A Resolution to Urge Further Action Stem Cell Research in the United States 1.WHEREAS, Stem cell research is currently under-funded in the United States and is not 2. seen as a priority; and 3.WHEREAS, The low funding is contributing to the United States' decreasing rank in 4. technological and scientific advancement, and the field of medical 5. Research; and 6. WHEREAS, The use of stem cell research can lead to a better understanding of genetic 7. and molecular processes, which could lead to new medical treatment 8. and further our understanding of how diseases arise; now therefore be it 9. RESOLVED, by this congress that: additional government funding for stem cell research 10. would be beneficial to the current health of our citizens and for the health 11. of our posterity. Introduced by Henry Clay High School
A Resolution to Eliminate the Gay Blood Ban 1. WHEREAS: Homosexual men should have the right to donate blood to blood banks with the same amount of freedom as heterosexual men; and 2. WHEREAS: homosexual men are prohibited from donating blood unless they are sexually abstinent for a year; and 3. WHEREAS: This regulation discriminates against homosexual men. 4. WHEREAS: Current medical breakthroughs have allowed for faster HIV testing; 5. Therefore be it 6. RESOLVED, by this congress that: the gay blood ban should be eliminated. 7. Introduced by Henry Clay High School
A Bill to Eliminate Mandatory Minimum Sentences for Nonviolent Drug Crimes BE IT ENACTED BY THE STUDENT CONGRESS HERE ASSEMBLED THAT: SECTION 1. Mandatory minimum prison sentences for nonviolent low level drug offense will be eliminated. SECTION 2. Low level drug offenses will be defined as any offense that does not involve sophisticated criminal activity. This includes unlawful import, export, manufacture, or distribution of, or possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance. SECTION 3. This legislation will be enforced by the Department of Justice. A. Each state s compliance with this law will be checked biannually B. Any and all states found to be not in compliance in this law will be given a six month warning period to remedy the situation. C. After the warning period, if the state fails to comply, it will face a 25% reduction in federal funding until full compliance is reached. SECTION 4. This law will go into effect six months after passage. SECTION 5. All laws in conflict with this legislation are hereby declared null and void. Introduced by Henry Clay High School
A Bill to Ban Television Advertising for Prescription Drugs BE IT ENACTED BY THIS CONGRESS THAT: 1. SECTION 1. All television advertisements for prescription drugs will be banned from 2. airing on all national television channels. 3. SECTION 2. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration defines a drug as a substance 4. intended for use in the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment, or 5. prevention of disease. They define prescription drugs as prescribed by a 6. doctor, bought at a pharmacy, prescribed for and intended to be used by 7. one person, and regulated by the FDA through the New Drug Application 8. (NDA) process. 9. SECTION 3. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration will oversee the implementation 10. of this bill. 11. SECTION 4. This bill will take effect on June 7, 2017. 12. SECTION 5. All other laws that are in conflict with this new policy shall hereby be 13. declared null and void. Introduced by Henry Clay High School
A Resolution to Invest in Geothermal Energy 1. BE IT ENACTED BY THE CONGRESS HERE ASSEMBLED THAT: 2. SECTION 1. The United States government shall invest in geothermal 3. energy through supporting private energy companies. 4. $5,000,000,000 will be invested over a period of ten 5. years with $500,000,000 being invested every year. 6. SECTION 2. Private energy companies shall be defined as any 7. company that devotes at least 60% of their investments 8. and/or capital towards geothermal energy production. 9. SECTION 3. The U.S. Department of Energy shall oversee the 10. Implementation of this legislation. 11. A. The House Ways and Means Committee shall be 12. given the task to allocate funding to the private 13. energy companies. 14. SECTION 4. This legislation will take effect January 1, 2018. 15. SECTION 5. All laws in conflict with this legislation are hereby 16. declared null and void. Respectfully Submitted, Hazard High School
A RESOLUTION ON SOLAR ROADWAYS 1. WHEREAS, Continual issues with global climate change has prompted 2. research and inventions into alternative energy; and 3. WHEREAS Many alternatives have been widely rejected for reasons 4. like higher cost comparisons, effectiveness efficiency, etc; and 5. WHEREAS Solar roadways is a business that has successfully created solar 6. panels that can be placed and become sidewalks, parking lots and 7. actual roads; and 8. WHEREAS These plates can provide renewable energy to be used in homes 9. and businesses; and 10. WHEREAS The Federal government funded Phase I of the project and a 11. portion of Phase II, now, therefore, be it 12. RESOLVED By the Congress here assembled that the Federal government 13. shall fully fund the rest of the Solar Roadways project. Respectively Submitted Hazard High School
