PacMUN 2019 Senate Volume 2 Final - sisworldpeace.org · After a disappointing midterm election,...

Revised 13 September 2019 United States Senate

Hawaiʻi Pacific Model United Nations Conference 2019

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In the Hawaiʻi Pacific Model United Nations Conference 2019

DIRECTOR JAKE STEINER, introduced the following

BACKGROUND GUIDE For the United States Senate, a highly Specialized Committee at PacMUN 2019.

VOLUME TWO: KEY ISSUES FACING THE UNITED STATES

Note: Due to the combined length of this guide, delegates are discouraged from printing this guide. When viewing on a computer, delegates may use the

“find” function (Ctrl-F on Windows, Cmd-F on Mac OS) to quickly access information.

Contents of Volume Two Introduction to Volume Two .......................................................................................................... 4

Recommendations from the Director on Researching for this Committee ..................................... 4

Central Crisis: The 2020 General Election ..................................................................................... 5

What’s at Stake ............................................................................................................................ 5

The Presidency: Four More Years(?) ...................................................................................... 5

The Senate: A Time to Pounce ................................................................................................ 5

The House: Keep it Going ....................................................................................................... 5

The Judiciary ........................................................................................................................... 6

Climate Change: Running out the Clock ................................................................................. 6

Presidential Candidate Profiles ....................................................................................................... 7

Donald Trump- Chaos is a Ladder .................................................................................................. 7

Bernie Sanders- II: Electric Boogaloo ............................................................................................ 9

Elizabeth Warren- I Have a Plan for That .................................................................................... 10

Joe Biden-Uncle Joe’s Back ......................................................................................................... 11

Andrew Yang- #YangGang .......................................................................................................... 12

House Bills Available to Committee ............................................................................................ 13

Fiscal Policy .................................................................................................................................. 19

Taxes ............................................................................................................................................. 21

Republicans ............................................................................................................................... 21



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Democrats .................................................................................................................................. 22

Healthcare ..................................................................................................................................... 23

Problems with the US Healthcare System ................................................................................. 23

Republican Proposals ................................................................................................................ 24

Democratic Proposals ................................................................................................................ 24

Medicare for All .................................................................................................................... 25

Public Option ......................................................................................................................... 26

Opioid Epidemic: Responsibility of Big Pharma, Prosecutions, Investigations, ...................... 26

Investigation and Prosecution of Pharmaceutical Companies ............................................... 27

Elections and Election Security .................................................................................................... 27

Gerrymandering ........................................................................................................................ 27

Proposed Solutions ................................................................................................................ 28

Voter Registration, Voter Fraud, and Voter ID ......................................................................... 29

Foreign Interference in Elections .............................................................................................. 29

Guns, the Second Amendment, and Mass Shootings ................................................................... 30

Families ......................................................................................................................................... 31

Maternity/Paternity Leave and Childcare .............................................................................. 31

Immigration and the Border .......................................................................................................... 33

Build the Wall ........................................................................................................................... 33

Cost ........................................................................................................................................ 33

Efforts to Fund Wall Construction ........................................................................................ 34

Effectiveness .......................................................................................................................... 34

Family Separation and Migrant Detention ................................................................................ 35

Drugs (Illegal) ............................................................................................................................... 38

Cannabis .................................................................................................................................... 38

Infrastructure ................................................................................................................................. 39

Communications and Technology ................................................................................................ 40

Internet ...................................................................................................................................... 40

Net Neutrality ........................................................................................................................ 40

Conservatives and Censorship on Social Media .................................................................... 41

Reforms ......................................................................................................................................... 43



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Constitutional Reforms ............................................................................................................. 43

Electoral College ................................................................................................................... 43

Supreme Court of the United States ...................................................................................... 44

Senatorial Reforms .................................................................................................................... 45

Filibuster ................................................................................................................................ 45

General Themes of US Foreign Policy ......................................................................................... 47

“A World Safe for Democracy:” Wilsonian Imperialism since the Great War ........................ 47

Nuclear Weapons: Nobody else can have them. ....................................................................... 47

Current Issues in Foreign Affairs .................................................................................................. 49

The United Kingdom-Boris and Brexit ..................................................................................... 49

North Korea ............................................................................................................................... 49

Russia- The Old Foe .................................................................................................................. 50

China, People’s Republic .......................................................................................................... 50

Iran, WMDs, and the JCPOA- Flashbacks to 2003 vs a New “Evil Empire” ........................... 50

Israel/Palestine Conflict ............................................................................................................ 51

Saudi Arabia, Kashoggi, Yemen, and Arms Sales. ................................................................... 51

Appendix A-Notable Senate Bills ................................................................................................. 51

Appendix B-Bibliography ............................................................................................................. 58



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Introduction to Volume Two The Director recognizes that it would be impossible for delegates to prepare adequately

for such a wide agenda with no guidance. Thus, Volume Two aims to provide delegates with ideas for legislation that can springboard debate and bill/resolution writing. The breadth of topics presented here should leave no shortage of topics for discussion over the three days of the conference.

This volume will not, however, write bills or resolutions for delegates, but will provide general information outlining the scope of the issue and Republican and Democratic Party perspectives on an array of issues relevant to campaigns and the past few months, which the Director hopes will lead to creative solutions from delegates.

This Volume is not an exhaustive list of topics that can be covered in committee, and further research will be necessary on an individual Senator’s priorities. Volume II replaces “Questions to Consider” Sections in other PacMUN Background Guides.

Recommendations from the Director on Researching for this Committee

The Director wants to provide some suggestions for how delegates might approach researching for this committee.

1) Your Role While the general knowledge presented in Volume II is good, you should be researching your own role and that Senator’s priorities. Some ways to do this are:

a. Senator’s Website- Every US Senator has a website, and on that website, they will often put what issues they care about most. Absent that, press releases (also on the website) can be useful in this effort.

b. Twitter- Every Senator has a twitter account now. This can, in short form, provide you with a quick guide to tone and priorities.

2) Special Interests- Senators should remain mindful of what brought them into the Senate in the first place, as they will affect your stance in the issues. Some sources include

a. Campaign Contributions, Ratings, and Endorsements- Public records of campaign contributions can indicate where pressure on your role comes from. This may be difficult to navigate, however. Other indicators include ratings from advocacy organizations. Organizations often grade Senators on their positions and voting records, either on a percentage or letter-grade scale. The National Rifle Association is perhaps the most famous of these grading systems, rating every lawmaker from A to F. Sites like govtrack.us compile this information in an easy-to-read format.

b. Voting Records and Bills Written- Each Senator has a voting record for every vote they took in congress, which can indicate your stance on the issues.



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Central Crisis: The 2020 General Election Despite what they might tell you, the ultimate goal of any politician or party is

(re)election. It doesn’t matter how many great policy ideas a person has, if they do not have the means and the power to effect the changes they outline, they are but another voice in the crowd. For any politician, this requires “continued regime survival,” or to use a more democratic term, “re-election.”1 If one must quote House of Cards (US),2 “Power is the old stone building which lasts for centuries.” This election is crucial to both parties, as the winner will likely change the course of American politics.

What’s at Stake The Presidency: Four More Years(?)

Whether you love him or hate him, you have to admit Donald Trump has already changed the course of American politics. What matters in 2020 is the message that the United States sends to both itself and its allies about where America--the leader of the free world and world hegemon--is going. Trump’s opponents want to reverse course from what they see as an ignorant regime who shuns knowledge and fact. Trump’s supporters want to keep it going because they like the direction of Trump’s presidency and the representation he gives their conservative policies.

The Senate: A Time to Pounce After a disappointing midterm election, and an unfavorable draw of Senators up for

election in 2018,3 the Senate Democrats see 2020 as the time to strike and take back the chamber from Mitch McConnell. Of the 34 seats up in 2020, 224 are held by Republicans, including McConnell himself.

The Republicans, on the other hand, want to hold on to their majority in the Senate. Should Trump lose re-election and a Democrat take office, Republicans will look to Senator McConnell and his “legislative graveyard”5 to block any bills from the House to cripple the Democrats’ legislative agenda.

The House: Keep it Going In the 2018 midterm elections, the Democratic Party took back the House of

Representatives, gaining 41 seats. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA-12) is tasked with balancing the left wing of the party, represented in the House by “the Squad” of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY-14), Ilhan Omar (D-MN-9), Ayanna Pressley (D-MA-7) and Rashida Tlaib (D-MI-13), and more moderate voices which brought the Democrats the majority. While Ocasio-Cortez, Omar,

1 Bueno de Mesquita, Smith; The Dictator’s Handbook: Why Bad Behavior is Always Good Politics 2 There was a UK version which aired on the BBC (currently on Netflix) in the ‘90s, on which the US version was based. It follows the rise and fall of Francis Urquhart, a ruthless Conservative Chief Whip in a post-Thatcher era. 3 https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/democrats-horrible-2018-senate-map-couldnt-have-come-at-a-better-time/ 4 https://www.270towin.com/2020-senate-election/ 5 https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/454967-mcconnell-under-fire-for-burying-election-security-bills-in-legislative-graveyard



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Pressley, and Tlaib won solidly blue seats, Democrats like Connor Lamb (D-PA-17) flipped swing districts or historically red districts with a more moderate voice. Pelosi fears that the Democrats’ leftward turn will cost Democrats the gains they made in 2018.

