[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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