Mustang Madness Congress Legislation 2016

1 Mustang Madness Congress Legislation 2016

3 Session 1:

4 A bill to return overtime pay to American Workers

5 A bill to fund the Mars direct plan to begin the exploration of Mars

6 A bill to fund the mining of asteroids

7 A bill to halt civil asset forfeiture Abuse

8 Session 2:

9 A bill to protect assault victims in the military

10 A bill to send ground troops to Ukraine

11 A resolution to amend the constitution to regulate campaign finance

12 A resolution to ban plastic bags

13 Session 3:

14 A resolution to cease taxing the income of United States citizens under the Age of 18

15 A resolution to enforce taxation on churches

16 A resolution to fund the arts

17 A resolution to remove past presidents from all US currency

18 Final Session:

19 A bill to declare war on ISIL

20 A resolution on solar roadways

21 A resolution to amend the constitution to establish equal gender rights

22 A resolution to demilitarize the police

23 24 25 A Bill to Return Overtime Pay to American Workers 26 27 BE IT ENACTED BY THE CONGRESS HERE ASSEMBLED THAT: 28 29 SECTION 1. The 2004 Amendments to the Fair Labor Standards Act covering the definition of 30 exempt employee and overtime pay is repealed. 31 32 SECTION 2. Only those employees and positions considered exempt prior to 2004 shall continue to be 33 exempt from overtime regulations. 34 35 SECTION 3. The Department of Labor shall be responsible for enforcement of this legislation. 36 37 SECTION 4. This shall take effect six months after passage. 38 39 SECTION 5. All laws in conflict with this legislation are hereby declared null and void. 40 41 A Bill to Fund the Mars Direct Plan to Begin the Exploration of Mars

42 BE IT ENACTED BY THE CONGRESS HERE ASSEMBLED THAT:

43 SECTION 1. $50 billion over 12 years will be appropriated to fund the Mars Direct plan.

44 SECTION 2. The Mars Direct Plan is defined as a mars exploration plan using 2 direct launches from 45 Earth to send first, an Earth return vehicle powered by propellant produced from Carbon Dioxide in the 46 Martian atmosphere and later, a crew habitat and crew. The plan is considered to be he plan of the same 47 name described in the book The Case for Mars, by Robert Zurbin, and on the website and attached report 48 of the Mars Society.

49 SECTION 3. This funding will be added to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s budget, 50 and will be used it to ramp up their existing efforts.

51 A. This funding is guaranteed for the 12 year period, and must not be cut off unless in case of grievous 52 and intentional misuse.

53 B. The first mission is loosely targeted for 2024, not including first a single test lunar mission and 54 Martian sample return mission using the same technology, after which in phase 2 $7 billion dollars a year 55 would be used to continue the program.

56 C. The mission will be launched with NASA’s 2nd generation Space launch system, and funding from the 57 bill many be appropriated towards the system and used to 19 fast track its development. Funding may also 58 go towards the space science division for the sample return mission.

59 D. Technologies not necessary to the program may not receive funding from this 22 bill, and all funding 60 will be cut from that technology if the Government accounting office finds that funds have been sent 61 elsewhere.

62 SECTION 4. The funding will start immediately and will decrease to phase 2 levels after the first 63 successful mission has been flown.

64 SECTION 5. All laws in conflict with this legislation are hereby declared null and void. Introduced for 65 Congressional Debate by the Yellow Rose District

69 70 A Bill to Fund the Mining of Asteroids

71 SECTION 1. The United States shall fund the research and development of technology for the mining 72 of asteroids.

73 SECTION 2. “Research and development” is defined as anything necessary to enhance our knowledge 74 or equipment for this operation to proceed.

75 “Mining” is defined as the extraction and exploitation of minerals and other geological 76 resources.

77 “Asteroids” is defined as minor planets in the Inner Solar System.

78 SECTION 3. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) shall oversee the 79 implementation of this bill.

80 a. $50 billion shall be diverted from the Department of Defense to NASA to 81 implement this bill.

82 SECTION 4. This shall be effective upon the beginning of fiscal year 2017.

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

84 85 A Bill to Halt Civil Asset Forfeiture Abuse

86 BE IT ENACTED BY THE STUDENT CONGRESS HERE ASSEMBLED THAT:

87 Section 1: The United States Code, Chapter 18, Section 981, shall be revised and amended to

88 require that any and all applications of Civil Asset Forfeiture by any Government entity

89 within the United States shall heretofore be subject to the legal criterion for lawful search

90 and seizure established by the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution.

