Mar 22, 2021
Capitol Hill Intern Update (March 22, 2021)
Hellooooo interns! It’s been over a year since the pandemic began to set in…here’s to adjusting to an unexpected year, surviving mid-March midterm season, and managing Zoom fatigue!
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THIS WEEK ON THE FLOOR
- The House is in “Committee Work Period” for the next two weeks.
- The Senate preps more votes on Biden confirmations.
THIS WEEK IN COMMITTEE
(Full schedule) Select hearings:
- “Constitutional and Common Sense Steps to Reduce Gun Violence” in Senate Judiciary, March 23 @ 10 AM, 216 Hart
- “Article I: Reforming the War Powers Resolution for the 21st Century,” in House Rules, March 23 @ 11 AM, online
- “Reclaiming Congressional War Powers,” in House Foreign Affairs, March 23 @ 1 PM, online
- “Power Struggle: Examining the 2021 Texas Grid Failure” in House Energy & Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, March 24 @ noon online
- “Hearings to examine S.1, For the People Act” in Senate Rules, March 24 @ 10 AM, 301 Russell
- “State and Local Responses to Domestic Terrorism: The Attack on the U.S. Capitol and Beyond,” in House Homeland Security, March 24 @ 9:30 AM, online
- “Disinformation Nation: Social Media’s Role in Promoting Extremism and Misinformation” in House Energy & Commerce subcommittees on Communications & Tech and Consumer Protection & Commerce, March 25 @ noon online
- “From Miranda to Gideon: A Call for Pretrial Reform,” in House Judiciary, March 26 @ 11 AM online
- “Sexual Assault in the Military,” in Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Personnel, March 24 @ noon, SD-106
WHAT WE’RE WATCHING
Julia Letlow wins special election to replace her late husband in Congress, becomes the 31st GOP woman in the House
Three House Members announce the will not seek re-election: Reps. Vela [D, TX], Hice [R, GA] and Reed [R, NY]
Though vaccinations are on the rise, a new COVID-19 variant could lead to continued breakouts in the spring.
Today, the Supreme Court will hear a case with major implications for union organizers and property rights advocates
Of Interest
What do bourbon, chicken, salmon, soccer, oceans, Pacific Islands, New Zealand, cut flowers, and Crohn’s Disease have in common?
What’s the “Save America’s Pastime Act” all about?
One in four House members has opted not to receive Covid-19 vaccine so far — what’s the holdup?
After nearly 6,000 years, a dormant volcano in Iceland erupted late Friday.
The AAPI community is hurting this week. Here are some resources to help.
Pay Our Interns releases new report on
“Who Congress Pays”
- Link to report
- Latino and Black students account for only 7.9% and 6.7% of paid congressional interns, though they represent 20% and 15% of the undergraduate student population
- Average total stipend was approximately $1,986.75 in the Senate and $1,612.53 in the House
- The 19th: “A disservice to the policymaking’: Most interns in Congress are White, report finds”
- NBC News: “Latinos, youth of color make up very few of paid congressional interns”
Library of Congress intern working to crowdsource transcriptions of Centuries of Spanish Legal Documents
Emily Hausheer is an intern working on transcribing the Herencia: Centuries of Spanish Legal Documents crowdsourcing campaign at the Law Library of Congress. (INTERVIEW)
Events This Week
Monday, March 22nd:
12 pm — 12:30 pm: How Congress can support middle-class Americans: A conversation with Senator Mark Warner
1 pm — 2 pm: Choice Does Not “Siphon” Public School Money: A Primer
4:30 pm — 6 pm: Medicare for All: A Conversation
Tuesday, March: 23rd:
11 am — 12 pm: Hearing: Building on the ACA — Legislation to Expand Healthcare and Lower Costs
12: 30 pm — 1 pm: Hard Truths: Systemic Racism in Sports
3 pm — 4 pm: How we will put the brakes on government corruption: A conversation with Walt Shaub
Wednesday, March 24th:
4 pm — 5 pm: Voting rights and wrongs: Democracy legislation and the filibuster in the Senate
11 am — 12 pm: How Afghanistan Will Impact America’s Role in the World
5 pm — 6 pm: Women in Civic Tech
Thursday, March 25th:
11 am — 12 pm: Does Congress Still Control the Power of the Purse?
1 pm — 2 pm: Capitol Conversations: Women in the Senate
2:30 pm — 3:30 pm: NYT Live Event: Water and Oceans: Restoring the Lifeblood of the Planet
Friday, March 26th:
11:30 am — 1 pm: Washington Post Live: Combating Anti-Asian Racism
1 pm — 2:30 pm: Using Mental Health Consultations to Support SEL in Early Childhood
+ Many more events at Hill Happenings
Contributors
This newsletter is brought to you by these organizations. We know today’s interns are tomorrow’s Congressional staffers. And we want you to have a great experience — no matter where the internship happens!
Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies (APAICS)
Congressional Management Foundation
