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Summer Internships

CBO IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER.
Women, minorities, individuals with disabilities, and veterans are encouraged to apply.

Introduction

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CBO summer internships provide excellent opportunities to experience and observe the budget process and policymaking at the federal level. The internships, which have ranged in number from 10 to 28, are located in Washington, D.C. They normally last 10 weeks and include compensation based on academic level and work experience.

CBO provides the Congress with the objective, timely, and nonpartisan analyses needed for economic and budgetary decisions. Interns contribute to CBO's work in program areas such as budget and tax policy, health care, national defense, the environment, education, retirement and other income assistance, regulation, and public investment.

In addition to learning on the job, CBO interns participate in an educational program that includes briefings on the agency's role in the budget process. CBO interns may also participate in seminars offered by other Congressional support agencies and in the Congressional Summer Intern Lecture Series, which has featured speakers such as Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, former Secretary of State Colin Powell, journalist Cokie Roberts, and Ralph Nader.

Ideal candidates for CBO internships are pursuing graduate academic programs in economics, public policy, health policy, financial management, mathematics, statistics, or engineering. Very strong undergraduate candidates currently in their senior or junior year may be considered on the basis of the applicability of their education and experience to specific assignments at CBO. Students can apply online in January and February--and, for convenience, can register to be notified by e-mail when the application process is open.

Because of federal regulations, CBO is limited in its ability to employ individuals who are not U.S. citizens. Before applying, noncitizens should refer to the agency's information on citizenship requirements to determine employment eligibility.

Internship Assignments

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All CBO summer internships require solid writing skills and the ability to communicate clearly and concisely. Familiarity with computer programming, statistics, econometrics, and other quantitative methods is desirable. Ideal candidates also have exceptional interpersonal and analytical skills.

In previous years, summer interns:

• Prepared a variety of cost estimates and determined the impact of federal mandates on the private sector in the areas of occupational safety and health, conservation, national heritage areas, water reuse, and coastal and ocean exploration and observation;
• Helped investigate how to project changes in income distribution to aid income tax revenue projections;
• Assembled and analyzed information on the processes used by public and private insurers to make decisions about coverage, and assessed the implications for cost savings;
• Analyzed claims data for Medicare payments to refine CBO's allocation of costs among Medicare services and types of health care providers;
• Investigated the determinants and the magnitude of intrafamily transfers between parents and children to intergenerational links in an economic life-cycle model; and
• Studied the motives for parents' bequests to children using a "life-cycle" economic model, predicting the effects of the aging of the population on the level of bequests.

 

The following is a general description of the responsibilities and functions of the CBO divisions to which interns may be assigned.

The Budget Analysis Division (BAD) generates cost estimates and spending projections for legislative proposals that affect all program areas, including health, human resources, natural resources, defense, and state/local governments. CBO's largest division, BAD fills most of its full-time positions with newly minted M.P.P., M.P.A., and M.A. graduates.

The Financial Analysis Division uses the tool of financial economics to examine issues related to federal financial obligations and financial institutions. It also provides support for finance-related modeling and analyses throughout CBO.

Analyzing budgetary issues in the areas of income assistance and Social Security, education, social services, and health is the function of the Health and Human Resources Division (HHRD). The division's studies examine the costs and other effects of current programs and legislative proposals in those areas. The Long-Term Modeling Group in HHRD develops actuarial and microsimulation models for studying long-range policy issues such as Social Security and Medicare and for projecting budgetary costs and implications of current and alternative policies.

The Macroeconomic Analysis Division (MAD) analyzes the U.S. economy, prepares projections of economic conditions, and studies how the future could be affected by different economic developments or policies. The division's analyses focus on issues such as inflation, employment, production, international economic affairs, and credit, as well as on the interaction of those issues with the federal budget.

The staff of the Microeconomic Studies Division (MSD) serves Congressional committees that deal with energy, the environment, intellectual property, telecommunications, research development, industry and trade, technology, transportation, and agriculture by providing policy analyses for the committees' use in preparing and evaluating legislation. MSD also analyzes budget process issues, including budget concepts, and covers topics related to general government and federal personnel. The division prepares most of CBO's cost estimates of federal mandates affecting the private sector.

The National Security Division (NSD) studies budgetary issues related to national defense. Its reports cover military personnel, strategic forces, and other Department of Defense programs such as ones for international affairs and veterans' benefits. The division aids Congressional committees by examining the costs and other effects of current defense and international security programs and proposed legislation in those areas. Employment in this division requires U.S. citizenship.

The Tax Analysis Division (TAD) estimates tax revenues, analyzes tax expenditures, and prepares related studies. Its analyses focus on the tax system's effects on the economy and the budget and on the implications that changes to the tax code have for taxpayers.

Application Procedure

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CBO will begin accepting applications for the 2011 Summer Internship Program in mid-December.

Selection Process

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CBO selects candidates for available internship assignments on the basis of academic achievement, the relevance of candidates' academic work to CBO's responsibilities, and candidates' work experience. For more information about the Congressional budget process and CBO's major responsibilities, see "CBO's Role in the Budget Process."

Previous Interns

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University of Virginia Ph.D., Economics "My experience at CBO has been great. I can't imagine a better way to experience the real-world application of macroeconomic principles. The Macroeconomic Analysis Division studies a large range of topics: fiscal policy, monetary policy, unemployment, and international finance, among others. Very few other institutions bring together such a wide variety of scholars and experts. My work this summer focused on the crowding-out effect of government debt. Using a general equilibrium model I hope to discover whether crowding out really occurs in the U.S. economy and what factors might compound or mitigate it."		New York University M.P.A., Health Policy and Management "In CBO's Budget Analysis Division I was able to apply my professional and academic experiences to an exciting and extremely relevant project in health policy. I conducted qualitative and quantitative analysis of cost trends for prescription drugs, and I collaborated with CBO analysts to help create models for predicting growth in drug expenditures, constructing cost estimates, and informing baseline projections of the nation's budget. This internship provided an unparalleled opportunity to gain substantial experience in policy analysis and to work with and learn from an extremely intelligent group of hard-working people. It is an absolute honor and pleasure to work at CBO, which offers not only an intellectually challenging workplace but a comfortable and collegial environment."		University of California at Berkeley M.P.P. " Working at CBO was the highlight of my summer experience in Washington. I developed cost estimates for proposed laws, a function critical to the work Congress does in evaluating legislation and the broader impact it has on policy implementation. I focused on two projects: estimating the cost of publicly financed elections and calculating the auction sale price of the broadcast spectrum. My experience at CBO resonated well with the analytical skills I learned during my graduate work. It was also truly a pleasure to work alongside so many talented and motivated people."

Preparing for a CBO Internship

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Previous interns describe the following experiences as valuable in preparing them for their internship at CBO:

• Courses in economics, public finance, public budgeting, microeconomics, econometrics, and public health
• Experience with SAS (or other statistical programs) and large data sets
• Experience conducting independent research
• Strong writing skills
• An understanding of the federal budget process
• Prior policy internships and participation in student government

Documents to Which Students Have Contributed During Their Internship

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