2013-14 congress legislation uil

8/14/2019 2013-14 Congress Legislation UIL

1/22

Student Congress Pilot2013-2014

District Legislation

The first 5 pieces of legislation for prelims and finals arelocked but the remainder of the docket may be reordered.

Congressional District competition pr limin ry roundlegislation may also be used at Invitational Congress

meets. The fin lround legislation may ONLY be used atqualifying district meets.


2/22

"

!"#$% '

+,-".%$

01,%"2"

'()#*

+,-".%$

Table of Contents

A Resolution to Eliminate Standardized Testing. page 3

A Bill Banning Alcohol Advertising on Television... page 4

A Resolution to Regulate Voting Machines.. page 5

A Resolution Concerning Pollution Credits.. page 6

A Bill Regarding Public Sector Unions.. page 7

A Resolution Regarding Increase in Teacher Salary page 8

A Resolution Regarding Humanitarian Aid to Africa.. page 9

A Bill to Reorganize and Improve Indian Reservation..... page 10

A Resolution to Adjust the Currency. page 11

A Resolution Concerning Statehood for the District of Columbia page 12

A Resolution to Reduce Military Funding. page 13

A Resolution Regarding Regulation on Non-Point Source Pollution....page 14

A Bill to Legalize Gambling.page 15

A Resolution to Convert the U.S. to Renewable Energy..page 16

A Bill to Require Free Air Time for Candidates....page 17

A Resolution to Restrict Public Surveillance Technology...page 18

A Bill Concerning Education Certification.....page 19

A Resolution to Ban Diplomatic Immunity....page 20

A Resolution Regarding American Financial Institutionspage 21

A Bill to Ban Congressional Insider Trading..........page 22


3/22

3

A RESOLUTION

TO ELIMINATE STANDARDIZED TESTING

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

WHEREAS:

WHEREAS:

WHEREAS:

WHEREAS:

WHEREAS:

WHEREAS:

WHEREAS:

BE IT THEREFORE

Texas is currently basing education systems on the standardized testing; and

The removal of standardized tests would eliminate the need of educational

focus on standardized testing material allowing teachers to focus on other

school curriculum; and

The No Child Left Behind Act was created because of standardized testing

which hinders teaching by causing teachers to stop class when students are

distracting the class; and

Standardized testing does NOT show individual intellect; and

School funding is based on the results of standardized tests meaning some

schools do not receive sufficient funding; and

Standardized tests have no role in decisions as to whether a student advances

to a university or college level education; and

The No Child Left Behind Act has not brought any improvement in public

education; and

RESOLVED BY THIS UIL CONGRESS HERE ASSEMBLED the

standardized testing should be eliminated.

F-1


4/22

4

A BILL

BANNING ALCOHOL ADVERTISING ON TELEVISION

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

SECTION 1:

SECTION 2:

SECTION 3:

SECTION 4:

SECTION 5:

BE IT ENACTED BY THIS UIL CONGRESS HERE ASSEMBLED THAT:

No alcohol advertisements will be allowed on for-profit or non-commercial

television and radio stations.

Advertisements will be defined as the paid sponsorship slots available during all

for profit or non-commercial television and radiobroadcasting time slots.

This ban will become effective January 1, 2015.

Enforcement will be through the Federal Communications Commission.

Any and all existing state or federal laws conflicting with this legislation will be

considered null and void.

F-2


5/22

5

A RESOLUTION

TO REGULATE VOTING MACHINES

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

WHEREAS:

WHEREAS:

WHEREAS:

WHEREAS:

WHEREAS:

BE IT THEREFORE

After the hanging chad debacle in the 2000 presidential election, many state

have moved to touch screen voting machines, and;

It is estimated that 10% of touch screen machines fail in each election, and it

impossible to know when they fail because there is no paper trail to back it up

and;

Frozen machines, inaccurate vote tallies, flipped votes, and machines that

begin to count backwards are examples of problems encountered with touch

screen voting machines, and;

Election workers are not well trained in the technology and are overly

dependent on vendors who have a vested interest in saying there is no problem

with the machine and are not well regulated, and;

In a close election, no paper trail would make vote recounts impossible.

RESOLVED BY THIS UIL CONGRESS HERE ASSEMBLEDthat votin

machines in the State of Texas should be required to back up all election

results with a paper trail or use optical scan technology.

