Congress Study Guide

Question 1

Legislation

Answer 1

specific, written proposal (“bill”or“resolution”) made by a member or committee for assembly to debate.

Question 2

Bill

Answer 2

type of legislation that describes the details of how a policy would be enacted, if voted into law by the assembly.

Question 3

Resoloution

Answer 3

expression of conviction, or value belief of anassembly, which may urge, request or suggest further action by another decision-making authority.

Question 4

Docket

Answer 4

complete packet of legislation distributed by a tournament.

Question 5

Agenda

Answer 5

order of legislation as suggested by a committee or member, and voted on by the assembly (sometimes called the calendar).

Question 6

Presiding Officer (PO)

Answer 6

leader who runs meetings by recognizing members to speak or move. Also called the chair. Modeled after the Speaker of the House of Representatives, or the Vice President or President pro tempore of the Senate.

Question 7

Floor

Answer 7

when a member has the full attention of the assembly to speak (also refers to the area where the assembly meets, where its members speak, and where it conducts its business).

Question 8

Committee

Answer 8

a small group of members who meet and bring recommendations to the full assembly.

Question 9

Amendment

Answer 9

a specific change to an item of legislation, explaining exactly which words it modifies, and not changing the intent of the legislation itself (germane). An amendment not pertinent is ruled dilatory.

Question 10

Authoroship speech

Answer 10

a constructive speech of up to three (3) minutes given by a member, which introduces an item of legislation for debate by the chamber. It is called a sponsorship speech if given by a student who is not affiliated with the school the legislation originated from. All author/sponsorship speeches are followed by a two-minute questioning period. The first negative speech also may have two minutes of questioning.

Question 11

Questioning

Answer 11

period where the members of the assembly ask individual questions of the speaker. Multiple-part (or two-part) questions are not allowed (unless the rules are suspended for that instance, or specific open/direct questioning rules are used), because they take time from other members who may wish to question the speaker. For all speeches that follow an authorship—except the first negative speech under National Speech & Debate Association rules—the speaker may speak for a maximum of three (3) minutes, followed by one minute of questions. All affirmative and negative speeches that follow an authorship speech should introduce new ideas (arguments) and respond to previous arguments (refute or rebut).

Question 12

Precedence

Answer 12

standard rule in most leagues (including the National Speech & Debate Association), which requires the presiding officer to choose speakers who have spoken least (or not at all). The only exception to precedence is when a speaker has authorship privileges to legislation when it is introduced for debate. In those cases, the presiding officer must recognize the author first. If no author is present, selecting a sponsor is based on precedence.

Question 13

Recency

Answer 13

standard rule in the National Speech & Debate Association, where presiding officer not only employs precedence, but also selects speakers based on who has spoken least recently (or earliest).

Question 14

Geography

Answer 14

this method is employed to balance recognition of speakers among various spatial zones in the chamber, so students seated in any given area aren’t disadvantaged. The chair should ensure that an equal number of affirmative and negative speeches are called from the same zone. Geography is just one approach to recognizing speakers.

Question 15

Activity

Answer 15

PO selects speakers based whom they have already recognized for questions and motions. The problem with this is that the PO could still be biased in recognizing legislators for questions and motions in the first place, and it encourages impertinent questions, just for the sake of being recognized.

Question 16

Longest Standing (Standing Time)

Answer 16

PO tracks how many times speakers stand to be recognized. The problem with this is that speakers may or may not actually have substantive speeches prepared, but simply stand earlier to play the game.

Question 17

What is congressional debate

Answer 17

The Congressional Debate event simulates the real legislative process in the United States.
Legislators draft their own legislation and present it to the chamber with a sponsorship speech.
Debaters draft, debate, and vote on bills, resolutions, and amendments.
The National Speech and Debate Association states that participation in Congressional Debate promotes leadership and communications skills.
Congressional Debate prepares for leadership opportunities through their lives.

Question 18

Bills vs Resolutions vs Constitutional Amandment

Answer 18

BIlls and resolutions are independent pieces of legislation, which don’t rely on the Constitution, like Constitutional Amendments. Constitutional Amendments change the Constitution. Bills and resolutions are similar, but bills are specific on how it will be executed. On the other hand resolutions just show support and don’t show what specific actions will be taken. They both need ½ of the votes.
Bill: A Bill to Implement Minecraft Education in Schools to Help Bolster School’s Education Curriculum
Resolution: A Resolution to Help the Ethiopian People
Amendment: A Resolution to Amend the Constitution to Establish Term Limits for the Supreme Court

Bill
Says details of what it would do if made into a law
Resolution
Shows approval of an action & is an expression; it’s pretty much a bill without enforcement
Amendment
Change the Constitution and needs ⅔ of the chamber

Question 19

Structure of Debate

Answer 19

The PO is elected by the legislators at the beginning of the debate.
Debate on each piece of legislation begins when it is introduced to the chamber.
The first speech on each legislation is always followed by a two-minute questioning period.
The questions and answers are timed continuously one the first speaker is recognized.
The first negative speaker also requires a two-minute questioning period.
The students deliver alternating negative and affirmative speeches with a maximum of three minutes and followed by a one-minute questioning period.
Concludes in a final vote.

Question 20

Presiding Officer (precedence and recency)

Answer 20

Definition of PO - The PO is the person that runs the meeting and chooses who speaks and moves. It is modeled of the speaker of the house in Congress.
Precedence - In almost all speech and debate leagues the PO is required to pick the speaker that hasn’t spoken or has spoken the least.
Recency - Recency is everything in Precedence but the PO also selects people who haven’t talked recently.
Another common name for PO is the chair.
Election - Using a ballot vote.
Supplies - Stopwatch, Gavel, Papers, Table of Parliamentary Motions, and Legislative Docket Packet.
The best PO is selected at the end of the session.
Another name for the PO is presiding officer.

Question 21

How to Win Congress

Answer 21

The objective in congressional debate is to win. To win congressional debate the senators have to have good speaking skills. In addition they are evaluated on the way that they ask and answer questions, the use of parliamentary process, argumentation, research and analysis of issues, and clarity of delivery. At the end of the debate, the judges rank the legislators .

Question 22

Parlamentry procedure

Answer 22

Set of rules dictating how debaters should act and how a round is structured.
Legislators must seek recognition from their PO whenever they wish to move, speak, or vote.
Debaters should respect others.
The goal of a chamber is to share the time equally between competitors to allow enough opportunities for each person to be heard by the judges. This is why parliamentary procedure requires POs to prioritize speakers who have a lower precedence.

Question 23

Limit or extend debate (Motion 7)

Answer 23

To modify freedom of debate

Question 24

Previous question (Motion 8)

Answer 24

To force an immediate vote

Question 25

Rise to a point of order or parliamentary procedure (18)

Answer 25

To correct a parliamentary error or ask a question

Question 26

Rise to a question of privilege (21)

Answer 26

To make a personal request during debate

Question 27

Recess (22)

Answer 27

To dismiss the meeting for a specific length of time

Question 28

Adjourn (23)

Answer 28

To dismiss the meeting