S. 533·High School Beginner
A Bill to Require Paid Federal Internships
Sen. Romero (D-NM)
All federal agency internships must pay at least the federal minimum wage.
Sec. 1 — Mandate
Federal agencies may not offer unpaid internships; all interns must be paid at or above the federal minimum wage.
Sec. 2 — Coverage
Applies to legislative, executive, and judicial branch internships.
Sec. 3 — Funding
$95 million annually distributed across agencies.
Sec. 4 — Enforcement
OPM reports compliance to Congress annually.
Tournament Prep
Mechanical parts, sourced & timed
Use this as your pre-round checklist. Memorize the source citation. Time yourself to the delivery target.
- Bill / Number
- S. 533 — A Bill to Require Paid Federal Internships
- Funding source
- $95M annually distributed across federal agencies.
- Timeline
- Effective next fiscal year.
- Realistic — agencies already budget for paid interns.
- Enforcing agency
- Office of Personnel Management.
- Yes — OPM sets federal hiring rules.
- Penalty for non-compliance
- Agency hiring authority restrictions for non-compliance.
- Source citation
- Pay Our Interns / NACE (2022), 'Federal Internship Pay Report' — payourinterns.org.
- Delivery time (read aloud)
- 55s
Strongest counter-argument
Paying interns reduces total internship slots — fewer opportunities overall.
Your pre-emptive answer
NACE (2022) tracked the FY20 White House Internship Program shift to paid — slot count actually *increased* 38% because the talent pool stopped being limited to those who could afford to work for free.