Congress_Finals_2013

#1 A Resolution To Apologize for the use of the Atomic Bomb

 * 1 || **Whereas:** the bombing of the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki with Atomic weapons in ||
 * 2 || August 1945 deliberately targeted civilians as opposed to purely military targets. ||
 * 3 || **Whereas:** the dropping of these weapons was unnecessary to end World War II. ||
 * 4 || **Whereas:** these raids violated the rules of warfare. ||
 * 5 || **Whereas:** : the United States has never adequately apologized for unleashing such destruction ||
 * 6 || on the world. ||
 * 7 || **Whereas:** an apology would enhance US – Japanese relations and ||
 * 8 || **Whereas:** it would serve as an example to other nations as to the sincere desire of the US to ||
 * 9 || eliminate the need for such deadly munitions and ||
 * 10 || **Whereas:** such an admission would strengthen the call for non-proliferation of nuclear ||
 * 11 || weapons and strengthen America’s moral leadership around the world. ||
 * 12 || **Therefore be it resolved that:** the United States should render an official apology to the ||
 * 13 || nation of Japan for the Atomic bombings that took place in August 1945. ||

#2 A Resolution to Require Voter Identification to Prevent Voter Fraud

 * 1 || **Whereas:** Voter fraud across the nation has the potential to result in a skewed outcome in ||
 * 2 || all government elections; and ||
 * 3 || **Whereas:** The potential for voter fraud extends across all states, due to lack of a ||
 * 4 || standardized national voter photo ID requirement for voting ||
 * 5 || **Whereas:** Distortion of the peoples’ votes does not allow the Congress to ||
 * 6 || successfully do its job, that is, listen to the will of the people; and ||
 * 7 || **Whereas:** Section 8 of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 requires the ||
 * 8 || government to maintain basic voter registration maintenance requirements, ||
 * 9 || **Whereas:** Voter photo ID laws have already been proven successful in a number of states ||
 * 10 || who have implemented such laws. ||
 * 11 || **Therefore be it resolved** the Student Congress here assembled that a requirement for ||
 * 12 || voters to show photo identification at polling stations during elections, be ||
 * 13 || enforced by all state governments for governmental elections. ||

#3 A Resolution to Ban Tobacco Use in the United States

 * 1 || **Whereas:** The American Cancer Society states that 440,000 Americans die each year ||
 * 2 || from tobacco use; and ||
 * 3 || **Whereas:** cigarette smoking accounts for at least 30% of all cancer related deaths ||
 * 4 || in the United States and; ||
 * 5 || **Whereas:** a study by the American cancer society states that more Americans die ||
 * 6 || from cigarettes than from alcohol, car accidents, suicide. AIDs, homicide, and ||
 * 7 || illegal drugs combined; and ||
 * 8 || **Whereas:** tobacco use in America results in 8.6 million Americans suffering from some ||
 * 9 || type of chronic respiratory diseases brought on by the use of tobacco ||
 * 10 || **Whereas:** tobacco related illnesses cost American taxpayers millions of dollars in Medicare ||
 * 11 || and Medicaid bills each year ||
 * 12 || **Therefore be it resolved by this Student Congress that:** All tobacco products, and ||
 * 13 || products relating to the use of tobacco such as cigarettes, be banned from public ||
 * 14 || use or consumption in the United States of America. ||

#4 A Resolution to Abolish the Silent Filibuster

 * 1 || **Whereas:** the use of the filibuster has radically increased since the passage of the silent ||
 * 2 || filibuster rule and is now so widely used in the Senate that it is changing the ||
 * 3 || very nature of debate within the institution. ||
 * 4 || **Whereas:** the traditional rules for a filibuster required Senators to speak continuously to ||
 * 5 || maintain the floor and delay a vote, unless a vote of cloture was invoked requiring ||
 * 6 || the assent of a 60% majority to end debate and ||
 * 7 || **Whereas:** the silent filibuster rule now used in the Senate allows members to "filibuster" ||
 * 8 || without actually speaking or consuming their own time and ||
 * 9 || **Whereas:** due to the Silent Filibuster, and the need to invoke cloture to end it, the normal ||
 * 10 || requirement needed for passage of most legislation in the Senate has thus ||
 * 11 || increased from a simple majority to a 60% majority vote for just about any ||
 * 12 || proposal. ||
 * 13 || **Whereas:** the Silent Filibuster allows a single Senator to place an indefinite hold on ||
 * 14 || legislation simply by threatening to filibuster, thus dramatically increasing and ||
 * 15 || overemphasizing the power of the minority or even the individual at the expense ||
 * 16 || of the majority. ||
 * 17 || **Whereas:** the current rules pertaining to the filibuster have resulted in stagnation of ||
 * 18 || virtually all proposed legislation in the Senate, and ||
 * 19 || **Whereas:** the Founding Fathers never intended for the Senate to function in this fashion ||
 * 20 || **Therefore:** be it resolved by this Student Congress that this Congress calls upon the members ||
 * 21 || of the Senate to amend its rules so as to abolish the silent filibuster. ||