The Judiciary The judiciary is especially consequential as appointments are for life. In the past three

years, Donald Trump has appointed two justices who have tilted the balance of the court in favour of the conservatives. The situation can become even more dire for liberals. Ruth Bader Ginsburg is 86 years of age and has been one of the most powerful liberal voices on the court. Should Donald Trump win the White House for another four years, there is a very real possibility that “RBG” might pass, and Donald Trump may have the opportunity to cement the conservative majority for decades. After RBG, Justice Stephen Breyer is 81, Justice Clarence Thomas is 71, Justice Samuel Alito is 69, Justice Sonia Sotomayor is 65, Chief Justice John Roberts is 64, Justice Elena Kagan is 59, Justice Brett Kavanaugh is 54, and Justice Neil Gorsuch is 51.

Regardless of the President or Congress, the Supreme Court has proved a powerful agent in American government, as Citizens United6 for Conservatives, Roe v. Wade7 and Obergefell v. Hodges8 for the liberals have shown.

Climate Change: Running out the Clock The overwhelming scientific consensus demonstrates that man-made climate change

exists and that time is running out. For Democrats, winning the White House is integral to making meaningful changes to American policy to combat global warming.

6 https://www.oyez.org/cases/2008/08-205 Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission 7 https://www.oyez.org/cases/1971/70-18 Roe v. Wade 8 https://www.oyez.org/cases/2014/14-556 Obergefell v. Hodges



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Presidential Candidate Profiles The following section provides selected major policy proposals from candidates for

President of the United States. Delegates may wish to debate these policies or any others presented in the current real-life race or use them as inspiration for their own proposals.

Donald Trump- Chaos is a Ladder

Donald J. Trump is the current President of the United States. While in 2016, he ran on the platform of “Make America Great Again,” and Build the Wall, it appears that President Trump’s 2020 platform will focus on Immigration, (anti)Socialism, and the Economy. The following is a series of “promises kept” by Trump according to his campaign:

INCREASING JOBS FOR AMERICA’S WORKERS AND REVIVING THE ECONOMY: President Trump put the American economy into high gear, which created jobs and increased wealth. Under President Trump’s leadership, Congress passed historic tax cuts and relief for hard-working Americans. Businesses have invested $482 billion in new, American projects and employees.

Repealed Obamacare’s burdensome individual mandate.

President Trump is unleashing economic growth and jobs. During his first year, nearly 3 million new jobs were created since January 2017 and the unemployment rate fell to 3.8 percent, the first time below 4% in 18 years.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average hit record highs more than 80 times under President Trump, including closing higher than 26,000 points for the first time in its history.

In 2017, President Trump far exceeded his promise to eliminate regulations at a two-to-one ratio, issuing 22 deregulatory actions for every new regulatory action.9

PROTECTING THE AMERICAN PEOPLE AND OUR HOMELAND: President Trump enforced immigration laws to protect American communities and American jobs.

9 https://www.promiseskept.com/achievement/overview/economy-and-jobs/

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President Trump called on Congress to fully fund a wall along the Southern border, to close legal loopholes that enable illegal immigration, to end chain migration, and to eliminate the visa lottery program.

President Trump pulled the United States out of negotiations for a “Global Compact on Migration,” a plan for global governance of immigration and refugee policy that may have compromised U.S. sovereignty.

Under President Trump’s leadership, the Department of Homeland Security took action to wind down the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program in an orderly fashion, following the assessment of the Department of Justice (DOJ) that DACA lacks legal authorization.

From President Trump’s inauguration through the end of FY 2017, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) made 110,568 arrests of illegal aliens, a 40 percent increase compared to the same time period the prior year.10

OPPOSING TRADE PRACTICES THAT UNDERMINE NATIONAL SECURITY: President Donald J. Trump addressed global overcapacity and unfair trade practices in the steel and aluminum industries by announcing a 25 percent tariff on steel imports and 10 percent tariff on aluminum imports.

President Trump took action to protect America’s critical steel and aluminum industries, which were harmed by unfair trade practices and global excess capacity.

The President exercised his authority to impose a 25 percent global tariff on steel imports and a 10 percent global tariff on aluminum imports in order to protect our national security.

One of President Trump’s first actions was to withdraw the United States from the Trans-Pacific Partnership, advancing his agenda to protect American workers.11

10 https://www.promiseskept.com/achievement/overview/immigration/ 11 https://www.promiseskept.com/achievement/overview/foreign-policy/



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Bernie Sanders- II: Electric Boogaloo

After running for the Democratic Nomination unnecessarily in 2016, Senator Bernard Sanders (I-VT) is now one of the frontrunners for the 2020 nomination. Senator Sanders focuses on progressive issues and calls himself a democratic socialist. He successfully transformed his 2016 campaign into a grassroots progressive movement, “Our Revolution,” and has shifted the party to the left as a result.12 Without diminishing his other proposals on the student debt crisis, and other working-class issues, Senator Sanders has focused primarily on his proposal for a Universal Single-Payer healthcare system, known as Medicare for All (see Appendix A-S.1129). The following is pulled from his 2020 campaign website:13

Today, more than 30 million Americans still don’t have health insurance and even more are underinsured. Even for those with insurance, costs are so high that medical bills are the number one cause of bankruptcy in the United States…

We should be spending money on doctors, nurses, mental health specialists, dentists, and other professionals who provide services to people and improve their lives. We must invest in the development of new drugs and technologies that cure disease and alleviate pain—not wasting hundreds of billions of dollars a year on profiteering, huge executive compensation packages, and outrageous administrative costs.

The giant pharmaceutical and health insurance lobbies have spent billions of dollars over the past decades to ensure that their profits come before the health of the American people. We must defeat them, together. That means:

• Joining every other major country on Earth and guaranteeing health care to all people as a right, not a privilege, through a Medicare-for-all, single-payer program.

And to lower the prices of prescription drugs now, we need to:

• Allow Medicare to negotiate with the big drug companies to lower prescription drug prices with the Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Act.

• Allow patients, pharmacists, and wholesalers to buy low-cost prescription drugs from Canada and other industrialized countries with the Affordable and Safe Prescription Drug Importation Act.

12 https://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-welch-bernie-sanders-already-won-20190220-story.html 13 https://berniesanders.com/issues/

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• Cut prescription drug prices in half, with the Prescription Drug Price Relief Act, by pegging prices to the median drug price in five major countries: Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, and Japan.

Elizabeth Warren- I Have a Plan for That

Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) is one of the Democratic frontrunners in the 2020 election. While she specializes in economic and financial issues, she now-famously “has a plan” for everything. The plans outlined here are only a fraction of those on Senator Warren’s website.

END WASHINGTON CORRUPTION14- We will start by ending lobbying as we know it by closing loopholes so everyone who lobbies must register, shining sunlight on their activities, banning foreign governments from hiring Washington lobbyists, and shutting down the ability of lobbyists to move freely in and out of government jobs. We will also shut the revolving door between Wall Street and Washington and permanently ban Senators and Congressmen from trading stocks in office and from becoming lobbyists when they retire.

REBUILD THE MIDDLE CLASS15- It means transforming large American companies by letting their workers elect at least 40% of the company’s board members to give them a powerful voice in decisions about wages and outsourcing. And it means a new era of strong antitrust enforcement so giant corporations can’t stifle competition, depress wages, and drive up the cost of everything from beef to Internet access. That includes an Ultra-Millionaire Tax on America’s 75,000 richest families to produce trillions that can be used to build an economy that works for everyone, including universal childcare, student loan debt relief, and down payments on a Green New Deal and Medicare for All. And we can make a historic investment in housing that would bring down rents by 10% across America and create 1.5 million new jobs.

STRENGTHEN OUR DEMOCRACY16-…That starts with a constitutional amendment to protect the right of every American citizen to vote and to have that vote counted…We must eliminate unnecessary and unjustified rules that make voting more difficult, and overturn every single voter suppression rule that racist politicians use to steal votes from people of color. We

14 https://elizabethwarren.com/issues#end-washington-corruption 15 https://elizabethwarren.com/issues#rebuild-the-middle-class 16 https://elizabethwarren.com/issues#strengthen-our-democracy

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need to outlaw partisan gerrymandering by Democrats and Republicans…we need to end the influence of big money on our elections. That means overturning Citizens United.

A FOREIGN POLICY FOR ALL17-…We need to strengthen labor standards – and then fight to enforce them. That’s why Elizabeth will oppose Trump’s new “NAFTA 2.0” unless he produces a better deal for America’s working families… We must continue to be vigilant about the threat of terrorism, but it’s time to bring our troops home – and make sure they get support and benefits they’ve earned…We should also leverage all the tools of our national power, not just our military might. That means cutting our bloated defense budget and ending the stranglehold of defense contractors on our military policy. It means reinvesting in diplomacy and standing with our allies to advance our shared interests.

Joe Biden-Uncle Joe’s Back Former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. is one of the frontrunners for the Democratic Nomination. Of the current pack of frontrunners (Biden/Sanders/Warren), he is considered the most moderate and centrist.

The Obama Coalition

Vice President Biden wants to bring back the coalition of voters that brought Barack Obama two terms in the White House. This means a continuation of Obama policies such as the Affordable Care Act18, with the Public Option.

