I
107TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 2640
To establish the Elie Wiesel Youth Leadership Congressional Fellowship
Program in the House of Representatives, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JULY 25, 2001
Mr. SERRANO (for himself and Mr. LEWIS of Georgia) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on House Administration
A BILL
To establish the Elie Wiesel Youth Leadership Congressional
Fellowship Program in the House of Representatives,
and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Elie Wiesel Youth
Leadership Congressional Fellowship Act of 2001’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds as follows:
(1) The participation of young people in public
life is thwarted by perceptions that the legislative
process is corrupted by special interests which over-
whelm ethical concerns in the consideration and for-
mation of public policy, and by a feeling among
young people that idealism is disrespected by elected
officials.
(2) Elie Wiesel’s leadership against indifference,
intolerance, and injustice encourages political activ-
ism by all members of society, and in particular pro-
vides inspiration to our youth.
(3) Elie Wiesel is a fitting role model for the
youth of America.
(4) Elie Wiesel has dedicated his life to leader-
ship for social justice and equality for all. He is a
survivor of the Holocaust and has worked tirelessly
to gain acknowledgment of the atrocities suffered by
the Jewish people.
(5) Elie Wiesel has published over 40 books
dealing with the moral responsibility of all people to
fight hatred, racism, and genocide.
(6) Elie Wiesel was awarded the Nobel Peace
Prize, the Congressional Gold Medal, and the Presi-
dential Medal of Freedom in recognition of his many
contributions to human rights.
(7) A congressional fellowship can create oppor-
tunities for young leaders by enabling them to ob-
serve directly how public decisions are made.
(8) A congressional fellowship can be designed
to allow youth to focus on ethical decision-making in
preparation for future leadership roles.
(9) Such a congressional fellowship should be
named the Elie Wiesel Youth Leadership Congres-
sional Fellowship after Elie Wiesel, because Elie
Wiesel’s service to society will complement and in-
spire the Fellowship’s purpose of developing ethically
informed youth leadership.
SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF CONGRESSIONAL FELLOWSHIP
PROGRAM.
(a) IN GENERAL.—There is hereby established the
Elie Wiesel Youth Leadership Congressional Fellowship
Program, under which each Member of the House of Rep-
resentatives may hire for the month of July in any year
one additional employee who meets the eligibility criteria
described in subsection (b) to serve as the Elie Wiesel
Youth Leadership Congressional Fellow for the Member’s
office.
(b) CRITERIA FOR ELIGIBILITY.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—An individual is eligible to
serve as an Elie Wiesel Youth Leadership Congres-
sional Fellow for the office of a Member of the
House of Representatives if the individual meets
such criteria as the Committee on House Adminis-
tration (in conjunction with the Elie Wiesel Founda-
tion) may establish.
(2) 
SPECIFIC
INFORMATION
AND
ASSUR-
ANCES.—Under the criteria established under para-
graph (2), an individual shall not be eligible to serve
as a Fellow for the office of a Member of the House
of Representatives unless the individual provides the
following:
(A) A certification that the individual is a
resident of the district the Member represents.
(B) A certification that the individual at-
tended secondary school during the academic
year immediately preceding the period of the in-
dividual’s service as the Fellow for the Mem-
ber’s office.
(C) A recommendation certifying that the
individual is of a high moral character.
(D) An assurance that during the period of
the individual’s service as the Fellow for the
Member’s office, the individual will participate
in leadership and ethics courses offered by the
Elie Wiesel Foundation.
(c) COMPENSATION.—
(1) ALLOWANCE FOR FELLOWS.—A Member of
the House of Representatives shall pay the Elie
Wiesel Youth Leadership Congressional Fellow serv-
ing in the Member’s office an allowance of $1,400,
to be paid out of the applicable accounts of the
House of Representatives.
(2) ADMINISTRATIVE
EXPENSES.—The Chief
Administrative Officer of the House of Representa-
tives shall make an annual payment out of the appli-
cable accounts of the House of Representatives to
the Elie Wiesel Foundation in an amount equal to
the product of—
(A) the number of Elie Wiesel Youth
Leadership Congressional Fellows serving for
Members of the House of Representatives dur-
ing the year; and
(B) $100.
SEC. 4. NO EFFECT ON NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES OR MEM-
BER’S REPRESENTATIONAL ALLOWANCE.
The employment of an Elie Wiesel Youth Leadership
Congressional Fellow by a Member of the House of Rep-
resentatives, and the payment of an allowance to such a
Fellow by a Member, shall be in addition to all personnel
and allowances otherwise made available to Members
under other provisions of law, rule, or other authority.
SEC. 5. ARRANGEMENTS FOR SUPERVISED HOUSING AND
TRANSPORTATION.
The Chief Administrative Officer of the House of
Representatives shall make arrangements for supervised
housing for Elie Wiesel Youth Leadership Congressional
Fellows at such facilities as the Chief Administrative Offi-
cer determines are available and appropriate (including
the House Page Dorm, to the extent that space is avail-
able), and (upon request) for transportation for such Fel-
lows to and from the District of Columbia.
SEC. 6. REGULATIONS.
The Committee on House Administration shall pre-
scribe such regulations as may be necessary to carry out
this Act.
SEC. 7. DEFINITION.
In this Act, the term ‘‘Member of the House of Rep-
resentatives’’ includes a Delegate or Resident Commis-
sioner to the Congress.
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