BBGM Speech Debate Tournament

2025 — Guangming, CN

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Congressional Debate

Event Description:

Purpose: Congressional Debate serves as a platform for students to develop advocacy and problem-solving abilities while engaging in structured, research-based discussions about current events andpolicy issues.

Legislation:A seasonal “docket” of legislation will be selected seasonally based on the needs of theNetwork. Legislation will be chosen from student submissions and the duration of the docket chosenannually.

A. Appropriate topics exhibit seriousness of purpose. The action proposed should be feasible, andsuch that the actual United States Congress might debate it. Topics should be debatable, meaningsubstantive argumentation exists on both sides. Legislation should be typed and double-spacedwith line numbers, not exceeding one page. Capitalizing the words “WHEREAS” and“RESOLVED” in resolutions, and “SECTION” in bills, as well as inverse-indenting each clause orsection helps to distinguish between ideas and concepts.

B. Bills should have a national/domestic focus that the U.S. Congress would have jurisdiction over. Abill establishes details behind how a particular law must work, including when it takes effect, howmuch tax levy would be appropriated (if applicable), how infractions/violations will be dealt with,etc. A bill may answer the who, what, when, where—and most specifically how—but it will neveranswer “why. “Legislators explain rationale behind bills in their speeches, and how a billimplements its solution can spark deeper, more meaningful debate.

C. D. Resolutions are simply position statements on issues Congress does not have jurisdiction over(such as a foreign issue, although a bill can suggest foreign aid), or further action (such asamending the Constitution). Resolutions lack the force of law, and never establish enforcement.Templates for bills, resolutions, and resolutions to amend the Constitution are available online athttps://www.congressionaldebate.org/resources/legislation-templates.

Preliminary session:

A. Minimum of three hours.

B. 12-18 students as the optimum number for a three-hour session; otherwise, a session shouldbe lengthened by ten minutes per each additional student beyond 20. Chambers may not belarger than 30 students.

C. Election of a presiding officer.

D. New seating chart (necessary accommodations for students with special needs may be made).

E. Resetting of precedence/recency. See ‘Recognizing Speakers’ below.

F. New legislation that has not been debated in a previous session at that tournament.

G. Shall be adjudicated by a Parliamentarian and at least one Judge.

General Procedures: Students will follow parliamentary procedure to propose, debate, and amendlegislation. The procedures for Congressional Debate are inspired by and closely follow Robert'sRules of Order, a widely recognized framework for structured and democratic deliberation.

1. All major voting (such as the main motion/legislation) which a congressperson’s constituentsshould have a record of, shall be done with a counted vote.

2. Students should ask permission to leave and enter the chamber when it is in session (move apersonal privilege). However, do not interrupt a speaker who is addressing the chamber.

3. Time for debate per legislation item should last no more than one-third of a session’s floortime.

Speeches introducing legislation: are allotted up to three minutes, followed by two minutes ofquestioning by other delegates. A student author who wrote the legislation gets the privilege ofrecognition (called authorship), regardless of precedence; otherwise the presiding officer mayrecognize a “sponsor” from the chamber, provided this recognition follows the precedence guidelinesabove. Regardless, this speech of introduction must be followed by two minutes of questions. Shouldno student seek recognition for the authorship/sponsorship, the chamber will move to lay thelegislation on the table until such time that a student is prepared to introduce it. The first negative speech must also be followed by two minutes of questions.

Following the first two speeches: the presiding officer will alternately recognize affirmative andnegative speakers, who will address the chamber for up to three minutes, followed by one minute ofquestioning by other delegates. If no one wishes to oppose the preceding speaker, the presidingofficer may recognize a speaker upholding the same side. When no one seeks the floor for debate, thepresiding officer may ask the chamber if they are “ready for the question,” at which point, if there is noobjection, voting may commence on the legislation itself. There is no “minimum cycle” rule; however, ifdebate gets “one-sided,” the chamber may decide to move the previous question.

1. In the event a student speaks on the wrong side called for by the presiding officer and theerror is not caught, the speaker shall be scored and the speech shall count in precedence, butthe speaker must be penalized at least three points for not paying close attention to the flow ofdebate.

2. In the event a student speaks on an item of legislation not currently being debated, saidspeech shall count in precedence, but zero points shall be awarded.

Presiding Officer: The presiding officer must be elected with a majority of the vote. If one candidatedoes not receive a majority of votes, eliminate the candidate with the fewest votes and vote again. Ifcandidates are tied for the fewest number of votes, vote to determine which of the tied candidatesshould remain in contention. Repeat this process until one candidate receives a majority of votes.Secret balloting is used when voting for presiding officer.

Recognizing Speakers

A. When more than one speaker seeks the floor, the presiding officer must follow theprecedence/recency method:

1. First recognize students who have not spoken during the session.

2. Next recognize students who have spoken fewer times.

3. Then recognize students who spoke least recently.

B. If a tournament is not using preset recency, before recency is established, the presidingofficer should recognize speakers fairly and consistently. Before precedence isestablished, the presiding officer should explain their recognition process and it must be

fair, consistent and justifiable.

C. During any session, precedence/recency should not reset, to ensure that all students in achamber have an equal opportunity to speak and receive evaluation from scorers. Whena new session begins, precedence/recency will be reset along with a new seating chart,and election of a presiding officer.

Recognizing Questioners

A. The presiding officer fairly and equitably recognizes members to ask questions followingeach speech. The presiding officer starts timing questioning periods when they haverecognized the first questioner, and keeps the clock running continuously until the time

has lapsed. There are two different questioning methods.

B. All tournaments will use Direct questioning: The presiding officer will open the floor forquestions following each speech. The presiding officer will recognize questioners for across-examination period of no more than 30 seconds. Questioners will be chosenaccording to a separate questioning recency. Scorers will include answers to questionswhen evaluating speeches.

Recognizing MotionsThe presiding officer will pause briefly between speeches to recognize any motions from the floor; however, they should not call for motions (at the beginning of a session, thepresiding officer should remind members to seek their attention between speeches).

Amendments must be presented to the presiding officer in writing with specific references to lines andclauses that change. This must be done in advance of moving to amend.The parliamentarian will recommend whether the amendment is “germane”—that is, it upholds the

original intent of the legislation—otherwise, it is considered “dilatory.” The title of the legislation may bechanged.

A.A legislator may move to amend between floor speeches. Once that motion is made, thepresiding officer will read the proposed amendment aloud and call for a second by one-third of those members present, unless they rule it dilatory.

B. Should students wish to speak on the proposed amendment, the presiding officer willrecognize them as per the standing precedence and recency, and the speech will becounted toward their totals, accordingly.

C. Simply proposing an amendment does not guarantee an “author/sponsor” speech, andany speeches on amendments are followed by the normal one minute of questioning.

D. Amendments are considered neutral and do not constitute an affirmative or negativespeech on the original legislation.

E. If there are no speakers or the previous question is moved, the chamber may vote on aproposed amendment without debating it.

Use of Evidence:

A. Visual aids are permitted in Congressional Debate, provided they do not require electronicretrieval devices in the chamber.

B. All evidence used is subject to verification. Honesty and integrity are of utmost importance inlegislative debate. Falsification or deliberate misuse of evidence may result in the legislator beingsuspended by tournament officials.

C. The use of internet enabled electronic devices is permitted. Students may not use the internet togain help from coaches, other students, or any person, such that it would prevent the speechfrom being the original work of the competitor.