Page Program

Members of Congress come to Washington to do the People's work, but they cannot do their jobs alone. The House of Representatives employs a select number of high school juniors as pages. Pages assist Members of Congress on the floor of the U.S. House and in the Cloakroom.

Congressman Emanuel has an opportunity to nominate one student for the page program in the Spring 2008 semester, which begins on January 27, 2008 and ends on Thursday, June 26, 2008. Under the rules of the program, Congressman Emanuel can only nominate students from Illinois, and preference will be given to students from the Fifth District.

Eligibility and Application Requirements

To obtain an application, contact Emma Jurado in our office at 202-225-4061 or click here.

To serve as a page, applicants must be at least 16 years of age at the time their appointment begins, be in the junior year of high school, and have a cumulative grade point average of “B” or better in all major courses to date.

Please fax or email completed applications by November 12, 2007 to Emma Jurado at 202-225-5603 or emma.jurado@mail.house.gov

Page Responsibilities

First and foremost, pages are students. School-year pages attend five 40-minute classes at Page School. Located on the third floor (Attic Level) of the Library of Congress Jefferson Building, the Page School is accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools (See below for further course information). Pages participating in the program during summer do not attend school.

The workday begins immediately following the last class and extends to at least 5:00 pm, or until the House adjourns for the day--which ever is later. Pages serve primarily as messengers delivering legislative material between the various buildings on Capitol Hill. During the course of the day, pages accumulate points for "runs" (or deliveries). Those with the highest number of points may be excused early when the House goes into late-night sessions.

Pages choose five courses from the school curriculum. Specifically, students choose one class each from the following categories:

• American, British or World literature (all with composition), or Humanities.
• Algebra II/Trigonometry, Trigonometry/Pre-Calculus or Pre-Calculus.
• Physics or Chemistry.
• U.S. History of Government and Politics.
• Intermediate or Advanced French or Spanish.

Neither first-year language courses nor Advanced Placement classes are available through the program. In addition, all school-year pages participate on alternate Saturdays in a Washington seminar program called WISP (Washington Interdisciplinary Studies Program).

Dress Code

The dress requirement for males is navy blazer, long sleeves white shirt, dark gray slacks, dark socks, dark shoes, and a standard issue tie. For females, a navy blazer, long sleeves white blouse, dark gray skirt or dark gray pants, dark shoes, appropriate hose and a standard-issue tie that is provided during orientation.

Living Arrangement

All pages live at the Page Residence Hall. Males and females live on separate floors and under the supervision of a resident manager and four proctors who reside on the premises. The pages agree in writing to abide by a strict Code of Conduct, which includes a curfew of 10 p.m. on weeknights and midnight on weekends. The triple rooms are furnished with twin beds, nightstands, dressers, desks and chairs. Each of the rooms has a large walk-in closet, a study area, toll-controlled telephone, a small refrigerator, private bathroom and two air-conditioning units. A community room with color television and a microwave oven is also available as well as a laundry room, study room, computer room, music room, and fitness room.

Compensation

The pages are paid $1461 per month with an automatic payroll deduction of $400 to cover the cost of the dorm and 17 meals provided per week. Pages are responsible for their transportation to and from Washington, their uniform, weekend meals, school supplies, and all incidental expenses. In addition, a one-time, refundable security deposit of $100 payable to the U.S. Treasury is required for the dorm.