[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 85 (Wednesday, May 17, 2017)]
[House]
[Pages H4268-H4269]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 FEDERAL INTERN PROTECTION ACT OF 2017

  Mr. RUSSELL. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 653) to amend title 5, United States Code, to protect unpaid 
interns in the Federal Government from workplace harassment and 
discrimination, and for other purposes.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                                H.R. 653

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Federal Intern Protection 
     Act of 2017''.

     SEC. 2. PROHIBITED PERSONNEL PRACTICES.

       (a) In General.--Section 2302 of title 5, United States 
     Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
       ``(g)(1) All protections afforded to an employee under 
     subparagraphs (A), (B), and (D) of subsection (b)(1) shall be 
     afforded, in the same manner and to the same extent, to an 
     intern and an applicant for internship.
       ``(2) For purposes of the application of this subsection, a 
     reference to an employee shall be considered a reference to 
     an intern in--
       ``(A) section 717 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 
     U.S.C. 2000e-16);
       ``(B) sections 12 and 15 of the Age Discrimination in 
     Employment Act of 1967 (29 U.S.C. 631, 633a); and
       ``(C) section 501 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 
     U.S.C. 791).
       ``(3) In this subsection, the term `intern' means an 
     individual who performs uncompensated voluntary service in an 
     agency to earn credit awarded by an educational institution 
     or to learn a trade or occupation.''.
       (b) Conforming Amendment.--Section 3111(c)(1) of title 5, 
     United States Code, is amended by inserting ``section 2302(g) 
     (relating to prohibited personnel practices),'' before 
     ``chapter 81''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Oklahoma (Mr. Russell) and the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Connolly) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Oklahoma.


                             General Leave

  Mr. RUSSELL. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to 
include any extraneous material in the Record on the bill under 
consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Oklahoma?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. RUSSELL. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today to support H.R. 653, the Federal Intern 
Protection Act of 2017, sponsored by my colleague from the Oversight 
Committee, Ranking Member Elijah Cummings of Maryland.
  Mr. Speaker, the Federal Government is well served by interns who 
provide invaluable assistance to agencies across the Federal 
Government. Our interns work alongside us and other Federal employees 
helping conduct agency business on behalf of the American people.
  Internship programs also help to identify and develop the next 
generation of Federal employees. In exchange, interns gain invaluable 
work experience in a field that they might hope to enter upon 
graduation and credit they can apply at their institution of learning.
  Unfortunately, there are no existing provisions in Federal law that 
protect interns working at Federal agencies against harassment or 
discrimination.
  In the case of O'Connor v. Davis, the United States Court of Appeals 
for the Second Circuit upheld a decision finding an intern could not 
bring sexual harassment claims under Federal law.

                              {time}  1530

  The court reasoned that since the intern was not a Federal employee, 
that person was not covered by existing law. It concluded that: ``It is 
for Congress, if it should choose to do so . . . to provide a remedy. . 
. .''
  Mr. Speaker, the Oversight and Government Reform Committee heard 
testimony showing the damage this loophole can have at Federal 
agencies. In a 2015 hearing on Environmental Protection Agency 
mismanagement, witnesses described allegations of sexual harassment 
against interns. According to testimony, ``one former intern stated 
that because of this harassment, she changed her mind about not only 
about working for EPA but also for working in the Federal sector at 
all.''
  This is simply unacceptable.
  Mr. Speaker, the Federal Intern Protection Act of 2017 ensures that 
interns working for the Federal Government receive anti-discriminatory 
and anti-harassment protections. Specifically, the bill prohibits 
discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, 
age, or handicapping condition for interns working at Federal agencies. 
These protections are already in place for Federal employees.
  I thank my friend and colleague, the ranking member, Mr. Elijah 
Cummings, for his leadership and commitment in protecting interns who 
work for the Federal Government.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve 
the balance of my time.
  Mr. CONNOLLY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 653, the Federal Intern 
Protection Act. In fact, it is hard to believe we need this legislation 
at this point in the 21st century, but we do.
  Under current law, Federal employees are protected from 
discrimination on the basis of race, religion, age, and sex. 
Unfortunately, interns don't qualify. They have no such protections.
  I appreciate the wonderful work of our distinguished ranking member, 
Representative Elijah Cummings of Maryland, on this important measure. 
I am not surprised, and neither are my colleagues, that he would pick 
up on this and see the need for this protection to be extended to young 
men and women who want maybe to pursue a career or part of their career 
in the Federal Government. They need these protections like the 
employees they are working with side by side.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman 
from Maryland (Mr. Cummings).