#5 A Bill to Improve Road Safety

 * 1 || **SECTION 1.** Any person over the age of 65, shall, be required to retake their driver’s test, ||
 * 2 || to include both written test of driving rules, an eye test and ||
 * 3 || a practical exercise in order to ensure that they know ||
 * 4 || all current laws and are physically capable of safely operating a motor vehicle. ||
 * 5 || Those refusing to retake the test shall have their license revoked. ||
 * 6 ||  ||
 * 7 || Those failing any portion of the re-evaluation process may retake that portion ||
 * 8 || of the evaluation in 1 week. Up to five (5) retakes of the written test and ||
 * 9 || practical exercise may be attempted. After five (5) failed attempts, the ||
 * 10 || person’s license shall be removed permanently. ||
 * 11 || **SECTION 2.** This bill shall be limited to those who shall turn 65 years of age after ||
 * 12 || the date this bill goes into effect. ||
 * 13 || **SECTION 3.** This bill will go into effect on January 1, 2014. ||
 * 14 || **SECTION 4.** The procedures in this bill shall be implemented by the Department of ||
 * 15 || Transportation and enforced by local police. ||
 * 16 ||  ||
 * 17 ||  ||
 * 18 || **SECTION 5.** All laws in conflict with this bill will hereby be declared null and void. ||

#6 A Resolution to Amend the United States Constitution

 * 1 || **Whereas:** many needless deaths have resulted from gun violence, ||
 * 2 || states have faced immense difficulties in trying to curb gun violence due to ||
 * 3 || a perceived inexorable right to gun ownership, ||
 * 4 || **Be It Resolved:** By two-thirds of the Congress here assembled, that the following ||
 * 5 || article is proposed as an amendment to the Constitution of the United ||
 * 6 || States, which shall be valid to all intents and purposes as part of the ||
 * 7 || Constitution when ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the ||
 * 8 || several states within seven years from the date of its submission by the ||
 * 9 || Congress: ||
 * 10 || ARTICLE XXVIII ||
 * 11 || SECTION 1: The Second Amendment of the Constitution of the United ||
 * 12 || States (“A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the ||
 * 13 || security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and ||
 * 14 || bear Arms, shall not be infringed”) is repealed. ||
 * 15 || SECTION 2: Congress shall have the authority to establish legislation as ||
 * 16 || it applies to the bearing of arms and the establishment of a ||
 * 17 || militia. ||

#7 A Bill to Honor American Football

 * 1	||		**BE IT ENACTED BY THE CONGRESS HERE ASSEMBLED THAT:**	||
 * 2	||	**SECTION 1.**	The first Monday following the Championship Game of the National Football 	||
 * 3	||		League (“Super Bowl”) is a Federal Holiday.	||
 * 4	||	**SECTION 2.**	This holiday will follow the rules established by the Uniform Monday Holiday 	||
 * 5	||		Act of 1968.	||
 * 6	||	**SECTION 3.**	The President, or his or her designee, shall have the power to enforce this 	||
 * 7	||		legislation.	||
 * 8	||	**SECTION 4.**	This law will take effect within six months of passage.	||
 * 9	||	**SECTION 5.**	All laws in conflict with this legislation are hereby declared null and void.	||

#8 A Resolution to Reform School Organization
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 * 1	||	**Whereas:**	schools in Pennsylvania as well as across the nation struggle with providing	||
 * 2	||		appropriate funding to insure an education of the highest quality to students; and	||
 * 3	||	**Whereas:**	administrative costs are a huge burden to school budgets; and	||
 * 4	||	**Whereas:**	other states establish school districts according to the county to which a school	||
 * 5	||		 belongs, thereby saving money,	||
 * 6	||	**Be It Resolved:**	By the Legislature here assembled that school districts throughout	||
 * 7	||		 the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania should be reorganized so that each school	||
 * 8	||		belongs to a single district affiliated with the county in which they are located	||