2A Region 15 Tournament

2026 — North Summit High School, UT/US

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Congressional Debate

Event Description:

Congress (CON)

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Parliamentarian judges put in their rankings once at the end of the two rounds.

A typical Congress session lasts longer than rounds for other speech and debate events, and rounds are usually divided into morning and afternoon session. As student’s debate proposed bills and resolutions, judges evaluate each speech that is given during the round.

Congressional Debate uses Robert’s Rules of Order, a manual describing parliamentary procedure, which most competitors will be familiar with. However, you don’t need to be an expert to judge Congressional Debate! At the beginning of each session, each house will elect a Presiding Officer (PO), a competitor who will abstain from speaking in order to orchestrate the proceedings. The PO will do things like keep time, call for speakers, count votes, etc. Because the PO does not give any speeches, judges are given a special ballot to evaluate the PO, which should be done at the end of the session.

Congressional Debate is like a simulation of the real United States legislature. A group of 10-25 students (online this will be 8-15), called a Chamber, will compete in a legislative session. A series of bills and resolutions will be proposed by students from various schools. Students in turn will be selected by a presiding officer — a student elected to conduct the business of the round — to give speeches both advocating for and encouraging the defeat of the measure in front of them. Following each speech, competitors will be able to pose questions of the speaker. Once debate is exhausted on a particular item, the chamber will vote either to pass or fail the legislation, and debate moves on to the next item.

Legislation comes in two types — a bill and a resolution. A bill is a plan of action, detailing how a particular policy proposal will be implemented. A resolution, meanwhile, is a statement expressing the opinion of the chamber.

Typically, one session of Congress lasts about 2-3 hours. During that time, students typically give speeches 3 minutes in length. The first two speeches on a piece of legislation are known as the first advocacy, or first pro, and the first rejection, or first con. These speeches are followed by 2 minutes of cross examination. After the first pro and con speech are established, each additional speaker is subject to one minute of cross examination by the chamber.

Bills:

Session 1
1. Oct: A Bill to Limit Contributions by Super-PACs to Prevent Dark Money in Politics
2. Dec: A Bill to Halt Pay for Members of Congress During Government Shutdowns
3. Jan: A Bill to Provide for the Protection of Religious Observance in the Workplace
4. Feb: Ban Social Media for Teens
5. Jan: A Bill to Ban Sports Betting
6. Dec: A Bill to Abolish Capital Punishment at Federal Level
7. Jan: A Resolution to Amend the Constitution to Enfranchise the Incarcerated

Session 2
1. Nov: A Bill to Grant Citizenship to Dreamers
2. Dec: A Bill to Prohibit Alcohol Advertising
3. Jan: A Bill to Abolish Federal Tax Exemption for Religious Organizations
4. Jan: A Resolution to End Discrimination in Insurance Policies
5. Feb: A Bill to Invalidate Tattoos as Evidence
6. Feb: A Resolution for the Curtailing of Absentee Voting
7. Dec: A Bill to Ban Pharmaceutical Ads and Commercials from TV and Streaming