Congressional Page Program

Occasionally our office is able to sponsor a page for the Congressional Page Program. Congressional pages are high school students who live, work, and attend school in Washington for several months. The House of Representatives Page program is a wonderful opportunity for high school students to witness the legislative process first-hand. As a Page, students work on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives, live on Capitol Hill, and have the opportunity to spend time exploring our nation’s Capitol and the surrounding areas.

How To Apply

To be a school year or summer page, you must be at least 16 years old by the time the appointment begins, a junior in high school, and have a cumulative grade point average of a B.  Please keep in mind this is the minimum requirements for both the House and Senate Page Programs, and positions are competitive as there are only 72 available.

There is a two-step process to becoming a page.  First, the U.S. House of Representative’s Page Board will allocate a certain number of congressional offices the option to submit a Page application.  If selected, the office will then choose the best candidate from the applications they received to submit.  If your application is chosen, you will need to submit your official high school transcripts, a resume of extracurricular activities, three letters of recommendation, and 50 to100 word essay on why you would like to be a Page, as well as the letter of support from the sponsoring Member of Congress to the Page Board.  The Page Board will review those applications and select 72 participants. 

If you are interested in becoming a Page, please contact Larry Calhoun in my Washington, D.C. office at (202) 225-5565.

The Life of a Congressional Page

Beginning at 6:45 a.m., the school-year pages attend five 40-minute classes at Page School. Located on the 4th 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. In addition, all school-year pages participate on alternate Saturdays in a Washington seminar program called WISP (Washington Interdisciplinary Studies Program).  The summer pages do not attend school.

Five courses are selected from the current school curriculum which consists of:

• 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 or Government and Politics
• Intermediate or Advanced French or Spanish.

The workday begins immediately following the last class (at 9:00 a.m. for summer pages) and extends to at least 5:00 p.m., or until the House adjourns for the day, whichever is later. Pages report to their page supervisor where the first order of the day may be the filing of the Congressional Record from the previous day’s proceedings. The pages serve primarily as messengers, delivering legislative material between the various buildings of Capitol Hill. During the course of the day, the 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.

The dress requirement for males is navy blazer, long sleeved white shirt, dark grey slacks, dark socks, dark shoes, and a standard-issue tie (navy with red and white stripes) that is provided during orientation. The dress requirement for females is a navy blazer, long sleeved white blouse, dark grey skirt or pants, dark shoes, appropriate hosiery and a standard-issue tie (navy with red and white stripes) that is provided during orientation.

All pages are required to live in the O’Neill Building, which serves as the Page Residence Hall, and is located directly behind the Cannon House Office Building at 300 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.  Pages will live under the supervision of a resident manager and five proctors who reside on the premises. The third floor is set aside for males and the fourth floor for females. The pages agree in writing to abide by a strict Code of Conduct which includes a curfew of 10:00 p.m. on weeknights and Midnight on weekends.

Pages are paid approximately $1,236.33 gross per month with an automatic payroll deduction of $400 to cover the cost of the dorm and five dinners weekly. They are responsible for their transportation to and from Washington, their uniform, breakfast (other than cafeteria-style provided to the school-year pages) and lunch on weekdays, 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.

For more information on the Congressional Page Program, please visit http://pageprogram.house.gov/.