Summer Internships

CBO is accepting applications for its Summer Internship Program only through the online application system from December 15, 2008 through March 2, 2009.

CBO is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

  Introduction

  Internship Assignments

  Health Policy Internship

  Application Procedure

  Selection Process

  Previous Interns

  Preparing for a CBO Internship

  Documents that Students have Contributed to During their Internship

Introduction

---

CBO summer internships provide excellent opportunities to experience and observe the budget process and policymaking at the federal level. The internships, which have ranged in number from 10 to 28, are located in Washington, D.C. They normally last 10 weeks and include compensation based on academic level and work experience.

CBO provides the Congress with the objective, timely, and nonpartisan analyses needed for economic and budgetary decisions. Interns contribute to CBO's work in program areas such as budget and tax policy, health care, national defense, the environment, education, retirement and other income assistance, regulation, and public investment.

In addition to learning on the job, CBO interns participate in an educational program that includes briefings on the agency's role in the budget process. CBO interns may also participate in seminars offered by other Congressional support agencies and in the Congressional Summer Intern Lecture Series, which has featured speakers such as Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, former Secretary of State Colin Powell, journalist Cokie Roberts, and Ralph Nader.

Ideal candidates for CBO internships are pursuing graduate academic programs in economics, public policy, health policy, financial management, mathematics, statistics, or engineering. Very strong undergraduate candidates currently in their senior or junior year may be considered on the basis of the applicability of their education and experience to specific assignments at CBO. Students can apply online in January and February--and, for convenience, can register to be notified by e-mail when the application process is open.

Because of federal regulations, CBO is limited in its ability to employ individuals who are not U.S. citizens. Before applying, noncitizens should refer to the agency's information on citizenship requirements to determine employment eligibility.

Internship Assignments

---

All CBO summer internships require solid writing skills and the ability to communicate clearly and concisely. Familiarity with computer programming, statistics, econometrics, and other quantitative methods is desirable. Ideal candidates would also have exceptional interpersonal and analytical skills.

In previous years, summer interns

• prepared a variety of cost estimates and determined on the impact of federal mandates on the private sector in the areas of occupational safety and health, conservation, national heritage areas, water reuse, and coastal and ocean exploration and observation;
• helped investigate how to project changes in income distribution to aid income tax revenue projections;
• assembled and analyzed information on the processes used by public and private insurers to make decisions about coverage, and assessed the implications for cost savings;
• analyzed claims data for Medicare payments to refine CBO's allocation of costs among Medicare services and types of health care providers;
• investigated the determinants and the magnitude of intrafamily transfers between parents and children to intergenerational links in an economic life-cycle model;
• studied the motives for parents' bequests to children using a "life-cycle" economic model, predicting the effects of the aging of the population on the level of bequests.

The following is a general description of the responsibilities and functions of the CBO divisions to which interns may be assigned.

The Budget Analysis Division (BAD) generates cost estimates and spending projections for legislative proposals that affect all program areas, including health, human resources, natural resources, defense, and state/local governments. CBO's largest division, BA fills most of its full-time positions with newly minted M.P.P., M.P.A., and M.A. graduates.

Analyzing budgetary issues in the areas of income assistance and Social Security, education, social services, and health is the function of the Health and Human Resources Division (HHRD). The division's studies examine the costs and other effects of current programs and legislative proposals in those areas. The Long-Term Modeling Group in HHR develops actuarial and microsimulation models for studying long-range policy issues such as Social Security and Medicare and for projecting budgetary costs and implications of current and alternative policies.

The Macroeconomic Analysis Division (MAD) analyzes the U.S. economy, prepares projections of economic conditions, and studies how the future could be affected by different economic developments or policies. The division's analyses focus on issues such as inflation, employment, production, international economic affairs, and credit, as well as on the interaction of those issues with the federal budget.

The staff of the Microeconomic Studies Division (MSD) serves Congressional committees that deal with energy, the environment, intellectual property, telecommunications, research development, industry and trade, technology, transportation, and agriculture by providing policy analyses for the committees' use in preparing and evaluating legislation. MS also analyzes budget process issues, including budget concepts, and covers topics related to general government and federal personnel. The division prepares most of CBO's cost estimates of federal mandates affecting the private sectors.

The National Security Division (NSD) studies budgetary issues related to national defense. Its reports cover military personnel, strategic forces, and other Department of Defense programs such as ones for international affairs and veterans' benefits. The division aids Congressional committees by examining the costs and other effects of current defense and international security programs and proposed legislation in those areas. Employment in this division requires U.S. citizenship.

The Tax Analysis Division (TAD) estimates tax revenues, analyzes tax expenditures, and prepares related studies. Its analyses focus on the tax system's effects on the economy and the budget and on the implications that changes to the tax code have for taxpayers.

Health Policy Internship

---

CBO's Health Policy Internship is geared toward graduate students interested in health analysis and policy. CBO will be seeking candidates for the summer of 2009.