Attacking Trump

Biden’s policies and rhetoric aim to place him as a foil to President Trump, and thus he argues for humane immigration policies, recommitting to allies on the foreign policy side, and rebuking dictators and autocrats. In a video announcing his bid for the Presidency, he mentions the white supremacist rallies in Charlottesville, Virginia, in order to attack President Trump’s response, and frame his campaign as a “battle for the soul of this nation.”19

Leftward Leaning, Still Proceeding

The influence of progressives such as Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren cannot be underestimated, as Biden departs from a pragmatic centrism in favour of progressive policies

17 https://elizabethwarren.com/issues#a-foreign-policy-for-all 18 https://joebiden.com/healthcare/ 19 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VbOU2fTg6cI

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such as a $15 minimum wage, and protecting workers in trade policy (a departure from Obama’s Free Trade policy through the Trans-Pacific Partnership).20

Andrew Yang- #YangGang

Entrepreneur Andrew Yang is running based on one signature policy proposal, known as the Freedom Dividend, a Universal Basic Income proposal granting every American over 18 $1000 per month, no questions asked. The following is from Yang’s website. 21

Why?

“In the next 12 years, 1 out of 3 American workers are at risk of losing their jobs to new technologies—and unlike with previous waves of automation, this time new jobs will not appear quickly enough in large enough numbers to make up for it. To avoid an unprecedented crisis, we’re going to have to find a new solution, unlike anything we’ve done before. It all begins with the Freedom Dividend, a universal basic income for all American adults, no strings attached – a foundation on which a stable, prosperous, and just society can be built.

As technology improves, workers will be able to stop doing the most dangerous, repetitive, and boring jobs. This should excite us, but if Americans have no source of income—no ability to pay for groceries, buy homes, save for education, or start families with confidence—then the future could be very dark. Our labor participation rate now is only 62.7% – lower than it has been in decades, with 1 out of 5 working-age men currently out of the workforce. This will get much worse as self-driving cars and other technologies come online.”

Paying for the Freedom Dividend

“Andrew proposes funding the Freedom Dividend by consolidating some welfare programs and implementing a Value-Added Tax (VAT) of 10%. Current welfare and social program beneficiaries would be given a choice between their current benefits or $1,000 cash unconditionally – most would prefer cash with no restriction.

20 https://joebiden.com/joes-vision/ 21 https://www.yang2020.com/what-is-freedom-dividend-faq/ The page has been revised since the Director first accessed it, adding additional information and responding to criticism.

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A Value-Added Tax (VAT) is a tax on the production of goods or services a business produces. It is a fair tax and it makes it much harder for large corporations, who are experts at hiding profits and income, to avoid paying their fair share. A VAT is nothing new. 160 out of 193 countries in the world already have a Value-Added Tax or something similar, including all of Europe which has an average VAT of 20 percent.”

House Bills Available to Committee This section describes the bills that have been passed by the House of Representatives

that will be available for Senators to discuss starting in Session I of the committee. Pursuant to the Senate Rules and the Constitution of the United States, the Senate may discuss, amend, or pass the bills presented.

For the sake of simplicity, the committee will only entertain the following bills initially. The Director may, over the course of the conference, present bills to the committee that in real life exist at any point in the legislative process. When this happens, the Director will inform the committee of the bill’s status in real life, or if it was generated organically by the Director.

If, by November, these bills have been passed, the Committee shall disregard them.

While all Senate Bills introduced before the start of the conference is considered introduced at the start of committee, please see Appendix A of this volume for a list of notable bills and their summaries. Delegates may find and track the status of all bills in this Congress by using the search function on Congress.gov.

• HR1-To expand Americans' access to the ballot box, reduce the influence of big money in politics, and strengthen ethics rules for public servants, and for other purposes. Summary per Congressional Research Service: 22

o This bill addresses voter access, election integrity, election security, political spending, and ethics for the three branches of government.

o Specifically, the bill expands voter registration and voting access, makes Election Day a federal holiday, and limits removing voters from voter rolls.

o The bill provides for states to establish independent, nonpartisan redistricting commissions.

o The bill also sets forth provisions related to election security, including sharing intelligence information with state election officials, protecting the security of the voter rolls, supporting states in securing their election systems, developing a national strategy to protect the security and integrity of U.S. democratic institutions, establishing in the legislative branch the National Commission to Protect United States Democratic Institutions, and other provisions to improve the cybersecurity of election systems.

22 https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/1?q=%7B%22search%22%3A%5B%22HR1%22%5D%7D&r=1&s=7



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o This bill addresses campaign spending, including by expanding the ban on foreign nationals contributing to or spending on elections; expanding disclosure rules pertaining to organizations spending money during elections, campaign advertisements, and online platforms; and revising disclaimer requirements for political advertising.

o This bill establishes an alternative campaign funding system for certain federal offices. The system involves federal matching of small contributions for qualified candidates.

o This bill sets forth provisions related to ethics in all three branches of government. Specifically, the bill requires a code of ethics for federal judges and justices, prohibits Members of the House from serving on the board of a for-profit entity, expands enforcement of regulations governing foreign agents, and establishes additional conflict-of-interest and ethics provisions for federal employees and the White House.

o The bill also requires candidates for President and Vice President to submit 10 years of tax returns.

• H.R.8- Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2019. Summary per Congressional Research Service:23

o This bill establishes new background check requirements for firearm transfers between private parties (i.e., unlicensed individuals).

o Specifically, it prohibits a firearm transfer between private parties unless a licensed gun dealer, manufacturer, or importer first takes possession of the firearm to conduct a background check.

o The prohibition does not apply to certain firearm transfers, such as a gift between spouses in good faith.

• H.R.9 - Climate Action Now Act. Summary per Congressional Research Service:24 o This bill requires the President to develop and update annually a plan for the United

States to meet its nationally determined contribution under the Paris Agreement on climate change. Specifically, the plan must describe steps to (1) cut greenhouse gas emissions by 26%-28% below 2005 levels by 2025, and (2) confirm that other parties to the agreement with major economies are fulfilling their announced contributions.

o In addition, the bill prohibits federal funds from being used to withdraw from the agreement.

• H.R.2722 - SAFE Act-To protect elections for public office by providing financial support and enhanced security for the infrastructure used to carry out such elections, and for other purposes. Summary per Congressional Research Service: 25

23 https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/8?q=%7B%22search%22%3A%5B%22HR+8%22%5D%7D&s=1&r=1 24 https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/9?q=%7B%22search%22%3A%5B%22HR+9%22%5D%7D&s=3&r=1 25 https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/2722?s=4&r=10



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o This bill addresses election security through grant programs and requirements for voting systems and paper ballots.

o The bill establishes requirements for voting systems, including that systems (1) use individual, durable, voter-verified paper ballots; (2) make a voter's marked ballot available for inspection and verification by the voter before the vote is cast; (3) ensure that individuals with disabilities are given an equivalent opportunity to vote, including with privacy and independence, in a manner that produces a voter-verified paper ballot; and (4) be manufactured in the United States.

o The National Science Foundation must award grants to study, test, and develop accessible voter-verified paper ballot voting and best practices to enhance the accessibility of such voting for individuals with disabilities, for voters whose primary language is not English, and for voters with difficulties in literacy.

o The Election Assistance Commission (EAC) must award grants to states to (1) replace certain voting systems, carry out voting system security improvements, and implement and model best practices for ballot design, ballot instructions, and the testing of ballots; and (2) conduct risk-limiting audits.

o States may use elections requirements payments to carry out activities related to election security.

o The EAC must provide for the testing of voting system hardware and software and decertify such technology that does not meet guidelines.

• H.R.2140 - To prevent child marriage in refugee settlements administered by the United Nations, and for other purposes. Key excerpt from full text: 26

o “The President shall direct the United States Permanent Representative to the United Nations to use the voice, vote, and influence of the United States at the United Nations to call for the development of a comprehensive strategy to address child marriage in refugee settlements administered by the United Nations.”

• H.R.2116 - Global Fragility Act. Summary per Congressional Research Service: 27 o This bill directs the Department of State to establish the interagency Global Fragility

Initiative to stabilize conflict-affected areas and prevent violence globally, and establishes funds to support such efforts.

o The State Department shall devise a plan for the initiative, including its organizational structure and goals. The State Department shall lead in foreign policy, diplomatic, and political efforts. The U.S. Agency for International Development shall lead in development, humanitarian, and non-security policies. Other departments and agencies, including the Department of Defense, shall provide support as necessary.

o The State Department shall select priority countries and regions that are particularly at risk, and report to Congress 10-year plans for each. Each plan shall include information including descriptions of goals, plans for reaching such goals, and benchmarks for measuring progress.

26 https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/2140/text?r=29&s=4 27 https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/2116?s=4&r=30



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o The State Department shall report to Congress every two years about the initiative's progress. The Government Accountability Office shall consult Congress every two years about opportunities to assess the initiative and recommend improvements.

o The bill creates the Stabilization and Prevention Fund to support efforts to stabilize conflict-affected areas, including areas at risk from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria or other terrorist organizations.

o The bill establishes the Complex Crises Fund to support programs to address emerging, unforeseen, or complex challenges abroad.

• H.R.2002 - Taiwan Assurance Act of 2019 Summary per Congressional Research Service:28

o This bill directs the Department of State to review its guidance governing U.S.-Taiwan relations and to reissue such guidance to the relevant executive branch departments and agencies. It also directs the State Department to report to Congress on the results of the review and on the implementation of the Taiwan Travel Act, which states that it is U.S. policy to allow and encourage engagement between U.S. and Taiwanese officials.

o The bill states that Taiwan is an important part of U.S. strategy in the region and urges the United States to conduct regular transfers of defense articles to enhance Taiwan's self-defense capabilities.

