Senate Procedure

Summary:

We at Island Model United Nations would like to run a United States Senate simulation as a non-traditional committee. Because of the complicated nature, and length inherent in Senate procedure, this is a pared down flow of debate meant to balance the spirit of US Senate debate with practical time concerns.

Before the Conference:

IMUN will provide three bills that are meant to simulate House Bills on separate topics. Senators will also have the opportunity to submit bills of their own to IMUN up to one week before the first committee session; submitted bills must be relevant to the topics. The bills will serve as topics to research, and will be voted on by Senators to decide which to debate. However, priority will be given to bills written by Senators. Additionally, Senators are welcome to submit amendments within the first 30 minutes of debate.

During the Conference:

Flow of Debate

Pledge of Allegiance
Roll Call
Message from the House and/or President (by the Secretary)
Introduction of the Bills on the floor through a one minute summary
Motion to Proceed to a Bill
Reading of the bill (start of 30 minutes to submit additional germane amendments)
Debate on the bill through the Chair recognizing speakers for one minute each
1. Motion for recess (Senators may leave their seats)
2. Amendments (to be proposed if a Senator is recognized)
  1. Debated through one minute speeches and debate to be ended by:
    1. Motion to Table (50%+1 of committee)
    2. Motion for cloture (60%+1 of committee)
    3. “Unanimous consent,” the bill automatically moves to voting if no one objects
Motion for Cloture (60%+1 of committee) (forces debate to end in 30 minutes)
Vote on the Bill (50%+1 of committee)

Rolls necessary

President of the Senate (Head Chair)
Secretary (Vice chair)
Clerk (Note Taker)

Motions

Motion to Proceed – this motion is used to begin debate on a bill
Motion for Cloture – will force an end to debate and must have ⅗ of committee a 16% of the committee as sponsors. Will force an end to debate in thirty minutes
Motion to Lay on the Table/Motion to table: This motion is used to end debate on a matter and prevent it from being further discussed. It can effectively kill a bill or amendment with a simple majority
Motion for a Recess – will allow Senators to get up and discuss important matter for a set amount of time
Motion to Reconsider – can reverse a previously tabled decision, must be made by someone who supported the tabling of said thing being reconsidered. This motion may be tabled.
Unanimous Consent Request & Unanimous Consent Agreement (informal agreement about how much time each speaker gets or which amendments should be debated)

Points

Points of Order – to point out a mistake of the Chair or challenge whether rules are being followed; may also be used to challenge the germaness (relevance to the topic) of an Amendment
Points of Parliamentary Inquiry – to ask a question about procedure
Points of Personal Privilege – to ask about personal comfort like excessive heat, or closing a door

General Timeline (day of):

6.5 hours of committee time

930-1230 – Committee Session One (3 hours)

Bill One: finished by 11:00
Bill Two: midway through amendments by 12:15
Chair Feedback: Last 15 minutes

200-530 – Committee Session 2 (3.5 hours)

Bill Two: done by 3:00
Bill Three: done by 5:00
Fun-MUN: last 20 minutes
Chair Feedback: done in last 20 minutes

Committee Bills:

National High speed rail
Women in the Draft
Puerto Rico Statehood

*Note: Not all committee bills may be completed in the allotted time if debate continues for too long.

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