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Preparing For Congress 2010
Preparing For Congress 2010
FOR
CONGRESS
A GUIDE TO PREPARING FOR THE
JUNIOR STATE OF AMERICA'S CONGRESS CONVENTIONS
This booklet contains all the information you need to prepare yourself and
your delegation for JSA's Congress Conventions. Instructions on assembling a
delegation and sponsoring legislation are included along with rules and
procedures specific to JSA's Congress format. Detailed instructions on how to
register for the convention are in a separate registration packet. If you need a
registration packet or have any questions, problems, or comments, please call
Junior State National Headquarters toll free at 1-800-334-5353 or 1-800-317-
9338 for the Washington, D.C. and Texas Congress Conventions.
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WRITING YOUR BILL
Writing legislation. The process is easier than Draft your bill. To begin drafting your bill, you
you might think. If you are politically aware and must first concisely, in 5 to 15 words, state the
follow current events you probably already have purpose of your legislation. For example,
some good ideas for legislation. Below are legislation on drug testing might be "to provide
simple guidelines to follow for writing a bill. for drug testing of all commercial vehicle
operators." Legislation on arm sales might be
Select an area of interest. The first step in "to restrict military arms sales to politically
writing your bill is to select a topic. Write a bill unstable countries." This concise statement of
on an area of national politics that you know a purpose will be part of the title of your
little bit about. Like the U.S. Congress, the legislation.
convention will deal with a broad spectrum of
issues: foreign affairs, health and human Rationale for Bills and Amendments. Next,
services, finance, the environment, military you need to develop the rationale for your
affairs, business and commerce. legislation. This should be a short paragraph
that explains reasons why your legislation is
Research. Once you decide an area of necessary. For example, a rationale for a bill
interest, read newspaper and magazine articles lowering the minimum wage for teenagers
to get a sense of the current issues being might read:
discussed. Your public library should have
issues of Congressional Quarterly Weekly A lower minimum wage for teens will decrease
Report and Congressional Digest. The Library teen unemployment as statistics show that as
of Congress offers a database of recently the minimum wage increases so does teenage
unemployment. In the inner city, where teens
discussed Congressional bills on a website need gainful employment, businesses
called “Thomas” which can be found at currently won't hire teenagers when they can
thomas.loc.gov/. The Congressional Research hire an older person. Giving teenagers a
Service (CRS) provides members of Congress chance to gain valuable job experience far
with nonpartisan research and analysis of outweighs the fact that they will be paid less.
issues. Although these reports are not directly
available to the public, some members of Whereas Clauses for Resolutions:
Congress and political associations have Resolutions are non-binding statements of the
provided access to certain CRS reports on their opinion of Congress. All resolutions should
websites. Try getting these in-depth reports contain "Whereas clauses" instead of a
from http://opencrs.com/. paragraph that gives reasons why the Congress
should adopt the resolution. For example,
Select a specific subject/problem. The next whereas clauses for a resolution condemning
step is to pick one problem or issue from your offshore oil drilling might read:
general area of interest on which to focus. For
Whereas, Offshore oil drilling is a
example, if you are interested in the war on hazard to our coastlines and coastal
drugs you may wish to write legislation on drug wetlands, and;
testing. Or, if you are interested in foreign Whereas, The U.S. needs to decrease
affairs, you could write legislation to restrict its dependence on oil and move to
U.S. intervention abroad. cleaner forms of energy, and;
Whereas, Oil rigs off shore are
unsightly.
Determining the type of Legislation. There
are three types of legislation:
The body of your legislation. The main
• Bill: establishes a new law;
portion of your legislation is the provisions or
• Congressional Resolution: expresses the
sections. The first section should establish the
sentiment of Congress;
main effect of the legislation. The first section
• Constitutional Amendment: changes or of drug testing legislation could be: "All
additions to the U.S. Constitution. interstate commercial vehicle operators shall be
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subject to a random drug test at least once a For a bill: "Be it enacted by the Senate and
year." Other sections should establish any House of Representatives of the United States
limitations or restrictions: "The results of the of America in Congress assembled, that:"
drug test are to be kept confidential by the
employer." Also include any penalties that For a resolution: "Be it resolved by the Senate
accompany your new law: "Employers not and House of Representatives of the United
complying with this law shall be subject to fine States of America in Congress assembled,
of up to $10,000." that:"
All bills passed are assumed to go into For an amendment: "Be it amended by the
effect in 90 days (unless otherwise specified), Senate and House of Representatives of the
so you do not have to include the time when the United States of America in Congress
bill becomes law. If your legislation involves assembled, and upon approval of 3/4 of the
federal expenditures, list the cost. Generalized States, that:"
costs are acceptable. For example, you could
increase the space budget by 50%. The body of the bill should be divided
into sections and numbered 1, 2, 3, etc. There
Formatting your legislation. The legislation are several sample bills for you to follow at the
should be in Garamond font. The title should end of the handbook.
