Congress: Leadership Group Simulation

The following is an overview of the Congress simulation.

Overview:

The Congress simulation is a two-faceted exercise that provides insight into the process of how a bill becomes a law and the different, sometimes conflicting, political and personal motivations members of Congress have in their decision-making for voting on a particular bill. It is the motivation aspect for decision-making that the Congress simulation focuses on and plays out. The basis of the exercise is to influence the undecided to vote for or against the proposed bills.

Note: The proposed bills and participant roles are fictitious but are based loosely on actual issues for relevancy.

Set-up:

Each participant is given the role of a member of Congress and each are members of one of three House committees that will vote separately on a proposed bill. Passed bills will be voted on by the whole House (the entire participant group together). The participants each have their own role sheet that they will use to determine their role’s political views on the proposed bills along with the motivations their role has for voting for or against the bills. Most of the participant’s votes are already determined while some are undecided.

Execution:

Committee Action:

1. Participants will be separated into their Committee groups and begin the session by the Chair bringing the Committee to order.

2. Each participant will introduce themselves to the Committee stating their real name and share information about their role (the state they represent, their affiliation and may also provide a short commentary on their political views based on their character sheet.)

3. The Chair will motion for a straw poll by show of hands. “All in favor of HR 123, all opposed?” (This will provide the committee who is for, against and undecided on the bill)

4. The Chair will then open their Committee floor for statements where each committee member has an opportunity to briefly speak on behalf of their view point on the bill in order to try to influence the undecided voter. Once official statements have concluded, the Chair will recess the Committee to allow for more informal discussions.

5.After the recess has concluded, the Chair will bring the Committee back to session for a final official Committee vote on the bill.

House Floor Action:

Once all Committees have concluded their official Committee vote, any bills that have passed Committee will be brought to the whole House (all participants) for a vote.