Legislative Research Assistant Job in Anywhere in the U.S. (remote job)

Vacancy No. VAR002902 Department Library of Congress
Salary $55,924.00 to $72,703.00 Grade 07 to 07
Perm/Temp Temporary FT/PT Full-time
Open Date 9/20/2024 Close Date 10/4/2024
Job Link Apply Online Who may apply Status Candidates
Locations:
Anywhere in the U.S. (remote job)


Job Description (Please follow all instructions carefully)

Summary

The Congressional Research Service (CRS) Office of Legislative Information Services (LIS) is seeking two (2) Legislative Research Assistants to join its Legislative Analysis Services Section (LASS). LIS is the organization within CRS and the Library of Congress that is mandated to produce legislative information for the United States Congress.

This job is open to

Clarification from the agency

AGENCY EMPLOYEES - CONSIDERATION UNDER THIS VACANCY IS LIMITED TO THE STAFF OF THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, TEMPORARY NOT-TO-EXCEED (NTE) AND INDEFINITE NOT-TO-EXCEED (NTE) EMPLOYEES ARE ELIGIBLE TO APPLY. (EMPLOYEES MUST MAINTAIN THEIR ELIGIBILITY AT THE TIME OF SELECTION.)

Duties

This position serves as a Legislative Research Assistant in the Legislative Analysis Services Section (LASS) within the Office of Legislative Information Services.

The information produced by this division is considered to be authoritative for Federal legislation. It is consulted widely by lawmakers, policymakers, academics, and members of the public who are seeking accurate, objective information on both new and amended Federal legislation. The employee supports LIS legislative analysts by locating, interpreting, and presenting legislative information; conducting and presenting research; and reviewing authoritative sources to identify legislative data and enter that data into the legislative information management system for subsequent entry into Congress.gov. The employee supports LIS managers and reviewers by verifying the accuracy of legislative information entered into the system and otherwise expediting workflow by helping to ensure that bill summary work is done in priority order and assigned to the correct reviewer. The employee is expected to develop over time the versatility and range of skills necessary to respond to LIS’s shifting needs and priorities, as directed.   

The Legislative Research Assistant supports legislative analysts by locating, interpreting, and presenting legislative information orally or in writing to legislative analysts and reviewers; conducting and presenting research findings relating to the legislative history of a bill by reviewing applicable documents, including committee hearing testimony, Congressional Record excerpts, sponsor press releases, and media coverage; reviewing authoritative sources to identify legislative data, such as subject areas, policy terms, bill relationships, and titles; and entering that data into the system for subsequent entry into Congress.gov. The Legislative Research Assistant helps to develop the section’s research portal, a collection of current and authoritative reference, statutory, and policy sources that support the office’s and CRS’s analytical work.

The Legislative Research Assistant will independently or in consultation with a legislative analyst prepare “markup” documents for use by legislative analysts and reviewers, which provide context for the amendment(s) to existing law(s) and illustrate the changes (additions, deletions, and/or revisions).

The Legislative Research Assistant identifies, enters, and verifies legislative data to include subject areas, policy area terms, bill relationships, and titles. The employee utilizes CRS’s bill comparison software and other legislative resources such as internal guidance on the standards and formats which will be used for entering this information and/or providing this information to legislative analysts and reviewers.

The Legislative Research Assistant performs intake and quality control tasks to facilitate bill summary workflow from assignment to publication. In performing intake tasks, the employee ensures the summary is correctly assigned and, when applicable, adds policy area terms and related-bill links.

CRS works exclusively for the United States Congress, providing policy and legal analysis to committees and Members of both the House and Senate, regardless of party affiliation. As a legislative branch agency within the Library of Congress, CRS has been a valued and respected resource on Capitol Hill for over a century.

CRS is well known for analysis that is authoritative, confidential, objective, and nonpartisan.
Its highest priority is to ensure that Congress has immediate access to the nation's best thinking on public policy issues of interest to its Members and committees.

The position description number for this position is 366356.

