Intern Research Papers

Spring 2023

Announcing the Spring 2023 Class of Brademas Center Interns

Riya Sachde (Sen. Raphael Warnock) Taft and Dollar Diplomacy
Charlie Schuyler (Sen. Tim Kaine) Democrats Need to be Bolder
Addison Taylor (Sen. Ron Wyden) How Federal Cannabis Restrictions Contribute to Substance Abuse Among Veterans
Zaskia Torres (Foundation for Defense of Democracies): Analysis on the Organizational Structure of the National Rifle Association
Saffi Ullah (Library of Congress; American Muslim & Multifaith Women's Empowerment Council - AMMWEC) Recommendations Memo for H.R. 3389 Congressional and Executive Foreign Lobbying Ban Act

Fall 2022

Announcing the Fall 2022 Class of Brademas Center Interns

Francesca Antonone (Rep. Brad Sherman): Mental Health Issues Effects on Political Participation: A Threat to Political Equality
Fabian T. Ardila (Rep. Tom Malinowski): A Brief Argument Against The Filibuster
Liliana Flanigan (Sen. John Hickenlooper): The Rural-Urban Divide and Multi-level Governance
Sachintha Pilapitiya (Kluge Center, Library of Congress): A Case Study of Chinese Import Restrictions in the context of the US-China trade War
Anastasia Stanek (Federal Emergency Management Agency, World Trade Center Office): INCOMPLETE

Spring 2022

Announcing the Spring 2022 Class of Brademas Center Interns

Leah Parrott (Senator Ed Markey): INCOMPLETE
Meagan Pe (Senator Jacky Rosen): America's Infatuation with Incarceration
Elan Schwartz (Rep. David Cicilline): Following Afghanistan and Ukraine, Can Foreign Policy Transcend Hyper Partisanship?
Farzana Tasnim (Federal Public Defender's Office): The Necessity of Public Defenders

2021

Announcing the 2021 Class of Brademas Center Interns

Tzivia Appleman (Rep. Ritchie Torres): The Conflicting Goals of the U.S. Interventionism in Afghanistan
Leah Bahramipour (Kluge Center): How the Fossil Fuel Industry Influences Climate Policy
Barry Carmody (Forbes Tate Partners): America Used To Support Innovation, Maybe We Can Again
William Howard (U.S. Department of State and the Hudson Institute): America is Back: A "New" Direction for American Diplomacy
Taylor Hvidsten (Kluge Center): Friends or Foes: Do constituents want bipartisanship from their legislators?
Ashan Kiridena (D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser): Digitalization of Public Services: Increasing Accessibility Through New Technologies
Kevin Kurian (CT Attorney General William Tong): Firewall: AG Tong’s Litigative Strategy During the Trump Era
Elina Rodriguez (U.S. Department of Education and Sen. Chuck Schumer): The Federal Tipped Minimum Wage: Past and Present History

2020

Announcing the 2020 Class of Brademas Center Interns

Josh Jensen (Kluge Center): Chinese and U.S. Propaganda: A History and Modern Analysis
Kathy Li (Kluge Center): A New Deal Historiography: A Study of American Political Attitudes
Robert Loper-Irizarry (Voto Latino): We Need a Young People’s Democracy Movement
Bobby Miller (U.S. Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee): COVID-19’s Origins & Congressional Oversight
Justin Pilgreen (U.S. Conference of Mayors): Cities as Drivers for Social Change
Chris Ren (Federal Foundry LLC): Federal Procurement: A System that is Far from Perfect
Isaac Schlager (John Brademas Center of New York University): More than just “Junkets”: The Value of Congressional Delegations (Codels) Abroad
Keri Shi (Rep. Tom Malinowski): America in the Growing Initiative for Global Internet Freedom and Digital Security

2019

Announcing the 2019 Class of Brademas Center Interns

Sudaraka Ariyaratne (The Raben Group): Populism of the Left and Democrats' Missed Opportunity on Trade
Gavin Arneson (Rep. Diana DeGette): Prescription Drug Costs: The Role of the Pharmacy Benefit Manager
Ryan Campbell (Kluge Center): Keeping it Cryptic: The Enduring Debate on Privacy and Lawful Access
Andrew Lusk (Exodus Institute & the Stern Group): The Benefit of Hindsight
Paola Martinez Parente (The Messina Group): The Growing Role of Small Money Donations in Campaigns
Abraham Onifade (Rep. Bill Pascrell): Voting Rights and Wrongs
Anna Grace Pelto (The Kluge Center): Congressional Strategies to Promote Elecoral Integrity
Alexander Ruiz (Sen. Steve Daines): U.S. Merchant Marine: A Heritage Worth Keeping, and a Matter of National Security

