Intern-related excerpts from “Congressional Brain Drain”

By: Jennifer Graciano

A recently released New America report by Alexander C. Furnas and Timothy M. LaPira provides an overview of declining Congressional capacity in an era of rising polarization and increasing political party competition. “As a consequence,” LaPira and Furnas write, “legislative staff in Washington are asked to do more and more, with less and less.” For most staffers, the limited resources of the legislative branch are revealed at step one in the Congressional staff pipeline: internships. These essential opportunities are the entry point for many future staffers and the keystone of the opportunity disparities and lack of diversity on Capitol Hill.