Arizona State University Southwest Championship 2016 Congressional Debate Docket Preliminary Sessions The agenda for the Preliminary sessions will be set by a caucus in chambers at the beginning of session one. A A Bill to Reform Health Care Taxes B A Bill to Reform Secondary Education C A Bill to End Arctic Drilling D A Bill to Conclude Power Africa E A Bill to Lift the Restriction on Gun Violence Research F A Bill to Implement Solar Energy in Order to Fight Climate Change G The Delivery of Astronauts to Mars by our NASA Act H A Resolution to Declare the Purpose of the United States Criminal Justice System to be Reformation Opposed to Punishment I A Bill to Reclassify Cannabis as a Schedule II Drug J A Bill to Invigorate American Unions K A Resolution Amending the Constitution to Define Marriage L A Bill to Subject the President to Parliamentary Questioning M A Bill to Combat Drug Trafficking by Encouraging Alternative Development Crop N Death Penalty Abolition Act of 2016 O A Bill to Institute an Excise Tax to Decrease Obesity P The Financial Fairness and Stability Act of 2015 Q A Bill to Significantly Reduce Disease Rates Among America s Youth by Providing an Incentive to Vaccinate Public School Students R A Bill for Affordable Pharmaceuticals S A Bill to Establish a Carbon Tax T A Bill to Remove Columbus Day as a National Holiday U A Bill to Reduce Military Spending V A Bill to Fund Nuclear Fusion Research W A Bill to Protect Voting Rights X A Bill to Divert Funding for Bio Fuel to Development of Nuclear Energy
A - A BILL TO REFORM HEALTH CARE TAXES SECTION 1. Employer-provided coverage under an accident or health care plan shall hereafter be included in an individual's gross income and be taxed accordingly; 26 U. S. C. 106, concerning employer contribution to accident and health plans, shall be repealed. The Cadillac excise tax described in 26 U.S.C. 4980i shall be repealed. The medical device tax described in 26 U.S.C. 4191 shall be repealed. SECTION 4. The United States Department of the Treasury shall be in charge of implementing this legislation. This legislation shall go into effect on 1 October 2016. SECTION 6. Introduced for Congressional Debate by Tempe Preparatory Academy
B - A BILL TO REFORM SECONDARY EDUCATION SECTION 1. Any member of a secondary public or charter school district is hereafter prohibited from referring student misconduct to law enforcement authorities, unless the misconduct consists of sexual assault or life-threatening violence. A. In lieu of expulsion and external suspension public school districts must develop inschool educational and interventionary programs designed to reduce misconduct. B. In June of each year, each public and charter school district must submit a plan regarding disciplinary measures for the the schools of that district for following year to the Department of Education for approval. Secondary public and charter school districts shall have the option to provide student grades, scores on assessments, academic growth, and other relevant educational information to be stored in a national database for analysis. Analyses shall be conducted to provide for more adequate standards and mprove education. The Department of Education shall oversee the implementation of this legislation. A. Any necessary funding for Section 1 of this legislation shall be provided by Congress. Funding for Section 2 of this legislation shall come from the budget of the Department of Education. B. Any public or charter school district which fails to comply with any part of Section 1 of this legislation before the 2017-2018 school year shall have all Federal funding terminated. SECTION 4. This legislation shall go into effect on 1 October 2016. Introduced for Congressional Debate by Tempe Preparatory Academy
C -A Bill to End Artic Drilling Be it enacted by the Student Congress here assembled that: 1. Article 1: All drilling in the Artic Ocean off the northern coast of Alaska shall be 2. prohibited. 3. Article II: The Northern Coast of Alaska shall consist of any US territorial 4. possession north of the 68 th parallel (north). 5. Article III: The EPA shall enforce this legislation. A $50,000 fine per barrel 6. extracted shall be leveled against any company who violates this 7. legislation. 8. Article IV: This legislation shall be implemented on January 1 st, 2018 9. Article V: Any law in conflict with this legislation shall be declared null and void Respectfully submitted by Fenwick High School
D - A Bill to Conclude Power Africa Be it enacted by this Student Congress here assembled that: 1. Article I: The United State s shall halt all funding directed towards 2. Power Africa. 3. Article II: Power Africa shall be defined as the Department of State s foreign Aid 4. initiative aimed at building infrastructure to provide electricity to African 5. countries. 6. Article III: The Department of State will dictate this piece of legislation in 7. concordance with the Department of the Treasury 8. Article IV: Upon passage, This bill shall be implemented immediately. 9. Article V: Any legislation in conflict with this bill will be declared null and void. Respectfully submitted by Fenwick High School
E - A Bill to Lift the Restriction on Gun Violence Research 1 2 3 4 5 SECTION 1. The restriction that is currently placed on the CDC from conducting research on gun violence is lifted. The CDC is the Centers for Disease Control. The Department of Justice shall oversee this legislation. 6 7 8 9 10 A. The CDC shall be able to conduct research in areas related to gun violence. B. The budget of the CDC shall be increased by $50 million in order for the agency to adequately conduct research. SECTION 4. This legislation shall go into effect on July, 2016. 11 Introduced for Congressional Debate by North Pointe Preparatory.