F-3


6/22

6

A RESOLUTION

CONCERNING POLLUTION CREDITS

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

WHEREAS:

WHEREAS:

WHEREAS:

WHEREAS:

WHEREAS:

WHEREAS:

WHEREAS:

BE IT THEREFORE

Pollutants can injure health, harm the environment and cause property damag

and;

The current criteria pollutants are Carbon Monoxide, Lead, Nitrogen Dioxide

Ozone, Particulate matter, and Sulfur Dioxide, and;

The world adds more than 6 billion tons of carbon dioxide, a pollutant, to the

air each year, and;

Pollution credits have been posed as an international way to deal with world

pollution issues, and;

Countries are currently permitted to sell their credits to other member

countries, in essence creating a market, and;

Countries do not pay for their allotted credits, so there is no funding to actuall

clean up the pollution, and;

If the planet is to be sustained, we must end this allowed pollution of our

atmosphere.

RESOLVED BY THIS UIL CONGRESS HERE ASSEMBLEDthat the

United States abide by the regulations regarding pollution credits as set in the

Kyoto Protocols without signing the Kyoto Treaty.

F-4


7/22

7

A BILL

REGARDING PUBLIC SECTOR UNIONS

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

SECTION 1:

SECTION 2:

SECTION 3:

SECTION 4:

SECTION 5:

SECTION 6:

SECTION 7:

SECTION 8:


Unions, in order to promote organization and collective bargaining, shall be

allowed in all public sectors of the United States, its territories or possessions once

more than fifty percent of the employees by secret ballot indicate the desire for a

public sector union and if there are twenty or more employees of that public entity.

Political entities and political sub-units (hereafter called management) shall be

prohibited from any restrain to the creation of said union.

Exclusive bargaining representative for a unit of employees will be limited to one.

Employees and management must negotiate in full faith.

The Union and management shall promote the commonly accepted practices and

procedures of collective bargaining in all respects.

Enforcement of this legislation shall be by newly created National Labor Relations

Board within the Department of Justice, which shall be granted such power as is

necessary to write and enforce regulations pursuant to this legislation.

Violations of this law will incur a maximum penalty of $5000 per incident per

day. Repeated occurrences of the same violation may result in incarceration of not

less than one year, nor more than five, for each offense.

This law shall be in full force and effect as of August 1, 2014.

F-5


8/22

8

A RESOLUTION

REGARDING INCREASE IN TEACHER SALARY

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

WHEREAS:

WHEREAS:

WHEREAS:

WHEREAS:

BE IT THEREFORE

Teachers prepare the future leaders of America, and public schools in Texas

continue to suffer a severe shortage of qualified teachers willing to teach unde

current pay, benefits, and working conditions, and;

The American Federation of Teachers reports that average teacher pay lags

$10,000 to $15,000 behind average pay for jobs requiring comparable skills

and knowledge in the private sector, and;

Roughly 20% of Texas teachers have been assigned to teach in fields for

which they lack appropriate subject-matter training, according to the State

Board for Educator Certification, and;

Half of all new Texas teachers leave within the first five years of employment

often leaving for jobs that pay significantly better.

RESOLVED BY THIS UIL CONGRESS HERE ASSEMBLEDthat a tax

increase be imposed in Texas to provide a 30% increase in teachers salaries

and provide teachers with benefits to better the schools and our education

system.

F-6


9/22

9

A RESOLUTION

REGARDING HUMANITARIAN AID TO AFRICA

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

WHEREAS:

WHEREAS:

WHEREAS:

WHEREAS:

WHEREAS:

BE IT THEREFORE

The percentage of Africans in poverty has been increasing for the past 20

years; and

The aid currently being given is being taken by corrupt politicians and causin

the economy to spiral downward even further; and

This is preventing many African countries from improving their economies;

and

There are many resources in high demand in Africa that are unable to be

mined because of the lack of technology to extract these resources; and

The improvement of humanitarian aid may lead to the improvement of

relations with many African countries; now

RESOLVED BY THIS UIL CONGRESS HERE ASSEMBLEDthat all

military aid given to Africa be converted into humanitarian aid.

F-7


10/22

10

A BILL

TO REORGANIZE AND IMPROVE INDIAN RESERVATIONS

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

SECTION 1:

SECTION 2:

SECTION 3:

SECTION 4:

SECTION 5:

SECTION 6:


Communal land held by Indian tribes as reservations will be allowed the

opportunity to be converted into private property for possession by residents.

Any communal land converted to private property will still be legally part of the

reservation in that it is subject to the laws of the tribal government; the tribal

government may also prohibit or cancel specific sales of the private property

formerly owned communally.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs will oversee and provide permits for the

aforementioned conversions, as well as oversee the following allotments.

The BIA will have its budget improved as provided by paragraph two of this

section. This additional funding will be allotted to police security, education, tax

incentives for companies to move near reservations, and costs associated with

overseeing any conversion to private property.

Funding for this bill will come from a 2 billion dollar cut to the military budget, a

500 million dollar cut to foreign aid to Israel, and a 30% duty on any alcohol or

tobacco related products imported by private or communal entities on reservations.