[[Page H4269]]

  

  Mr. CUMMINGS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding and for 
his kind words. I thank Mr. Russell also for his very kind words.
  The bill before us, the Federal Intern Protection Act, would close a 
loophole in Federal employment law that currently leaves unpaid interns 
open to discrimination and sexual harassment with no legal recourse. It 
is interesting. As I listened to Mr. Connolly, he is absolutely right: 
it is surprising that they don't already have this protection.
  Last year, the Oversight and Government Reform Committee held a 
hearing at which we heard testimony about sexual harassment and 
retaliation in an EPA regional office. During the hearing, both 
Chairman Chaffetz and I expressed our disgust at the exploitation of 
these young women and demanded action to prevent this abuse in the 
future.
  Unfortunately, the act of harassing unpaid interns on the basis of 
race, religion, age, or, in this case, sex is not prohibited by Federal 
law. Under current law, victims rely on the discretion of managers to 
prevent this behavior, which is something that doesn't always occur.
  As one witness testified before our committee: ``Even after finding 
out about the numerous harassment victims, the direct reporting manager 
continued to feed the harasser a steady diet of young women.''
  That is a very sad commentary. As I have often said, we are better 
than that.
  We saw at our hearing that allowing this kind of behavior to go 
unchecked can have serious consequences on the lives and careers of 
those who are interested in government service. What we want to do is 
encourage young people to come into government service. We want them to 
come in and do what will feed their souls by making life better for the 
general population. The last thing we want to do is anything that would 
cause them to say this is something they don't want to do.
  Many interns are willing to work for the Federal Government without 
receiving any pay. That is the other piece: so many of these young 
people come looking for experience, looking for opportunity. They 
simply want a chance to get their foot in the door. We must protect 
them from this kind of despicable behavior. Our bill will afford 
Federal interns protections in the same manner and to the same extent 
as Federal employees.
  I want to take this moment to thank the chairman for moving this bill 
expeditiously through our committee, where it was adopted unanimously, 
and for bringing it to the floor today.
  Mr. CONNOLLY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
  Mr. Speaker, again, I want to laud my friend from Maryland (Mr. 
Cummings) for his perspicacity in ferreting out this issue. It is a 
very important one.
  The use of internships in the Federal Government is a very 
underutilized tool when compared to the private sector. Many private 
sector companies will use internships for recruiting the talent it 
needs for the future. In many cases, 70 to 80 percent of those who 
intern for private sector corporations end up being hired because they 
have a carefully monitored program from orientation and recruitment to 
the tasks at hand during the pendency of the internship. The Federal 
Government does no such thing systematically.
  At the very beginning, if we are going to use internships as 
creatively as the private sector to recruit the next generation of 
Federal employees, since one-third of the current workforce is eligible 
for retirement over the next several years, we have to follow the lead 
my friends, Mr. Cummings of Maryland and Mr. Russell of Oklahoma, have 
just given us, and that is to make sure it is a safe workplace. 
Otherwise, who would be attracted to it?

  This piece of legislation is critical to our making Federal 
internships a meaningful tool in their recruitment and retention, so 
long as that workforce is protected by the same norms and same 
regulations as any Federal employee.
  I thank my friend, Mr. Cummings, for bringing this to our attention, 
and I thank Mr. Russell for his leadership.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. RUSSELL. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge adoption of the bill. I thank Mr. Cummings for 
his hard work on this measure. I also thank the committee for their 
broad, bipartisan, unanimous support and hard work in bringing this 
practical measure. I urge adoption of it.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Russell) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 653.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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