F - A Bill to Implement Solar Energy in Order to Fight Climate Change 1 2 3 4 5 6 SECTION 1. The United States shall fund the solar energy industry for full implementation of solar energy. Solar energy is energy acquired from the sun which can be converted into power. The Department of Energy shall oversee this legislation. 7 8 9 10 11 A. The United States shall spend $500 billion to build new solar power plants across the country. B. All current funding for solar energy research shall be halted and instead used to fund the construction of solar power plants. SECTION 4. This legislation shall go into effect on January 1, 2017. 12 Introduced for Congressional Debate by North Pointe Preparatory.
G - The Delivery of Astronauts to Mars by Our NASA Act _1 BE IT ENACTED BY THE CONGRESS HERE ASSEMBLED THAT _2 SECTION 1._The United States shall allocate $75 billion to the National Aeronautics and Space _3 Administration (NASA) over the next 25 years at a rate of $3 billion per year for _4 the purpose of funding programs essential to achieving a successful manned _5 mission to Mars in the 2030s. _6 _Programs essential to a successful manned mission to Mars in the 2030s _7 are defined as NASA programs or expenditures that NASA determines are _8 necessary and/or contributory to the agency sending human astronauts on a _9 mission to the Martian surface by the year 2040 and returning them to earth alive. 10 _A. The Department of the Treasury shall oversee the allocation of the 11 $75 billion described to NASA. 12 B. NASA shall determine what of its programs are essential to achieving a 13 successful manned mission to Mars in the 2030s and shall oversee the 14 expenditure of the $75 billion in the interest of funding these programs. 15 C. The $75 billion described is only to be used to fund programs essential to 16 NASA achieving a successful manned mission to Mars by the 2030s. Should 17 any of the $75 billion described be spent on programs or expenditures 18 considered nonessential, federal funding of the nonessential program or 19 expenditure will be cut entirely for the next fiscal year. 20 SECTION 4._This legislation shall go into effect immediately upon passage. NASA is expected 21 to achieve a successful manned mission to Mars by the end of the 2030s using 22 the funding provided by this legislation. 23 _ Introduced for Congressional Debate by McClintock High School
H - A Resolution to Declare the Purpose of the United States Criminal Justice System to be Reformation Opposed to Punishment _1 WHEREAS, _The concept of justice has traditionally been associated with punishment of those _2 considered by society to be wrongdoers, criminals, felons, or evil people; and _3 WHEREAS, _This view of justice has led to violations of human rights and dignity throughout _4 world history because of cruel and unusual punishments being used as penalties for _5 criminal acts, such measures including but not being limited to torture, mutilation, _6 and painful, inhumane execution; and _7 WHEREAS, _This view of justice has led to the creation of three strikes laws or similar legislation _8 by numerous states, including but not limited to New York, Texas, Washington, _9 California, Colorado, Connecticut, Indiana, Kansas, Maryland, New Mexico, North 10 Carolina, Virginia, Louisiana,Wisconsin, Tennessee, Georgia, Arkansas, Florida, 11 Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Utah, 12 Vermont, Arizona, and Massachusetts; and 13 WHEREAS, _Such legislation contributes to current prison overcrowding; and 14 WHEREAS, _Other legislation with a similar focus on punishment, such as laws defining penalties 15 and sentences for nonviolent drug offenses, also contribute to current prison 15 overcrowding; and 16 WHEREAS, _This view of justice has contributed to the low quality of life for prisoners, where 17 living conditions may violate human rights and human dignity; and 18 WHEREAS, _This view of justice does not reduce recidivism rates and may, in fact, contribute 19 to higher recidivism rates; and 20 WHEREAS, _The cost to maintain so many prisons places a large cost burden on the American 21 people that a punishment-oriented view of justice will not alleviate; now, 22 therefore, be it 23 RESOLVED, _That the Congress declare that the purpose of the United States criminal justice 24 system is reformation opposed to punishment or retribution; and, be it 25 FURTHER RESOLVED, That the Congress here assembled urge the federal executive and judicial 26 branches and all branches of state and local governments to use this definition of 27 the purpose of the United States criminal justice system to guide all decisions 28 pertaining to how justice is applied and executed in the United States. Introduced for Congressional Debate by McClintock High School