• H.R.1704 - Championing American Business Through Diplomacy Act of 2019 Summary per Congressional Research Service: 29

o This bill establishes within the Department of State an Assistant Secretary of State for Economic and Business Matters and establishes that a principal duty of a diplomatic mission to a foreign country is the promotion of U.S. economic and commercial interests in that country.

o The Assistant Secretary shall be responsible for matters relating to international economics and business matters in foreign policy.

o The State Department shall train various Foreign Service officers, as part of their standard training, on matters including economic and commercial diplomacy, with a particular focus on market access, commercial advocacy, and increasing awareness of U.S. government assistance available to businesses.

o The President shall initiate negotiations with countries to establish international standards for government-supported infrastructure investment overseas. The negotiations shall cover issues including the sovereignty of countries receiving investment, anti-corruption, and environmental standards.

o The bill calls for various reports to Congress, including a State Department report about each mission's activities to promote U.S. economic and business interests, and a State Department and Department of Commerce report on commercial relations

28 https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/2002?q=%7B%22search%22%3A%5B%22HR+2002%22%5D%7D&s=2&r=1 29 https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/1704?s=4&r=50



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with foreign countries, including information on each country or region's political environment and investment climate.

• H.R.920 - Venezuela Arms Restriction Act. Key excerpt from full text: 30 o “Notwithstanding any other provision of law, covered articles or services may not be

exported from the United States to any element of the security forces of Venezuela that is under the authority of a government of Venezuela that is not recognized as the legitimate government of Venezuela by the Government of the United States”

• H.R.854 - Humanitarian Assistance to the Venezuelan People Act of 2019. Key excerpt from full text: 31

o The President is authorized to provide humanitarian assistance to support the people of Venezuela, both in Venezuela and throughout the Western Hemisphere, in accordance with established international humanitarian principles.

o It is the sense of Congress that not less than $150,000,000 is necessary for each of fiscal years 2020 and 2021 to carry out this section.

• H.R.676 - NATO Support Act. Summary per Congressional Research Service: 32 o This bill prohibits the appropriation or use of funds to withdraw the United States

from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. • H.R.596 - Crimea Annexation Non-recognition Act. Summary per Congressional

Research Service: 33 o The bill prohibits any federal agency from taking any action or extending any

assistance that recognizes or implies recognition of Russia's sovereignty over Crimea, its airspace, or its territorial waters.

o The President may waive such prohibitions on a case-by-case basis if such a waiver is vital to U.S. national security interests.

• H.J.Res.37 - Directing the removal of United States Armed Forces from hostilities in the Republic of Yemen that have not been authorized by Congress. Summary per Congressional Research Service: 34

o This joint resolution directs the President to remove U.S. Armed Forces from hostilities in or affecting Yemen within 30 days unless Congress authorizes a later withdrawal date, issues a declaration of war, or specifically authorizes the use of the Armed Forces. Prohibited activities include providing in-flight fueling for non-U.S. aircraft conducting missions as part of the conflict in Yemen. This joint resolution shall not affect any military operations directed at Al Qaeda.

o The President must submit to Congress, within 90 days, reports assessing the risks that would be posed (1) if the United States were to cease supporting operations with

30 https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/920/text?r=100&s=4 31 https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/854?s=6&r=103 32 https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/676?s=6&r=114 33 https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/596?s=6&r=119 34 https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-joint-resolution/37?s=6&r=189



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respect to the conflict in Yemen, and (2) if Saudi Arabia were to cease sharing Yemen-related intelligence with the United States.

• H.J.Res.30 - Disapproving the President's proposal to take an action relating to the application of certain sanctions with respect to the Russian Federation. Summary per Congressional Research Service: 35

o This joint resolution expresses disapproval of the Office of Foreign Assets Control's report to Congress that it intends to terminate sanctions imposed on En+ Group plc, UC Rusal plc, and JSC EuroSibEnergo, companies connected to sanctioned Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska.

35 https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-joint-resolution/30?s=6&r=191



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Fiscal Policy Fiscal policy is perhaps the most important of everything in this volume. Every action

that the US government takes must have money allocated to fund it and must have the revenues to back up that spending (either through taxation or borrowing). Much of the actions Congress can take to effect policy involve funding and defunding agencies or actions or removing funding for particular actions.

At time of writing, the budget has been set through 2021 (beyond the expected time frame of the conference), thus there will be no funding or debt ceiling fights for the duration of this conference.

There is much discussion on the budget deficit, especially on the right. Senators such as Rand Paul (R-KY) demand that the United States balance its budget or have revenue through taxes equal or exceed expenditure without borrowing36. Their zeal to prevent additional government programs or cut existing spending is matched only by their desire to cut taxes- while Senator Paul voted against funding healthcare for 9/11 first responders because it did not have budgetary offsets (money cut from other areas to fund the new spending)37, he had no problem voting in favor of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 201738, which had no such offsets.

Senator Paul’s opponents point out that the government programs that he and other fiscal conservatives propose cutting do good for many Americans- providing food, healthcare, or other services to Americans39. The United States is also uniquely positioned as the world’s largest economy and the holder of the world’s reserve currency to spend and borrow with far less consequence than many smaller nations. Because of the relative sizes of the economy and the potential for another global financial crisis should the American financial system default on its debts, lenders are hesitant to take actions against the United States.40 Most of American debt is held in US Treasury bonds, which will continue to remain an attractive investment due to the stability that America provides. Long story short: America isn’t Greece.41

If Senators are interested in cutting government programs, where they want to cut tracks with their party’s ideology. Democrats, for example, often propose cutting Defense spending42 (the United States spends more on defense than the next seven countries combined, three of which -UK, France, and Germany- are allies43) or from the Department of Homeland Security.

36 https://www.randpaul.com/issues/spending-and-debt 37 https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/17/politics/rand-paul-objects-9-11-funding-unanimous-consent-gillibrand/index.html 38https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=115&session=1&vote=00323 39 https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/453823-rand-paul-accuses-jon-stewart-of-being-part-of-left-wing-mob-after-criticism The reaction from Jon Stewart and Senator Gillibrand to Paul in the case of healthcare for 9/11 first responders reflects the case for spending writ large. 40 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1062940818301761#! 41 Any Economics Textbook 42 https://www.vox.com/2019/5/2/18525580/bernie-sanders-plan-cut-military-spending 43 https://www.pgpf.org/chart-archive/0053_defense-comparison



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Republicans on the other hand often propose cutting entitlements44 like Social Security and Medicare, Foreign Aid, Education (Ronald Reagan’s cuts to education are what make higher education so expensive in America45), and other “wasteful” government spending.46

44 https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2018/04/23/paul-ryan-congress-scale-back-medicare-social-security-year-column/540339002/ 45 https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2014/09/02/my-students-pay-too-much-for-college-blame-reagan/?utm_term=.af9802a95528 46 https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/03/15/us/politics/trump-budget-proposal.html President Trump’s 2017 budget proposal, called a “Skinny Budget,” demonstrates these cuts in a concrete proposal.



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Taxes While bills involving taxes must originate in the house47, this section aims to give

delegates an understanding of Republican and Democratic tax plans in general. If delegates are interested, they should look up how the American tax code works on Youtube48, as a full explanation would double the length of this guide and would not be relevant to discussions in committee. In general, this section concerns the personal income and corporate tax rates.

Republicans On balance, the Republican party tax and spending policy tracks with Milton Friedman,

extolling the virtues of a free market with minimal intervention.49 In the 2016 Republican platform, they argue “Government cannot create prosperity, though government can limit or destroy it,” and that “spending restraint is a necessary component that must be vigorously pursued.”50

While the Republicans argue for tax cuts in general, we must pay attention to who gets the tax cuts. The Republican Party historically subscribed to trickle-down economics, which is a macroeconomic theory considered an offshoot of supply-side economics proposed by Arthur Laffer. Trickle down economics involves targeting tax cuts on the wealthy and corporations. The theory poses that lowering taxes on the rich and corporations stimulates business investment increasing employment and production, thus the wealth “trickles down” to the poor.51 While not many current Republican representatives actively subscribe to trickle-down in their rhetoric, we can observe its influence in Republican tax policy, which favors cutting taxes on the highest earners and corporations. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 201752 follows this trend, as it favors the rich overall despite rhetoric focusing on middle-class relief.53

47 United States Constitution, Article I 48 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJhsjUPDulw explains income taxes, but the wider 49 Milton Friedman, Friedman, Milton & Rose D. Capitalism and Freedom, University of Chicago Press, 1982, Throughout. 50 https://gop.com/platform/restoring-the-american-dream/# 51 https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/06/01/trump-is-giving-arthur-laffer-presidential-medal-freedom-economists-arent-laughing/ 52 https://taxfoundation.org/tax-cuts-and-jobs-act-explained/ 53 https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2018-tax-plan-consequences/

6Ronald Reagan's economic policies, dubbed "Reaganomics", included large tax cuts and were characterized as trickle-down economics. In this picture, he is outlining his plan for the Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981 from the Oval Office.



