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.
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