H.R. 151 (111th): Daniel Webster Congressional Clerkship Act of 2009

Introduced:
Jan 06, 2009 (111th Congress, 2009–2010)
Sponsor:
Rep. Zoe Lofgren [D-CA16]
Status:
Died (Passed House)

The bill’s title was written by the bill’s sponsor. H.R. stands for House of Representatives bill.

(About Ads | Advertise Here)
Status

This bill was introduced in a previous session of Congress and was passed by the House on March 31, 2009 but was never passed by the Senate.

Progress
Introduced Jan 06, 2009
Referred to Committee Jan 06, 2009
Reported by Committee Mar 25, 2009
Passed House Mar 31, 2009
Votes

House Vote on Passage
Mar 31, 2009 4:34 p.m.
Passed 381/42

Cosponsors
4 cosponsors (3D, 1R) (show)
Committees

House House Administration

Senate Rules and Administration

The committee chair determines whether a bill will move past the committee stage.

Full Title

To establish the Daniel Webster Congressional Clerkship Program.

Summary

No summaries available.

Text

Read Bill Text »

Last updated Apr 01, 2009.
7 pages

Primary Source

View on THOMAS (The Library of Congress)

GovTrack gets most information from THOMAS, which is updated generally one day after events occur. Activity since the last update may not be reflected here.

Citation

Click a format for a citation suggestion:

GovTrack’s Bill Summary

We don’t have a summary available yet.

Library of Congress Summary

The summary below was written by the Congressional Research Service, which is a nonpartisan division of the Library of Congress.

3/31/2009--Passed House without amendment.
(This measure has not been amended since it was introduced.
The expanded summary of the House reported version is repeated here.) Daniel Webster Congressional Clerkship Act of 2009 - Establishes 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. Requires the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration and the House Committee on House Administration to each select at least six individuals for a one-year term to serve as employees in their respective chambers.
Specifies eligibility criteria for a Congressional Clerk, including that the selected candidate be a graduate of such a law school as of the starting date of his or her clerkship.
Requires the committees to ensure that Congressional Clerks selected under this Act are apportioned equally between majority and minority party offices. Entitles each clerk selected to the same compensation as, and comparable benefits to, an individual who holds the position of a judicial clerkship for the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia within three months of graduating from law school. Authorizes appropriations.

House Republican Conference Summary

The summary below was written by the House Republican Conference, which is the caucus of Republicans in the House of Representatives.

This summary can be found at http://www.gop.gov/bill/111/1/hr151.

Background

A similar bill to this legislation (H.R. 6475) was passed by the House on September 11, 2008, by unanimous consent.  The Senate never considered that bill.

While programs similar to the Daniel Webster Congressional Clerkship Program are currently operated by the White House and the administrative offices of the Executive Branch, as well as the U.S. Supreme Court, the U.S. Congress does not currently have a comparable program.

 

Summary

H.R. 151 establishes the "Daniel Webster Congressional Clerkship Program" which directs the House of Representatives and the Senate to hire at least twelve graduates of accredited law schools to serve as Congressional Clerks for a one-year period.

Graduates hired through the program will be divided evenly between the House and Senate, and evenly between the majority and minority parties. The Clerks will receive compensation and benefits comparable to individuals holding judicial clerkships for the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia within three months of graduating law school.

The bill authorizes such sums as may be necessary to carry out the program for Fiscal Year 2010 and each succeeding fiscal year.

 

Cost

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has not yet produced a cost estimate for H.R. 151, but a similar bill last year was estimated to cost $1 million annually.

House Democratic Caucus Summary

The House Democratic Caucus does not provide summaries of bills.

So, yes, we display the House Republican Conference’s summaries when available even if we do not have a Democratic summary available. That’s because we feel it is better to give you as much information as possible, even if we cannot provide every viewpoint.

We’ll be looking for a source of summaries from the other side in the meanwhile.

The bill contains the following citations to other parts of U.S. law:

United States Code

The United States Code is the compilation of permanent laws enacted by Congress. Temporary and other non-permanent laws do not appear in the United States Code. (About half of the United States Code is the law itself, called positive law. The other half is merely a compilation of the laws but has no legal significance.)