A bill to establish the Daniel Webster Congressional Clerkship Program.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Daniel Webster Congressional 
Clerkship Act of 2008''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) Each year, many of the most talented law school 
        graduates in the country begin their legal careers as judicial 
        law clerks.
            (2) The judicial clerkship program has given the judiciary 
        access to a pool of exceptional young lawyers at a relatively 
        low cost.
            (3) These same lawyers then go on to become leaders of 
        their profession, where they serve a critical role in helping 
        to educate the public about the judiciary and the judicial 
        process.
            (4) The White House, the administrative agencies of the 
        Executive Branch, the Administrative Office of the United 
        States Courts, the Federal Judicial Center, and the United 
        States Sentencing Commission, all operate analogous programs 
        for talented young professionals at the outset of their 
        careers.
            (5) The Congress is without a similar program.
            (6) At a time when our Nation faces considerable 
        challenges, the Congress and the public would benefit 
        immeasurably from a program, modeled after the judicial 
        clerkship program, that engages the brightest young lawyers in 
        the Nation in the legislative process.
            (7) Accordingly, the Congress herein creates the Daniel 
        Webster Congressional Clerkship Program, named after one of the 
        most admired and distinguished lawyer-legislators ever to serve 
        in the Congress, to improve the business of the Congress and 
        increase the understanding of its work by the public.

SEC. 3. DANIEL WEBSTER CONGRESSIONAL CLERKSHIP PROGRAM.

    (a) Selection Committees.--As used in this Act, the term 
``Selection Committees'' means--
            (1) the Committee on Rules and Administration of the 
        Senate; and
            (2) the Committee on House Administration of the House of 
        Representatives.
    (b) Establishment of Program.--There is hereby established the 
Daniel Webster Congressional Clerkship Program for the appointment of 
individuals who are graduates of accredited law schools to serve as 
Congressional Clerks in the Senate or House of Representatives.
    (c) Selection of Clerks.--Subject to the availability of 
appropriations, the Selection Committees shall select Congressional 
Clerks in the following manner:
            (1) The Committee on Rules and Administration of the Senate 
        shall select not less than 6 Congressional Clerks each year to 
        serve as employees of the Senate for a 1-year period.
            (2) The Committee on House Administration of the House of 
        Representatives shall select not less than 6 Congressional 
        Clerks each year to serve as employees of the House of 
        Representatives for a 1-year period.
    (d) Selection Criteria.--In carrying out subsection (c), the 
Selection Committees shall select Congressional Clerks consistent with 
the following criteria:
            (1) Each Congressional Clerk selected shall be a graduate 
        of an accredited law school as of the starting date of his or 
        her clerkship.
            (2) Each Congressional Clerk selected shall possess--
                    (A) an excellent academic record;
                    (B) a strong record of achievement in 
                extracurricular activities;
                    (C) a demonstrated commitment to public service; 
                and
                    (D) outstanding analytic, writing, and oral 
                communication skills.
    (e) Process.--After a Congressional Clerk is selected under this 
section, such Congressional Clerk shall then interview for a position 
in an office as follows:
            (1) For a Congressional Clerk selected under subsection 
        (c)(1), the Congressional Clerk shall interview for a position 
        with any office of any Committee of the Senate, including any 
        Joint Committee or Select and Special Committee, or any office 
        of any individual Member of the Senate.
            (2) For a Congressional Clerk selected under subsection 
        (c)(2), the Congressional Clerk shall interview for a position 
        with any office of any Committee of the House of 
        Representatives, including any Joint Committee or Select and 
        Special Committee, or any office of any individual Member of 
        the House of Representatives.
    (f) Placement Requirements.--The Selection Committees shall ensure 
that Congressional Clerks selected under this section are apportioned 
equally between majority party and minority party offices.
    (g) Compensation of Congressional Clerks.--Each Congressional Clerk 
selected under this section shall receive the same compensation as 
would, and comparable benefits to, an individual who holds the position 
of a judicial clerkship for the United States District Court for the 
District of Columbia within 3 months of graduating from law school.
    (h) Required Adherence to Rules.--Each Congressional Clerk selected 
under this section shall be subject to all laws, regulations, and rules 
in the same manner and to the same extent as any other employee of the 
Senate or House of Representatives.
    (i) Exclusion From Limit on Number of Positions.--A Congressional 
Clerk shall be excluded in determining the number of employees of the 
office that employs the Clerk for purposes of--
            (1) in the case of the office of a Member of the House of 
        Representatives, section 104 of the House of Representatives 
        Administrative Reform Technical Corrections Act (2 U.S.C. 92); 
        or
            (2) in the case of any other office, any applicable 
        provision of law or any rule or regulation which imposes a 
        limit on the number of employees of the office.
    (j) Rules.--The Selection Committees shall develop and promulgate 
rules regarding the administration of the Congressional Clerkship 
program established under this section.
    (k) Member Defined.--In this section, the term ``Member of the 
House of Representatives'' includes a Delegate or Resident Commissioner 
to the Congress.

SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There are authorized to be appropriated for fiscal year 2009 and 
each succeeding fiscal year from the applicable accounts of the House 
of Representatives and the contingent fund of the Senate such sums as 
necessary to carry out the provisions of this Act.

Summary: Daniel Webster Congressional Clerkship Act of 2008 - Establishes the Daniel Webster Congressional Clerkship Program for the appointment of individuals who are graduates of accredited law schools to serve as Congressional Clerks in the Senate or House of Representatives. Requires the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration and the House Committee on House Administration to each select at least six individuals for a one-year term to serve as employees in their respective chambers. Specifies eligibility criteria for a Congressional Clerk, including that the selected candidate be a graduate of such a law school as of the starting date of his or her clerkship. Requires the committees to ensure that Congressional Clerks selected under this Act are apportioned equally between majority and minority party offices. Entitles each clerk selected to the same compensation as, and comparable benefits to, an individual who holds the position of a judicial clerkship for the US District Court for the District of Columbia within three months of graduating from law school.