A RESOLUTION TO BAN PLASTIC BAGS 1. WHEREAS, The United States EPA reported that between 500 billion and a 2. trillion plastic bags are consumed worldwide each year; and 3. WHEREAS, Millions of these bags end up in litter outside of landfills, 4. including in the ocean. The plastic poisons the water and soil, 5. and the bags kill wildlife; and 6. WHEREAS, Governments spend billions cleaning up littered plastic bags. 7. California alone estimates that the cost to their state is 8. $75 million a year to remove plastic bags as litter each year; and 9. WHEREAS Almost all of the bags that don t become litter end up in 10. landfills; and 11. WHEREAS Many countries (both developed and undeveloped) have 12. already banned the use of plastic bags; and 13. WHEREAS Plastic bags are very valuable on the recycling market, but 14. very few people use recycling programs available at many 15. retail stores, and fewer than 20% of bags are recycled; and 16. WHEREAS America s largest residential recycler (Waste Management) 17. does not process of sell plastic bags, and the millions of bags 18. delivered to their processing centers end up in landfills; and 19. WHEREAS Plastic bags are made with a variety of harmful chemicals, 20. including lead; and 21. WHEREAS Humans have survived thousands of years without plastic 22. bags. There are alternatives; now, therefore, be it 23. RESOLVED That the Congress here assembled ban plastic bags used by 24. retail stores for consumer convenience. Respectively Submitted Hazard High School
A Resolution to Improve the Electoral College 1. WHEREAS, The current winner take all system used by 48 states 2. unfairly disenfranchises millions of voters each year; and 3. WHEREAS, The congressional district method currently utilized by Maine 4. and Nebraska would benefit the voters of the United States if 5. it were implemented on a national level; now, therefore, be it 6. RESOLVED, The United States Congress work toward implementing the 7. congressional district method of electoral voting in every 8. state. Respectfully Submitted, Hazard High School
A Bill to Mandate the Release of Footage in Police-Involved Shootings BE IT ENACTED BY THE CONGRESS HERE ASSEMBLED THAT: SECTION 1. In all cases where a police officer is involved in an incident involving shooting resulting in injury or death, all unedited video footage of the incident must be turned over to the Department of Justice within 24 hours. The Department of Justice must give any interested media companies the footage within 5 days. SECTION 2. The video footage is any footage law enforcement is in possession of. SECTION 3. The Department of Justice will enact and enforce this legislation. SECTION 4. This legislation will go into effect immediately after passage. SECTION 5. All other laws and/or passages of Congress that conflict with this bill will be considered null and void. Introduced for Congressional Debate by Paul Laurence Dunbar High School.
A Bill to Make Charter Schools more Transparent BE IT ENACTED BY THE CONGRESS HERE ASSEMBLED THAT: SECTION 1. The United States make charter schools more transparent by making them subject to the Freedom of Information Act. SECTION 2. Current Charter School s funding is not accounted for and not controlled and this bill aims to address that issue. SECTION 3. The US Department of Education will enact and enforce this. SECTION 4. There are no costs involved with this bill other than the costs involved with this act. SECTION 5. This legislation will go into effect on January 1st, 2018. SECTION 6. All other laws and/or passages of Congress that conflict with this bill will be considered null and void. Introduced for Congressional Debate by Paul Laurence Dunbar High School.
A Resolution to Ban Lobbying in Congress BE IT ENACTED BY THE CONGRESS HERE ASSEMBLED THAT: Section 1. All lobbying by profit-making entities in Congress is to be made illegal Section 2. The profit-making entities that will be banned include businesses and corporations that only seek monetary gain with policies. Non-profits, which includes charities and voluntary organizations, will still be allowed to lobby in Congress. Section 3. Lobbying by profit-making entities typically hinders the progress that Congress makes. Section 4. The Congress here assembled will begin to consider banning All lobbying by profitmaking entities. Introduced for Congressional Debate by Paul Laurence Dunbar High School.