be capitalized and centered on the top of the
page along with the names of the Senator and At the bottom of the page, please
Representative who are sponsoring the bill and include the names, addresses, phone numbers
the name of your high school. The first line of and e-mail addresses of the bill sponsor(s).
your bill should be worded as follows:
Below is a description of the legislative process that is used at JSA's Congress Conventions. The legislative
path for this weekend-long convention is a modified version of the actual procedures of the U.S. Congress.
1. Legislation is sponsored jointly by a Senator and a Representative. The bill is introduced simultaneously
to the Senate and the House and assigned to the proper House and Senate Committees. Legislation is
assigned to committees in advance of the convention. You will receive a Legislative Index that contains all of
the legislation and committee assignments so that your chapter can prepare for the convention.
2. In the committees, the bills are debated in the order prescribed in the Legislative Index. The sponsors of
the bill are the proponent or opening speakers on the bill. During debate, the committee may propose and
pass amendments to the bill using amendment forms provided by the chair.
3. After debating the bill, the committee votes on the bill. If both the House Committee and Senate
Committee pass the bill, it goes on to the floors of the House and Senate. If neither committee passes the
bill, it dies in committee. If one committee passes the bill but the other does not, the bill goes only to the floor
of the legislative body whose committee passed the bill. For example, if the House Committee passes the
bill but the Senate Committee does not, the bill goes only to the floor of the House.
4. If both legislative bodies pass identical versions of the bill, the bill will be considered law.
5. One or both houses may decide to amend a bill as it moves through committee and onto the floor. If both
houses pass the bill in different forms, the Speaker of the House and the President Pro Tempore of the
Senate will appoint a Conference Committee. The committee will produce the version of the bill that will be
debated and voted on in both chambers. If both chambers pass this version of the bill, it will be considered
law.
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CONGRESSIONAL RULES
All student delegates are assigned to The House and Senate Sessions are
committees prior to the convention. The presided over by the Speaker of the House and
committees will: President Pro Tempore of the Senate,
respectively. These two Congressional leaders
1. determine the wording of the bills, by are selected in advance of the convention.
passing them as submitted or amending them.
Before the general sessions begin, the
2. rank the passed bills in order of importance. Rules Committee determines the order in which
the bills are debated, and establishes any
3. send legislation to the floors of the House modifications of the debate procedures for floor
and Senate. debate. The Rules Committee is composed of
the Speaker of the House, President Pro
4. choose one committee member to be the Tempore of the Senate, and other student
main opponent of the bill on the floor of the leaders of the House and Senate Committees.
House and the Senate.
The first order of business in the full
Committee Chairs, selected in advance sessions of the House and Senate is to hear
of the convention, will determine the order of reports from the committees. Each Committee
discussion. Chair will report on the bills that passed out of
committee.
If you are interested in applying to be a
Committee Chair or hold another position, After the reports have been read,
please refer to the Leadership Positions section debate can commence on the bills. Debate
of this booklet. procedure is as follows:
Sponsors present their legislation to the 1. The presiding officer reads or distributes the
committee. You should explain the reason your bill as approved by committee.
legislation is needed, the rationale behind and
restrictions or limitations in your legislation, and 2. Debate begins with a six minute opening
the definitions of any terms that may be speech from the sponsor of the bill, followed by
unclear. You have ten minutes for your formal a six minute opening speech from the main
presentation which include your presentation opponent of the bill (as selected by committee).
and questions from committee members. A If the main speakers do not use all of his or her
majority of votes will be required to pass time, he or she may yield the remaining time to
legislation out of committee. questions or to the chair.
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4. Subsequent speeches continue until are presented (on bills and amendments), and
previous question is moved and passed by a the vote is taken.
