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Congressional Debate

THE OATH
"I do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic;
that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter, so help me God."

Congress tutorials

What is Congressional Debate?

• Student Congress is modeled after the United States Congress. Bills and resolutions on  the "docket," which are posted on the TFA page, are debated in “houses” of about
twenty competitors. 

• Parliamentary procedure is followed, and a student chairperson known  a “presiding officer” leads the proceedings. The presiding officer is address as
“Mister Chairman” or “Madame Chairman.” 

• You will be addressed as “Representative,” unless you are part of the  Senate—a special house that prepares bills and resolutions for future tournaments.

• After debating a bill or resolution, you and the other members of  your house will take a vote to decide if the bill or resolution should be passed. 

What is Parliamentary Procedure? 
 
• The  US Congress, state legislatures, city councils, and many businesses and clubs follow parliamentary procedure or Roberts’s Rules of Order to increase the efficiency of meetings. 
  • Speakers are required to make “motions” or recommendations to move the  discussion in the meeting along. (See Table of Motions attachment) 

• Parliamentary procedure helps to: 
• Guarantee that the minority opinion is heard. 
• Make sure that the majority opinion prevails 
• Provide orderly procedures for conducting business and debate upon issues of importance. 

What is a bill? What is a  resolution?
 • A  bill is basically the wording for a law or piece of legislation. Bills include  such words as, “Be it enacted by the Student Congress that…”  A resolution is a generalized statement expressing a conviction or sentiment.
Resolutions usually contain the words, “Be it resolved by the Student Congress that…” Resolutions should begin with a number of phraes which start with the word, “Whereas”.  (See templates for writing legislation)
follow u.s. legislators
TFA congress page

Congress Resources

congressional_debate_guide.pdf
File Size: 1278 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

Fall 2016 Docket
congressprep_sheet.doc
File Size: 27 kb
File Type: doc
Download File

congressprep2.doc
File Size: 23 kb
File Type: doc
Download File

presiding_officer_guide.pdf
File Size: 943 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

NFL Congress video overview
Procedure for debate
table_of_motions.doc
File Size: 251 kb
File Type: doc
Download File

tfa_precedence_chart.pdf
File Size: 66 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

How to write legislation
legislation_template_bill.doc
File Size: 28 kb
File Type: doc
Download File

legislation_template_resolution.doc
File Size: 26 kb
File Type: doc
Download File


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