91 Section 2: “Civil Asset Forfeiture” is defined as seizure by law enforcement or Government officials

92 of property they assert to be involved in criminal activity, regardless of the possessor’s

93 perceived guilt or innocence of a crime, absent charge, probable cause, and/or warrant;

94 the Constitutional Fourth Amendment mandate for legal seizure is subverted by charging

95 the property itself with a crime.

96 Section 3: The Department of Justice and the Office of the Attorney General will be jointly

97 responsible for the implementation and enforcement of this legislation.

98 Section 4: This law shall take effect immediately upon passage.

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

100 101 A Bill to Protect Assault Victims in the Military

102 BE IT ENACTED BY THE STUDENT CONGRESS HERE ASSEMBLED THAT:

103 Section 1: This Congress shall suspend the Uniform Code of Military Justice and the Chain of

104 Command in cases of alleged sexual assault of and by active members of the United

105 States Armed Forces and allow alleged victims to report these crimes to civilian

106 authorities.

107 Section 2: When any active member of the United States Armed Forces is accused of committing,

108 charged with committing, commits, or attempts to commit a sexual assault crime upon a

109 fellow active Serviceperson, he or she shall be subject the jurisdiction of the civilian

110 prosecutorial authority of the locale in which the crime was allegedly committed; in cases

111 where the alleged crime occurred off of U.S. soil, the jurisdiction shall reside with the

112 civilian prosecutorial authority where the defendant’s primary base is located. The Armed

113 Forces may only assert prosecutorial jurisdiction if the local prosecutorial authority

114 declines to prosecute.

115 Section 3: The Department of Defense and the Department of Justice shall jointly oversee the

116 enforcement of this legislation.

117 Section 4: This law shall take effect within one (1) calendar year of passage.

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

119 120 A Bill to Send Ground Troops to 121 the Ukraine

122 BE IT ENACTED BY THE CONGRESS HERE ASSEMBLED THAT:

123 SECTION 1. The President shall authorize the deployment of United States ground troops to the

124 Ukraine to assist Ukrainian forces in defeating the Russian rebel forces and protecting

125 Ukrainian borders. These troops will be in addition to the military equipment authorized

126 in H.R. 5315.

127 SECTION 2. Defeat is defined as to win a victory over something or someone in war or contest.

128 Ground Troops are defined as troops who fight on the ground, as opposed to sea or air.

129 Rebels are defined as armed resistance to a government or ruler.

130 SECTION 3. The Department of Defense shall oversee the enforcement of this bill along with the

131 United States Army.

132 A. The deployment shall consist of one US Infantry Brigade, one US Army Special

133 Forces Battalion, one Civil Affairs Battalion, and the associated support troops to

134 provide logistical and maintenance assistance.

135 B. $30 billion shall be appropriated from the Department of Defense budget to fund the

136 deployment.

137 SECTION 4. The troops shall be deployed upon passage of this legislation.

138 SECTION 5. All laws in conflict with this legislation are hereby declared null and void. 139 A Resolution to Amend the Constitution to Regulate Campaign Finance 140 RESOLVED, By the Congress here assembled, that the following article is proposed as an amendment 141 to the Constitution of the United States, which shall be valid to all intents and purposes as 142 part of the Constitution when ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several 143 states within seven years from the date of its submission by the Congress: 144 ARTICLE --

145 SECTION 1: Neither the First Amendment nor any other provision of this Constitution shall be 146 construed to prohibit the Congress or any state from imposing reasonable limits on the amount of money 147 candidates for public office, or their supporters, may spend in election campaigns.

