[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6475 Engrossed in House (EH)]
110th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 6475
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
To establish the Daniel Webster Congressional Clerkship Program.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Daniel Webster Congressional
Clerkship Act of 2008''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) Each year, many of the most talented law school
graduates in the country begin their legal careers as judicial
law clerks.
(2) The judicial clerkship program has given the judiciary
access to a pool of exceptional young lawyers at a relatively
low cost.
(3) These same lawyers then go on to become leaders of
their profession, where they serve a critical role in helping
to educate the public about the judiciary and the judicial
process.
(4) The White House, the administrative agencies of the
Executive Branch, the Administrative Office of the United
States Courts, the Federal Judicial Center, and the United
States Sentencing Commission, all operate analogous programs
for talented young professionals at the outset of their
careers.
(5) The Congress is without a similar program.
(6) At a time when our Nation faces considerable
challenges, the Congress and the public would benefit
immeasurably from a program, modeled after the judicial
clerkship program, that engages the brightest young lawyers in
the Nation in the legislative process.
(7) Accordingly, the Congress herein creates the Daniel
Webster Congressional Clerkship Program, named after one of the
most admired and distinguished lawyer-legislators ever to serve
in the Congress, to improve the business of the Congress and
increase the understanding of its work by the public.
SEC. 3. DANIEL WEBSTER CONGRESSIONAL CLERKSHIP PROGRAM.
(a) Selection Committees.--As used in this Act, the term
``Selection Committees'' means--
(1) the Committee on Rules and Administration of the
Senate; and
(2) the Committee on House Administration of the House of
Representatives.
(b) Establishment of Program.--There is hereby established the
Daniel Webster Congressional Clerkship Program for the appointment of
individuals who are graduates of accredited law schools to serve as
Congressional Clerks in the Senate or House of Representatives.
(c) Selection of Clerks.--Subject to the availability of
appropriations, the Selection Committees shall select Congressional
Clerks in the following manner:
(1) The Committee on Rules and Administration of the Senate
shall select not less than 6 Congressional Clerks each year to
serve as employees of the Senate for a 1-year period.
(2) The Committee on House Administration of the House of
Representatives shall select not less than 6 Congressional
Clerks each year to serve as employees of the House of
Representatives for a 1-year period.
(d) Selection Criteria.--In carrying out subsection (c), the
Selection Committees shall select Congressional Clerks consistent with
the following criteria:
(1) Each Congressional Clerk selected shall be a graduate
of an accredited law school as of the starting date of his or
her clerkship.
(2) Each Congressional Clerk selected shall possess--
(A) an excellent academic record;
(B) a strong record of achievement in
extracurricular activities;
(C) a demonstrated commitment to public service;
and
(D) outstanding analytic, writing, and oral
communication skills.
(e) Process.--After a Congressional Clerk is selected under this
section, such Congressional Clerk shall then interview for a position
in an office as follows:
(1) For a Congressional Clerk selected under subsection
(c)(1), the Congressional Clerk shall interview for a position
with any office of any Committee of the Senate, including any
Joint Committee or Select and Special Committee, or any office
of any individual Member of the Senate.
(2) For a Congressional Clerk selected under subsection
(c)(2), the Congressional Clerk shall interview for a position
with any office of any Committee of the House of
Representatives, including any Joint Committee or Select and
Special Committee, or any office of any individual Member of
the House of Representatives.
(f) Placement Requirements.--The Selection Committees shall ensure
that Congressional Clerks selected under this section are apportioned
equally between majority party and minority party offices.
(g) Compensation of Congressional Clerks.--Each Congressional Clerk
selected under this section shall receive the same compensation as
would, and comparable benefits to, an individual who holds the position
of a judicial clerkship for the United States District Court for the
District of Columbia within 3 months of graduating from law school.
(h) Required Adherence to Rules.--Each Congressional Clerk selected
under this section shall be subject to all laws, regulations, and rules
in the same manner and to the same extent as any other employee of the
Senate or House of Representatives.
(i) Exclusion From Limit on Number of Positions.--A Congressional
Clerk shall be excluded in determining the number of employees of the
office that employs the Clerk for purposes of--
(1) in the case of the office of a Member of the House of
Representatives, section 104 of the House of Representatives
Administrative Reform Technical Corrections Act (2 U.S.C. 92);
or
(2) in the case of any other office, any applicable
provision of law or any rule or regulation which imposes a
limit on the number of employees of the office.
(j) Rules.--The Selection Committees shall develop and promulgate
rules regarding the administration of the Congressional Clerkship
program established under this section.
(k) Member Defined.--In this section, the term ``Member of the
House of Representatives'' includes a Delegate or Resident Commissioner
to the Congress.
SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
There are authorized to be appropriated for fiscal year 2009 and
each succeeding fiscal year from the applicable accounts of the House
of Representatives and the contingent fund of the Senate such sums as
necessary to carry out the provisions of this Act.
Passed the House of Representatives September 11, 2008.
Attest:
Clerk.
110th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 6475
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
To establish the Daniel Webster Congressional Clerkship Program.