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Democrats The Democratic Party proposes lowering taxes on the middle and lower classes and

raising it on the rich where necessary to cover new programs. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), for example, has proposed a two-cent wealth tax called the “Ultra-Millionaire Tax” on holdings above $50 million.54 Historically, during the Second World War, the top tax rate on the highest earners was as high as 94%, and only dipped below 70% in the 1980s when it was lowered to 50%, and then to 28%. The current top tax rate is 37%55. They argue that by lowering taxes on the middle class, they will have more income to spend, thus expanding the economy from the demand side. They further argue that this is more effective than supply-side economics as it frees up a greater proportion of income for poor people than supply-side tax cuts does for the rich, and thus is more effective.56

The Democrats prefer progressive tax schemes such as the Warren Ultra-Millionaire Tax which tax a greater proportion of income or wealth from the rich than the poor than a flat or value-added tax. They argue that this is fairer and expands opportunity for all.57

54 https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/1/24/18196275/elizabeth-warren-wealth-tax 55 https://www.cch.com/WBOT2013/029IncomeTaxRates.asp 56 Literally any Economics Textbook 57 https://elizabethwarren.com/ultra-millionaire-tax/



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Healthcare There have been long and heated debates over healthcare in the United States since the

Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2008. Since its passage, Republicans have endeavored to repeal or undermine the act,58 59 while many Democrats think that the ACA does not go far enough, proposing at least a public option to buy into the state-sponsored Medicare, or replacing the private health insurance market with a universal single-payer system as seen in Canada and Europe.60 This section outlines the problems with the current American Healthcare System, moves into Republican and Democratic solutions, and finally specific health-related issues.

Problems with the US Healthcare System

The problems with the American healthcare system begin and end with cost. Many operations and surgeries in hospitals, without insurance can cost tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars. A visit to a general practitioner or a specialist like a cardiologist or optometrist even with insurance could cost hundreds. According to Bernie Sanders’ Presidential Campaign, “Today, more than 30 million Americans still don’t have health insurance and even more are underinsured. Even for those with insurance, costs are so high that medical bills are the number one cause of bankruptcy in the United States. Incredibly, we spend significantly more of our national GDP on this inadequate health care system—far more per person than any other major country. And despite doing so, Americans have worse health outcomes and a higher infant mortality rate than countries that spend much less on health care.”61

58 https://www.npr.org/2019/03/27/707183175/republican-lawmakers-brace-for-impact-of-renewed-push-to-repeal-obamacare 59 One of the provisions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, for example, was to repeal the Individual Mandate of the ACA. The Individual Mandate fined those who did not have health coverage. https://www.congress.gov/115/bills/hr1/BILLS-115hr1enr.pdf P. 39-Sec. 11081 60 https://www.vox.com/2019/7/30/20747974/democratic-debate-health-care-medicare-for-all 61 https://berniesanders.com/issues/health-care-for-all/



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The incentives of insurance companies also do not favour the consumer. The goal of an insurance company is not to provide good healthcare outcomes, but to make money. Put simply, get as much money from the policy holder, while paying out as little as possible. This is where co-pays and deductibles come in- to minimize payouts.62 63

Republican Proposals The Republicans are strong believers in the

free market, and thus they center efforts to repeal the ACA around the individual mandate. The mandate requires that every American has health insurance or pay a fine. Republicans argue that this mandate breaks the free market and gives no incentives to the insurance providers to compete since all Americans are forced to buy. Republicans overall argue that competition will advantage the consumer and thus will drive costs down.64

Conservatives further argue that the ACA makes it difficult to sell insurance across state lines, which they argue stifles competition. Republican reforms would eliminate most of the ACA’s national regulations, thereby making it easier for insurers to sell health insurance policies across state lines. Conservatives believe allowing insurers to sell policies across state lines would inject competition into the individual market, which would lower costs for consumers.

Critics of this approach argue that if cross-state sales became widespread, the individual insurance market could become a race to the bottom. Insurance companies, they say, would relocate to states with the most insurer-friendly regulatory environments—in effect allowing national health care policy to be dictated by the most permissive states.65

The most recent attempt to repeal the ACA was the failed American Health Care Act, which failed in the Senate due to a negative vote by Senator John McCain (R-AZ dec.).66

Democratic Proposals The Democrats argue that the healthcare market is broken from both supply-sides- the insurance companies and the healthcare providers. They have no incentives to compete because

62 https://dpeaflcio.org/programs-publications/issue-fact-sheets/the-u-s-health-care-system-an-international-perspective/ 63 A business, by definition, wants to maximize revenue and lower costs. 64 https://www.heritage.org/health-care-reform/commentary/how-repeal-obamacare-road-map-the-gop 65 https://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/explainer/2017/apr/essential-facts-about-health-reform-alternatives-allowing-insurance 66https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=115&session=1&vote=00179

7 Former House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) promotes the AHCA. Esquire.



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healthcare is not a “want” but a “need-” while many want a new smartphone or car, they need healthcare for survival. Further, when a person is in an ambulance with a gunshot wound, there is no way to “shop around” for the best price on bullet removal surgery.67

Democrats also want their proposals to promote preventive care. By reducing costs overall, Democrats hope that Americans will get regular checkups and tackle medical issues before they get worse. Currently, Americans simply put off many medical issues due to the cost of taking care of them, and only go to the emergency room once it becomes unbearable.68

The Democrats further point out that the current system ties Americans to their employers. Many Americans get health insurance through their employers (the employers are legally required to provide this to), and some may fear seeking new opportunities because they will lose their health coverage.69

Democrats are, however, divided on what path the government should take in repairing this broken market.

Medicare for All Bernie Sanders (I-VT) has sponsored the Medicare for All (MFA) bill in the Senate

which will replace the current private health insurance market entirely, effectively converting the United States into a universal single-payer system. Senator Sanders has argued that while taxes

will rise, abolishing premiums, co-pays, and deductibles will reduce costs overall. 70 MFA effectively creates a monopsony, where there are many sellers to only one large buyer- the government. The government would thus have all the power in healthcare pricing.71 Republicans categorically denounce MFA as “socialized medicine,” 72 and point to long wait times in Canada and the United Kingdom as examples of how universal single-payer systems disadvantage consumers73. It is important to note that both Canada and the United Kingdom allow for private supplementary medical coverage (that

competes with the single-payer) for those who are unsatisfied with the government coverage,

67 http://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,2136864-1,00.html 68 https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/23/us/politics/2020-democrats-health-care.html 69 https://observer.com/2017/03/health-insurance-tied-to-employment-obamacare-healthcare/ 70 Second Democratic Debate (CNN), Day 1 71 https://www.investopedia.com/terms/m/monopsony.asp 72 https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/republican-congressman-socialized-medicine-is-knocking-on-the-door-america 73 https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/dr-danielle-martin-gives-washington-a-lesson-on-canadian-health-care-1.2570872

8 Sanders' 2020 Presidential Campaign emphasizes MFA to reach the working class.



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while Sanders’ plan does not provide for this74. Britons remain both satisfied and proud of their National Health Service (NHS). For example, government ministers in the United Kingdom pushed back75 on comments from President Trump that the NHS should be included in a Post-Brexit Trade deal.

Public Option The other proposal is a public option or adding Medicare as one of the providers on the ACA healthcare insurance exchanges, also referred to this election cycle as Medicare for America76, or Medicare for All-Who-Want-It. This system has some disadvantages compared to MFA, however. By only removing competition on the insurance-side, the government will have to pick up the high costs of the medical services, thus resulting in higher tax increases than MFA. Many see this as a transition to MFA.77

Opioid Epidemic: Responsibility of Big Pharma, Prosecutions, Investigations, One of the most pressing crises facing the United States in the area of health is the opioid epidemic. Opioid painkillers, and synthetic alternatives like fentanyl have caused addiction and overdoses resulting in thousands of deaths.

In the late 1990s, pharmaceutical companies reassured the medical community that patients would not become addicted to opioid pain relievers and healthcare providers began to prescribe them at greater rates. Increased prescription of opioid medications led to widespread misuse of both prescription and non-prescription opioids before it became clear that these medications could indeed be highly addictive. Opioid overdose rates began to increase. In 2017, more than 47,000 Americans died as a result of an opioid overdose, including prescription opioids, heroin, and illicitly manufactured fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid. That same year, an estimated 1.7 million people in the United States suffered from substance use disorders related to prescription opioid pain relievers, and 652,000 suffered from a heroin use disorder (not mutually exclusive).78

74 https://www.telegraph.co.uk/insurance/health/pros-cons-private-medical-insurance/ 75 https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/trump-nhs-brexit-trade-deal-talks-theresa-may-press-conference-uk-a8943656.html 76https://delauro.house.gov/sites/delauro.house.gov/files/Medicare%20for%20America%20of%202019%20Summary.pdf 77 CNN Democratic Presidential Debate, Night 1 78 https://www.hhs.gov/opioids/about-the-epidemic/index.html

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Neither party has proposed a solution to the overarching problem, however some action has been taken.