148 SECTION 2: The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

152 153 A Resolution to Ban Plastic Bags

154 WHEREAS, The United States EPA reported that between 500 billion and a trillion plastic bags are 155 consumed worldwide each year; and

156 WHEREAS, Millions of these bags end up in litter outside of landfills, including in the ocean. The 157 plastic poisons the water and soil, and the bags kill wildlife; and

158 WHEREAS, Governments spend billions cleaning up littered plastic bags. California alone estimates that 159 the cost to their state is $75 million a year to remove plastic bags as litter each year; and

160 WHEREAS, Almost all of the bags that don’t become litter end up in landfills; and

161 WHEREAS, Many countries (both developed and undeveloped) have already banned the use of plastic 162 bags; and

163 WHEREAS, Plastic bags are very valuable on the recycling market, but few people use recycling 164 programs available at many retail stores, and fewer than 20% of bags 13 are recycled; and

165 WHEREAS, America’s largest residential recycler (Waste Management) does not process or sell plastic 166 bags, and the millions of bags delivered to their processing centers end up in landfills; and

167 WHEREAS, Plastic bags are made with a variety of harmful chemicals, including lead; and

168 WHEREAS, Humans have survived thousands of years without plastic bags. There are 19 alternatives; 169 now, therefore, be it

170 RESOLVED, That the Congress here assembled ban plastic bags for retail use in the United 21 States.

171 Introduced for Congressional Debate by the Pittsburgh District

172 173 A Resolution to Cease Taxing the Income of United States Citizens under the Age of 18 Years Old

174 175 1 WHEREAS, United States citizens under the age of 18 are unable to vote according to

176 2 the 26th Amendment to the Constitution as ratified in 1971; and

177 3 WHEREAS, Citizens under 18 years of age pay nearly 13% of their income to Social

178 4 Security, Medicare, Federal Income, and State Income taxes which cannot

179 5 be reclaimed; and

180 6 WHEREAS, These citizens cannot vote for local, State or Federal government officials

181 7 to represent them; and

182 8 WHEREAS, The United States of America was founded partially upon the ideal of

183 9 no taxation without proper consent and representation as stated in the

184 10 Declaration of Independence; now, therefore, be it

185 11 RESOLVED, By the Congress here assembled that United States Citizens under the

186 12 age of 18 years old with proof of birth and residency are exempt from all

187 13 taxes on their income including Social Security, Medicare, Federal

188 14 Income, and State Income taxes.

190 191 A Resolution to Enforce Taxation on Churches

193 1 WHEREAS, Churches that file as religious organizations are exempted from all taxes; and

194 2 WHEREAS, Churches own $300-$500 billion in untaxed property that costs state and federal

195 3 governments millions each; and

196 4 WHEREAS, The Constitution sets a clear precedent for separation of church and state and no

197 5 guidelines for what qualifies as a religion; now, therefore, be it

198 6 RESOLVED, By the Congress assembled here that all churches and “religious organizations”

199 7 shall be taxed according to the property that they own.

201 Introduced for Congressional Debate by the South Kansas District

204 205 A Resolution to Fund the Arts

206 1. WHEREAS, multiple studies have concluded that curricular and extracurricular

207 2. art studies and activities help keep high-risk dropout students stay in school; and

208 3. WHEREAS, Students who study art are 4 times more likely to be recognized for

209 4. academic achievement and 3 times more likely to be awarded for school 5.attendance; and

210 6. WHEREAS, Arts and music education programs are mandatory in countries that

211 7. rank consistently among the highest for math and science test scores, like Japan, 8. Hungary, and the 212 Netherlands; and

213 9. WHEREAS, Federal funding for the arts and humanities rolls in around $250

214 10. million a year, while the National Science

215 11. Foundation was funded around the $7 billion in 2012; now, therefore, be it

216 12.RESOLVED, That the Congress here assembled should increase the amount of

217 13. federal spending towards arts education in the United States.

221 Introduced for Congressional Debate by the Nebraska District

223 224 A Resolution to Remove Past Presidents from all US Currency

225 1. WHEREAS American currency currently features the faces of past presidents,

226 2. WHEREAS When America was created, coins featured the faces of kings, queens, and emperors,

227 3. WHEREAS The Founding Fathers didn’t want to put their faces on currency, and objected to the

228 idea,

229 4. WHEREAS They viewed themselves as normal men, not to be idolized,

230 5. WHEREAS The first piece of currency to feature a dead president was the Lincoln penny in

231 1909, 133 years after the founding of America,

232 6. WHEREAS Originally, currency featured the embodiments of liberty and freedom, Lady Liberty

233 and the Bald Eagle.

