2019 John Edie Holiday Debates Hosted by The Blake School

Congressional DebateLegislation for

Preliminary Sessions

A Bill to Bring Back Huawei

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BE IT ENACTED BY THE CONGRESS HERE ASSEMBLED THAT:

SECTION 1. The United States will grant an indefinite reprieve to Huawei, as a first step

to allow Huawei back into the US market. No further Huawei subsidiaries

may be added to the blacklist unless there is evidence of an imminent US

threat. There will be a formal inquiry to certain the danger of US Huawei

business.

SECTION 2. The reprieve will come in the form of a Temporary General License that will

postpone other punishments towards the company.

SECTION 3. The Department of Commerce and FCC will oversee the execution of this

legislation.

SECTION 4. This bill will be enacted January 1, 2020.

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

Introduced for Congressional Debate by Edina High School.

Prelims 1

A Bill to Ratify the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement

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BE IT ENACTED BY THE CONGRESS HERE ASSEMBLED THAT:

SECTION 1 . The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) signed by

President Donald Trump, Former President Enrique Peña Nieto of Mexico

and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada shall be ratified. The North

American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) shall be repealed and replaced

with the USMCA.

SECTION 2. The USMCA shall be defined as the free trade agreement signed on

November 30, 2018 by the leaders of the United States, Mexico and

Canada.

SECTION 3. The Office of the United States Trade Representative shall be in charge of

implementing this legislation.

SECTION 4. This legislation shall take effect on January 1st, 2020.

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

Introduced for Congressional Debate by New Trier High School

Prelims 2

Space Trash Act for Rehabilitation (STAR)

BE IT ENACTED BY THE CONGRESS HERE ASSEMBLED THAT: 1

SECTION 1. The United States is going to divert $50 million, over the course of five 2

years, that will be dedicated to removing at least 80% of man-made 3

orbital debris Low Earth Orbit by 2030 and stop contributing to the 4

production of orbital debris. The United States shall plan to solve the 5

issue by allocating funding for research, technological innovation, and 6

removal of orbital debris. 7

SECTION 2. A. $3 billion dollars shall be added to NASA’s yearly budget and shall be8

overseen and approved by the Department of Defense. 9

B. Low Earth Orbit is defined as Earth-centered orbit with an altitude of10

2,000 km or less. 11

SECTION 3. This will be overseen by NASA and The Department of Defense. 12

SECTION 4. The cleanup process shall begin within six months of the passage of this 13

bill. If further problems arise, Congress can renew legislation and 14

reallocate funds towards it again. 15

SECTION 5. All laws in conflict with this legislation are hereby declared null and void.16

Introduced for Congressional Debate by Theodore Roosevelt High School

Prelims 3

A Bill to Ensure the Boomers are Okay

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BE IT ENACTED BY THE CONGRESS HERE ASSEMBLED THAT:

Section 1. An education grant of $4,000 per semester will be offered to future

care workers on the condition that they work 5 years in states that are classified

as super-aged.

Section 2. A. Care workers will be defined as paid helpers such as nurses,

social workers, and doctors who regularly look after the elderly.

B. Elderly people shall be defined as people who have reached the retirement

age of 66 years.

C. Super-aged states shall be defined as states where more than one fifth of

their population is older than 65.

Section 3. A. The Department of Education will oversee the grant

application, approval and distribution process.

B. The Department of Health and Human Services will conduct evaluation of

states to determine if they qualify as super-aged.

C. If an individual fails to move to a super-aged state within 2 years of the

reception of their degree, the grant will become a subsidized federal student

loans.

D. Funding for the grants will come from the Department of Education’s

Federal Direct Student Loan Program.

Section 4. This piece of legislation shall go into effect immediately upon passage.

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

Introduced for Congressional Debate by Lincoln East High School

Prelims 4

A Bill to Implement Platform Utilities to Break Up Big Tech

BE IT ENACTED BY THE CONGRESS HERE ASSEMBLED THAT:

SECTION 1. Large technology companies will be broken up into platform

utilities.

SECTION 2. A. Technology companies will be defined as companies that offer

to the public an online market place, or exchange, or platform for

connecting third parties.

B. Large will be any technology company with an annual global

revenue of $25 billion.

C. Platform utilities shall be smaller units or the original company

that will not be allowed to transfer data with third parties.

