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Welcome to Ms’ Ostendorf & Veatch’s Wonderful World of Congress , where the egos are big and so are the scandals. Over the course of this unit, we will be playing a game in which we track the moves of key congressmen and women. With a little skill and a whole lot of luck, you might find your team the champions (and the recipients of a prize). 

How to Play: · Create a team of up to 5 players from class. Your team must stick together through thick and thin…nobody can bail on their group half way through the game. Choose your teammates wisely.  · Draft your player or members of Congress called MCs. · Draft your original team on the first day of the game during class. All draft picks must be made by the end of class today · You may not choose the same congress member as another team in the class. There are 535 members of Congress so there are plenty of members to go around. Don’t fight over them!.  · You must draft people based on the following criteria: o 2 Upper Senators: Senators with seniority o 2 Lower Senators: Senators with seniority of less than half the Senate o 2 All Stars- These are senior members of the House of Representatives o 2 Supporting Lineup- These are Mid-Range Representatives (not old geezers but not spring chickens either) o 2 Rookies- Junior Representatives (they are still paying their dues in the House) You may use any criteria you would like to draft: party, gender, issues, age, “cuteness”, state affiliation. //Remember, your goal is to score points based on how your team does as active members of Congress. // · You may bench dud Congressmen if you are unhappy with their performance. · You must bench a Congressman on a Friday · <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">They must sit out for one full week before you decide to play them again. · <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">You must choose a replacement for them based upon the open category. For example, you cannot bench a Rookie and replace them with an All Star.  · <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">You may also trade players with other teams in the class. These trades must be mutual decisions (no blackmail or coercion please). These trades must be made on Fridays.

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">How to earn points:

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">You must keep track of your team’s points yourself. I will not do this for you. Another group will also be assigned to monitor the points your team earns in order to prevent cheating. Every Friday we will take time in class to calculate points earned during the week. 

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Points: //<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Legislation- All sponsored pieces of legislation (including amendments) receive a higher score as they move further down the legislative process //<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">. · <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">A bill is introduced: 5 points · <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">A bill is sent to a committee and approved by the full committee: 10 points · <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">A bill is read on the House or Senate floor after examined by the committee: 15 points · <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">A bill is passed by one chamber of Congress: 25 points · <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">A bill travels to the other chamber Congress and is referred to a committee: 30 points · <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">The bill is approved by the full committee: 35 points · <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">The bill is debated on the floor of the House or Senate: 40 points · <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">The bill is passed by the second chamber of Congress: 50 points ix. The bill travels to a conference committee: 60 points · <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">The bill is approved in its final form by both the House and the Senate: 70 points · <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">The bill is signed into law by the President: 80 points //<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Co-Sponsorship- All cosponsored pieces of legislation (including amendments) receive a higher score as they move through the legislative process. //  · <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">You will receive 3/5th of the total points earned if the co-sponsorship is known on the date of the bill’s introduction. · <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">You will receive 1/5th of the total points earned if the co-sponsorship is known within one week of the bill’s introduction.  //<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Voting Metrics- // · <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Your team will receive 5 points for each vote taken by each of your members. · <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Your team will lose 3 points per vote not taken by each of your players.  · <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Maverick- Your team will receive 10 points for each vote that breaks from party ranks if the bill passes. · <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">You will receive 5 points for each vote that breaks from party ranks if the bill is rejected.  · <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Scandals- You will lose 40 points for each member of your team that becomes involved in a scandal during the game. (//If you have 3 team members involved in scandals over the course of the game that means you lose 120 points! Scandals can involve tax evasion, selling of senate seats, sex scandals, or illegal political donations. Basically, if it would make your mother disappointed, it is classified as a scandal//.)

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Points for this class:

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">You will earn a grade for playing this game. Of course, you cannot be held accountable for terrible congressional draft picks, but you are held accountable for updating your team's information and responding to my questions on our in class wiki. You are able to access this wiki from school and you will have an opportunity to edit your team's page while in class. To earn full credit, you must thoughtfully respond to my posts. You must also post your team’s weekly score every Friday.