Congress Information

Congress Prelims
Please submit up to three pieces of legislation per school.  Email them as Microsoft Word attachments in the proper format (NSDA criteria) to Greg Malis (email address on main page under "contacts").  Please submit by Friday, November 9.  The packet of legislation will be available on or before November 16.  The tournament directors reserve the right to supplement the packet to assure we have an appropriate number of items and an appropriate variety of topics.

The legislation for the Preliminary Sessions is available HERE

Congress Finals
We will continue to use an open-ended approach to the Final Session of Congress. There will be no bills or resolutions.  Debaters simply give speeches on what should be done, and/or they directly clash with previous speakers.

Past topic areas:
2011 - US debt
2012 - US policy in the Middle East
2013 - US immigration policy
2014 - Election reform in the US
2015 - US trade policy
2016 - US policy toward Russia
2017 - US health care system

The topic area of the 2018 Final Session will be announced by Friday, November 30.

In 2018, the topic area for the final session will be federal safety net programs in the United States. Debaters are expected to discuss possible reforms and efficacy of federal assistance programs such as Medicaid, SNAP, WIC, Section 8 housing, Earned Income Tax Credit, Head Start, Supplemental Security Income. Debaters are not limited to discussing the aforementioned programs, but the list is designed to provide some examples as to what is in the federal safety net.