2018

Marlene Artov (Morning Group): Money in Politics: a Little or a Lot?
Alaris Dayzie (Rep. Scott Peters): Clean Energy and America's Quest for Energy Independence
Katelyn Frazier (Sen. Dianne Feinstein): STEM Labor: Equality Does Not Mean Equality
Molly Hussey (Sen. Richard Blumenthal / Sen. Chris Murphy): The Kavanaugh Nomination: Democratic Arguments Against the Nominee
Michael Loedel (Sen. Bob Casey): The Helsinki Summit and the Complex Role of Congress in Foreign Policy
Stan Serbanica (National Association of American Veterans): How Elderly Veterans Are Being Punished at the Armed Forces Retirement Home
Tesea Thornton (Rep. Jim Costa): The Supreme Court's Rightward Slide

2017

Rose Asaf (Sen. Cortez Masto / Rep. Dina Titus): The Rise and Fall of S. 720: A Testament to Civil Society
Rebecca Azuga (US Department of Justice - Environmental Enforcement Office): Executive Order 12898 and the Future of Environmental Justice
Casey Herald (Sen. Tom Cotton): GWOT Warriors and The Lives They Keep
Ankita Kanakadandila (Gov. Andrew Cuomo): Sick: An Analysis of the Republican-driven Healthcare Bills
Dakshayani Shankar (ABC News - Politics): The Tangled Web of Trump Politics and Journalism
Griffin Surmay Kenny (Sen. Charles Schumer): The Story of Republicans’ Never-Ending Attempt to Obamacare Repeal
Emerald Callahan (The Better Angels Society): Not Every “Better Angel” is an Angel
Shontae Salmon (Rep. Yvette Clarke): Women in Congress

2016

Robert Devling (Rep. Hakkem Jeffries): Harmful or Harmless? Fracking in America
Emily Flippen (The Motley Fool): The Paper Trade Government: How the SEC and EDGAR Have Failed to Protect Investors
Afraz Khan (Muslim Public Affairs Council): My Summer at the Muslim Public Affairs Council
Alyssa Martinez (DoJ ENRD Environmental Enforcement Section): INCOMPLETE
Eli Nachmany (Rep. Scott Garrett): The Nature of the Relationship Between Government and Sport Pertaining to Security
Aditi Shankar (Sen. Diane Fienstein): Economic Inequality & Investing in Opportunity
Konstantine Tettonis (DoJ ENRD Executive Office): Hatch Act Compliance in the Age of Social Media

2015

Claudia Cereceda (US Department of Commerce, Office of Public Affairs): A summer spent in Washington
Emily Ludwigsen (Environmental Protection Agency, Media Relations): The Politics behind the Climate Change Debate
Jean-Luc Marsh (Sen. Dianne Feinstein): Partisan Jockeying and Foreign Policy Consequences: The Iran Nuclear Deal as the Turning
Chevaun Samuels (Rep. Hakeem Jeffries): Black Lives Matter, Black Lives Matter…Black Lives Matter!
Ryan Thomas (Center for American Progress): Accessibility of the Ballot: Improving States’ Democracy
Haley Quinn (Rep. Hakeem Jefferies): Pay Your Interns: Intern Culture and Economic Injustice
Wenbo Wang (Political Outreach and Development Internship, American Association for Justice): Money in Politics: The Impact of Growing Spending on Stakeholders and American Democracy

2014

Robert Allen (Sen. Bob Corker): The Export-Import Bank’s Relevancy Today
Arielle Andrews (Executive Office of the President, US Trade Representative): Trade Promotion Authority: Bigger Than Partisanship
Alexander Hasapidis (US Department of Commerce): Expanding United States-Africa Economic Relations
Isabelle Klinghoffer (US State Department - Secretary's Office): INCOMPLETE
Ian Manley (US Senate Rules Committee): INCOMPLETE
Amber Poon (Sen. Dianne Feinstein): Humanitarian Crisis Unfolds for the 113th Congress

2013

Priscila Abraham (Rep. Steny Hoyer): The Most Impactful Day of My Congressional Internship
Kathryn DeSimone (US Senate Banking Committee): Bipartisanship within a Committee
Stephanie (YiYun) Lin (Rep. Jackie Speier): Foreign Assistance Act
Nicholas Marroletti (Sen. Robert Casey): Increasing Visible Inclusivity in the National Historic Landmarks Program
Maria Michalos (Sen. Gillibrand): Restoring Justice in Cases of Military Sexual Assault
Katherine Murphy (Sen. Shaheen): The Global Gag Rule: The Rotating Executive Order
Callum Voge - (Sen. Donnelly): Participation by the Exceptional: Examining the Influence of Individualism and Exceptionalism on Political Culture in the United States
Jacquelyn Wang (Rep. Jerry Nadler): Shelby County v. Holder: The Current Status of the Voting Rights Act

