One former Capitol Hill intern says unpaid internships that only offer experience aren’t going to pay the bills. Former congressional intern Carlos Mark Vera started Pay Our Interns as a way to advocate for paid internships on Capitol Hill. “You want to make sure that everybody who wants to have an internship up here and is qualified can have that opportunity,” he said. “Right now, if you don’t have the means of spending the summer without making any money, you wouldn’t be able to get an internship on Capitol Hill.”