WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.) announced that Kristina Biddle, a rising junior at Saint Mark’s High School in Wilmington, Delaware, has been accepted into the U.S. Senate Page Program’s fall 2011 session.
“Having the chance to work and learn about America’s legislative branch firsthand on behalf of their home state is a tremendous opportunity for members of the United States Senate Page Program and I’m pleased to welcome Kristina Biddle of Hockessin to this prestigious program,” Senator Coons said. “I know that Kristina will put her academic and community service experience to good use in Washington. I want to offer Kristina my sincerest congratulations and look forward to working with her this fall.”
Pages have served in the United States Congress for more than 175 years. Thirty pages – all of them high school juniors at least 16 years old — serve in the upper chamber at any one time and are selected by sitting Senators. Their duties consist primarily of delivery of correspondence and legislative material within the Capitol complex, as well as taking messages for Members, preparing the chamber for Senate sessions, and carrying bills and amendments to the desk.
The Senate enrolls its pages in the Senate Page School, which is accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools and convenes classes in the early morning before the Senate convenes. The pages are paid a salary, from which automatic deductions are made for taxes, Social Security, and a fee for housing and meals.
Kristina is the first page Senator Coons has sponsored since being sworn into office in November 2010.
###