Conpressional Page Program

Occasionally, my 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.  They play an important role in the life and work of Congress, calling members to votes, acting as couriers, and performing other duties.  Selection is highly competitive, and only high school sophomores and juniors may apply.  Juniors may only apply for the summer program.  Applications are available annually at the end of January and are due by mid March.  For more information please visit the House of Representatives Page Program website.

How To Apply

To be a school year or summer page, you must be at least 16 years old at least the time the appointment begins, a junior in high school, and have a cumulative grade point average of a B. These are minimum requirements for both the House and Senate Page Programs.

The application process isn't too complex.  Positions are competitive as there are only 72 positions available and are based on the Representative's seniority in the House of Representatives. There are two forms – a general information form and a parental consent form. The House requests your official high school transcripts, a resume of extracurricular activities, three  letters of recommendation, and 50-100 word essay on why the applicant would like to be a Page, as well as a letter of support from the sponsoring Member of  Congress.

If you are interested in becoming a Page, you should my District Office to obtain an application.

When applying, you will apply directly to your Member of Congress. Your Member will decide from any other applications he/she may have received, which one they wish to sponsor. From there, the applications are sent to the Page Board (which consists of a group of Members of Congress), and from there they decide who will be accepted.

Eligibility and Application Requirements

Currently, 66 young men and women are appointed by their Members of Congress to serve as pages in the U.S. House of Representatives. The Democratic Members appoint 12 of these high school juniors.

To be eligible to serve as a page, all applicants must be at least 16 years of age at the time their appointment begins and have a cumulative grade point average of "B" (3.0 or 85/100) or better in all major courses to date.

Additionally, summer program applicants may only serve as a page during the summer before or the summer after their junior year of high school. School-year program applicants may only serve for their junior year of high school.

An official transcript of all grades (from 9th grade through at least the first semester of the current year) is required to verify the cumulative grade point average of "B" or better in major courses. Only the grades in the following subject areas will be counted: English, science, mathematics, social studies, and foreign language—electives are not included.

Applicants for both summer and the school-year page program must submit a completed page application to their Member of Congress prior to the April 3rd deadline. Along with the application form, the following items are required:

  • Social Security number,
  • signed parental consent form,
  • official transcript of all high school grades to date (from 9th grade through the first semester of the current year),
  • a 50-100 word essay on why you want to be a Congressional page,
  • resume of extracurricular activities,
  • three letters of recommendation,
  • and a letter of support from Congresswoman Reyes

The summer programs:

  1. 1st Session: To be announced; Contact my Washington DC office.
  2. 2nd Session: To be announced; Contact my Washington DC office.

The school-year program: To be announced; Contact my Washington DC office.

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. 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 Humanitites;
  • 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.

First-year language courses are not offered nor are Advanced Placement classes. In addition, all school-year pages participate on alternate Saturdays in a Washington seminar program called WISP (Washington Interdisciplinary Studies Program).

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). For females, 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) are required and provided during orientation.

All pages are required to live at the Page Residence Hall (O'Neill Building directly behind the Cannon House Office Building), 300 New Jersey Avenue, S.E., 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.

The triple rooms are furnished with twin beds, night stands, 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 available on each floor as well as a laundry room in the basement.

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.

 Download the Congressional Page Program Application by clicking here