234 7. THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED BY THIS STUDENT CONGRESS that all past presidents be

235 removed from future iterations of US currency, replacing them with symbols of American ideals

236 or accomplishments.

239 240 A Bill to Declare War on ISIL

241 1 BE IT ENACTED BY THE CONGRESS HERE ASSEMBLED THAT:

242 2 SECTION 1. The United States of America shall declare war on the organization referring to

243 3 itself as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).

244 4 SECTION 2. This declaration of war authorizes the President of the United States, in his role

245 5 as Commander in Chief of United States military forces, to engage in offensive

246 6 and defensive military operations against ISIL.

247 7 SECTION 3. Pursuant to this declaration of war this Congress shall provide funding necessary

248 8 to carry out missions against ISIL. Funding for the war against ISIL shall be

249 9 reviewed each year by this Congress.

250 10 SECTION 4. All laws in conflict with this legislation are hereby declared null and void.

251 Introduced for Congressional Debate by the South Texas District

253 254 255 A Resolution on Solar Roadways

256 1 WHEREAS, Continual issues with global climate change has prompted research and

257 2 inventions into alternative energy; and

258 3 WHEREAS, Many alternatives have been widely rejected for reasons like higher cost

259 4 comparisons, effectiveness, efficiency, etc.; and

260 5 WHEREAS, Solar Roadways is a business that has successfully created solar panels

261 6 that can be placed and become sidewalks, parking lots, and actual roads; and

262 7 WHEREAS, These plates can provide renewable energy to be used in homes and businesses;

263 8 and

264 9 WHEREAS, The plates have also shown uses beyond that of just soar energy; and

265 10 WHEREAS, The Federal government funded Phase l of the project and a portion of Phase ll;

266 11 now, therefore, be it

267 12 RESOLVED, By the Congress here assembled that the Federal government should fully fund

268 13 the rest of the Solar Roadways project.

269 Introduced for Congressional Debate by the Nebraska South District

270 271 272 A Resolution to Amend the Constitution Establish Equal Gender Rights

2731. BE IT ENACTED BY THE CONGRESS HERE ASSEMBLED THAT:

2742. RESOLVED, By two-thirds of the Congress here assembled, that the following

2753. article is proposed as an amendment to the COnstitution of the United

2764. States, which shall be valid to all intents and purposes as part of the

2775. Constitution when ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the

2786. several states within seven years from the date of its submission by

2797. the Congress:

280 8. ARTICLE --

2819. SECTION 1: No person in the United States shall be denied any legal rights by the

28210. United States or by any state on the basis of sex, gender identity, or

28311. sexual orientation.

28412.

28513. SECTION 2: The Congress shall have the power to enforce this article by

28614. appropriate legislation.

28715.

28816. SECTION 3: This amendment shall take effect two years from its ratification.

289 290 A Resolution to Demilitarize Police

291 1 Whereas, American police forces have become radically militarized over the last twenty

292 years; and

293 2 Whereas, military forces incite violence and do not protect citizens; and

294 3 Whereas, Swat teams and military training make police forces more likely to use excessive

295 force and contribute to culture of aggression; and

296 5 Whereas, the United States has more deaths caused by police officers than any other wealth

297 nation; and

298 7 Whereas, African Americans are the most likely to be killed by police; and

299 8 Whereas, Community policing has been proven to be the best and most effective way to

300 build trust increase public safety.

301 10 THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED by the Student Congress assembled that; the United States

302 Federal

303 11 Government should demilitarize America’s police forces and transition law

304 12 enforcement to community based policing where approximately half of all police

305 13 officers would patrol unarmed.

306 307 A Bill to Divert Funding for Bio Fuel to Development of Nuclear Energy

309 2 BE IT ENACTED BY THE CONGRESS HERE ASSEMBLED THAT:

310 3 SECTION 1. The funding for biofuel should be diverted to development of nuclear energy

311 4 SECTION 2. The US should cut off funding for creating biofuels and use that funding to build new

312 5 nuclear reactor energy plants to provide more energy at lower energy costs

313 6 SECTION 3. The NRC (Nuclear Regulatory Commission) and the Department Energy would 7 314 7 oversee the building of the new nuclear power plants.

315 9 SECTION 4. If this bill is passed, the implementation date would be immediately

316 10 SECTION 5. All laws in conflict with this legislation are hereby declared null and void