This law will take effect during the second fiscal year after passage.

All laws in conflict with this legislation are hereby declared null and void.

F-8


11/22

11

A RESOLUTION

TO ADJUST THE CURRENCY

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

WHEREAS:

WHEREAS:

WHEREAS:

WHEREAS:

WHEREAS:

BE IT THEREFORE

BE IT FURTHER

The penny is the most regularly discarded subdivision of United States currency,

and;

The penny is more of a nuisance than a help, and;

The penny would not be necessary if there were no "oddities in prices, and;

The penny could easily be removed from circulation in a quick period of time, and;

The standardization of prices can be easily changed to eliminate prices not in multipl

of 5s.


penny be eliminated from the United States Currency system.

RESOLVEDthat sales prices of all material goods and services within the United

States be made into multiples of 5, for pricing ease.

F-9


12/22

12

A RESOLUTION

CONCERNING STATEHOOD FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

WHEREAS:

WHEREAS:

WHEREAS:

BE IT THEREFORE

People of the District of Columbia have no voting representation in the United

States Congress, and;

The people of the District are taxed in the same manner as those that have full

representation and voting privileges in the Congress, and;

It is time for the people of the United States to extend equal representation to

all of its citizens.


District of Columbia should be granted full statehood and its citizens all of th

rights and privileges that it entails.

F-10


13/22

13

A RESOLUTION

TO REDUCE MILITARY FUNDING IN THE UNITED STATES

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

WHEREAS:

WHEREAS:

WHEREAS:

WHEREAS:

BE IT THEREFORE

The United States military is receiving an exorbitant amount of funding; and

Of the worlds total military expenditure, the United States makes up almost

half; and

Funding is being cut from other essential United States programs such as

education and allocated to the U.S. Armed Forces; and

The funding of the U.S. military has increased each year; now,

RESOLVED BY THIS UIL CONGRESS HERE ASSEMBLED that the

federal government reduce the amount of funding it gives to the U.S. Armed

Forces annually.

P-1


14/22

14

A RESOLUTION

TO INCREASE THE AMOUNT OF REGULATION ON NON-POINT SOURCE

POLLUTION

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

WHEREAS:

WHEREAS:

WHEREAS:

WHEREAS:

BE IT THEREFORE

Nonpoint source pollution (NPS) is currently the nations largest water quality

problem; and

40% of Americas rivers and 46% of Americas lakes are polluted for fishing

swimming or aquatic life; and

NPS is often overlooked due to the fact that it comes from many different

sources including litter, pet waste, garden chemicals and oil; and

NPS will cause the inevitable loss of clean water and extinction of marine

species; now

RESOLVED BY THIS UIL CONGRESS HERE ASSEMBLED to increas

the amount of regulation placed on manufactures of products known to

contribute to NPS to increase the quality of water and preserve species and

habitats.

P-2


15/22

15

A BILL

TO LEGALIZE GAMBLING

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

SECTION 1:

SECTION 2:

SECTION 3:

SECTION 4:

SECTION 5:


Certain cities within each state will be declared gambling hubs where gambling

is federally legal.

Gambling hubs will refer to particular cities designated by the federal government

to permit legalized gambling within city limits.

The National Indian Gaming Commission in collaboration with state legislators

will designate specific cities to allow gambling along with plans of taxation.

Implementation will be delegated to these agencies by December 31, 2014.

Designation of cities and establishment will be executed by December 31, 2015.


P-3


16/22

16

A RESOLUTION

TO CONVERT THE US TO RENEWABLE ENERGY

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

WHEREAS:

WHEREAS:

WHEREAS:

WHEREAS:

WHEREAS:

WHEREAS:

WHEREAS:

BE IT THEREFORE

The United States is currently dependent on non-renewable sources of energy

such as petroleum, coal, and natural gas; and

These resources dwindle every day; and

It would only take solar panels covering 10% of the total area of Nevada to

power the entire United States; and

Solar powered water heaters can eliminate 50% of a small familys natural ga

usage; and

North and South Dakota are estimated to have enough harvestable wind to

power the entire world, if properly exploited; and

Technology is well on its way to meeting our energy needs; and

Proper government backing is all that stands between the United States total

energy independence; now,

RESOLVED BY THIS UIL CONGRESS HERE ASSEMBLED that the

United States begin to transfer to renewable energy in lieu of non-renewable

energy sources.