2012

Sean Brooks (US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations): Cybersecurity in Jeopardy: How Politics Trumped National Security in the 112th Congress
Chelsea Garbell (Sen. Patty Murray): The Rhetoric of the "War on Women"
Danielle Herring (US Senate Finance Committee): A Bipartisan Senate - On its deathbed? Or is there still a glimpse of hope?
Noah Isaacs (US Department of Agriculture, Office of Congressional Relations): Inching Toward a New Farm Bill
Ahram Kim (Rep. Carolyn Maloney): DACA: Can American Dream Come True for the DREAMers?
Victor Martinez (Rep. Steny Hoyer): INCOMPLETE
Neil P. Reilly (Sen. Frank Lautenberg): Are Tighter Gun Control Laws Possible?
Ariel Sankar-Bergman (US Department of Education): The For-Profit College Challenge

2011

Hilary Brandenburg (Sen. Chuck Schumer): Bending in the Direction of Justice: The Road to Repealing DOMA
Mason Dettloff (Sen. Dean Heller and RNSC): Paving the Way for a New GOP
Adrian Dhanaraj (Rep. Steny Hoyer): The Obstacles of Left Wing Messaging in the 112th Congress
Susannah Griffee (Rep. Steve Cohen): A Balancing Act: The Role of the Journalistic "Pseudo-Event" in the Communication between House Members and Constituents
Jessica Kim (Rep. Dana Rohrabacher): Out of Step: Examining the Disfunction between U.S. Economic Investment in China and U.S.-China Foreign Policy
Daniel Nicolas (Sen. John Kerry): Foreign Aid and Domestic Reflections
Laura Skove (Rep. Jerrold Nadler): Dropping the Ceiling: A Call for the Abolition of the Statutory Debt Limit
Lauren Wilfong (Rep. Carolyn McCarthy): The Obama Paradox

2010

Douglas Coulter (White House - Science/Technology): Efficient Spectrum Policy: D Block for the Public or Profit?
Aquene Freechild (House Appropriations - Majority): The Impact of the U.S. Sugar Deal on Everglades Restoration
Rebecca "Becca" Lewis (Rep. Edolphus Towns): The Politics of a Simple Bill In an Election Year
Rebecca Racine (Sen. Richard Durbin): E Pluribus Unum: The People's Capitol Building
Sruti Ramadugu (Rep. Betty Sutton): Tweet Victory?
Morgan Steele (Rep. Diana DeGette): Congressional Action on the Renminbi
Noor Zafar (Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand): A Champion for Afghan Women
Bryan Zubay (Rep. Steny Hoyer): Uncertainties Surrounding the 9/11 Health and Compensation Act

2009

Robert Atterbury (Rep. Carolyn McCarthy): Can’t live with them, Can’t live without them Embargoed
Rachel Botos (Sen. John Kerry): Misconceived Notions of the Role of a Congressman
Mary "Meb" Byrne (Rep. Dan Maffei): Congressman Maffei’s Policy Approach to Green Jobs
Julie Raisch (Sen. Charles Schumer): Upstate NY: The Case for High Speed Rail
Pratik Mehta (Rep. Patrick Kennedy): The Role of a Representative from a Constituent’s Viewpoint
Carolyn Seuthe (Rep. Jerrold Nadler): When to Fight: The Congressional Progressive Caucus Letter
Maxwell Zorick (Rep. Steny Hoyer): Politics of Misinformation: Debate over Health Reform

2008

Aaron Ampaw (Rep. Bobby Rush): Consumer Product Safety Commission Embargoed
Nicole Callan (Sen. Hillary Clinton): A Legislative Success Story in the US Senate
Chris Collins (Rep. Steny Hoyer): Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 Embargoed
Thiago Marques (Congressional Reseach Service): The Creation, Role and Purpose of CRS
Angelo Mayo (Rep. Mike Honda): Integration Act Embargoed
Lucas Pattan (Rep. Patrick Kennedy): Genomics and Personalized Medicine Act of 2008
Aditi Rajaram (Sen. Chuck Hagel): The Evolution of the FISA Reauthorization
Elon Rubin (Rep. John Hall): The Audacity of Change - Term Length and Campaign Finance Reform

2007

Catherine Bilkey (Rep. Carolyn Maloney): Agroterrorism: Preparation, Effects and Prevention
Kristen Fiani (Rep. Carolyn Maloney): U.S. - Egyptian Relations: At what cost reformation?
Peter James Kralovec (Rep. Steny Hoyer): State Children's Health Insurance Program - SCHIP
Kenna LaForge (Rep. Nancy Boyda): Increasing Energy Efficiency in the 110th Congress