Your Turn to Vote

 

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Overview

In this lesson students will develop an understanding of the legislative process. They will learn about interactions within the legislature; about relationships among legislators, party leaders, and special interests; and about the nitty-gritty of the legislative process. Students will simulate a Member of Congress's decision-making process on how to vote.

 

Grade Levels

9 – 12

 

Objectives

Students will:

• describe the purposes, functions, and organization of Congressional committees;
• understand the committee process;
• describe factors that affect each committee member’s final vote.

Estimated Time

90 minutes, plus 1-2 weeks for preparation

 

Materials Needed

• Interactive Learning Module: Dynamic Legislative Process
• Internet connection with Macromedia FLASH ® enabled
• Projection device
• Resources about the organization of Congress (indicated below)

Advance Preparation

Teacher Preparation

1. Select a House or Senate bill that has not been passed but has been introduced in the past year that is of public policy interest to students. Four examples from the Library of Congress' Thomas Web site (http://thomas.loc.gov/) have been provided. As an alternative use a mock bill on student government provided here. The bill is based on principles developed by the National Council of Social Studies for student government. The article discussing these principles is provided here.) The key is to find bills that students will find interesting but not overwhelming in detail and jargon. Contacting a legislator is a useful option, but legislators are often not educators and the bills they send may not be of interest to students.
   • Education Opportunity Act of 2009 (click here for text)
   • Citizens' Self-Defense Act of 2009 (click here for text)
   • Stronger Economy, Stronger Borders Act of 2009 (click here for text)
2. Select two students to act as chairpersons. Because committee meetings are much less formal than regular House floor sessions, it isn't necessary to coach chairpersons in formal meeting procedures. Specifically, your selected chairpersons should have a thorough understanding of the bill under review and should exhibit the self-confidence needed to encourage discussions and debates if the simulation loses momentum. Insert these two students' last names as co-sponsors of the bill you selected, before duplication for witnesses and students.
3. You will need a copy of the bill for each class member and the two witnesses, as well as copies of any other reading material you wish to use for instruction. Other reading material can include opinion pieces from the newspaper or the Internet, background data from the Thomas site or other nonpartisan sites, and publications from interest groups representing each side of the bill.
4. This simulation requires two witnesses with opposing viewpoints to testify before the committee. You may wish to fill the roles of the witnesses in one of two ways:
   • Assign two students to play the roles of the witnesses, or
   • Ask two faculty members or other adults to play these roles for your class. (The advantage of this choice is that students are more likely to take adults seriously in the assigned roles. It also adds freshness to the activity by bringing in outside voices.)

Witness Preparation

1. During the simulation, each witness will read opening remarks (no longer than five minutes) outlining his or her position on the proposed legislation. The committee is then allowed to ask questions of the witnesses.
2. Researching the role and preparing the opening remarks is left to the guest speakers, but you should provide them with some background information and instructions to help them prepare.
   • At least one week prior to the simulation, guest speakers should be given a copy of the legislation for the bill you selected for the simulation, as well as a brief outline of the role the witness will play (e.g., the political party affiliation, his or her career and how this legislation will affect it), and the stand each witness will take on the issue.
   • You may wish to provide witnesses with a list of possible questions the students may ask, to help them prepare their case — or simply allow the discussion to evolve spontaneously.
   • Make sure each witness understands the ideology of the stand he or she is to take on the issue. You might want to provide the witnesses with background information regarding the bill you've selected. A search of the Internet should provide you with useful information.

Student Preparation

1. Use an overhead projection device to show "Dynamic Legislative Process" in the Interactive Learning Module: The Dynamic Legislative Process. Complete this section as a class, and discuss the legislative process. Make sure students have a clear understanding of how a bill becomes law.
2. Several days before the simulation is to take place, instruct students in the markup procedure. Tell students that markups refers to the process by which a U.S. Congressional committee or state legislative session debates, amends, and rewrites proposed legislation. The Library of Congress' Congressional Research Service offers a valuable description of this procedure (click here for text).
3. It would also be helpful for your students to view actual committee meetings in progress. Tape two committee meetings from C-SPAN to share with the class: a committee hearing and a committee markup, either from the Senate or from the House. These meetings will serve as models for students as they role-play the markup procedure in the simulation. You can also visit the C-SPAN Web site at http://www.c-span.org . In the video search box, type the word "markup." Take a look at the list of video-archived committee markups. Check out a few. If you can identify a useful excerpt for your students to use as a model, direct them to the Web site and give them the time code in the video to go to so they can view the excerpt you selected. As an alternative you can present the C-SPAN clip to the entire class using a computer projection system.
4. Ask each student to choose a Senate or House member they wish to represent at the hearing. Students can go to Wikipedia and either www.house.gov if their role is that of a Representative, or to www.senate.gov if their role is that of Senator to get background data. During the simulation they will be expected to represent the position that Member of Congress would take on the legislation being considered. Give students a list of the names of all the Senate and House members or give them a selected list that you have chosen (from which they may choose).
5. Before the simulation, have students write a one-page paper that highlights key facts about their Member of Congress. These facts should focus on helping students play the roles of their chosen legislators at the hearing.
6. Have students prepare two questions that they can ask the witnesses at the hearing. They should also be prepared to offer amendments to the bill, if they wish, in order to make the bill consistent with the position of the Member of Congress they are playing in the simulation. Their amendments may not pass the committee, but that is the reality at committee markup.
7. Arrange the classroom furniture to resemble a committee meeting.

