Ocasio-Cortez confirms she will pay interns ‘at least’ $15 an hour

Rep.-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) on Tuesday night confirmed she will pay her interns at least $15 an hour.

“Time to walk the walk,” Ocasio-Cortez tweeted. “Very few members of Congress actually pay their interns. We will be one of them.”

Time to walk the walk.

Very few members of Congress actually pay their interns. We will be one of them. https://t.co/BuKCDSai0K

— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@Ocasio2018) December 5, 2018

Her message came after The Washington Post confirmed with her chief of staff that she intended to pay her interns the amount and after Ocasio-Cortez called for lawmakers to increase pay for their interns and staffers.

{mosads}The rising Democratic star, a self-described democratic socialist, tweeted Monday that she visited a restaurant in Washington where she met “several” staff members who also work on Capitol Hill.

“This is a disgrace. Congress of ALL places should raise [Members’ Representational Allowances] so we can pay staff an actual DC living wage,” she wrote. 

“It is unjust for Congress to budget a living wage for ourselves, yet rely on unpaid interns & underpaid overworked staff just bc Republicans want to make a statement about ‘fiscal responsibility.’ “

A 2017 report from nonprofit group Pay Our Interns found that in the Senate 51 percent of Republicans and 31 percent of Democrats pay their interns.

And in the House, the study found that just 8 percent of Republicans and 3.6 percent of Democrats pay interns. 

Both chambers included funds to pay interns in appropriations bills earlier this year, set to take effect in 2019.