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Congress Docket & Legislation

TRUMAN – INDEPENDENCE WINTER CLASSIC

2017 DOCKET

GREATER KANSAS CITY SUBURBAN CONFERENCE

STUDENT CONGRESS LEGISLATION

FALL 2017

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PRELIM SESSION 1 & 2 (session 2 will pick up where session 1 ended)

1. Welfare Program Funding

2. Income Tax on Minors

3. Turkey and NATO

4. Cosmetics Testing on Animals

5. Dreamers Status

6. Mandatory Minimums in Prison Sentencing

SUPER SESSION 1 & 2 (session 2 will pick up where session 1 ended)

7. LGBTQ Adoption

8. Pharmaceutical Drug Advertising

9. Early Presidential Campaigning

10. Death Penalty

11. Greenhouse Gas Initiative

12. Foreign Language Assistance Program

If either prelim or super session completes all legislation listed, they may move to open new legislation from the other half of the legislation.

If you do not have the Fall Legislation Packet from the KC Suburban Conference, items are below.

 

A Bill to Defund Specific Federal Welfare Programs

1. BE IT ENACTED BY THE CONGRESS HERE ASSEMBLED THAT:

2. SECTION 1: In efforts to lower federal costs, public assistance programs that are not vital to

3. the lives of American citizens will be cut from the Federal Budget.


4. SECTION 2: The following program will be affected:  Job Corps, Federal Work Study, Pell

5. Grants, Child Care and Development Fund, HOPWA, Weatherization Assistance

6. Program, Rural Rental Assistance Program, Academic Competitiveness and

7. Smart Grant Program.

8. SECTION 3: Upon passage of this bill, the Congressional Budget Office will evaluate the cost-

9. effectiveness of this bill.

10. SECTION 4: This bill will take effect at the beginning of the next fiscal year.


11. SECTION 5: All laws in conflict with this legislation are hereby declared null and void.

https://www.budget.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/CRS%20Report%20-%20Welfare%20Spending%20The%20Largest%20Item%20In%20The%20Federal%20Budget.pdf

A Resolution to Abolish Income Tax on Minors

1. WHEREAS, People in the United States under the age of 18 have many restrictions placed on

2. them toward obtaining well-paying jobs; and


3. WHEREAS, An ever-increasing percentage of people under the age of 18 are compelled to

4. work in order to support themselves and their families; and

5. WHEREAS, Some minors are paid “under the table,” or “off the books,” and are not taxed,

6. making it unfair for those still carrying the taxation burden; and

7. WHEREAS, People under the age of 18 are required to pay income and payroll taxes without

8. the right to vote on such taxes or for those individuals who impose such taxes

9. upon them; now, therefore, be it

10. RESOLVED, That no worker in the United States should be required to pay federal, state, or

11. local income or payroll taxes on income earned before reaching 18 years of age.

A Resolution to Encourage Turkey’s Removal from NATO

1. WHEREAS, President Erdogan has become increasingly authoritarian and has begun to

2. overstep civil rights within Turkey; and

3. WHEREAS, Erdogan’s actions have been brought into question both within Turkey and abroad

4. as he continues to arrest dissidents and those in the opposition; and

5. WHEREAS, Erdogan has used the failure of the recent coup in Turkey to replace and arrest

6. hundreds of Turkey officials; and

7. WHEREAS, Erdogan’s foreign policy has become increasingly unaligned and even detrimental

8. to that of the United States; and

9. WHEREAS, The United States cannot support nor align itself with a country that is

10. undemocratic and uncooperative toward the fight against terrorist threats

11. concerning the United States; now, therefore be it

12. RESOLVED, That the Congress here assembled heavily encourage and actively pursue

13. Turkey’s removal from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/stanley-weiss/its-time-to-kick-erdogans_b_9300670.html

https://sofrep.com/70531/turkey-kicked-nato/

http://carnegieendowment.org/files/Aybet_Brief.pdf

https://www.dailysabah.com/eu-affairs/2017/04/19/turkey-should-remain-in-nato-german-minister-von-der-leyen-says

http://www.dw.com/en/nato-and-turkey-allies-not-friends/a-19444991

A Bill to Ban Cosmetics Testing on All Animals to Enforce Animal Rights

1. BE IT ENACTED BY THE CONGRESS HERE ASSEMBLED THAT:

2. SECTION 1. Cosmetics testing shall be strictly prohibited on all non-human animals within

3. the United States.

