A Resolution to Recognize Taiwan
Whereas, the United States and Taiwan have maintained a close relationship (especially economically) for decades
Whereas, the United States and China already maintain increasingly hostile relations regardless of Taiwan’s international status
Whereas, continued tensions between the Taiwanese people and the Chinese government could lead to conflict that would necessitate United States involvement
Whereas, the United States’ policy on Taiwan has become increasingly unclear as a result of self-described “unofficial relations” with the country
Be it resolved by this Student Congress here assembled that the United States government recognize Taiwan as a legitimate sovereign state and establish official relations with the country
Introduced for Congressional Debate by Connor Roukey, Xaverian Brothers High School
A Bill to Temporarily Suspend the Leahy Law
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28 / BE IT ENACTED BY THE CONGRESS HERE ASSEMBLED THAT:
SECTION 1. The Leahy Law (Section 563 of Public Law. 106-429) is hereby suspended for a period of 5 years.
SECTION 2. The Department of State and the Department of Defense shall oversee the enforcement of the legislation.
A. An interagency committee shall be established to review foreign units under suspension.
B. The Secretary of State may nominate an unlimited number of foreign military units per country to the Secretary of Defense to prevent the US from conducting sales and training during the timeframe.
SECTION 3.Funding shall be allocated from the Department of Defense
budget.
SECTION 4. This legislation shall take effect immediately
SECTION 5. All laws in conflict with this legislation are hereby declared null and void.
Introduced for Congressional Debate by Anirban Chakraborty,
From Acton Boxborough Regional High School
A Bill to Repeal Dodd-Frank
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7 / BE IT ENACTED BY THE CONGRESS HERE ASSEMBLED THAT:
SECTION 1. The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2009 (Pub. L 111-203 HR 4173) is hereby repealed.
SECTION 2. The United States Department of the Treasury shall oversee the implementation of this legislation.
SECTION 3. The legislation shall take effect three months after passage.
SECTION 4. All laws in conflict with this legislation are hereby declared null and void.
Respectfully submitted,
Sen. John Dashe
Catholic Memorial School
A Bill to Provide Men and Women Equal
Paid Parental Leave
BE IT ENACTED BY THE CONGRESS HERE ASSEMBLED THAT:
Section 1. Mothers and fathers will have up to 15 weeks of 100% paid parental leave with job protection from their respective employers. This legislation is available for parent(s) of newborn or newly adopted children. In addition, this legislation is equally available to same-sex couples.
Section 2. "Child" may mean one or more children. This 15 weeks may be used during any time necessary for all parents, either consecutively or in multiple periods of time. This legislation applies to all employers regardless of type of work or number of employees. All employers must allow their employees to utilize this leave and are expected to pay them their regular wages as long as the worker has worked for the employer for 3 months.
Section 3. The Wage and Hour Division of the Department of Labor will oversee the implementation and regulation of this legislation.
SECTION 4. This legislation shall be enacted upon passage.
Section 5. All laws in conflict with this legislation are hereby declared null and void.
Introduced for Congressional Debate by Megha Shashidhar.Bancroft School
A Bill to Cease the Construction of Nuclear Power Plants
BE IT ENACTED BY THE STUDENT CONGRESS HERE ASSEMBLED THAT:
Section 1. A. There shall be an immediate ban on the new construction of nuclear power plants.
B. All current active nuclear power plants shall be allowed to continue operations.
C. All nuclear power plants considered to be in pending construction are exempt from this ban.
Section 2. A. Nuclear power plants shall be defined as facilities designed to convert atomic energy to usable power.
B. Power plants "in pending construction" shall be defined as power plants where usable nuclear materials can be found within the facility, but construction of the facility has not yet been completed.
Section 3. The Department of Energy shall oversee the implementation of this legislation.
SECTION 4. This bill shall go into effect immediately upon passage.
Section 5. All laws in conflict with this legislation are hereby declared null and void.
Respectfully submitted,
Ramsey Rouabhia
Shrewsbury High School
A Bill to Expand the EITC
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8 / BE IT ENACTED BY THE CONGRESS HERE ASSEMBLED THAT:
SECTION 1. The maximum incomes allowed to receive the EITC shall be increased by 20% for families with children and 30% for families without children.
SECTION 2.“EITC” shall be defined as the Earned Income Tax Credit.
SECTION 3. The Internal Revenue Service of the United States Department of the Treasury shall be responsible for implementing this legislation.
SECTION 4. This legislation shall take effect one year after passage.
SECTION 5. All laws in conflict with this legislation are hereby declared null and void.
Introduced for Congressional Debate by Anthony Costarelli, Natick High School.
A Resolution to Eliminate Lawless Initiatives in the Phillipines to Support Equality and Stability (E.L.I.P.S.E.S.)
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20 / WHEREAS, The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is a ten state group consisting of Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Phillipines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam; and
WHEREAS, The alliance is used to promote regional economic and security integration and promote shared values; and
WHEREAS, Rodrigo Duterte ascended to the Phillipines’ presidency in June 2016, he constantly orders widespread human rights abuses, and he continues to cause regional instability; and
WHEREAS, Duterte has publicly insulted U.S. leaders, including the sitting U.S. President and has expressed significant interest in increasing bilateral relations with other nations, such as China; and
WHEREAS, the United States has enjoyed good relations with ASEAN, attending many ASEAN summits, and has an economic and security interest in the organization’s prosperity; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That U.S. State Department advise ASEAN nations to suspend the Phillipines membership immediately ; and, be it
FURTHER RESOLVED, That ASEAN not reinstate the nation’s memebership until President Duterte ceases extrajudicial killings, confirms with international human rights standards, and expresses further interest in economic integration with the alliance.
Introduced for Congressional Debate by Michael Ryter, Newton South HS.
Super Session Scenario – California Cash Crunch Crisis
The State of California faces an unprecedented fiscal crisis, and the Governor has appealed to Congress for help.
California’s Public Employees Retirement System (CALPERS) faces a major shortfall in its ability to pay out pensions to retired state, county, and municipal employees. Returns on its investments are insufficient to meet future pension liabilities. CALPERS’ negotiators have been unable to convince union heads to accept benefit reductions or increased employee contributions. With the nation’s highest top-tier marginal income tax rate at 13.3 percent, California legislators are wary of increasing taxes yet again for fear of residents leaving for lower-tax states.
The consequences are dire. If pension liabilities continue to climb without any sustainable means to fund them, then cities and towns may go bankrupt. This would reduce municipalities’ ability to provide essential services to their citizens, such as police and fire protection. This could result in a death spiral, as citizens fleeing cash-strapped locales would shrink the tax base needed to provide such services, thereby precipitating further flight. It also would harm the economy, as many small businesses providing goods and services to California’s cities and towns would be forced by bankruptcy courts to absorb severe losses.
While Congress may step in to help, the United States currently has a national debt of almost $19 trillion. Ratings agencies are threatening to downgrade America’s debt, which would result in higher interest payments both for the government and for consumers. This could plunge an already fragile U.S. economy back into recession.
Whatever Congress decides to do has the potential to set a precedent. Public employee pension fund managers in Illinois and Connecticut are watching closely.
Congress may decide to:
Ø Do nothing, and allow California to attempt to resolve the crisis on its own;
Ø Approve a conditional bailout that might require California to either cut benefits or raise revenues (perhaps by approving new taxes, selling state assets or leasing state-owned land for oil and gas exploration) in exchange for aid;
Ø Approve an unconditional bailout, in which Congress simply guarantees all of CALPERS’ pension obligations; or
Ø Approve an alternative solution as determined by this legislative body.