The Congressional Research Service (CRS) is committed to building a diverse and inclusive workforce that ensures the Service is well positioned to anticipate and meet the information and analytical research needs of a 21st-century Congress.

The salary range indicated reflects the locality pay adjustments for the Washington, D.C., Metropolitan area.

The incumbent of this position may work a flexitime work schedule.

The tour of duty for this position is full-time.

This is a non-supervisory, bargaining unit position.

Relocation expenses will not be authorized for the person(s) selected under this vacancy announcement.

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

Conditions of Employment

Library of Congress employees are prohibited from using illegal drugs, including marijuana. The Library is part of the Federal Government and abides by federal law, so regardless of individual state or District of Columbia laws, marijuana use is illegal, considered criminal activity, and can affect your employment at the Library. In addition, past or current drug use and activities (e.g., selling or distributing) may deem you ineligible for employment.

Qualifications

Applicants must have had progressively responsible experience and training sufficient in scope and quality to furnish them with an acceptable level of the following knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform the duties of the position without more than normal supervision.
• Ability to interpret legislative text and information**
• Ability to attend to detail**
• Ability to utilize computer/information technology**
• Ability to interact collaboratively with others
• Ability to adapt
• Ability to communicate effectively other than in writing

Education

There are no education requirements for this posting.

Additional information

Although it is the Library's policy to afford the maximum pay benefit to employees when setting rates of pay, a new appointee who has had no previous Federal service will generally be paid the minimum step of the grade.

The Library of Congress is an equal opportunity employer. All who meet the eligibility requirements are encouraged to apply.

Applicants must submit a complete application package that is received by the closing date of this announcement.

This agency provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities. If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process, please email ADA@loc.gov. The decision on granting reasonable accommodation will be determined on a case-by-case basis.

Applicants with disabilities may be considered under special hiring procedures and must submit an appropriate certificate of eligibility when applying for this position. The proof or disability/certification may be issued by the State Vocational Rehabilitation Office, Disability Services or Career Services office of the applicant’s college or university, or the Department of Veterans Affairs. The letter must verify that the applicant has a severe disability and must be dated within three years of the date of the application. Certification from health care providers are not accepted. For more information contact the Library's Office of EEO/Diversity Programs at 202-707-6024 or email spp@loc.gov. FAILURE TO SUBMIT YOUR CERTIFICATION WILL CAUSE YOUR APPLICATION TO NOT BE CONSIDERED UNDER THE SELECTIVE PLACEMENT PROGRAM.

The Library of Congress is the national library of the United States and is part of the Legislative Branch of the Federal government. As such, all positions are in the excepted service.

Appointment/retention is subject to a favorable evaluation of an appropriate personnel security/suitability investigation.

The Library reserves the right to fill a lesser or greater number of vacancies indicated during the life of this vacancy announcement.

Initial appointments, permanent or indefinite, to the Library of Congress require completion of a one-year probationary period. Probationary periods served at other Federal agencies do not count toward this requirement.

The Library of Congress may offer repayment for all or part of federally insured student loans. However, not all service units within the Library of Congress participates in the repayment of federally insured student loans. Therefore, determination to repay a federally insured student loan is subject to approval by the appropriate service unit.

Benefits

A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.

Review our benefits

Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.

How You Will Be Evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

The Library of Congress evaluates applicants through an applicant questionnaire and a structured interview. Applicants may also be screened for some jobs through licensing, certification, and/or education requirements, a narrative/application review, and/or a preliminary telephone interview. The knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) that are marked with a double asterisk (**) in the vacancy announcement and the applicant questionnaire are considered the most critical for a position. To be considered for final selection, applicants must demonstrate fully acceptable experience in these designated KSAs in the narrative/application review, preliminary telephone and/or full structured interview. The various assessment tools listed above are designed to verify or explore applicants' experience, knowledge, and training directly related to the job in order to identify the best qualified applicants for selection.

For more information regarding eligibility requirements, please see the Library of Congress Merit Selection Plan, Section 8.5, at: Merit Selection Plan


You may preview questions for this vacancy.