4. SECTION 2. A. Cosmetics testing on animals is defined as applying cosmetic products to

5. animals in order to test the safety and hypoallergenic properties of said products

6. for use by humans.

7. B. Cosmetics are defined as any product applied to the body, especially the face,

8. to improve its appearance. This includes make-up, lotion, hair products, skin care

9. products, and other related goods.

10. SECTION 3. The US Department of Agriculture will ensure that this bill is enforced. Inspectors

11. will check cosmetic brands once a year to ensure the companies are complying

12. with the rules. All cosmetic testing on animals will be considered a Class B

13. misdemeanor and result in a fine of $1,000.

14. SECTION 4. This shall take effect sixty days after passage.

15. SECTION 5. All laws in conflict with this legislation are hereby declared null and void.

A Resolution to Protect Dreamers

1. WHEREAS,   President Trump’s Executive action on September 5th, 2017, could end the

2. Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program in six months; and

3. WHEREAS,   DACA recipients were illegally brought to the United States as children, through

4. no fault of their own; and

5. WHEREAS,   This would effectively make 800,000 immigrants vulnerable for deportation; and

6. WHEREAS,   These “dreamers” have lived as Americans with legal work permits and income

7. income tax payments; and

8. WHEREAS, It is morally repugnant to repeal five years of amnesty from those that have

9. contributed to this nation, often knowing no other country than the United States

10. and speaking no other language than English; now, therefore, be it

11. RESOLVED, That the Congress here assembled should provide a specific length of time of

12. amnesty for all “dreamers;” and, be it

13. FURTHER RESOLVED, That this amnesty should include vetting to fast-track citizenship for

14. those that wish to become citizens and deportation measures for those deamed to

15. be unsafe after background checks.

A Resolution to Eliminate Drug-Related Mandatory Minimums in Prison Sentencing

1. WHEREAS, Mandatory minimum laws are defined as: minimum sentences for certain crimes,

2. particularly drug abuse, that judges cannot lower; and

3. WHEREAS, Mandatory minimum laws take away a judge’s discretionary power and lead to

4. less flexibility in courts, preventing judges from taking into consideration

5. extenuating circumstances in individual cases; and

6. WHEREAS, Since the laws were implemented in the late 1980s, the number of American

7. prisoners has increased 700%; and

8. WHEREAS, These laws inflate the rising prison costs by increasing the number of prisoners;

9. and

10. WHEREAS, The Federal Prison System costs American taxpayers over $39 billion per year

11. and continually runs over budget; and

12. WHEREAS, The Pennsylvania State Supreme Court already struck down most mandatory

13. minimum sentences as unconstitutional in 2015; now, therefore, be it

14. RESOLVED, By the Congress here assembled that the Federal government should repeal all

15. state and federal drug-related mandatory minimum sentencing laws.

http://sentencingproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/Trends-in-US-Corrections.pdf

http://www.phillytrib.com/commentary/don-t-restore-mandatory-minimum-sentences-in-pa/article_3b9632ae- b079-5dfe-b22a-24cb6902fda6.html

A Bill to Criminalize Discrimination against LGBTQ Adoptive Parents

1. BE IT ENACTED BY THE CONGRESS HERE ASSEMBLED THAT:

2. SECTION 1. Discriminatory acts preventing LGBTQ persons from adopting a child or children

3. are illegal. Reparations for discrimination in the adoption process will be

4. provided, and federal funding will be revoked from those in violation.

5. SECTION 2. LGBTQ shall be defined as any person who identifies as homosexual, bisexual,

6. transgender, or questioning their sexual orientation or gender identity.  Adoptive

7. parent(s) shall be defined as any person, or couple, looking to legally become the

8. parent of another’s child.  Discrimination shall be defined as the act of

9. procedurally treating or regarding LGBTQ persons different than non-LGBTQ

10. persons in the adoption process, or denying the opportunity to adopt.

11. SECTION 3. The individual state, county, city, and/or local governments will be responsible

12. for implementing this bill because of the varying laws of adoption from state to

13. state.

14. SECTION 4. The Department of Justice will oversee the enforcement of this bill.

15. A. The DOJ will revoke federal funding from agencies, including state, county,

16. city, and/or local governments, that exercise discrimination.

