THE TUNISIAN INTERNATIONAL MODEL UNITED

NATIONS OF SOUSSE PRESENTS

US MOCK
CONGRESS
PROCEDURES

Training by YASMINE BEN HANINI Realized by NAYROUZ SAÏDAOUI

 TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION FLOW OF THE
-Legislative Branches In The USA
-The Law Making Process
01 02 DEBATE
The Debate Procedures

THE VOTE POSITION

Voting Process 03 04 /RESOLUTION PAPER
Form Of The Papers

Training by YASMINE BEN HANINI Realized by NAYROUZ SAÏDAOUI

 01 INTRODUCTION
The US Congress is the legislative branch of the federal
government of the United States of America, established under
the Constitution of 1789 and separated structurally from the
executive and judicial branches of government. It consists of
two houses: the Senate, in which each state, regardless of its
size, is represented by two senators, and the House of
Representatives to which members are elected on the basis of
population.

Training by YASMINE BEN HANINI Realized by NAYROUZ SAÏDAOUI

 Legislative Branches Of The
A USA
THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
(The UPPER House)
➔ Proportional representation, larger
states having more representatives
than smaller states. Total of reps is
435.
➔ Representatives are elected every
two years.
➔ Introducing and voting on bills
➔ Initiation of Revenue Bills
THE HOUSE OF SENATES
(The LOWER House)
➔ Equal representation: each state,
has two senators. Total of senators
is 100.
➔ Senators are elected every six
years.
➔ Introducing and voting on bills.
➔ Conducting impeachment trials of
federal officials.
➔ Filibusters and Cloture

Training by YASMINE BEN HANINI Realized by NAYROUZ SAÏDAOUI

 B Law Making Process
➢ Bill Introduction: A bill is introduced in either the House of Representatives or the Senate. Bills can be
introduced by any member of Congress.
➢ Committee Consideration: The bill is referred to a committee for further study and analysis. The
committee may hold hearings, debate the bill, and make changes before voting on whether to send the
bill to the full House or Senate.
➢ Floor Consideration: The bill is debated and voted on by the full House or Senate.Amendments may be
proposed and debated before a final vote is taken.
➢ Conference Committee: If the House and Senate pass different versions of the same bill,a conference
committee is appointed to work out the differences and develop a compromise bill.
➢ Final Passage: The final compromise bill is voted on by both the House and Senate. If it is passed by both
chambers, it goes to the President for approval.
➢ Presidential Action: The President can either sign the bill into law or veto it. If the bill is vetoed, Congress
can attempt to override the veto with a two-thirds vote in both the House and Senate.
➢ Implementation: Once the bill becomes law, it is implemented by the appropriate agencies and enforced
by the judicial branch.

Training by YASMINE BEN HANINI Realized by NAYROUZ SAÏDAOUI

 The Flow Of The
02 Debate
➔ Every delegate:
- Chooses the congressperson to represent. The chosen person should have served during the
mandate when the bill was introduced.
- Uses the pronoun “I”.
- when writing the motion follows the example: “ I (name of the congressperson), propose a
motion of total duration of (overall duration) in which every delegate will dispose of
(intervention time) to discuss (topic)”.
➔ The opening:
- The chair announces the opening of the session by delivering a speech or reciting the oath.
- Then, each congressperson is allotted 1.5 minutes to deliver their opening speech.

Training by YASMINE BEN HANINI Realized by NAYROUZ SAÏDAOUI

➔ The Hearings (formal-informal debate):
-The congresspeople start suggesting their motions.
-The motion should not exceed 30 minutes and and each speaker's duration should not
exceed 2.5 minutes.
- The chairmanship evaluates the suggestions and approves the suitable one.
-Once a motion passes, the congressperson has 5 minutes to build his case. it is
recommended to bring a piece of evidence (a witness, facts, story,..).
- Congresspersons may ask for a Q/A session with the witness or the person who
suggested the motion.
-After presenting the evidence, the interventions start.
➔ Mark-ups (informal debate):
- Freedom of Movement and freedom of Speech during the motion.
- Negotiations are informal and are not subject to any restrictions.
- Mark-ups are usually suggested to record the points discussed during the previous
motions and to initiate the drafting of the final bill.

Training by YASMINE BEN HANINI Realized by NAYROUZ SAÏDAOUI

 Points And Right Of
Reply:

● Right of reply: a delegate may ask for a right of reply when the country, the party or the person
they are representing is under offence.
● Point of order: a delegate can call a point of order to flag a procedural breach during a session.
The presidency is then responsible for reminding delegates of the procedural rule.
● Point of Personal Privilege: is employed primarily to address matters related to a delegate ' s
personal identity or concerns.
● Point of information: a delegate asks questions the committee ’ s presidency in order to enable
clarification of a term, a concept, or one of the procedures.
● Fact-checking: Congresspersons may use scientific facts or events to bolster their cases, and
fellow delegates can ask for sources to verify information reliability.

Training by YASMINE BEN HANINI Realized by NAYROUZ SAÏDAOUI

 The Voting
03 process:
● Amendments And Vote:
- After writing the bill, any amendment to a clause of the bill must be signed by three
congresspersons.
-The amendments may be proposed by a written message to the presidency.
-The amendment can involve adding, deleting and/or inserting any word or sentence.
-The approval of the amendment requires a simple Majority (50% + 1 vote)
● Voting:
- After finishing the amendments, the congress people must vote on the bill.
- In favour of the bill votes by: Aye
- Against the bill votes by: Nae
- A simple majority is needed

Training by YASMINE BEN HANINI Realized by NAYROUZ SAÏDAOUI

 Position/Resolution
04 Paper
POSITION PAPER:
➔ The position paper is an official
document in which the representatives
express the position they're defending.
➔ The Position Paper is helpful to both the
delegates and the chairmanship.
➔ This document is usually a two-pager,
with simple and formal language.
➔ It could include quotes of the person
you're representing, possible solutions,
your vision etc...
RESOLUTION PAPER:
➔ Resolution paper purpose is to propose,
discuss, and outline solutions or courses
of action for addressing specific issues or
challenges of international significance.
➔ Resolution papers are typically drafted
and adopted during meetings,
conferences, or sessions of international
organizations to express the consensus
or majority opinion on a particular
matter.

Training by YASMINE BEN HANINI Realized by NAYROUZ SAÏDAOUI

 THANK YOU FOR
YOUR ATTENTION!
Do you have any questions?
timunsousse@gmail.com
+216 29 453 718
@ TIMUN Sousse

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Faculty of Arts and Humanities Erriadh 4023, Sousse

Training by YASMINE BEN HANINI Realized by NAYROUZ SAÏDAOUI