P-4


17/22

17

A BILL

TO REQUIRE BROADCASTERS TO PROVIDE FREE AIR TIME FOR ALL

CANDIDATES FOR FEDERAL OFFICE

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

SECTION 1:

SECTION 2:

SECTION 3:

SECTION 4:

SECTION 5:


In exchange for obtaining a valuable license to operate a broadcast station using

the public airwaves, each radio and television licensee is required by the Federal

Communications Commission (FCC) to provide a reasonable amount of free

airtime for political advertising for all legally qualified candidates for federal

elective office. Such free airtime must be made available during a stations entire

normal broadcast schedule, including television prime time and radio drive time.

The term broadcast station includes all AM radio, FM radio and TV stations

licensed as commercial by the FCC, i.e. radio and TV stations that generally

support themselves through the sale of advertising. The term federal elective

office includes President of the United States, United States Senator and United

States Representative.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the federal agency directed by

Congress to regulate broadcasting, shall implement this legislation and monitor

compliance. The Enforcement Bureau of the FCC shall determine the punishment

for violators of this law.

This legislation shall take effect on January 1, 2015.

All laws or portions of laws conflicting with the provisions of this legislation shall

be declared null and void.

P-5


18/22

18

A RESOLUTION

TO RESTRICT PUBLIC SURVEILLANCE TECHNOLOGY

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

WHEREAS:

WHEREAS:

WHEREAS:

WHEREAS:

BE IT THEREFORE

Public surveillance is an inescapable aspect of everyday life with cameras

hanging from the sides of buildings, on traffic lights, at ATM machines, in

homes, stores, and parking lots, and;

The constitutionality of public surveillance has often been questioned under

the Fourth Amendment because it can be used to track people, and;

The probability of public surveillance abuse becomes more likely as

advancements in technology are made, and;

The annual funding that goes into public surveillance does not prove effective

because crimes rates have not been significantly lowered due to public

surveillance technology.


federal government significantly reduce funding for public surveillance and

limit the use of public surveillance.

P-6


19/22

19

A BILL

CONCERNING EDUCATION CERTIFICATION

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

SECTION 1:

SECTION 2:

SECTION 3:

SECTION 4:

SECTION 5:


The Department of Education will develop federal certification examinations for

K-12 teachers in the United States.

Beginning July 1, 2015, all states will use the federal certification examinations,

and cease using state versions of certification examinations.

Funding for research and development of the examinations will be provided

through the Department of Education annual budget.

States will continue to fund the examination training and process as is currently

the case in each state.

Failure to comply with this legislation will result in the withholding of Federal

education funds.

P-7


20/22

20

A RESOULUTION

TO BAN DIPLOMATIC IMMUNITY IN THE UNITED STATES

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

WHEREAS:

WHEREAS:

WHEREAS:

WHEREAS:

WHEREAS:

WHEREAS:

BE IT THEREFORE

There are several cases of protected diplomats who have violated the laws of

host country, and;

Protected diplomats have received immunity for acts of espionage, smuggling

murder, rape, and child custody violations, and;

A host country is limited in the type and degree of punishment it can dispense

against a protected diplomat, and;

A host countrys usual limitation of punishment is to declare the diplomat

persona non grataand to order the diplomat remove him/herself for the host

nation, and;

The diplomats country is often negligent at administering punishment once

the diplomat returns to his/her native country, and;

Lenient consequences toward diplomats who break the law can compromise

the national security of the United States.

RESOLVED BY THIS UIL CONGRESS HERE ASSEMBLEDthat

diplomatic immunity will not be recognized by the United States.

P-8


21/22

21

A RESOLUTION

REGARDING AMERICAN FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

WHEREAS:

WHEREAS:

WHEREAS:

BE IT THEREFORE

The European debt crisis has significantly and negatively impacted the

markets and the economy of the United States of America; and

Said instability in Americas economy has caused lingering, crushing

unemployment, which is a clear and present danger to the security of the

nation; and

The relationship between Americas and European financial institutions is a

root cause of this instability; now,

RESOLVED BY THIS UIL CONGRESS HERE ASSEMBLEDthat all

United States financial institutions should be prohibited from holding more

than five percent foreign debt as part of the institutions portfolio.

P-9


22/22

A BILL

TO BAN CONGRESSIONAL INSIDER TRADING

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

SECTION 1:

SECTION 2:

SECTION 3:

SECTION 4:

SECTION 5:

SECTION 6:


Any member of Congress found to be participating in insider trading will be

prosecuted the same as all other American citizens.

Insider trading will be defined as the illegal buying and selling of securities by

persons acting on privileged information, as constituted by the Securities

Exchange Act of 1934.

Failure to comply with this bill will result in the withholding of congressional

salaries of guilty parties.

This bill shall take effect January 1, 2014.

The Justice Department shall be responsible for enforcing the provisions of this

bill.


P-10

2013-14 congress legislation uil

Documents