Congress passes federal internship program reform
The bill, designed to standardize internships across all agencies, now awaits the president’s signature.
New legislation concerning the federal internship program has passed both chambers of Congress and is awaiting President Obama's signature.
Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., sponsored the measure, which recently passed through Congress after being lumped into a larger Defense authorization package. The measure seeks to standardize to the way federal agencies conduct internship.
He stated in a press release that the ultimate goal of the bill, co-sponsored by Rep. Brian Bilbray, R-Ca., is to help agencies more easily identify high-performing interns who can transition into full-time jobs as more members of the baby boomer workforce retire. He also expressed his desire for the bill to "make internships a better educational experience for participants."
Connolly first introduced the 2011 Federal Internship Improvement Act in March. In November, the Office of Personnel Management unveiled their own restructuring of the federal internship program, which OPM Director John Berry promised would go into effect by May 2012.