Fiscal Internship Program

About the Program

Overview

June 1 – August 7, 2026

The Peter G. Peterson Foundation’s Fiscal Internship program engages students in fiscal policy by providing them with first-hand research experience at public policy institutions in Washington, DC. Over the summer, PGPF Fiscal Interns will have the opportunity to:

• Gain substantive policy research experience at a leading organization
• Work under the direct supervision of a respected scholar
• Join a diverse community of experts and students interested in budgetary and economic issues

Fiscal interns will be expected to live and work in Washington, DC, for the duration of the 2026 fiscal internship.

Program Description

The PGPF Fiscal Internship program offers full-time paid internships at leading policy organizations to a select group of college and graduate students interested in fiscal policy. Interns live and work in Washington, DC, for ten weeks during the summer while gaining professional experience, skills, and contacts that will serve them throughout their careers.

PGPF Fiscal Interns will:

• Work as a research intern for ten weeks at a leading policy organization
• Receive a $7,400 stipend for the duration of the summer
• Attend seminars on fiscal issues featuring leading scholars from participating organizations
• Participate in other social, educational, and career-oriented events

Organizations

The Peter G. Peterson Foundation partners with think tanks in Washington, DC, to provide interns with real world experience working on national fiscal issues. The institutions’ work spans a variety of issues including healthcare, Social Security, taxes, and economic policy.

When applying, candidates may indicate a preference for placement at one or more organizations. The following is the current list of participating organizations in the PGPF Fiscal Internship Program in Washington, DC:

• American Action Forum: The American Action Forum is a forward-looking policy institute dedicated to keeping America strong, free and prosperous. It seeks to promote common-sense, innovative, and solutions-based policies that will reform government, challenge outdated assumptions, and create a smaller, smarter government that will serve its citizens better.

• The Bipartisan Policy Center: The Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC) is a non-profit organization that combines the best ideas from both parties to promote health, security, and opportunity for all Americans. Founded in 2007 by former Senate Majority Leaders Howard Baker, Tom Daschle, Bob Dole and George Mitchel, BPC drives principled and politically viable policy solutions through the power of rigorous analysis, painstaking negotiation, and aggressive advocacy. As the only Washington, DC-based think tank that actively promotes bipartisanship, BPC works to address the key challenges facing the nation.

• Brookings Institution: The Brookings Institution is a private nonprofit organization devoted to independent research and innovative policy solutions. For 100 years, Brookings has analyzed current and emerging issues and produced new ideas that matter for the nation and the world.

• Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget: The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget is a bipartisan, nonprofit organization committed to educating the public about issues that have significant fiscal policy impact. The Committee is made up of some of the nation's leading budget experts, including many of the past Chairmen and Directors of the Congressional Budget Committees, the Congressional Budget Office, the Office of Management and Budget, and the Federal Reserve Board.

• Economic Policy Institute: The Economic Policy Institute's mission is to achieve shared prosperity by raising the economic status of low- and middle-income Americans. To this end, EPI works to reshape the way policymakers think about the economy to persuade them to adopt policies that are good for working Americans.

• Employee Benefit Research Institute: The Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) — a nonpartisan, tax-exempt organization — was created in 1978 for the purpose of contributing to sound employee benefit programs and public policy through independent, objective, fact-based research and education.

• Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies: The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, America’s Black think tank, provides compelling and actionable policy solutions to eradicate persistent and evolving barriers to the full freedom of Black people in America. We are the trusted forum for leading experts and scholars to participate in major public policy debates and promote ideas that advance Black communities. We use evidence-based research, analysis, convenings, and strategic communications to support Black communities and a network of allies.

• KFF: KFF is a leader in health policy analysis, health journalism and communication, and is dedicated to filling the need for trusted, independent information on the major health issues facing our nation and its people.

• Mercatus Center: The Mercatus Center at George Mason University is the world’s premier university source for market-oriented ideas — bridging the gap between academic ideas and real-world problems. A university-based research center, Mercatus advances knowledge about how markets work to improve people’s lives by training graduate students, conducting research, and applying economics to offer solutions to society’s most pressing problems. Our mission is to generate knowledge and understanding of the institutions that affect the freedom to prosper and to find sustainable solutions that overcome the barriers preventing individuals from living free, prosperous, and peaceful lives.

• Niskanen Center: The Niskanen Center works to change public policy through direct engagement with the policymaking process; looks to develop and promote pragmatic proposals for policymakers, build coalitions to