It's Your Model Congress!

Thirty years ago, I attended my first Model Congress as a Vineland High School sophomore.  I hope I will attend them for another thirty years.  No matter what else I’ve done in my career, I have always made room for Model Congress, and a lot of the reason to do with that very first one.

 

The bill I sponsored didn’t make it to the floor of the Senate or the House.  But one of my classmates’ bills did.  We weren’t particularly close, but we lined up our entire class to help make sure the bill passed.  Everyone had a job to do, and we thought of everything. We left no detail to chance.  We even spaced ourselves throughout the auditorium to boost our chances of being recognized to raise points of inquiry or take the floor.  After all these years, I remember that the bill required drivers to be retested upon reaching 65.  And I still remember the great thrill that came from coming together to accomplish our common goal.  We were underclassmen going up against mostly seniors—very intimidating seniors who were great debaters trying to get their own bills passed.  We lined up people from other schools to help us, promising help in return, and forging new friendships along the way.

 

You could never learn these lessons from a textbook.  That’s what I adore about Model Congress.  Our Model Congress is not the only one around, but we have some very definite elements that make ours stand out:

 

1. We strongly believe that it is our job to organize the days for you, give you the most professional framework we can, and then turn over the keys.  This is a student-led Congress.  We’re here to help, but it’s your Congress.  You make it go.  You give it the qualities and characteristics it takes on.  Each one is different.  This year’s Congress will be exactly what you make of it.

2. We do not make use of adults or college students as chairs.  Every leader you see is a peer.  If there is a position you’d be interested in pursuing next year, let your teacher know, so you can plan to be at our pre-Congress Party Day and Leadership Day.  Again, every year’s class of chairs is going to be different, and that’s part of the strength of our program.

3. We believe that the presence of political parties in our simulation adds a dimension of clash, competitiveness, and ideology.  In fact, we’d welcome thoughts and ideas about building further institutions into our Congress—interest groups and/or mass media, for example.  We’d want to do it in an organized, non-chaotic way, but the widespread use of cell phones and easy availability of blogs or other web tools makes a lot possible.  The sky is the limit.

I guess this blog entry is more reflection than helpful hint, but here’s the point: there is plenty of excitement to be had at Model Congress; it’s up to you where to find it.  We have not told you to put your phones away because we know they can be powerful tools for on-the-spot research and other ways of making the best use of technology.  But that should never, ever be an excuse to sit on your phone rather than participate in debate.  You will only be selling yourself short.  You can either come away from Congress with an experience profound enough to have an impact for decades, or not.  It’s up to you.

Spending Hours in Committee and How to Make the Most of It

 

If I was facing the prospect of spending eight hours in committee over the course of two days next week, I’d surely want to make the most of it.  Yet too often, people who come to Model Congress don’t. 

 

Committee meetings are an indispensable part of the legislative process, and so they are also a central part of the Model Congress experience.  It would be far too chaotic (and there wouldn’t be nearly enough time) for the full body to review every bill.  At Model Congress alone, we have nearly 300 bills sponsored!  Committees help every legislative body in the world to organize conflict, and allow for expertise and specialization in policy areas.  They are an efficient screening process for the full body.

 

In next week’s committees, you are likely to see some lively moments—when party targeted bills are debated, for example—and some not-so-lively moments.  It’s up to you what to do with them. 

 

The only thing you may not do is roam.  Unless you are a party official, you are required to attend every meeting of the committee to which you are assigned.

 

I have a suggestion.  Spend some time between now and next week reviewing the 20-some bills that are on your committee’s agenda.  Familiarize yourself with their strengths and weaknesses.  Mark them up.  Do a bit of research of your own.  You don’t need to spend hours and hours on this task—a few minutes on each bill will definitely prepare you to ask smart questions, propose brilliant amendments, and speak forcefully in support and in opposition to them.

 

It can mean all the difference between being engaged or not.  Let’s face it—the last thing any of us want is for your committee chair to invite members to take the floor, and have not a single person raise a hand.  In fact, that’s the exact opposite of how I’d like to spend my time in committee.  It’s completely and entirely up to you.

Silent Inquiries Are an Effective Tool for Maintaining High Quality Debate

 

Keep Placards and Other Essential Documents with You at All Times for Full Engagement

 

 

When you report to your committee for the first time next Thursday, your committee chairs will hand you a folded “tent” placard with your name printed in a large font.  Hold onto this piece of paper throughout the entire Model Congress, as it can be a helpful way to be recognized on the floor of both your committee and the overall House or Senate sessions. 

 

As you can imagine, the prospect of 300 Senators and Representatives loudly calling out at the same time to raise points of inquiry or to ask for the floor would be unruly and disruptive.  It can be avoided by silently rising for these most common reasons—that is, by showing your placard.  We have advised all chairs to assume that someone with a raised placard would like to take the floor or ask a question, based on where we are in the course of the debate.

 

During these times, if you call out, it should only be to rise for reasons other than these. 

 

Silently raising your placard will also prove helpful when you vote, to avoid unnecessary chaos and excessive down time for counting and tallying. 

 

Your cooperation will help chairs maintain order, which is crucial to a high quality debate that everyone can follow and participate in.

 

A couple other related points to keep in mind: the two other pieces of paper you should have with you at all times during Model Congress are your name tag (which is required for access to the dining hall and helps us keep track of where everyone is assigned) and the program, which is a handy way to know the schedule and where we are meeting.

 

A final note: when your chairs do recognize you, we ask you both to avoid jargon and scripted notes that are inconsistent with our rules.  For just one example, it is not necessary to take bills off the table when they are moved onto the floor.

Legislative Index

A searchable Legislative Index is available here.  It shows all members assigned to each committee and all legislation assigned to each committee.

New Jersey Model Congress Manual

This year's Model Congress Manual is available here.  It contains all of the background material for the Congress, including our standing rules, forms, procedures and detailed descriptions of each step throughout the year.

Party Platforms

All three party platforms are available here.  They are the basis for each party's legislative targets.

House Bill Packet

All bills that have been assigned to the House are available here.  They are sorted into committees.  Each student should be familiar with the legislation assigned to his or her committee.