A Scolarship and an Incentive

[Demeter]

Source: Washington Post

A Scholarship and an Incentive

By Stephen Barr
Thursday, July 12, 2007; D04



More than 1,800 summer interns at federal agencies, congressional offices and think tanks have registered to attend a "town hall" meeting tonight, where a nonprofit group will announce plans to create a Roosevelt Scholars program to attract graduate students to the federal government.

The proposed program, named for Theodore Roosevelt, the president widely considered to be the father of the modern civil service, would provide scholarships to pay for graduate school in exchange for a commitment to work for the government.

The initiative is being sponsored by the nonprofit Partnership for Public Service, which has sponsored an annual gathering of summer interns the past five years. Tonight's meeting, starting at 6:15 at the National Air and Space Museum, will include House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.) taking questions from Cokie Roberts, a commentator for ABC News and National Public Radio.

Max Stier, president of the partnership, said the scholarship program, which would be financed by the government, would require the approval of Congress. Although that could be an uphill battle, Stier said the proposal would provide a national program that complements scholarships that are typically aimed at certain fields and professions...Their idea is the latest in a series of proposals aimed at luring the best and the brightest into government careers. Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) and Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) and Reps. James P. Moran Jr. (D-Va.) and Christopher Shays (R-Conn.), for example, have introduced bills to create a U.S. Public Service Academy.

Stephen Barr's e-mail address [e-mail].

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