I - A Bill to Reclassify Cannabis as a Schedule II Drug 1 2 3 SECTION 1. Cannabis is hereby reclassified from Schedule I to Schedule II in the Controlled Substances Act. 4 5 A. Schedule I drugs have a high potential for abuse, a lack of accepted safety under medical supervision, and no accepted medical use. 6 7 B. Schedule II drugs have a high potential for abuse, currently accepted medical use, and abuse may lead to severe dependence. 8 9 10 11 12 13 C. Cannabis may also be referred to as Marijuana or Marihuana. Cannabis is defined in the Controlled Substances Act as all parts of the plant Cannabis sativa L., whether growing or not; the seeds thereof; the resin extracted from any part of such plant; and every compound, manufacture, salt, derivative, mixture, or preparation of such plant, its seeds or resin. 14 15 The Federal Drug Administration and the Drug Enforcement Agency shall oversee the implementation of this legislation. 16 SECTION 4. The provisions of this bill will take effect on January 1st, 2017. 17 Submitted for Debate by Flagstaff High School
J - A Bill to Invigorate American Unions 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 SECTION 1. SECTION 4. The Taft-Hartley Act of 1947 will hereby be repealed. Union-Business relations will return to those under the National Labor Relations Act of 1935. The workers of both public and private workplaces and industries may vote to unionize and collectively bargain. A. Union will be defined as a defined group of employees formed for the purposes of representing those employees with the employer as to the terms of a collective contract of employment. B. Collective Bargaining will be defined as trade agreement negotiation between an employer and a person(s) representative of a larger unit of employees, to govern hiring, work, pay and dispute resolution. The United States Department of Labor and the State Governments of States that have enacted Right-to-Work Laws in compliance with the Taft- Hartley Act will oversee the enforcement of this bill. Such states will repeal their respective Right-to-Work laws. Any State that fails to comply will not receive federal highway funding until such a time as they do. The Department of Labor will ensure that businesses comply with their workers desire to unionize under penalty of a $2,500 per employee fine. This bill will take effect on October 1st, 2016, the beginning of Fiscal Year 2017. Submitted for debate by Flagstaff High School
1 2 3 K - A Resolution Amending the Constitution to Define Marriage RESOLVED, That upon approval of two-thirds of the chamber of this Student Congress here assembled, the following Constitutional amendment be sent to the state legislatures for approval: 4 5 6 7 8 SECTION 1: SECTION 2: The several states through popular referendum by the citizens of said state shall individually define marriage as the people of each state deem fit. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation. Submitted by Mountain View High School
L - A Bill to Subject the President to Parliamentary Questioning 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 SECTION 1. SECTION 4. The President of the United States shall be subjected to 4, 30 minute sessions of Parliamentary Questioning to a joint session of Congress every calendar month. The Speaker of the House shall provide these sessions with reason into the agenda for the month and shall schedule with consent of the White House. Parliamentary Questioning shall be defined as a regulated questioning period in which members of congress may directly question the president on federal policies, actions of the executive, foreign affairs, topical current events, and all actions of government. Congress shall enforce this law with necessary legislation. This law shall become effective on the first day of the calendar month directly following passage. Submitted by Mountain View High School
M - A Bill to Combat Drug Trafficking by Encouraging Alternative Development Crop Section 1: The United States Federal Government will provide aid to farmers in countries which chiefly responsible for the production of narcotics to encourage the development of legitimate crops. Section 2: Legitimate crops are defined as crops that are not used in the drug trade and instead can be legitimately traded. Countries which are chiefly responsible for the production of narcotics shall be defined as the top 5 narcotic-producing countries by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime Annual Report 2013. Section 3: The Department of the Treasury shall be responsible for the transfer of $15 billion from the budget of the Department of Defense to the United States Agency for International Development. A. The Department of Defense shall suggest unnecessary defense programs to be defunded to provide the $15 Billion in funds. B. USAID shall be responsible for providing the funds to humanitarian organizations which shall evenly distribute the funds to farmers in the countries chiefly responsible for drug production. C. Aid can be taken away from the humanitarian organizations or farmers if they are discovered to be misusing the funds. Section 4: The provisions set forth in this legislation shall take effect 6 months after its passage. Section 5: Introduced by El Camino Real Charter High School
