Congressional Internship Program

I. The nature of the Public Diplomacy activity

To offer Central and Eastern European upperclassmen who exhibit superior scholastic achievement and demonstrate great potential for government leadership a unique, first-hand public service experience at the Capitol Hill office of a United States lawmaker to learn and understand the legislative process of the US Congress.

1. Status

The summer 2011 edition of the Congressional Internship Program is scheduled to begin on Monday, June 20th, and will conclude on Friday, August 12th.

2. Curriculum

The internship syllabus enables CEE interns to attend public hearings of policy-specific congressional committees or subcommittees, to conduct legislative research and produce detailed reports to assist the hosting US lawmaker and his or her staff with the most pressing floor issues, to draft time-sensitive correspondence to constituents, and to facilitate a wide variety of office-related communication functions.

3. Extracurricular activities

Within the framework of briefings, workshops and speaking engagement events, CEE interns enhance their career-building capabilities through direct contact with field experts at US government agencies, select public and private institutions, and hosts of academically-challenging signature off-Hill events for CEE Congressional summer- and winter-term interns.

4. History

The Congressional Internship Program was established in 2004 with the insightful guidance of the Honorable Senator Bob Dole and the influential voice of the Distinguished Resident Fellow in Conservative Thought, Professor Lee Edwards of the Heritage Foundation. The first CEE summer-term interns were appointed in the personal offices of Congressman Bill Lipinski and Congressman Jack Quinn, Co-chairs of the Congressional Caucus on Central and Eastern Europe.