A Bill to Increase Wildfire Prevention in Fire-Prone States BE IT ENACTED BY THE CONGRESS HERE ASSEMBLED THAT: Section 1: The United States hereby will establish special wildfire prevention forces in fireprone states. Section 2: This group will exist in states classified by the EPA as fire-prone and have a high risk of wildfire. The group will consist of wildfire care professionals as well as animal care professionals. Section 3: Their sole purpose will be to protect landscapes and influence conditions in fire-prone states so more fires do not occur. Section 4: Training for the professionals will be regulated by the EPA and U.S. Forest Service. Section 5: This will be enacted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Forest Service. Section 7: The U.S. EPA will fund all costs related to this bill. Section 8: This legislation will go into effect 2 years after passage. Section 9: All other law and/or passages of Congress that conflict with this will be considered null and void. Introduced for Congressional Debate by Paul Laurence Dunbar High School.
A Bill to Legalize Physician Assisted Suicide in State Hospital 1 BE IT ENACTED BY THE CONGRESS HERE ASSEMBLED THAT: 2 SECTION 1. The U.S. hereby legalizes assisted suicide by licensed physicians in state 3 hospitals for patients who have been diagnosed as terminally ill. Physicians must be 4 approved by a governing state medical board and be employed in a state hospital. 5 The prescription medication to be used includes 9g of secobarbital or 10g of pentobarbital, 6 mimicking states with pre-existing techniques like Oregon, Vermont, and Washington. 7 SECTION 2. Physician assisted suicide is the practice of providing a competent patient 8 with a prescription medication for the patient to use with the intention of ending his or her own life. 9 A competent patient is one who can make their own choices and has met certain minimum 10 requirements of age, soundness of mind, or the like. 11 Terminally ill patients are those who have been diagnosed with a disease that will take their life. 12. State hospital is supported in part by taxpayers and administered by state government officials. 14 SECTION 3. This bill will be enforced by The Department of Health and Human 15 Services (HHS). 16 SECTION 4. This bill will go into effect on January 1, 2018. 17 SECTION 5. All laws in conflict with this legislation are hereby declared null and void. Submitted by Ryle High School
A Bill to Invest in Cyber security 1. BE IT ENACTED BY THE CONGRESS HERE ASSEMBLED THAT: 2. Section 1. The annual budget of the United States Cyber Command 3. (USCYBERCOM) shall be increased by $500,000,000. 4. A.15% of the additional funding allotted in Section 1 must be used by 5. USCYBERCOM to work with private enterprises in an effort to improve the 6. cybersecurity of the United States. 7. Section 2. The United States Cyber Command shall be responsible for the 8. selection of the private enterprises with whom it chooses to work. 9. Section 3. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the United States 10. Cyber Command shall be responsible for the implementation of funding. 11. A. The U.S. Government Accountability Office shall perform annual 12. assessments in order to ensure that all funding from this legislation is being used 13. efficiently 14. SECTION 4. The provisions of this law shall take effect six months after its 15. passage. 16. Section 5. All laws in conflict with this legislation are hereby declared null and 17. void Submitted by Ryle High School
A BILL TO PROHIBIT THE USE OF HAZARDOUS CHEMICALS IN THE TREATMENT OF OIL SPILLS. 1 BE IT ENACTED BY THE CONGRESS HERE ASSEMBLED THAT: 2 Section 1 The use of Corexit and related emulsifying chemicals shall be outlawed in the 3 treatment of oil spills. 4 Section 2 An environmental impact study will be conducted to measure the hazards 5 posed by these chemicals. 6 Section 3 The Food and Drug administration and the Department of Health and Safety 7 will conduct the tests to determine the impact of the chemicals on citizens exposed to 8 these chemicals. 9 Section 4 The Environmental Protection Agency will oversee this bill. 10 Section 5 This legislation will be enacted immediately upon passage. 11 Section 6 All laws in conflict with this legislation are hereby declared null and void. Submitted by Ryle High School
A RESOLUTION TO DECREASE TIES WITH SAUDI ARABIA TO INCENTIVIZE DEMOCRATIC CHANGE 1 WHEREAS, Saudi Arabia is a known oppressor of freedom of speech, freedom of 2 religion, freedom from torture, and other human rights; and 3 WHEREAS, The United States has pursued a close diplomatic, economic, and military 4 relationship with Saudi Arabia regardless of their inhumane actions; and 5 WHEREAS, Our close ties have increased Saudi hegemony and their ability to 6 perpetuate anti- American ideals; now, therefore, be it 7 RESOLVED, That the Congress here assembled remove Saudi Arabia from the list of 8 International Military Education and Training assistance funding and cease American 9 arms sales entirely; and 10 FURTHER RESOLVED, That US-Saudi diplomatic relations will be suspended until the 11 Saudi government increases transparency and demonstrates significant efforts to 12 preserve human rights. Submitted by Ryle High School