N - Death Penalty Abolition Act of 2016 Section 1: No person may be sentenced to death or put to death on or after the date of enactment of this Act for any violation of Federal law. The 32 states currently practicing the death penalty will hereby be prohibited from executing prisoners. Section 2: Any person sentenced to death before the date of enactment of this Act for any violation of Federal law shall serve a sentence of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. Section 3: The United States Department of Justice shall oversee the implementation of this legislation. Section 4: The provisions set forth in this legislation shall take effect 6 months after its passage. Section 5: Introduced by El Camino Real Charter High School
O - A Bill to Institute an Excise Tax to Decrease Obesity 1 BE IT ENACTED BY THE STUDENT CONGRESS HERE ASSEMBLED THAT: 2 3 SECTION 1. A 3% excise tax will be imposed on companies that produce and distribute junk food across state lines. 4 5 The term junk food implies that a particular food has little "nutritional value" and contains excessive fat, sugar, salt, and calories. 6 7 8 The Internal Revenue Source will oversee the enforcement of the bill. The FDA, Food and Drug Administration will help set specific guidelines for what is deemed "junk food". 9 SECTION 4. The tax shall become effective beginning April 16th, 2016. 10 Submitted by Chandler Preparatory Academy
P - THE FINANCIAL FAIRNESS AND STABILITY ACT OF 2015 1 BE IT ENACTED BY THE STUDENT CONGRESS HERE ASSEMBLED THAT: 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 SECTION 1. A Financial Transaction tax of 1% shall be instituted on all large market transactions. In addition, a minimum one minute hold time will be imposed on all stock, bond, and securities purchases. Furthermore, the SEC will host a website with the most recent financial data to solve the issues with market fragmentation, price synchronization, and information dissemination. A. Financial Transaction Tax shall be defined as a tax levied upon financial transactions such as the purchase of bonds, stocks, and securities. B. Large Market Transactions shall be defined as an exchange of capital larger than 10,000 dollars with the result being ownership of financial goods. C. Minimum hold time shall be defined as the minimum amount of time that someone must hold onto a bond, stock, or security before they sell them. The CFTC, IRS and the SEC will oversee the implementation of this bill. 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 A. The SEC will oversee the regulation of assets and investigate the High Frequency Trading system for stock manipulation B. The CFTC will oversee high frequency trading and derivatives trading C. The IRS will oversee the collection of this tax and direct it to be used to fund the FDIC and expand the capital insurance to incorporate pension plans, 401k s, and educational payment plans SECTION 4. This bill will implemented by October 1 st 2016 22 Submitted by Cary Academy
Q - A BILL TO SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCE DISEASE RATES AMONG AMERICA S YOUTH BY PROVIDING AN INCENTIVE TO VACCINATE PUBLIC SCHOOL STUDENTS 1 BE IT ENACTED BY THE STUDENT CONGRESS HERE ASSEMBLED THAT: 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 SECTION 1. SECTION 4. The federal government shall offer a one-time 5 million dollar grant to any state that makes vaccination mandatory for minors. There shall be an exception made for any peoples unable to receive vaccines do to age or pre-existing medical conditions or age. Immunization by vaccines shall be defined as the diphtheria, pertussis, and tetanus vaccine (DTaP), the Polio vaccine, the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine (MMR), the haemophilus influenza type B (Hib) vaccine, the Hepatitis B (Hep b) vaccine, the varicella vaccine, the pneumococcal conjugate (PCV) vaccine, the flu vaccine, the tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis (DPT) vaccine, the Meningococcal (MCV4) vaccine, hepatitis A (hep A) vaccine, the rotavirus vaccine and the human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccine. A. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration s Center will oversee this bill for Biologics Evaluations and Research. B. All vaccines shall be made available at public school locations three months prior to the commencement of school, with make-up times available one-week prior to the first day of classes. C. The federal government shall cover all costs induced by the implementation of such a program. This bill will go into effect at the 2017 fiscal year. Introduced for Congressional Debate by Cary Academy
