Today in the Senate

Senate Page Program

Internships in Washington DC Internships in California State Offices Application Information An internship in Senator Dianne Feinstein's office offers an opportunity to become directly involved with the federal government. Internships are available in Washington, D.C. and in our California offices.  Working with the Washington, DC staff gives students a chance to see how the Senate functions and how it interacts with the House of Representatives and the executive and judicial branches.

I encourage young people who are     interested in public service to apply for an     internship in my office.

Working in one of the state offices provides a local perspective on how Senator Feinstein assists constituents in resolving issues they have with the federal government.

Interns participate in several areas of the office. A rotating schedule ensures a well-rounded experience and a better understanding of the day to day operations of a United States Senate office. The following summaries are provided to give you an understanding of how our offices are organized.

WASHINGTON, DC OFFICE

Interns will be assigned to work with our legislative department and one of the administrative departments.

LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT

The Legislative Department is comprised of Legislative Assistants (LAs) and Legislative Correspondents (LCs). The LAs work with Senator Feinstein on a wide range of legislative issues and the LCs assist the Senator in responding to constituent correspondence.  Depending on the intern's interests and capabilities, an intern working with the Legislative Department will track legislation, research issues for the LAs, assist in drafting statements for the Congressional Record, cover committee hearings and assist with correspondence . 

ADMINISTRATIVE DEPARTMENTS

Executive Section

The executive section of the office consists of Senator Feinstein's Chief of Staff, schedulers, and personal assistants. Interns working with the executive staff assist the Senator's schedulers in compiling the Senator's schedule, give tours of the Capitol, and handle constituent requests.

Press Section

Senator Feinstein's Press Office is one of the busiest and most productive press operations on Capitol Hill. Press interns get firsthand experience of the everyday functions in the Press Department, which works daily with news media from around the country to keep reporters updated on issues before Congress and legislation introduced by Senator Feinstein. This is done through press releases, interviews on radio, television and in print, and at press conferences.  The daily duties of a press intern include assisting with newspaper clippings, advising the media on press events or releases, conducting extensive research for press projects, help set up press conferences and occasional writing as skills permit.

Mail Services Section The Mail Services Department oversees all of Senator Feinstein's incoming constituent correspondence. Senator Feinstein's Mail Department handles one of the largest volumes of mail in the United States Senate. Interns help sort the mail by legislative issue and in turn become aware of the issues important to the citizens of California.

STATE OFFICES

Internships are available in Senator Feinstein's four state offices. The offices are located in San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego and Fresno.

SAN FRANCISCO

In San Francisco, the intern duties include drafting constituent letters, conducting research for the Senator, attending meetings in the community with the San Francisco staff, and opening and sorting mail. Interns work directly with the Senator's constituency by responding to Washington, DC tour requests. Interns also help the staff with advance work for Senator Feinstein's visits to the state.

LOS ANGELES

Interns in the Los Angeles office assist with constituent and legislative requests. Interns help with advance work for Senator Feinstein's visits to Southern California.  Interns also help arrange constituent tours for future Washington visits.

SAN DIEGO

In San Diego, interns are responsible for answering constituent requests for legislative information. Interns help compile the state news summary and assist in field operations. They help staff members prepare for the Senator's visits to San Diego.

FRESNO

Interns in the Fresno office are an integral part of office operations. Responsibilities range from daily research and constituent service activities to long term projects regarding key issues in the Central Valley.

INTERNSHIP APPLICATION

Please view the following application for instructions and due dates:
intern application (pdf) or intern application (ms word).

The internship is geared towards undergraduate students; high school students and graduate students are discouraged from applying. California residents will be given priority. Offers of acceptance are usually given two weeks after the application deadline from the Washington office; State offices practice rolling acceptance. Full-time (35-40 hours/week) and part-time (at least 16 hours/week) internships are available in all offices.

Senate Page Information  

The Senate Page Program offers a unique opportunity for young people to learn in depth how Congress works. There are only thirty Pages appointed in the Senate each semester and the privilege of making these appointments is based on seniority. Not all Senators are able to appoint Pages. Due to the limited number of positions and the volume of interested students, appointments to the Page Program are particularly competitive. I encourage interested applicants to apply as early as possible so that I can process your applications in a timely manner.

A Senate Page must be a junior in high school and between the ages of sixteen and eighteen years old. They must also maintain a cumulative 3.0 or higher.

Pages are housed in the Senate Page Dormitory, which is a few blocks from the Capitol. During the school year, the Senate Pages attend classes in the morning, before the start of the Senate session. Typically this means that their classes begin at 6:15 am where they attend typical junior year requisites such as mathematics, English, and social studies. A Field Studies program also ensures that Pages are exposed to many of the educational and cultural activities that Washington, D.C. offers.

Page responsibilities include delivery of correspondence and legislative material within the Congressional Complex. Pages may also take messages for Members, prepare the Senate Chamber for sessions, and carry bills and amendments to the desk.

Pages are paid based on a salary of $16,240. Pages must be citizens of the United States and must have a social security number.

The Senate Page program has four separate sessions per year. The school year is broken into two semesters. The first semester runs from early September through mid-January. The second semester lasts from mid-January through mid-June. Summer sessions are also broken in to two sessions. The first session runs from June through July 4 th and the second runs from July through August. Because a Senator is precluded from appointing a Page for two consecutive sessions, we are currently only accepting Page applications for the summer II and spring sessions. We encourage you to contact your representative’s office for their availability as well.

Please view the following application for instructions. Submitting your application several months in advance is suggested. Below are due dates for the summer and spring sessions:

Application for Senate Page Program (pdf format) or ms word