17. B. A fine of up to $50,000 will further be placed upon agencies or state, county,

18. city, and/or local governments for each discriminatory action, to be paid to those

19. discriminated against as reparations for their actions.

20. SECTION 5. This bill will go into effect October 21, 2019.  

21. SECTION 6. All laws in conflict with this legislation are hereby declared null and void.

A Bill to Prohibit Pharmaceutical Companies from Advertising Prescription Drugs on Television

1. BE IT ENACTED BY THE CONGRESS HERE ASSEMBLED THAT:

2. SECTION 1. The U.S. Federal Government will prohibit all televised advertisements of

3. prescription drugs.

4. SECTION 2. Advertisements are defined as a notice or announcement in a public medium

5. Promoting a product, service, or event, or publicizing a job vacancy.

6. Prescription Drugs are defined as a drug that can be obtained only by means of

7. a physician’s prescription.

8. SECTION 3. Enforcement of this bill will be overseen by the FCC.

9. SECTION 4. This bill will take effect at midnight on September 1, 2018.

10. SECTION 5. All laws in conflict with this legislation are hereby declared null and void.

A Resolution to Rein in Early Presidential Campaigning

1. WHEREAS, The next presidential election will be held in November of 2020; and

2. WHEREAS, Most presidents refrain from openly campaigning for reelection until the year

3. before the election; and

4. WHEREAS, President Trump officially launched his reelection campaign on January 20, 2017;

5. and

6. WHEREAS, A majority of his public appearances since that time have been campaign rallies

7. designed to excite his base; and

8. WHEREAS, Such events have sparked protests and resulted in violence; and

9. WHEREAS, Even if the rallies have been paid for by campaign funds, there is still a significant

10. cost to the taxpayers of the city where such events are held; and

11. WHEREAS, There is also a significant cost for Secret Service protection during said events;

12. and

13. WHEREAS, Such rallies diminish the image of the office of the presidency; now, therefore be

14. it

15. RESOLVED, By the Congress here assembled that this Congress strongly condemns a

16. president’s use of campaign-style rallies early in their administration.

A Resolution to Eliminate the Death Penalty in the U.S.

1. WHEREAS, The death penalty does not deter violent crime nor does it decrease violent crime

2. rates; and

3. WHEREAS, Evidence proves that race determines who lives and who dies, as well as a

4. person’s place in society; and

5. WHEREAS, The death penalty alone imposes an irrevocable sentence, and many times it has

6. been found that an inmate was actually innocent; now, therefore be it

7. RESOLVED, By the Congress here assembled that the death penalty ought to be abolished

8. within the 31 states that it still currently exists in the United States.

A Bill to Expand the Greenhouse Gas Initiative to Decrease Carbon Emissions

1.   BE IT ENACTED BY THE CONGRESS HERE ASSEMBLED THAT:

2.   SECTION 1. All states are required to adopt a form of the current Regional Greenhouse Gas

3. Initiative (RGGI). Any state not in compliance will be fined.

4.   SECTION 2. The RGGI is a cooperative effort among the states of Connecticut, Delaware,   

5.   Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island,

6. and Vermont to cap and reduce CO2 emissions from the power sector1.

7.   SECTION 3. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will oversee the

8.    enforcement of this legislation.

10. SECTION 4.       Effect will be taken 3 months after the passage of this bill.

11. SECTION 5.      All laws in conflict with this legislation are hereby declared null and void.

_________________________________________________________________________________________

1 “Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative.” Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) CO2 Budget Trading Program - Home, www.rggi.org/.

A Bill to Reinstate Funding to the Foreign Language Assistance Program 
 

1. BE IT ENACTED BY THE CONGRESS HERE ASSEMBLED THAT:

2. SECTION 1. Funding to the Foreign Language Assistance Program (FLAP) shall be reinstated

3. as 27 million dollars per fiscal year. 

4. SECTION 2. The FLAP provides grants to establish, improve, or expand innovative foreign

5. language programs for elementary and secondary school students. 

6. SECTION 3. The Department of Education will oversee the enforcement of this bill. 

7. SECTION 4. This bill will be implemented as of the beginning of the next fiscal year: October

8. 1, 2018. 

9. SECTION 5. All laws in conflict with this legislation are hereby declared null and void.