Congressional Research Internship (Paid)

LegiStorm is a premiere non-partisan resource for transparency about who
runs the U.S. Congress. Since our founding in 2006, we have been a daily
resource for anyone interested in tracking the legislative branch.

We were the first web site in the country to publish the salaries of
thousands of government employees - in our case, of all congressional
staffers - spurring other web sites to follow in our footsteps across the
world. We were the first - and still only - source to bring together a
decade of data about how private interests have funded more than 30,000
travel getaways by members of Congress and their staff. We continued
innovating by being the first web site to publish all personal financial
disclosures filed by members of Congress and their staff. We followed that
by being the first to publish all gifts provided to U.S. officials by
foreign governments. And, thanks to our partners at the non-partisan
Taxpayers for Common Sense who produced the data, we were the first to
release a web site providing browsable and searchable access to all
earmarks. The attention to these earmarks helped at least in small part to
lead to their ban earlier this year. At times, our disclosures have been
controversial - quite a few people on Capitol Hill have called on us to stop
our disclosures and at least one bill was introduced that would effectively
have done just that. But we continue to believe that the public has
benefited greatly from our innovations. We have only just begun our
commitment to providing innovative ways to harness congressional data that
were previously inaccessible or underutilized. And we do so by cleverly
marrying sophisticated technology with hard-nosed research - such a focus
can only truly be appreciated by seeing how much we have invested in an
expansive back-office infrastructure to support the current and future data
needs of our site. Most importantly, we maintain demanding standards of
thoroughness and accuracy required by our users. That commitment is what
makes us a widely quoted source among top journalists, from the Wall Street
Journal to the Washington Post.


Internship Description

We are seeking motivated summer interns with exceptional research skills to
join our small team to help release a new treasure trove of data that we
have gathered about the U.S. Congress. With that new data, we hope to
continue to push the boundaries of what kind of research is possible about
how Congress works.

Our paid summer internship is full-time, on site, for a minimum of 10 weeks
(flexible begin and end dates), with a monthly stipend of $1,000. For the
right candidate, we would also consider part-time but unpaid internships,
but because of the amount of training and staff attention it requires for
us, we will limit this to compelling and seriously committed applicants.

LegiStorm's office is on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, albeit a mile from
the Union Station metro (several convenient bus lines run within blocks). We
offer a casual dress and informal (but still professional) work environment.
The refrigerator is stocked with sodas and basic lunch materials. Our
building has a relatively fully equipped gym at your disposal and our staff
meetings are often held next to the building's beautiful outdoor pool.


Required Qualifications

Our ideal intern is a degree-seeking undergraduate or graduate student who
is motivated, organized, self-directed, fast, accurate, diligent,
politically interested, always questioning, and has the beginnings of some
hard-core research skills. Journalism students who want to focus more on
research than writing are particularly welcome (although some limited
writing opportunities will be available to someone who shows interest and
talent). Those pursuing history or library science careers may also
particularly benefit from the intense research focus we provide. Regardless
of degree, anyone who loves research - mostly web-based or document-based -
is a suitable candidate.


How to Apply

To apply, send a cover letter detailing your qualifications and experience
and your resume to congress at legistorm dot com. EEOC.

In your cover letter, mention the college football quarterback that
LegiStorm's founder's wife likely cheered on this past year (and your
reasoning, if you think it is required - right answers don't really require
it). It will prove to us that you are serious and have basic research
skills.

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An online version of this announcement may be found at
http://www.legistorm.com/intern_ad.html

A PDF version of this announcement may be found at
http://www2.legistorm.com/uploads/internad2011.pdf

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LegiStorm - Transparency's Sidekick
1375 Maryland Avenue, NE
Pierce School, Loft B
Washington, DC  20002
202.360.4172 p
202.449.1123 f
1-866-847-0790 toll-free
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www.legistorm.com