For Contestants, Judges, and Coaches

Student Congress

Information Packet

For Contestants, Judges, and Coaches

REGULAR SESSION FORMAT

All regular-session, single day tournaments sanctioned by the DSDL shall use the following format. All of the

guidelines established in other parts of the DSDL Congressional Debate manual shall supplement these procedures.

Schedule

There shall be two (2) sessions of Student Congress. Each session shall consist of at least two and one-half (2

½) hours of on-floor debate, with an extra thirty (30) minutes allotted for “Preliminary Business” before Session

One begins, and with fifteen (15) minutes allotted for the “Orders of the Day” at the end of each session. For regular-season tournaments, the following schedule will serve as a guide; however, the exact schedule may vary

from tournament to tournament.

9:15 am Session 1 - Preliminary Business

9:45 am Session 1

12:15 am Session 1 - Orders of the Day

12:30 pm Lunch Recess

1:15 pm Session 2

3:45 pm Session 2 Orders of the Day

4:15 pm Adjournment

Judges

At minimum, two judges will evaluate each session of Student Congress. Each judge shall serve as a “Scorer.”

For organizational purposes, one of the Scorers will also serve as “Parliamentarian.” When possible, the League

will strive to add an additional scorer into each chamber. All judges must evaluate the entire chamber and a

judge from their own school shall evaluate no student unless throughout the course of the competitive day at

least one judge from each school present in the chamber is used as an evaluator in said chamber.

The Parliamentarian shall also keep the speaking order of the chamber and may be called upon to make

procedural rulings as needed.

As Scorers, both officials shall evaluate each speech that is made from the floor by using a DSDA “Ballot for

Speakers.” Each Scorer must evaluate every speech. The Scorers should also pay close attention to non-speech

activities (questioning periods, procedural debates, conduct of individual legislators, etc.). Both Scorers will

also evaluate and score the Presiding Officers.

Toward the end of each session, The Clerk of the Congress or his/her designee shall bring an DSDA “Rank

Form for Congressional Debate Officials” to each Scorer. On this form, each Scorer must secretly, and without

consultation with the other Scorer, rank the top eight (8) legislators in order of preference, remembering that the

Presiding Officer is eligible for selection and that the criteria for selection is Best Legislator, not Best Speaker.

Consequently, Scorers should select legislators who demonstrated outstanding speaking skills while

participating in the other processes that occurred in the session. A legislator’s decorum (or lack thereof) may

also be used when selecting “Best Legislators.”

OFFICIAL RULES

--DECORUM: Each preliminary chamber is designated as a HOUSE. A member of the House of

Representatives is always referred to as “Representative.” The Presiding Officer of a House of Representatives

is addressed as “Mister/Madame Speaker.” The Presiding Officer is responsible for enforcing proper decorum

in the chambers. Each break round camber is designated as a SENATE. A member of the Senate is always

referred to as “Senator.” The Presiding Officer of the Senate is addressed as “Mister/Madame President.”

--LEGISLATIVE DAY: A legislative day is one session; speaker order (recency) resets after each session.

--RECOGNITION OF SPEAKERS: The RECENCY system, as explained by the National Speech and

Debate Association, is the required method for recognizing speakers at this tournament. Presiding Officers are

required to use this form of recognition. Individual recency is to be used at all times; other systems are

prohibited!

--QUESTIONING: A MANDATORY two minute questioning period follows all AUTHORSHIP,

SPONSORSHIP, and SPONSORSHIP ON AMENDMENT speeches; a two-minute questioning period also

follows the FIRST NEGATIVE speech on any item of legislation. The Presiding Officer recognizes legislators

who wish to ask a question of a speaker; the speaker MAY NOT perform this function him/herself. All other

speeches will have a mandatory one-minute questioning period that MAY NOT be suspended. The PO has an

obligation to rule “two-part,” misleading, or irrelevant questions OUT-OF-ORDER during preliminary

and semifinal debate.

--AGENDA ORDER: Each chamber determines its own agenda order based on the legislation assigned to it

by this packet with the exception that all items in a tier must be debate before a chamber may move onto the

next tier of legislation.

--LEGISLATION WITHOUT AN AUTHOR: If the author of a bill or resolution is not present in the

chamber, withdraws from the tournament, or waives service as the author, a SPONSORSHIP speech is in order.

Sponsorship is determined by recency. The sponsor becomes accountable for the mechanics of the bill and

must yield to two minutes of questioning from the chamber.

--VOTING: The PO determines the method of voting that comes before the chamber, EXCEPT:

1. For final votes on legislation, amendments, and motions to appeal the chair, a recorded vote must be

taken.

2. On all other votes, “voice voting” is acceptable. A recorded vote must follow if any member asks

for a division.

3. When a member of the chamber moves for a roll call vote and the motion is agreed to by 1/5 of the

chamber.

