Stennis Center Seeks $430,000 to Maintain Congressional Training Programs

The Stennis Center for Public Service asked the House Appropriations Subcommittee on the Legislative Branch on behalf of its congressional programs for level funding of $430,000 for fiscal 2026.

The appropriation supports the Stennis Center’s congressional programs — the Stennis Congressional Staff Fellows Program, the Emerging Leaders Program and the Stennis Program for congressional interns — which the center said train congressional staff and promote public service. The center’s executive director told the subcommittee that without the appropriation the programs would be “severely reduced, if not eliminated.”

Brian Pugh, executive director of the Stennis Center for Public Service Training and Development, told the subcommittee the center has operated on the same funding level for multiple years and has used cost-saving measures to limit the impact of rising costs. “At the beginning of the 25 fiscal year, the standing center moved from a leased space in a private office building to the Adams Building at the Library of Congress,” Pugh said, adding that the move reduced annual costs by about $50,000, which he characterized as roughly 11.5% of the center’s budget request.

Pugh described program changes that maintained quality while reducing expenses, including cutting food costs to expand the congressional intern program from once a year to three times a year by using event space at the Capitol Visitor Center, and moving roundtable events for the Fellows program to the Hill Center at the Old Naval Hospital to lower venue expenses. He also said the center relies heavily on alumni volunteers: once participants complete programs they often return as panelists, mentors or editorial contributors, which the center counts as an additional cost-saving strategy.

Pugh told members the center’s participation metrics show rising demand: “Over the course of 118, we had 248 individual participants in complete their respective programming.” He also said applications for the Fellows program have risen, noting 122 applicants for the most recent Fellows class, a 27% increase from the prior Congress and well above the 10-year average.

Committee members thanked Pugh and asked how reduced federal workforce levels and tight budgets have affected programming. Pugh said the number of interns and Fellows selected has been maintained and that alumni volunteer support has kept staff costs low, while acknowledging that any expansion beyond current participant levels would require additional funding.

The Stennis Center’s written testimony and Pugh’s summary were entered for the record; members may submit additional questions for the record. The subcommittee did not take any formal vote on the Stennis Center’s request during the hearing.