SECTION 3. The Federal Trade Commission will oversee implementation.

A. Other federal regulators, State Attorneys General, and private

parties will have the right to sue platform utilities which

violate these requirements.

SECTION 4. This legislation will be implemented upon passage.

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

and void.

Introduced for Congressional Debate by East Chapel Hill High School

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Prelims 5

A Bill to End the Abuse of Asset Forfeiture

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BE IT ENACTED BY THE CONGRESS HERE ASSEMBLED THAT:

SECTION 1. Police are prohibited from seizing the property of civilians unless they are

convicted of a crime and the state establishes clear and convincing

evidence that the property is subject to forfeiture

SECTION 2. “Clear and convincing evidence” is a level of burden of proof that requires

the evidence presented by a party during the trial to be highly and

substantially more probable to be true than not

SECTION 3. The Department of Justice will be responsible for overseeing the

implementation of this legislation

SECTION 4. The provisions of this bill shall take effect in six months after the passage of

this legislation

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

Introduced for Congressional Debate by The Potomac School.

Prelims 6

A Bill to Implement Maternal Programs in Correctional Facilities

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BE IT ENACTED BY THE CONGRESS HERE ASSEMBLED THAT:

SECTION 1 A. The United States shall allocate $12 billion to create nurseries and

maternal programs in state and federal correctional facilities. An

additional $20 million shall be allocated annually to maintain these

programs.

B. The budget will be used to create guidelines, construct nurseries in

facilities, evaluate the programs regularly, and train caregivers to run

programs.

SECTION 2. A. Incarcerated mothers serving non-violent offenses may keep their

child, born during their sentence, until the child is 24 months if the

mother is the sole possessor of custody.

B. Mothers must have two years or less until discharge following the

birth of the child, and must undergo mental and physical evaluations,

deeming them fit of caring for the child and have no history of violence

or child neglect.

SECTION 3. The Department of Justice shall oversee the implementation of this

legislation.

A. The Department of Justice will create a set of guidelines for the

nurseries.

B. Aforementioned guidelines will be used by the department to evaluate

facilities annually, in order to ensure the program is working efficiently.

SECTION 4. This bill shall go into effect April 1, 2019.

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

Introduced for Congressional Debate by Lincoln East High School

Prelims 7

Voices of Our Community Act (VOCA)

BE IT ENACTED BY THE CONGRESS HERE ASSEMBLED THAT: 1

SECTION 1. Every organized territory of the United States and the four major tribal 2

communities representing Indigenous Peoples within the United States 3

will be given one seat each in the House of Representatives. 4

SECTION 2. Organized territories of the United States shall include: American Samoa, 5

Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin 6

Islands. The four major tribal communities include: Navajo, Cherokee, 7

Sioux, and Chippewa. Each representative from the organized territories 8

and the representatives from the four tribal communities shall be given 9

the same powers all United States Representatives from the states 10

receive, including voting power. 11

SECTION 3. The Federal Election Commission and The Department of the Interior will 12

oversee the enforcement of this legislation. The shift from the current 13

representation paradigm to the new representation paradigm will be 14

overseen by the U.S. Census Bureau. 15

SECTION 4. This legislation will take effect in the 2022 election for the House of 16

Representatives, following the 2020 Census and reapportionment of 17

representatives ̶ which shall take into consideration this legislation. The 18

implementation will be overseen by the United States Census Bureau. 19

SECTION 5. All laws in conflict with this legislation are hereby declared null and void.20

Introduced for Congressional Debate by Theodore Roosevelt High School

Prelims 8

A Bill to Demilitarize the Police

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BE IT ENACTED BY THE CONGRESS HERE ASSEMBLED THAT:

SECTION 1. Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) teams cannot be deployed unless

there is imminent danger to an individual or officer.

SECTION 2. “Imminent danger” is defined as any conditions which could reasonably be

expected to cause death or serious physical harm.

“Special Weapons and Tactics teams” are defined as any designated law

enforcement unit which uses specialized military equipment or tactics

SECTION 3. The Department of Justice will be responsible for overseeing the

implementation of this legislation.

SECTION 4. The provisions of this bill shall take effect in six months after the passage

of this legislation.

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

Introduced for Congressional Debate by The Potomac School.

Prelims 9