Application Procedure

---

CBO accepts applications for its Summer Internship Program through this Web site only during the application period of December 15, 2008, through March 2, 2009. Individuals who require an accommodation should contact the Human Resources Office at (202) 226-2628 or jobs@cbo.gov for assistance.

You can complete your application in several ways: by entering information directly online, uploading documents, or pasting text.

The application system accepts documents in the following formats:

• Adobe Acrobat (.pdf)
• Graphics interchange format (.gif)
• Tagged image format (.tiff, .tif)
• Microsoft Word (.doc)
• Microsoft Excel (.xls)
• Rich text format (.rtf)
• ASCII text (.txt)
• HTML (.htm; .html)
• JPEG image format (.jpeg)

A completed application includes these items:

• General information
• Cover letter describing relevant skills and interests and, in particular, the interest in an internship at CBO
• Résumé
• Academic transcript(s),* including current coursework (if the transcript(s) cannot be uploaded, other methods for submitting the information are available)
• Contact information for two references including names, e-mail address, and telephone numbers (preferably one academic and one employment reference)

*First-year graduate students will need to provide undergraduate and graduate transcripts.

The application process should take between 30 and 60 minutes to complete. You will be required to create a user ID and password; please keep this information for reference. You may return to your application if you cannot complete it in one sitting.

Non-U.S. citizens should refer to the agency's information on citizenship requirements or send an e-mail to jobs@cbo.gov indicating their country of citizenship and visa or employment status to determine their employment eligibility before applying.

Selection Process

---

CBO does not conduct interviews for summer internship positions. It considers only the requested materials for evaluation and selection, although it may contact candidates to confirm skills, and determine interest in a project and availability. Applications must be submitted online by 11:59 p.m. (EST) on March 2, 2009, to be considered.

CBO selects candidates for available internship assignments on the basis of academic achievement, the relevance of candidates' academic work to CBO's responsibilities, and candidates' work experience. For more information about the Congressional budget process and CBO's major responsibilities, see "CBO's Role in the Budget Process."

CBO begins the selection process on March 3, 2009 and expects to complete selections by April 3, 2009. CBO will notify all candidates of their status as soon as possible and will contact successful candidates by telephone. Interns receive compensation at an hourly rate that is commensurate with their education and experience.

If you have questions, please check "Frequently Asked Questions About Employment." Contact the Human Resources office at (202) 226-2628 or jobs@cbo.gov for questions not addressed on that page.

Previous Interns

---

Master's, Public Policy Harvard University "For 10 weeks I worked on determining the fiscal impact of illegal immigration on state, local, and tribal governments. It was an incredibly rewarding experience, and I expanded my critical skills to effectively analyze public policy and prepare cost estimates for pending legislation. CBO provided me with a breadth of opportunities to learn more about federal budgeting and to network with influential people in the field."		Master's, Public Policy University of California-Berkeley "I worked on a primer for members of Congress and Congressional staff on the issues involved in designing a carbon cap-and-trade policy. The opportunity to attend hearings in Congress as well as numerous academic presentations vastly improved my understanding of the likely economic consequences of various policy approaches to the issue of climate change. The agency has a reputation for providing credible perspective. I heard CBO quoted frequently by policymakers as a source of high-quality, impartial analysis on an issue that is not only profoundly important but also politically charged."		Bachelor of Arts, Aging Studies Ithaca College "Working on policy issues with CBO analysts in the Health and Human Resources Division has made for an action-packed summer. I have analyzed several health care bills dealing with health information technology and early prevention screening, and I have been given the professional independence to pursue areas of personally relevant research. I have had numerous opportunities to attend out-of-the-office events to gain a better understanding of the inner workings of Congress, Congressional committees, and the potential of health care reform. This summer experience has provided me a valuable learning opportunity, enhanced my critical thinking skills, and better prepared me for the next step academically and professionally."

Preparing for a CBO Internship

---

Previous interns describe the following experiences as valuable in preparing them for their internship at CBO:

• Courses in Economics, Public Finance, Public Budgeting, Microeconomics, Econometrics, and Public Health
• Experience with SAS (or other statistical programs) and large data sets
• Experience conducting independent research
• Strong writing skills
• An understanding of the Federal budget process
• Prior policy internships and participation in student government

Documents that Students have Contributed to During their Internship

---

• H.R. 2693, A bill to direct the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to issue a standard regulating worker exposure to diacetyl
  July 18, 2007  pdf  
  Cost estimate for the bill as ordered reported by the House Committee on Education and Labor on June 20, 2007
• Characteristics and Pay of Federal Civilian Employees
  March 2007  pdf  
• H.R. 138, A bill to revise the boundaries of John H. Chafee Coastal Barrier Resources System Jekyll Island Unit GA-06P
  July 31, 2006  html  pdf  
  Cost estimate for the bill as ordered reported by the House Committee on Resources on July 19, 2006
• Background Paper: The Price Sensitivity of Demand for Nongroup Health Insurance
  August 2005  pdf  
• The One-Courtroom, One-Judge Policy: A Preliminary Review
  April 2000  html  pdf