Member offices vary in their priorities and activities, but in addition to working on legislation, oversight, and other policy-related items, offices are commonly expected to provide constituent services. A broader discussion of constituent service and its relation to other commonly held views of Members' responsibilities can be found in CRS Report RL33686, Roles and Duties of a Member of Congress: Brief Overview . The expectation of constituent service has existed since the earliest Congresses. Requests for assistance with Revolutionary War pensions and other matters led the House, in 1794, and the Senate, in 1816, to establish select committees for private claims. Today, many similar matters would be considered constituent service. Often, constituents contact congressional offices and initiate requests. A constituent may contact a Member office requesting basic information about a government entity or process. Sometimes, a congressional office is one of several places a constituent can turn to. Other programs, opportunities, or services may require a Member office to serve as an intermediary. Each Member office chooses how to engage with constituents and how to allocate resources in support of these activities. Additional information about the use of official office resources in the House and Senate is available in CRS Report RL30064, Congressional Salaries and Allowances: In Brief . Constituent service can present an opportunity for Member offices to engage in outreach and provide education about federal government functions and services. Member offices will often post constituent service links on their official websites, or may mention available services in their newsletters or other constituent communications. Requests from constituents may also provide feedback for Members of Congress about how government programs are working and what issues could be addressed through formal oversight or legislation. As one former House Member observed, "You learn more about the job by doing constituent service work than anything else.... It tells you whether or not the legislation is doing what it is supposed to do." The following sections provide a brief overview of many common constituent services provided by congressional offices. It is not intended to be an exhaustive or a prescriptive list, as Member offices are largely able to shape their own constituent service operations to suit their own representational priorities or the needs of their constituents. References to additional CRS products or other resources are also provided, when available. Sometimes constituents seek information about the federal government. Small business owners, for example, may want to know about federal contracting opportunities or the procurement process. Parents of college-age students may have questions about federal financial aid. In these instances, Member offices largely relay publicly accessible information, such as websites, office locations, phone numbers, or forms, to their constituents. Offices may offer some additional explanation about how a particular agency or process works, or provide broad-based information about the federal government. Member offices commonly refer constituents to the appropriate government agencies, and sometimes compile and provide website links or reference materials in their offices to assist with these inquiries. The CRS casework web page (available to congressional offices at http://www.crs.gov/resources/casework ) provides examples of links to websites that congressional offices may find useful for these types of requests, including tools to locate federal government loans or benefit programs, and foreign-language versions of government websites. Casework refers to the response or services that Members of Congress provide constituents seeking assistance, often with a federal agency. Each Member office has considerable discretion in how it defines and approaches casework, subject to House or Senate rules and statute. Some congressional offices may consider as casework their liaison activities between the federal government and local governments or businesses concerned with the effects of federal legislation or regulation. An office's casework definition may include other constituent services, including those that are listed separately here, like grants work or U.S. service academy nominations. Common requests for casework involve applications for Social Security, veterans', or other federal benefits; obtaining a missing record or payment from a federal agency; or assistance with immigration matters. Members and staff are limited in how much they can directly intervene in an agency's decisionmaking process on behalf of a particular case, but federal agencies are often responsive to congressional concern. When contacting federal agencies on behalf of constituents, Member offices can generally ask for information related to a case, urge prompt consideration, arrange for interviews or appointments, express judgements, or call for reconsideration of an administrative response. For additional information, see CRS Report RL33209, Casework in a Congressional Office: Background, Rules, Laws, and Resources , CRS Report R44696, Casework in Congressional Offices: Frequently Asked Questions , and CRS Video WVB00093, Introduction to Congressional Casework . Federal grants may be available for state or local governments, nonprofit community organizations, research entities, and small businesses. Those seeking grants often approach Member offices for information and assistance. Federal grants are not benefits or entitlements provided directly to individuals; they often are awarded to state or local governments, which may sub-award them to other community organizations. Direct involvement by a Member office in the grant-awarding process is limited, but Member offices can often provide information or refer grant seekers to other sources. For example, to assist grant seekers, congressional offices can develop working relationships with grants officers in relevant federal or state departments and agencies. Congressional offices may compile information about available grants or host workshops to educate constituents about federal assistance. Given the competition for, and limitations of, federal grants, Member offices sometimes provide constituents with information about developing grant proposals or identifying alternative funding options. For more information on how congressional offices approach grants work, see CRS Report RL34035, Grants Work in a Congressional Office . Other CRS resources contain information that may be of use to grant-seekers who approach a congressional office, including CRS Report RL34012, Resources for Grantseekers , and CRS Report RL32159, How to Develop and Write a Grant Proposal Additional background information on how federal grants are administered can be found in CRS Report R42769, Federal Grants-in-Aid Administration: A Primer , and CRS Report R40638, Federal Grants to State and Local Governments: A Historical Perspective on Contemporary Issues . Detailed information on specific types of grant programs, including community services block grants, federal housing assistance programs, rural development programs, and student financial aid, is available on the CRS grants and federal assistance web page (available to congressional offices at http://www.crs.gov/resources/grants ). Business owners seeking federal government contract opportunities may also contact Members of Congress. Member offices have no direct role in selecting federal contractors, nor can they offer any preferential treatment to companies seeking to do business with the federal government. Member offices can, however, provide information about business registration requirements, opportunities, and the federal contracting or procurement process to interested constituents. For more background information, see CRS Report RS22536, Overview of the Federal Procurement Process and Resources . Most congressional offices offer internship opportunities, which must, under House and Senate rules, be primarily educational in nature. Interns can provide additional, temporary assistance in an office, but their roles cannot supplant the duties of a regular staff member. Within the parameters set by the House and Senate rules, each Member office has considerable discretion to determine, among other things, how many (if any) interns it has, length of internships, office location in which interns will work, qualifications, and compensation. For more information on internships in Congress, see CRS Report R44491, Internships in Congressional Offices: Frequently Asked Questions . Constituents may also be interested in internships elsewhere in the federal government, and more information on these opportunities is available in CRS Report 98-654, Internships, Fellowships, and Other Work Experience Opportunities in the Federal Government . College-age students who want to apply to the U.S. Military Academy (USMA), U.S. Naval Academy (USNA), U.S. Air Force Academy (USAFA), or the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA) must receive an official nomination, which can be obtained from a Member office. The number of nominations from each state, territory, or district is set by statute; the number of nominations available to a Member office can be further affected by the number of currently enrolled students from an area or nominations made by a preceding Member for the current admissions cycle. Nominations typically must be submitted to the service academies by January 31 for the academic year that begins the following July. Offices can largely establish their own criteria and processes for making nominations, which may include additional deadlines, application materials, or interviews with candidates. For more information, see CRS Report RL33213, Congressional Nominations to U.S. Service Academies: An Overview and Resources for Outreach and Management . Pages have served in Congress since the early 1800s, typically working as messengers. Today the Senate Page Program is generally open to 16- or 17-year-old high school juniors and is administered by the Senate Sergeant at Arms. Senators may sponsor interested high school students, who then compete for a limited number of positions. The page program runs four sessions each year—fall, spring, and two during summer. Lodging, schooling, and meals are provided. More information is available in CRS Report 98-758, Pages of the United States Congress: History and Program Administration . K-12 students from participating House districts can compete in the annual Congressional App Challenge. Students design and submit their own software application, individually or in groups of up to four. Work on the app may begin before the competition, and submissions are usually accepted between July and November each year. Winners are typically announced in early December. For more information and resources, House offices can refer to https://housenet.house.gov/serving-constituents/congressional-app-challenge-cac .