The Simulation

Procedure

1. Ask your two witnesses to wait outside the classroom until they are called to testify.
2. Call the committee to order, and read aloud the bill under review. (In actual markup committee meetings, this reading may be waived by non-debatable motion, but for this simulation it is helpful to read the bill as a means of focusing class attention.)
3. Explain that two witnesses have been invited to testify before the committee. Each witness will read opening remarks, and the committee members will be allowed to ask questions.
4. Invite the witnesses to enter and introduce themselves, with titles, to the committee. If any of the witnesses are introduced as government officials, protocol dictates that witnesses from the higher ranks of the Executive Branch of government and other high-level government officials speak first. Each witness is allowed five minutes for his or her opening remarks.
5. Committee members question the first witness.
6. The second witness then speaks, and committee members question him or her.
7. When the committee has exhausted all questions for the witnesses, thank them for attending. They are then dismissed.
8. Markup procedure begins.
9. The bill is to be presented for amendment one section at a time. Have the Chairman/woman announce each part of the bill as you get to it, using just a short title, or section number. After each section is announced, have the Chairman/woman ask if any committee member wants to suggest changes to it. Limit discussion of the suggested change to five minutes each. At the end of five minutes, take a voice vote of the yeas and nays. Announce if the change is adopted or rejected.
10. After the committee disposes of the last amendment to the bill, it votes on a "motion to order the bill reported." This includes whatever amendments the committee has adopted. It is also possible that the committee will wish to kill the bill. Tell students that those who want the bill to go further — to the full chamber — should vote yes on reporting it out. Those that want to kill the bill in committee should vote no on sending it forward. The committee does NOT vote on approving or passing the bill. That question is decided on the House floor and is not part of the markup procedure.

Wrap-up Discussion

Lead students in a discussion about their experiences with the simulation. Use these or similar questions in your discussion.

• Had you already decided on your position on this legislation before the simulation?
• Did your vote change after the proceedings?
• Did the testimony of the witnesses sway your opinion or your vote?
• Which witness, in your opinion, had the more difficult argument to make?
• What part of the witnesses’ testimonies made you think about an aspect of the legislation that you hadn’t considered before?
• Did peer pressure affect your vote in any way?
• Did you consider the impact of this bill on your district and the people you represent before you voted?
• What other types of pressure might be brought to bear on a committee member?
• What other factors may sway a Member's vote? Which factors do you feel are valid, and which do you consider unethical?
• Did you agree with the position of the Member of Congress you simulated?
• Did you find it difficult to stay in character?
• Do you feel the standing committee process is a good one? What are some pros and cons of this committee process?

Extension Activities

Invite your state legislator to speak to the class. Have your legislator talk about the committees he or she serves on and the committee process at the state government level.

Have students watch C-Span. Many C-Span video segments can be accessed online in streaming video at http://www.c-span.org

 

Assessment

Basic Concepts and Processes

Ask your students to respond to the following requests for information and assess their knowledge of key concepts taught in this lesson.

1. Explain how the Constitution defines the legislative role of Congress.
2. Respond to at least one criticism that people have voiced about Congress.

Scoring Guide for Your Turn to Vote

Elements	Possible Score	Assigned Score	Notes
Completed all introductory assignments/readings before the simulation	15
Completed one-page assignment on the Member of Congress the student is representing	15
Created two questions for the witnesses that demonstrate understanding of the points of the bill	20
Participated in the simulation activities in a manner that demonstrates deep understanding of the mock legislation	20
Followed the procedure of the markup committee	15
Participated in the wrap-up discussion, demonstrating understanding of the factors that affect a Member's vote on legislation	15

 

Lesson Plan Feedback

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