R - A Bill for Affordable Pharmaceuticals 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 SECTION 1. SECTION 4. Initiatives to address and reduce pharmaceutical prices will be established. Methods to reduce prices are as follow: A: A government task force to investigate the causes of drug price increases will be established. B: The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services will be granted bargaining powers for negotiation with pharmaceutical companies. C. Drug companies will be compelled to disclose amounts spent on the research and development of individual drugs. D. The Federal Drug Administration s current process for approving new market drugs will be reevaluated and streamlined. Governmental agencies overseeing this process: A. The Department of Health and Human Services will be responsible for creating and monitoring the drug price task force. B. The Federal Drug Administration will be responsible for enforcing transparency regulations (Section 2C) and conducting an evaluation of drug approval policies. This bill will take effect at the start of the 2017 fiscal year. Submitted by BASIS Flagstaff
S - A Bill to Establish a Carbon Tax 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 SECTION 1. A carbon tax will be phased in from $15 per ton the first year to $25 per ton the second year and increasing thereafter at 3.5% plus inflation, capped at a maximum of $80. The tax will be revenue neutral. This carbon tax will be focused solely on the consumption of fossil fuels. Sequestered CO2 will be exempted from this bill, and there will be a 30- year phase-in period for public transportation and farm diesel. The Environmental Protection Agency will oversee the implementation of this bill. 10 SECTION 4. This bill will take effect on January 1 st 2018. 11 Submitted by BASIS Flagstaff
T - Bill to Remove Columbus Day as a National Holiday BE IT ENACTED BY THE CONGRESS HERE ASSEMBLED THAT WHEREAS, Christopher Columbus promoted genocide of the native people; and WHEREAS, Columbus supervised the selling of Native American women into sexual slavery and forced natives to work in his gold mines until they died of exhaustion; and WHEREAS, Columbus' acts of cruelty were barbaric and uncivilized and undeserving of celebration; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, that the Congress here assembled make the following recommendation to remove Columbus Day as a National Holiday. Submitted by Cupertino High School, California
U - A bill to reduce military spending Section 1: The United States Federal Government reduce military spending by 50% to be able to further fund other beneficial programs. (Ex: healthcare and education) Section 2: Military spending is defined as the funds allocated to any military-related expenditures. Section 3: This will be overseen by the U.S Department of Defense. Section 4: This bill will gradually take effect at the start of the next fiscal year, and will be fully in effect by the fiscal year of 2020. Section 5: Submitted By Cupertino High School, CA
V - A Bill to Fund Nuclear Fusion Research 1 2 3 SECTION 1. A fund of $500 million will be established for private and public nuclear fusion research. 4 This money will come from the general discretionary fund. 5 6 The United States Department of Energy (DOE) will oversee this legislation. 7 8 9 10 11 12 SECTION 4. A. They will determine the length and amount of grants from this fund. B. They will establish a small committee to debate and decide which grants and proposals deserve funding. This fund will accept grant proposals starting January 1, 2016. The first money grants will be announced at the start of Fiscal Year 2017 (October 1, 2016). 13 Introduced for Congressional Debate by Sunnyslope
W - A Bill to Protect Voting Rights 1 2 3 4 SECTION 1. Any state who has 10 or more voting rights violations in the last 25 years must ask for preclearance from a federal court in order to establish new voting prerequisites. 5 6 Voting prerequisites include poll taxes, literary tests, and any other new requirement in order to vote. 7 The Department of Justice will enact this legislation. 8 SECTION 4. This legislation will be enacted upon passage. 9 Submitted for Congressional Debate by Sunnyslope
X - A Bill to Divert Funding for Bio Fuel to Development of Nuclear Energy SECTION 1. SECTION 4. The funding for biofuel should be diverted to development of nuclear energy. The US should cut off funding for creating biofuels and use that funding to build new nuclear reactor energy plants to provide more energy at lower energy costs. The NRC (Nuclear Regulatory Commission) and the Department of Energy would oversee the building of the new nuclear power plants. If this bill is passed, the implementation date would be immediately. Submitted by Sky View High School
Arizona State University Southwest Championship 2016 Congressional Debate Docket Semifinals and Finals The elimination round dockets will be posted later this week.