Investigation and Prosecution of Pharmaceutical Companies Rochester Drug Cooperative faces charges for conspiring to distribute drugs and

defrauding the federal government — after the company didn’t report thousands of suspicious orders of opioids, including oxycodone and fentanyl. Rochester is the sixth-largest distributor in the US, according to the New York Times.79

Investigations are already underway, potentially leading to criminal charges against Purdue Pharmaceuticals and McKesson.80

Elections and Election Security Gerrymandering

Gerrymandering is the practice of manipulating district boundaries to the advantage of either party. Two principal tactics are used in gerrymandering: "cracking" (i.e. diluting the voting power of the opposing party's supporters across many districts) and "packing" (concentrating the opposing party's voting power in one district to reduce their voting power in other districts).81 82

As 2020 is a census year, some districts in the House may need to be redrawn where the number of members a state is allotted changes. The practice is much more prevalent in

79 https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/23/nyregion/opioid-crisis-drug-trafficking-rochester.html 80 Last Week Tonight has an insightful piece on this crisis, available on Youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qCKR6wy94U 81 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bGLRJ12uqmk Washington Post’s Explainer Video on Gerrymandering 82 https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2015/03/01/this-is-the-best-explanation-of-gerrymandering-you-will-ever-see/

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state legislatures, however. Neither party is innocent in this, as both Democrats and Republicans have gerrymandered districts in states where they have an advantage. 83 84

Proposed Solutions Due to the perceived issues associated with gerrymandering and its effect on competitive elections and democratic accountability, numerous countries have enacted reforms making the practice either more difficult or less effective. Countries such as the U.K.85, Australia86, Canada87 and most of those in Europe have transferred responsibility for defining constituency boundaries to neutral or cross-party bodies. In Spain, they are constitutionally fixed since 1978.88

The most commonly advocated electoral reform proposal targeted at gerrymandering is to change the redistricting process. Under these proposals, an independent and presumably objective commission is created specifically for redistricting, rather than having the legislature do it. This is the system used in the United Kingdom, where the independent boundary commissions determine the boundaries for constituencies in the House of Commons and the devolved legislatures, subject to ratification by the body in question (almost always granted without debate).89

Redistricting transparency legislation has been introduced to US Congress a number of times in recent years, including the Redistricting Transparency Acts of 2010, 2011, and 201390. Such policy proposals aim to increase the transparency and responsiveness of the redistricting systems in the US. The merit of increasing transparency in redistricting processes is based largely on the premise that lawmakers would be less inclined to draw gerrymandered districts if they were forced to defend such districts in a public forum.

Because gerrymandering relies on the wasted-vote effect, the use of a different voting system with fewer wasted votes can help reduce gerrymandering. In particular, the use of multi-member districts alongside voting systems establishing proportional representation such as single transferable voting can reduce wasted votes and gerrymandering. Semi-proportional voting systems such as single non-transferable vote or cumulative voting are relatively simple and similar to first past the post and can also reduce the proportion of wasted votes and thus potential gerrymandering. Electoral reformers have advocated all three as replacement systems.91

83 https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2018/03/28/how-maryland-democrats-pulled-off-their-aggressive-gerrymander/ Maryland democrats aggressively gerrymandered their state 84 https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/6/27/18761166/supreme-court-gerrymandering-republicans-democracy 85 https://www.economist.com/the-economist-explains/2018/09/20/how-britain-draws-its-electoral-boundaries 86 https://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-06-23/how-does-the-aec-determine-the-boundaries-of-a-division/7536728 87 https://www.ourcommons.ca/About/ProcedureAndPractice3rdEdition/ch_04_2-e.html 88 https://www.osce.org/odihr/elections/Spain/88222?download=true 89 Economist Explains, 2018 90 https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/house-bill/713 91 While this has not yet been proposed in either house of Congress, it remains an interesting idea practiced in countries like Germany and Australia. CGPGrey (Youtube) explains these voting systems simply. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mky11UJb9AY



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Voter Registration, Voter Fraud, and Voter ID Republicans often argue that the United States needs to secure its elections by requiring

specific forms of photo identification.92 Indiana in 2006 became the first state to enact a strict photo ID law, a law that was upheld two years later by the U.S. Supreme Court.93 As of September 2016, 33 states have enacted some form of voter ID requirement. Lawsuits have been filed against many of the voter ID requirements on the basis that they are discriminatory with an intent to reduce voting by traditionally Democratic constituencies. Parts of voter ID laws in several states have been overturned by courts.94

Proponents of voter ID laws argue that they reduce electoral fraud while placing only little burden on voters. Opponents argue that electoral fraud is extremely rare in the United States and has been magnified as an issue to create barriers to voter participation, and that requiring voter ID in effect discriminates against minority groups and those who are less likely to possess photo IDs. Critics have argued that the barriers could result in the disenfranchisement of black, Hispanic, and other minority voters, the elderly, transgender individuals, and the poor. Research has shown that the type of voter fraud that would be prevented by voter IDs is extremely rare; research is mixed as to whether voter ID laws reduce overall turnout or minority turnout95; and research has shown that Republican legislators in swing states and districts with sizable black or Hispanic populations push the hardest for voter ID laws.96

Foreign Interference in Elections The reports from both Special Counsel Robert S. Mueller III and the Senate Select

Committee in Intelligence have highlighted attempts of foreign nations, primarily the Russian Federation, to interfere in American elections to serve their interests. The Special Counsel Report states on its second line that "The Russian government interfered in the 2016 presidential election in sweeping and systematic fashion."

The detailed report describes "disinformation" campaigns on social media, the goal of which "included supporting the Trump Campaign and

92 https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/what-we-know-about-voter-id-laws/ 93 https://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/29/washington/29scotus.html 94 https://madison.com/wsj/news/local/govt-and-politics/liberal-group-files-lawsuit-challenging-parts-of-voter-id-law/article_f0a114e0-846c-5262-8b94-93addef180ee.html 95 https://www.aclu.org/other/oppose-voter-id-legislation-fact-sheet 96 Hicks, William; McKee, Seth; Smith, Daniel (February 21, 2016). "The Determinants of State Legislator Support for Restrictive Voter ID Laws". State Politics & Policy Quarterly. 16 (4): 411–431.

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disparaging candidate Hillary Clinton," in addition to the release of documents damaging to the Clinton campaign.97

During the summer and fall of 2016, Russian hackers intruded into voter databases and software systems in 39 different US states, alarming Obama administration officials to the point that they took the unprecedented step of contacting Moscow directly via the Moscow–Washington hotline and warning that the attacks risked setting off a broader conflict.98

In July, the Senate Intelligence Committee released its report on election security. The committee concluded, on a bipartisan basis, that the response of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to Russian government-sponsored efforts to undermine confidence in the U.S. voting process was "inadequate". The committee reported that the Russian government was able to penetrate election systems in at least 18, and possibly up to 21, states, and that in a smaller subset of states, infiltrators "could have altered or deleted voter registration data," although they lacked the ability to manipulate individual votes or vote tallies. The committee wrote that the infiltrators' failure to exploit vulnerabilities in election systems could have been because they "decided against taking action" or because "they were merely gathering information and testing capabilities for a future attack".

To prevent future infiltrations, the committee made a number of recommendations, including that "at a minimum, any machine purchased going forward should have a voter-verified paper trail and no WiFi capability."99

Guns, the Second Amendment, and Mass Shootings A few days after the

deadline for a draft of this guide, there were two mass shootings within a 24-hour span. In El Paso, Texas, twenty people were killed and two dozen were injured at a shopping center. Federal authorities are treating the El Paso mass shooting as a case of domestic terrorism, the US Attorney for the Western District of Texas said. The Justice Department is also "seriously considering" bringing federal hate

97 Mueller, Robert; Report on the Investigation Into Russian Interference in the 2016 Presidential Election. https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/5955118-The-Mueller-Report.html Page 1 98 https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/17/us/politics/white-house-confirms-pre-election-warning-to-russia-over-hacking.html 99 https://www.intelligence.senate.gov/sites/default/files/documents/Report_Volume1.pdf

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crime and federal firearm charges, which carry a possible death penalty, US Attorney John Bash said in a news conference. About 20 minutes before the shooting started, a post on the online message board 8chan believed to be from the suspect laid out his dark vision of America overrun by Hispanic immigrants. The 2,300-word document, which police called a "manifesto," was attached to a post that said, "I'm probably going to die today." The writing is filled with white supremacist language and racist hatred aimed at immigrants and Latinos. It blames immigrants and first-generation Americans for taking away jobs.100

Thirteen hours later, a gunman who wore a mask, bulletproof vest and hearing protection was killed by police within 30 seconds of opening fire on Sunday in a popular nightlife district in downtown Dayton, Ohio, authorities said. Dayton Police Chief Richard Biehl released a timeline of the early morning shooting that left nine people dead, including the gunman's sister. Biehl said the shooter opened fire with a .223-caliber high-capacity rifle with 100-round drum magazines.101

The frequency of mass shootings in the United States is unmatched among any country on

Earth. The Gun Violence Archive (GVA), which defines a “mass shooting” as 4 or more shot or killed in any one instance,102 reports that there has been more mass shootings than days in the year.103

Families Maternity/Paternity Leave and Childcare

Having a child is expensive, and so is caring for a child during the early developmental process. The left has lamented that the United States is the only nation that does not guarantee any paid family leave to new parents. The issue is often dealt with at the state level, with predictable partisan results. If not dealt with at the state level, workers are left to the mercy of their employers. Some, to their credit, are very generous. From Forbes:

100 https://www.cnn.com/2019/08/04/us/el-paso-shooting-sunday/index.html 101 https://www.cnn.com/2019/08/04/us/dayton-ohio-active-shooter/index.html 102 This methodology is questionable, but it illustrates the point that gun control advocates are trying to make. It also tracks with gun deaths relative to the rest of the developed world. 103 https://www.cbsnews.com/news/mass-shootings-2019-more-mass-shootings-than-days-so-far-this-year/

