House Intern Pay Act of 2019

To provide an allowance to offices of Members of the House of Representatives which shall be available for the compensation of interns, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the House Intern Pay Act of 2019 2. Allowance for compensation of interns in House Member offices (a) Establishment of allowance There is established for the House of Representatives an allowance which shall be available for the compensation of interns who serve in the offices of Members of the House of Representatives during a calendar year. (b) Amount per office; allocation of unused allowances among other offices (1) Amount The amount of the allowance under this section with respect to the office of a Member of the House of Representatives for a calendar year shall be established by the Committee on House Administration of the House of Representatives, and (subject to the allocation described in paragraph (2)) shall be an equivalent amount for all such offices. (2) Allocation of unused allowances (A) In general If, by not later than the applicable deadline described in subparagraph (B), an office of a Member of the House of Representatives does not certify to the Committee on House Administration that the office will use the entire amount of the allowance established for the office under this section with respect to a calendar year, the Committee may allocate the unused portion of such office’s allowance among the allowances established for other offices of the House for such calendar year. (B) Applicable deadline The applicable deadline described in this subparagraph with respect to a calendar year is such date established by the Committee on House Administration which is not earlier than January 31 of the year and not later than June 30 of the year. (c) Minimum compensation rate (1) Requirement Each intern who is compensated under the allowance under this section shall be paid for each pay period at a rate which is equal to or greater than the minimum compensation rate for the pay period. (2) Definition In paragraph (1), the minimum compensation rate (A) in the case of pay periods occurring during the first fiscal year in which this Act is in effect, $15 per hour; and (B) in the case of pay periods occurring during any succeeding fiscal year, the rate applicable under this paragraph for pay periods occurring during the previous fiscal year increased by the estimated percentage change in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (as published by the Department of Labor) for the most recent fiscal year preceding such fiscal year. (d) Benefit exclusion Section 104(b) of the House of Representatives Administrative Reform Technical Corrections Act ( 2 U.S.C. 5321(b) (e) No effect on payment of interns under Members’ Representational Allowance Nothing in this section may be construed to affect the use of the Members’ Representational Allowance for the compensation of interns, as provided under section 104 of the House of Representatives Administrative Reform Technical Corrections Act ( 2 U.S.C. 5321 (f) Regulations This section shall be carried out in accordance with regulations promulgated by the Committee on House Administration of the House of Representatives, including regulations to establish the timing and procedures for the allocation of amounts of unused portions of allowances under subsection (b)(2). (g) Conforming amendment Section 120 of the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2019 ( 2 U.S.C. 5322a (h) Definitions In this section— (1) the term intern 2 U.S.C. 5321(c)(2) (2) the term Member of the House of Representatives 3. Authorization of appropriations There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section— (1) for the first fiscal year in which this Act is in effect, $13,759,200, to be allocated on a pro rata basis for each day of such fiscal year which occurs after the date of the enactment of this Act; and (2) for each succeeding fiscal year, the amount authorized under this section for the previous fiscal year increased by the estimated percentage change in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (as published by the Department of Labor) for the most recent fiscal year preceding such fiscal year. 4. Effective date This Act and the amendments made by this Act shall take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act, and shall apply to the pay period which is in effect on such date and each succeeding pay period.

Summary: House Intern Pay Act of 2019 This bill addresses the compensation of interns for Members of the House of Representatives. The bill modifies a capped allowance for compensating interns who serve in the offices of Members of the House during a calendar year. The Committee on House Administration must establish an equivalent allowance for each Member's office for that purpose. An unused portion of the allowance may be reallocated to another Member's office, depending on specified circumstances. Furthermore, the bill requires that the hourly rate for interns be at least $15 per hour for the first year and provides for inflationary adjustments in subsequent years.