2/3rds vote. At that time, the main opponent is
given three minutes to make a closing speech Amendments are often added to
and finally, the sponsor will be given three legislation during the debate after the main
minutes to make a closing speech. speeches have been given. If you would like a
provision added or deleted from a piece of
5. Immediately after the closing speeches, the legislation you must:
house votes on the legislation. A majority is
required to pass bills and resolutions. 1. Submit the amendment in writing to the
Constitutional Amendments require a 2/3rds presiding officer.
vote to pass.
2. Raise your hand and be recognized by the
PARLIAMENTARY PROCEDURE presiding officer.
4. This particular motion is not debatable under 8. A vote is then taken on whether or not to
parliamentary procedure so a vote is taken right adopt the amendment. Amendments require a
away. majority vote to pass.
5. This motion requires a two-thirds vote to 9. If the amendment fails, debate resumes on
pass. the original version of the legislation.
Another important motion is previous 10. If the amendment passes, the debate
question. If this motion passes, subsequent resumes on the legislation as amended.
speeches are discontinued, closing speeches
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A common motion is point of personal
privilege. You should rise to a point of A subsequent speaker may have his/her
personal privilege if you are unable to hear the time extended if a motion stating the amount of
speaker, need to leave the room, and so forth. additional time is made, seconded, and passes
If you simply feel some personal discomfort (the with a vote of two-thirds or more.
room is too warm or too cold), you may not
interrupt the speaker. If, however, something is Legislation at the end of the orders of
seriously affecting the orderly progress of the the day may be moved up and discussed
debate, such as your being unable to hear due immediately with a motion to change the
to lack of amplification or disruptive delegates, orders of the day, which requires a 2/3rds
then you may interrupt the speaker and ask the vote.
presiding officer to rectify the situation.
VOTE
INTERRUPT SECOND REQUIRED
MOTION TO USE PURPOSE OF MOTION SPEAKER? NEEDED? DEBATABLE TO PASS
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SAMPLE BILLS
The first bill shows proper formatting for submitting a congressional bill. The next
three provide examples of the different wording for resolutions, bills and
amendments, in that order.
The current federal tax code is an overly complex system that attempts to redistribute wealth by
assessing higher tax rates on the wealthy than on the middle and lower classes. Wealthy
individuals foil the system by finding as many loopholes as possible to cut their tax liabilities. The
fairest way to assess taxes is to have everyone pay the same percentage of their income with no
deductions allowed.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States, that:
Section 1. The Internal Revenue Code shall be amended to impose on the taxable
income of every individual a tax equal to 19 percent of the taxable income of such
individual for such taxable year.
Section 2. The Internal Revenue Code will further be amended to eliminate all
personal income tax deductions.
Whereas: Pollution from other forms of energy, specifically coal and natural gas, is
threatening to have an irreversible detrimental impact on the environment; and
Section 1. The U.S. Department of Energy should take every step possible to
encourage the use of nuclear power.
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A BILL TO BAN COSMETIC RESEARCH ON ANIMALS
Sponsored by: Senator Megan Davis of Pope John XXIII High School
Representative Matthew Pelequin of Pope John XXIII High School
The cruel and inhumane use of animals for testing cosmetic products must stop. Every year over
50,000 cats, rabbits, and other animals are tortured, maimed, or even killed for the only purpose of
developing new cosmetic products. Unlike animal testing for medical research, this experimentation
does not benefit society in any productive way.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in
Congress assembled, that:
Section 1. This act bans the use of animal testing for the development of cosmetic
products.
Section 2. Animal testing will be allowed for medical research. A five member
National Animal Experimentation board will be appointed by the President to establish
the necessity and validity of all animal experimentation.
While there are more women than men in our country, women continue to be the objects of
discrimination. Their concerns include equal pay, discrimination on the job, and legal equity. Many
believe that these areas of concern can be addressed with the passage of the Equal Rights
Amendment which would prohibit discrimination based on sex.
Be it amended by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in
Congress assembled, and upon approval of 3/4 of the States, that:
Section 1. Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the
United States of America or by any state on account of sex.
Section 2. The Congress shall have the power to enforce this article by appropriate
legislation.
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LEADERSHIP POSITIONS AVAILABLE
Address_________________________________________________________________
City__________________________________State_________Zip__________________
Phone(_____)______________High School____________________________________
Email_________________________________________________________________
____Committee Clerk
____Congressional Page
Return application to
For West Coast: For East Coast, Midwest and Texas:
The Junior State of America The Junior State of America
400 S El Camino Real Ste. 300 1600 K St NW Ste. 803
San Mateo, California 94402 Washington, D.C. 20006
Questions? 800/334-5353 800/317-9338
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