The page service allows Members to get material quickly that might be needed to support debate on the floor or in committee. Pages also deliver flags that have flown over the Capitol to Members' offices who have requested them on behalf of constituent groups, such as scout troops. It is not uncommon for a page to put in several miles on his or her feet per day. Pages also help answer the phones in the party cloakrooms, and take phone messages to Members on the floor. Pages are appointed by individual Members of Congress and competition for the approximately 66 House and 30 Senate positions is fierce.
Some appointments are for a full year, others for one semester or for the summer only.
Applications must be requested from the Senator or Representative from the applicant's state or district. Contrary to what many people think, the qualifications for a U.S. Senate seat are set by the Constitution, and not by state law. No state may pass a law which contradicts the Constitution. In Article 1, section 3, the Constitution requires only three things of a Senate candidate. Mrs. Clinton only needed to establish a residence in New York state at any time prior to election day to meet the constitutional requirement, and she did so when she purchased a home in Chappaqua.