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“Research continues to affirm that extended paid parental leave for both parents is a significant piece of the gender equity puzzle and if we want our workforce to progress in a way that encourages parity, families must receive this benefit. Period. Full stop… what may push the boundary for all of us is that the largest U.S. employers are now publicly voicing their support for state and federal paid family leave policies, adding more momentum for true policy change in the 116th Congress, given an unprecedented number of members of Congress who endorse the policy.“104

Senator Bernard Sanders (I-VT) proposed three months of paid family leave for both parents in his 2016 campaign, saying “In my view, and I have to say this is a fairly conservative approach, every worker in America should be guaranteed at least 12 weeks of paid family and medical leave,” and pays for it by raising payroll taxes. 105

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) reintroduced the FAMILY Act earlier this year. Gillibrand’s paid family leave plan would provide all workers the ability to take three months of paid leave whether they were a new parent, a caregiver for another family member, or ill themselves. It would pay out 66 percent of workers’ salaries, including at least $250 per month to each worker, capped at $4,000 per month per person. Gillibrand proposes paying for it with a 0.2 percent tax on each worker’s wages, which would be split between employers and employees. According to Gillibrand and DeLauro, that would amount to slightly under $4 a week in total for the average worker, a cost the senator has frequently compared to no more than a “cup of coffee.” Employers would split this $4 cost with the worker. The proposal has broad Democratic support: Gillibrand’s plan has since been backed by every other declared Democratic senator in the 2020 field and was actually the bill that Bernie Sanders based his paid leave platform on in 2016.106

Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) has approached the problem a different way, proposing to provide universal childcare and pre-K for all Americans, paid for with the “ultra-millionaires tax” taxing an extra $0.02 of every dollar of assets over $50 million. As Warren notes, the average cost of childcare in the United States can range from 9 to 36 percent of a family’s income, depending on where they live. Moody’s estimates that the typical family paying for child care spends about 10 percent of their income on it, but the challenge is especially acute for low-income families and single parents. The idea is to provide grants to states, cities, nonprofits, schools, and other local partners to “create a network of child care options that would be available to every family.” The federal government would subsidize the cost of running those child care centers and limit families’ costs. Families earning less than 200 percent of the federal poverty line would pay nothing at all for their children’s care. For families earning more, their expected contribution would be capped at 7 percent of their income — significantly less than what many families pay right now. At the same time, Warren’s plan would create new, national

104 https://www.forbes.com/sites/marybethferrante/2018/12/10/a-look-into-the-best-and-worst-paid-family-leave-policies/#2cd0268b65d3 105 https://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/presidential-races/265228-sanders-pushes-paid-family-leave-legislation 106 https://www.vox.com/2019/3/22/18220998/kirsten-gillibrand-paid-family-leave



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quality standards for child care centers and raise child care workers’ wages to look similar to those of local public school teachers. All these changes would almost certainly raise both the quality and the cost of American child care, but Warren’s idea is to have the government bear those costs (especially for low-income families).107

On the Republican side, Senators Joni Ernst (R-IA) and Mike Lee (R-UT) Propose the CRADLE Act, which is nearly identical to a failed Republican bill proposed by Marco Rubio108 last year. In short, this Republican legislation would give parents the option to use some of their Social Security benefits after a birth or an adoption to take anywhere from one to three months of paid leave; however, the exchange isn’t 1:1. If you take one month of paid leave after having a new baby, you delay your retirement by two months; if you take two months, you delay it by four. Cindy Hounsell, president of the nonprofit Women’s Institute for a Secure Retirement, told Barron’s that it “is essentially an unpaid leave bill since you are using retirement money to pay for unpaid caregiving.” Furthermore, Social Security is expected to run out of money to pay workers their benefits as early as 2035, so critics don’t find it wise to burden a system that’s already not doing so well.109

Immigration and the Border Build the Wall

President Donald Trump has argued from the outset of his Presidential Campaign that America must secure its borders by building a wall across the Southern Border with the United States of Mexico. This border stretches 1,954 miles110, or more than three one-way trips between Seattle and San Francisco111. He argues that a wall, fence, or physical barrier is necessary to prevent illegal immigration from Mexico and Central America.112

Cost While then candidate-Trump promised that Mexico would pay for the wall, this was

quickly and firmly rebuffed by Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto. 113 According to experts and analyses, the actual cost to construct a wall along the remaining 1,300 miles of the border could be as high as $20 million per mile, with a total cost of up to $45 billion, with the cost of

107 https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/2/22/18234606/warren-child-care-universal-2020 108 https://www.rubio.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/2019/3/rubio-romney-wagner-crenshaw-introduce-bill-giving-parents-an-option-for-paid-family-leave 109 https://www.thecut.com/2019/04/paid-family-leave-plans-guide.html 110https://www.google.com/search?q=us+mexico+border+length&rlz=1C1CHBF_enUS806US806&oq=US+Mexico+Border+Length&aqs=chrome.0.0l6.4909j1j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8 111https://www.google.com/search?rlz=1C1CHBF_enUS806US806&ei=lIZsXeqfFoe0sQWY0omQCg&q=seattle+to+san+francisco+Distance&oq=seattle+to+san+francisco+Distance&gs_l=psy-ab.3..35i39j0j0i22i30l8.24400344.24402177..24402748...0.2..0.893.4654.4-1j3j3......0....1..gws-wiz.......0i71j0i67j0i22i10i30.xIsODYJyX40&ved=0ahUKEwjquZXEk7HkAhUHWqwKHRhpAqIQ4dUDCAo&uact=5 112 https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/11/politics/donald-trump-national-emergency-peaches/index.html 113 https://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/29/us-mexico-wall-mexican-president-enrique-pena-nieto-responds-to-trump.html



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private land acquisitions and fence maintenance pushing up the total cost further.114 Maintenance would cost a further $750 Million per annum, and further expenditures would be needed to cover the cost of Border Patrol agents monitoring the wall.

In February 2017, Reuters reported that an internal report by the Department of Homeland Security estimated that Trump's proposed border wall would cost $21.6 billion and take 3.5 years to build. This estimate is higher than estimates by Trump during the campaign ($12 billion) and the $15-billion estimate from Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.115

Efforts to Fund Wall Construction In January 2017, Trump signed Executive Order 13767, which formally directed the US

government to begin attempting wall construction along the US border with Mexico using existing federal funding. Actual construction did not begin at this time due to the significant expense and lack of clarity on how it would be funded. In 2018-19 the federal government was partly shut down for 35 days because of Trump's insistence that he would veto any spending bill that did not include $5.7 billion in border wall funding.116 117

In February 2019, Trump signed a Declaration of National Emergency, saying that the situation at the Mexico–United States border is a crisis requiring money allocated for other purposes to be used instead to build the wall. Congress passed a joint resolution to overturn the emergency order, but Trump vetoed the resolution. In July, the Supreme Court approved $2.5 billion in funds to construct the wall while other legal proceedings continue.118

Effectiveness Critics of Trump's plan note that the expansion of the wall would not stop the routine

misuse of legal ports of entry by people smuggling contraband, overstaying travel visas, using fraudulent documents, or stowing away. They also point out that in addition to the misuse of ports of entry, even a border-wide wall could be bypassed by tunneling, climbing, or by using boats or aircraft. Additionally, along some parts of the border, the existing rough terrain may be a greater deterrent than a wall.119

The US Customs and Border Protection Agency has frequently called for more physical barriers on the Mexico-United States border, citing their efficacy. "I started in the San Diego sector in 1992 and it didn't matter how many agents we lined up," said Chief Patrol Agent Rodney Scott. "We could not make a measurable impact on the flow [of undocumented

114 https://wjla.com/news/nation-world/trumps-border-wall-could-be-costly-ineffective-experts-say 115 https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-immigration-wall-exclusive/exclusive-trump-border-wall-to-cost-21-6-billion-take-3-5-years-to-build-internal-report-idUSKBN15O2ZN 116 https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/25/us/politics/refugees-immigrants-wall-trump.html 117 https://www.politico.com/latest-news-updates/government-shutdown-2019 118 https://www.politico.com/latest-news-updates/trump-national-emergency-border-wall 119 https://www.newsweek.com/visa-overstays-far-exceed-illegal-border-crossings-us-and-wall-wont-change-1295413



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immigrants] across the border. It wasn't until we installed barriers along the border that gave us the upper hand that we started to get control."

Carla Provost, the chief of U.S. border patrol, stated "We already have many miles, over 600 miles of barrier along the border. I have been in locations where there was no barrier, and then I was there when we put it up. It certainly helps. It's not a be all end all. It's a part of a system. We need the technology, we need that infrastructure".120

Family Separation and Migrant Detention Initial Policy-The Trump Administration has, since April 2018, had a policy to separate

migrant children from their families when detained. This policy was branded to the public as a “zero-tolerance policy” related to the misdemeanor of illegal entry into the United States, then- Attorney General Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III announced “If you cross the border unlawfully ... then we will prosecute you. If you smuggle an illegal alien across the border, then we'll prosecute you. ... If you're smuggling a child, then we're going to prosecute you, and that child will be separated from you, probably, as required by law.”121

The aim of the policy, as explained by adviser Stephen Miller, was to deter additional

migration into the United States.

