Notes from the Field: Alex Leibowitz ’19

Alex Leibowitz interned with the House Foreign Affairs Committee-Democratic Staff during the 2016 Summer Term. The following is a brief recap of his experience in his own words.

This summer I had the opportunity to intern for the House Foreign Affairs Committee-Democratic Staff. The Foreign Affairs Committee-Democratic staff is under the supervision of the ranking member, Congressman Elliot Engel. The Committee considers legislation relating to a variety of topics including foreign assistance, trade, and treaties. Members on the Foreign Affairs Committee markup bills before they go to the floor of the House of Representatives for votes before all members of Congress. Finally, the Committee holds hearings where members hear from and question expert witnesses.

As an intern for the Committee I had a variety of tasks, almost all of which were designed to help the Committee’s staff members. One of the opportunities that I had, was the ability to conduct research on relevant legislative issues. Staffers requested help finding information relating to bills currently being considered by the Committee. In addition to the research function of the internship, I also drafted letters from the Committee to other offices, including the Secretary of State and foreign embassies. Additionally, as an intern I was responsible for drafting responses to Congressman Engel’s constituent mail that related to foreign affairs, which allowed me to learn about Congressman Engel’s positions on legislative issues.

I think that this internship was important both academically and professionally. I plan on being a government major at Dartmouth, so I enjoyed seeing how solutions that are spoken about abstractly in a classroom setting are actually implemented in Washington. I was also able to expand my knowledge of foreign policy and learn about different regions of the world.