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 Personal staff of Congressmen run an office in DC as well as one or more offices in the Congressman’s home district  Gather information on new bills and important issues, arrange meetings, write speeches, handle requests for help from voters, deal with news reporters and lobbyists, and work for reelection of the congressional member  Lobbyist: people hired by private groups to influence gov’t decision makers  Members of Congress also hire students from their home states or districts to serve as interns/pages  Interns help with research and office duties. Pages deliver messages and run other errands. This gives them a first- hand look at the political process

 These people have expert knowledge about special topics such as: taxes, military defense, and health care  Committee staff members do many of the various day-to-day lawmaking chores  They draft bills, gather information, organize committee hearings, and negotiate with lobbyists

 Library of Congress: One of the largest libraries in the world that holds at least one copy of every book published in the US Library of Congress  Congressional Research Service (CRS): Part of the Library of Congress that looks up facts and spells out arguments for and against proposed bills Congressional Research Service (CRS):  Keeps track of every major bill before Congress  General Accountability Office (GAO): Reviews the spending activities of federal agencies, studies federal programs, and recommends ways to improve the financial performance of the government General Accountability Office (GAO):  Congressional Budget Office (CBO): Provides information and analysis for making budgetary decisions Congressional Budget Office (CBO):  Estimates costs and possible economic effects of programs

Given information on Congressional staff students will participate in a whip-around in which they name jobs completed by Congressional staffers