ALL simple majority votes are based upon the number of legislators PRESENT and VOTING in the chamber;

therefore, the PO may not call for or count abstentions. For all votes requiring a fraction of the chamber to

agree to a motion or question (2/3, 1/3, 1/5, etc.), the chair determines whether the chamber agrees with the

motion/question using the number of legislators PRESENT in the chamber. Because of this system, the PO

must track the number of legislators in the chamber at all times.

--AMENDMENTS: Legislators submit in writing. A motion to amend is necessary to consider the written

amendment. Once the motion is made, the PO decides if the amendment is germane. The PO may consult with

the Parliamentarian to make this decision. If the amendment is found NOT germane, the chair rules it OUT OF

ORDER and the amendment process stops. If the chair rules the amendment germane, the chamber considers

the amendment. In this case, the PO reads the amendment to the chamber. A 1/3 second of the members

PRESENT in the chamber is required to debate the amendment. If the chamber votes a second, debate on the

amendment commences immediately. There is no minimum cycle requirement for amendments, so legislators

may make a motion to table or call the previous question on the amendment at any time. The first speech on the

amendment is a SPONSORSHIP speech. The chair determines speaker recognition for the SPONSORSHIP

speech on the basis of recency; the author of the amendment is NOT guaranteed the sponsorship speech. The

sponsor accepts responsibility for the mechanics of the amendment and yields to two minutes of questioning.

All amendment speeches receive a score and count towards recency. A majority vote is necessary for the

chamber to adopt the amendment.

General Information for Contestants

v Find your name on the next page.

v Remember to NOT panic if you do not have your code. Simply use only your last name when speaking

from the floor during Preliminary and Elimination sessions of Congress.

v Do not use your school name to identify yourself during the course of any session of the Congress.

Legislative Calendar

v Legislation has been assigned to the same chamber as its author.

v All legislation assigned to tier one in a chamber must be debated before the chamber may move on to

debate legislation assigned to a tier two chamber, etc. Legislation assigned to a chamber may not be

tabled for the purposes of moving forward to another chamber’s legislation.

Rule #1 of Speech and Debate:

Senate 1 Legislation

Tier 1

• A Bill to “Clarify Date Food Labeling to Prevent Food Waste” by Cary Academy
• A Bill to “Amend the Brady Law of 1993 to require the use of the NICS in private firearm transaction” by CE Jordan HS
• A Bill to “Fund the construction of a barrier on the Mexico-United States border” by Cumberland International ECHS
• A Bill to “Add the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico as the 51st and 52nd states to maintain the rule of the people” by Croatan HS
• A Bill to “Sustain military pay comparability with the private sector” by Cumberland Polytechnic HS
• A Bill to “Provide aid to Brazil to avert Atlantic calamity” by Durham Academy
• A Bill to “Sanction China to discourage North Korean nuclear proliferation” by NW Guilford HS
• A Bill to “Authorize the genetic modification and extermination of anopheles mosquitoes” by Pinecrest HS
• A Resolution to “End the embargo on Cuba” by 71st HS
• A Bill to “Legalize medical cannabis” by Research Triangle

Tier 2

• A Bill to “Decrease assault and violence in our prisons” by Cary Academy
• A Bill to “Enable teacher success to ensure student excellence” by Cary Academy

Senate 2 Legislation

Tier 1

• A Bill to “Amend the Brady Law of 1993 to require the use of the NICS in private firearm transactions” by CE Jordan HS
• A Bill to “Fund the construction of a barrier on the Mexico US border” by Cumberland International ECHS
• A Bill to “Sustain military pay comparability with the private sector” by Cumberland Polytechnic HS
• A Bill to “Provide aid to Brazil to avert Atlantic calamity” by Durham Academy
• A Bill to “Sanction China to discourage North Korean nuclear proliferation” by NW Guilford HS
• A Bill to “Authorize the genetic modification and extermination of anopheles mosquitoes” by Pinecrest HS
• A Bill to “Ban pay delay to ensure healthy competition for prescription drugs” by Cary Academy
• A Bill to “Create more jobs in low-income regions and inner-cities in order to end the war on poverty and alleviate welfare dependence” by Croatan HS

Tier 2

• A Bill to “Require homeowners with public sidewalks to remove snow in a timely manner” by Apex Friendship HS
• A Bill to “Ban the commercial sale of assault weapons to stop mass shootings in America” by Cumberland International ECHS
• A Resolution to “Reform the US prison system” by Pinecrest HS
• A Bill to “Increase oil imports from Central Asian nations” by Cary Academy

Senate 1

Senate 2

H/R # 101

A Bill to Clarify Date Food Labeling to
Prevent food waste

BE IT ENACTED BY THE STUDENT CONGRESS HERE ASSEMBLED THAT:

Section 1.Date labeling practices on food packaging cause confusion, and thus all food labels will switch to the uniform quality date label phrase “best if used by”.