Required Documents

Current or former federal employees must submit their most recent Notification of Personnel Action (SF-50 or equivalent).

Applicants with disabilities may be considered under special hiring procedures and must submit an appropriate certificate of eligibility when applying for this position. The proof or disability/certification may be issued by the State Vocational Rehabilitation Office, Disability Services or Career Services office of the applicant’s college or university, or the Department of Veterans Affairs. The letter must verify that the applicant has a severe disability and must be dated within three years of the date of the application.  The program does not accept certification from health care providers. For more information contact the Library's Office of Equal Employment Opportunity and Diversity Programs at 202-707-6024 or email spp@loc.gov. FAILURE TO SUBMIT YOUR CERTIFICATION WILL CAUSE YOUR APPLICATION TO NOT BE CONSIDERED UNDER THE SELECTIVE PLACEMENT PROGRAM.

How to Apply

Please carefully follow all instructions under the How to Apply tab to ensure you are considered for the position.

You are required to apply online for this announcement. We are unable to accept mailed or emailed documents. You must complete the entire application process, including submission of all documents BEFORE this announcement closes. To do so, complete the following steps.

Step 1: If you do not already have one, create a resume on USAJOBS. Although you must enter your Social Security Number for USAJOBS, this information will not be provided to the Library of Congress.

Step 2: Review the Job Announcement. We recommend you go to the end of the Qualification and Evaluation section of the job announcement to preview the online questions that you will answer in Step 4. You may wish to customize your USAJOBS resume to ensure that it supports your responses to these questions.

Step 3: Click on the "APPLY ONLINE" button to the right of this announcement. Follow USAJOBS' instructions to access your account and submit your resume. You will be redirected to the Hiring Management website to complete the application process. If this is your first time in Hiring Management, you will be asked to answer questions related to your eligibility for Federal employment. You will be able to update this information and save it to our account for future announcements.

Step 4: Once you have completed the eligibility questions, you will be taken directly to the vacancy application questions. Answer all questions honestly and thoroughly.

Step 5: Hiring Management offers three options that will electronically attach your documentation to your online application once you finish answering the questions in the job announcement.
(1) You may select a document that you have already uploaded to USAJOBS for a previous announcement.
(2) You may electronically upload a document directly from your computer to your application. Be certain to review your complete application for confirmation of the document uploaded and click on "Finished" to be returned to USAJOBS.

IMPORTANT NOTE: If you have multiple documents of the same kind, e.g. 2 undergraduate transcripts from different schools or 2 SF-50s, etc., be sure that they are all in the same file on your computer or in your USAJOBS profile before uploading them. If you try uploading them individually, only the last one sent will be visible in our system. If you have any questions about this information, please contact the person on this announcement BEFORE the closing date.

Step 6: Click on "Finish" after you have completed your application. Once you have submitted your application, you can check your status online through your Hiring Management or MY USAJOBS account. Your complete online application and any required supplemental documentation (e.g., SF-50, etc.) must be received by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST) on the closing date of the announcement. It is your responsibility to ensure that all documents are received on time and that the materials are readable. Failure to do so will result in your application being excluded from consideration for this announcement.

If you are experiencing any technical difficulty with the online process, you MUST CONTACT THE POINT OF CONTACT FOR THIS ANNOUNCEMENT BEFORE THE CLOSING DATE. For all technical issues please contact jobhelp@loc.gov , no later than 4:30pm EST of the Closing Date. REQUESTS FOR EXTENSIONS WILL NOT BE GRANTED.

Agency contact information

Customer Service Center
Address
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
101 Independence Ave. SE
LM-107
Washington, District of Columbia 20540
United States
Learn more about this agency

Next steps

Please review our evaluation process under Evaluation. You may check the status of your application for this position at any time by logging onto the USAJOBS "My USAJOBS" tab and clicking on "My Applications." You will receive final notification via e-mail when the vacancy has been filled.


Note: We cannot accept applications on behalf of Federal Agencies. Application instructions are listed within the Job Description.