
subsection (b); and
(2) submits the application materials described in
subsection (c) at such time and in such form as the Committees
on House Administration of the House of Representatives and
Rules and Administration of the Senate may require.
(b) Criteria Specified.--An individual meets the criteria described
in this subsection if--
(1) the individual received a juris doctor degree from an
accredited law school;
(2) the individual provides evidence of a record of
exceptional academic achievement in law school;
(3) the individual demonstrates a commitment to public
service and a strong interest in public policy;
(4) the individual possesses the professional knowledge and
skills necessary to contribute successfully to the legislative
process; and
(5) the individual meets such other criteria as the
Committees referred to in subsection (a)(2) may establish.
(c) Application Materials.--The application materials described in
this subsection are as follows:
(1) A Program application prepared by the Committees
referred to in subsection (a)(2).
(2) A resume highlighting academic, professional, and
personal achievements.
(3) 2 writing samples.
(4) A brief essay describing why the individual seeks to
become a Fellow.
(5) Such other materials as the Committees may require.
SEC. 4. ASSIGNMENT OF FELLOWS TO PARTICIPATING OFFICES.
(a) Assignment.--
(1) In general.--The Committees on House Administration of
the House of Representatives and Rules and Administration of
the Senate shall assign the individuals selected as Fellows to
be appointed as employees with participating offices of the
House and Senate on the basis of such criteria as the
Committees shall establish, taking into consideration the
background and interest of each Fellow and the needs of the
participating office, except that--
(A) the number of Fellows assigned to offices of
the House of Representatives may not be less than the
number of Fellows assigned to offices of the Senate;
and
(B) the number of Fellows assigned to offices of a
House of Congress which are affiliated with the
majority political party of that House shall be equal
to the number of Fellows assigned to offices of that
House of Congress which are affiliated with the
minority political party of that House.
(2) Treatment of committees.--For purposes of paragraph
(1)--
(A) a Fellow who is assigned to a joint committee
of the Congress shall be considered to be assigned both
to an office of the House and an office of the Senate;
and
(B) a Fellow who is assigned to a committee shall
be considered to be assigned to an office affiliated
with the majority political party, except that if the
assignment specifies that the Fellow is to work under
the direction of the ranking minority member of the
committee, the Fellow shall be considered to be
assigned to an office affiliated with the minority
political party.
(b) Participating Offices.--For purposes of this Act, a
``participating office'' of the House of Representatives or Senate is
any office of the House or Senate, including the office of a Member,
committee, joint committee, or any other entity, which enters into an
agreement with the Committee on House Administration of the House of
Representatives or the Committee on Rules and Administration of the
Senate (as the case may be) to participate in the Program.
SEC. 5. NO EFFECT ON NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES OR ALLOWANCE FOR PARTICIPATING
OFFICES.
The employment of a Fellow by an office of the House of
Representatives or Senate during a year, and the payment of a salary to
such a Fellow by an office during a year, shall be in addition to all
personnel and allowances otherwise made available to the office during
the year under other provisions of law, rule, or other authority.
SEC. 6. ADMINISTRATION; REGULATIONS.
The Program shall be operated and administered jointly by the
Committee on House Administration of the House of Representatives and
the Committee on Rules and Administration of the Senate, and each such
Committee is authorized to promulgate such regulations as may be
necessary to carry out the Program.
SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
(a) Authorization.--There are authorized to be appropriated to
carry out the Program such sums as may be necessary for fiscal year
2007 and each succeeding fiscal year.
(b) Availability of Funds.--Amounts appropriated in any fiscal year
pursuant to the authorization under this section shall remain available
until expended.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on House Administration.
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