Section 2.“Date labeling practices on food” refer to the date labels that read “sell-by”, “best-by”, “use-by”, and “best before”.

Section 3.The Food and Drug Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency shall be responsible for enforcing this piece of legislation.

SECTION 4.This bill shall go into effect in the 2018 fiscal year.

Section 5.All laws in conflict with this legislation are hereby declared null and void.

Respectfully submitted,

Rep. Georgia Dietz

Cary Academy

H/R # 102

A Bill to Amend The Brady Law of 1993 to
require the use of the NICS in private firearm transactions

BE IT ENACTED BY THE CONGRESS HERE ASSEMBLED THAT:

SECTION 1.We amend the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act (Brady Law) of 1993 to require the use of the NICS in private firearm transactions which are about 20% of all transactions and create a federal record for all private transactions.

SECTION 2.The Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act (Brady Law) of 1993 currently requires only licensed retailers to search the NICS database to see if the prospective gun owner is eligible to purchase the gun.

SECTION 3.The FBI will still be the government organization overseeing this whole process as they were in the original law.

SECTION 4.This law will be effective immediately after passage.

SECTION 5.All laws in conflict with this legislation are hereby declared null and void.

Introduced for Congressional Debate by

PraneshGayam

CE Jordan High School

H/R # 103

A Bill To Fund the Construction of a Barrier on The Mexico United States Border

BE IT ENACTED HERE BY THE STUDENT CONGRESS

Section 1. That The United States will fund and implement a barrier with the height of 30 feet above ground and six feet below. It will stretch a total of one thousand miles continuing from the break in current barriers on the southern border of the United States.

Section 2. The barrier itself will cost a total of 29.6 billion dollars. Funding of which will come from the department of defense.

Section 3. The Department of Defense and the Immigration and Customs Enforcement will oversee the building and maintaining of this barrier.

Section 4. This will effect immediately upon passing.

Section 5. All laws in conflict with this legislation are hereby declared null and void.

Respectfully Submitted,

Rep. Jonathan Soltren

Cumberland International Early College

H/R # 104

A Bill to Add the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico as the 51st and 52nd States to

Maintain the Rule of the People

BE IT ENACTED BY THE STUDENT CONGRESS HERE ASSEMBLED THAT:

SECTION 1.The inhabitants of the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico are hereby authorized to form for themselves a constitution and State government, and to assume the role of a proper State and shall be admitted into the Union upon the same footing with the original States in all respects whatsoever.

SECTION 2.A. The new states would hold the current borders of the territories.

B. In the specific case of the District of Columbia the land which federal government buildings are located on will still be the property of the federal government and so be independent of the state.

SECTION 3.There will be two senators per state and until the next census only one

representative will be in the House for each of the states.

SECTION 4.Each of the government agencies will work collectively for the proper creation of these states.

SECTION 5.This bill will go into effect immediately upon passage.

Respectfully submitted,

Rep. Russell D’Amico

Croatan High School

H/R # 105

A Bill to Sustain Military Pay Comparability with the Private Sector

BE IT ENACTED BY THE STUDENT CONGRESS HERE ASSEMBLED THAT:

Section 1.This legislation seeks to raise the military payment percentage to make it comparable with the private sector.

Section 2.A. “Military pay” shall be defined as payments made to a person who is active duty.

B. “Active duty” shall be defined as individuals in the military full time. Persons in the Reserve or National Guard are not full-time active duty military personnel, although they can be deployed at anytime.

C. “Comparable pay” shall be defined as payment equal to the percentage of the private sector pay growth, as measured by the Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Cost Index (ECI).

D. “Private Sector” shall be defined as the sector that encompasses all for-profit businesses that are not owned or operated by the government.

Section 3.The Department of Defense Finance and Accounting Service shall oversee the implementation of this legislation.

SECTION 4.This legislation shall be implemented at the beginning of the next fiscal year.

Section 5.All laws in conflict with this legislation are hereby declared null and void.

Respectfully submitted,

Rep. Xzandria Wells

Cumberland Polytechnic High School

H/R # 106

A Bill to Provide Aid to Brazil to Avert Atlantic Calamity

BE IT ENACTED BY THE CONGRESS HERE ASSEMBLED THAT:

Section 1.$18.5 billion shall be reallocated from our discretionary military budget to provide Brazil with non-military aid.

Section 2.Non-military aid shall be defined as aid that is used for non-militaristic and non-police issues only.

Section 3.The United States Department of State shall be responsible for implementing this legislation.

1. This aid can only be used for social programs that provide food, water, utilities, infrastructure, and medical facilities for the Brazilian people.
2. The Department of State shall conduct biannual investigations into the use of this aid.
3. This aid can and will be cut off if these investigations reveal any misuse.

SECTION 4.This legislation shall go into effect on January 1, 2018

Section 5.All laws in conflict with this legislation are hereby declared null and void.

Introduced for Congressional Debate by OsezeleOkoruwa.