The policy is notably unpopular, more so than any other major bill or executive action in recent memory. Poll aggregates show that approximately 25% of Americans supported the policy, although a majority of Republicans supported it.122 Following the May announcement, dozens of protest demonstrations were held, attracting thousands. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights called for the Trump administration to "immediately halt" its policy of separating children from their parents, and human rights activists have criticized that the policy, insofar as it is also applied to asylum seekers, defies Article 31 of the Refugee Convention.123

Reversal- Despite previously asserting that "You can't [reverse the policy] through an executive order," on June 20, 2018, Trump bowed to intense political pressure and signed an executive order to reverse the policy while still maintaining "zero tolerance" border control by detaining entire families together.

120 https://www.dhs.gov/news/2018/12/12/walls-work 121 https://time.com/5314769/family-separation-policy-donald-trump/ 122 https://poll.qu.edu/national/release-detail?ReleaseID=2550 123 https://www.unhcr.org/en-us/news/press/2018/6/5b27fea84/unhcr-urges-family-unity-southern-border.html

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On June 26, a Federal Court ordered the government to reunify separated families with minor children under 5 years of age within 14 days of the order, and families with minor children age 5 and over within 30 days of the order. On September 20, 2018, the government reported to the court that it had reunified or otherwise released 2,167 of the 2,551 children over 5 years of age who were separated from a parent and deemed eligible for reunification by the Government.

However, a report released in January 2019, revealed that while HHS had previously said that the total number of children separated from their parents was less than 3,000, a new investigation revealed that the actual number of separated children was several thousand higher, with the exact number unknown due to poor record keeping. HHS officials had noticed a "steep increase" in separated children from the summer 2017.

Conditions of Migrant Detention Centers- The Administration now detains all border crossers, using a combination of Customs and Border Patrol Facilities and privately operated facilities. US Representatives and Senators have visited the facilities and have decried the conditions that migrants are kept in. US Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) tweeted, “After I forced myself into a cell w/ women&began speaking to them, one of them described their treatment at the hands of officers as “psychological warfare” - waking them at odd hours for no reason, calling

them wh*res, etc.” 124

Representative Joaquin Castro (D-TX) tweeted a video of the conditions, writing, “This moment captures what it’s like for women in CBP custody to share a cramped cell—some held for 50 days—for them to be denied showers for up to 15 days and life-saving medication. For some, it also means being separated from their children.” 125

Inspectors at the facility noted “only four showers were available for 756 immigrants, more than half of the immigrants were being held outside, and immigrants inside were being kept in cells maxed out at more than five times their capacity.”126

At a news conference, the homeland security secretary, Kevin McAleenan, assured the public that the detention centers were “clean and well managed”, despite a legal report that

124https://twitter.com/AOC/status/1145762201619357696?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1145762201619357696&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fus-news%2F2019%2Fjul%2F01%2Faoc-border-facility-horrifying-cbp-officers-tweets 125https://twitter.com/JoaquinCastrotx/status/1145843749592936448?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1145843749592936448&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fus-news%2F2019%2Fjul%2F01%2Faoc-border-facility-horrifying-cbp-officers-tweets 126 https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/jul/01/aoc-border-facility-horrifying-cbp-officers-tweets

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documented children inside the centers given insufficient food and wearing soiled clothing and diapers.127

An 18-year-old United States citizen, Francisco Edwin Galicia was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, despite providing documentation. The ICE agents claimed the documents were forged and detained him for twenty-three days. During the 23 days he was in the custody of U.S. Customs and Border Patrol, Galicia was not allowed to shower. Reports also note that detainees are not provided adequate or even rudimentary sanitation such as showers and toothbrushes, nor do they provide adequate food.128 Gallicia said he lost 26 pounds during his time in the detention center and was crammed in an overcrowded holding area with 60 other

men. They slept on the floor with aluminum-foil blankets — some even had to sleep in the bathroom area, he said. Gallicia said to the Dallas Star, "It was inhumane how they treated us. It got to the point where I was ready to sign a deportation paper just to not be suffering there anymore. I just needed to get out of there," he told the newspaper. "It's one thing to see these conditions on TV and in the news. It's another to go through them."129

Democratic Proposals-Besides blanket criticisms of the administration’s policy, Democrats, especially democratic candidates for President, have proposed decriminalizing crossing the southern border, making it a civil rather than criminal offense.130 Their justification for this change in the criminal code is to make criminal detention and family separation impossible for any President.131

127 https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/immigration/dhs-warned-may-border-station-conditions-so-bad-agents-feared-n1025136 128 https://www.cbsnews.com/news/us-citizen-detained-by-ice-francisco-erwin-galicia-border-officials-conditions-bad-almost-self-deported/ 129 https://www.dallasnews.com/news/immigration/2019/07/24/no-shower-for-23-days-u-s-citizen-says-conditions-were-so-bad-that-he-almost-self-deported/ 130 MS/NBC Democratic Presidential Debate: Night 1. Julian Castro had a heated exchange with Beto O’Rourke (D-TX-16, fmr.) on this issue. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hi8rYKKvXgw 131 https://issues.juliancastro.com/people-first-immigration/

16 Gallicia wasreleased from CBP custody after 26 days of terrible conditions.



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Drugs (Illegal) Cannabis

Each election cycle, a new state (or states) pass a referendum to legalize Cannabis for medical (requiring a prescription) or recreational (anyone can buy it over a certain age) purposes.

Historical Background- Criminalization- In 1970, President Richard M. Nixon (R) signed the Controlled Substances Act into law, which placed Cannabis into Schedule I, which according to the Drug Enforcement Agency, “ defined as drugs with no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse,” along with LSD, Heroin, and ecstasy,132 leading to the complete and total criminalisation of cannabis use and research in the United States. The Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986133 reinstated mandatory prison sentences, including large scale cannabis distribution.

Legalization for Medical Use- During the late 1970s and into the early 80s, a number of states passed legislation addressing the medical use of cannabis. New Mexico was the first to do so in 1978, and by the end of 1982 over thirty states had followed suit. These laws were all largely ineffectual though, due to the continued prohibition of medical cannabis at the federal level.

In 1991, 79% of San Francisco voters approved Proposition P, a non-binding ballot measure expressing support for the medical use of cannabis. The city board of supervisors soon followed with Resolution 141-92, which urged law enforcement not to prosecute individuals using cannabis under a doctor's care (as proven by a letter from a treating physician). These were the first cannabis dispensaries in the U.S., allowed to operate openly by city officials even though in violation of both state and federal law.

In the United States, the use of cannabis for medical purposes is legal in 33 states, four (out of five) permanently inhabited U.S. territories, and the District of Columbia, as of January 2019.134

Current Situation- Legalization at the state level is superseded at the federal level by Schedule I and the Controlled Substances Act of 1970, so Cannabis is still technically illegal. Under the Obama Administration, the Department of Justice issued the Cole Memorandum of 2013135 on how to reconcile State and Federal law (despite the federal law remaining in force and superseding state laws). The memo specified eight conditions which would merit enforcement of

132 https://www.dea.gov/drug-scheduling 133 https://www.congress.gov/bill/99th-congress/house-bill/5484 134 https://www.washingtonpost.com/gdpr-consent/?destination=%2fgraphics%2fhealth%2fmarijuana-laws-timeline%2f%3f 135 https://www.justice.gov/iso/opa/resources/3052013829132756857467.pdf

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federal law, some of which included the distribution of cannabis to minors and the diversion of cannabis across state borders. Aside from these situations, the memo generally allowed for the commercial distribution of cannabis in states where such activity has been legalized. The Cole Amendment was rescinded136 early in the Trump Administration by then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who has a far more conservative view of cannabis.137

Recurring Issues

Finance- As dispensaries and recreational shops appear in many states, they have trouble opening bank accounts and loans as they are technically “criminal enterprises” under Federal Law. Dispensaries are further liable for Federal taxes like any other business, which they often pay in cash due to the banking issue.

Research- Because of federal laws, anyone hoping to study the potential medical benefits of cannabis require approval from the Food and Drug Administration, the National Institute on Drug Abuse, and the Drug Enforcement Agency, which can take years.

Infrastructure America’s infrastructure is in disrepair. Every four years the American Society of Civil

Engineers (ASCE), an organization made up of over 150,000 civil engineers, gives the United States an “infrastructure report card.” In March the organization gave the U.S. a grade of “D+,” an improvement from a “D” in 2009.138 This grade is unnerving because it includes all aspects of U.S. infrastructure from aviation to waste management. Anyone who flies out of New York City can see how poorly managed LaGuardia Airport is, however, no one can know if their waste is being safely managed or if the bridges they are going over can handle the weight of their car. It is not only unsafe but according to ASCE America’s failing infrastructure will cost the U.S. economy too. By 2025, the U.S. will lose 3.9 trillion dollars of gross domestic product, 7 trillion in lost business sales and the losses of over 2.5 million American jobs.

President Trump made a promise during the campaign to fix the nation’s crumbling infrastructure and, since taking office, has created several initiatives attempting to do so. During the campaign, President Trump promised to unveil a trillion-dollar infrastructure plan over the course of the next eight years with no tax hikes.139 New infrastructure projects, under his plan, would largely be done by private companies. His plan would give a “tax credit to private companies to finance projects, while the companies would take equity investments in the projects.” President Trump’s plan would also allow private companies to generate a cash flow

136 https://edition.cnn.com/2018/01/04/politics/jeff-sessions-cole-memo/index.html 137 https://www.washingtonpost.com/gdpr-consent/?destination=%2fblogs%2fplum-line%2fwp%2f2018%2f01%2f05%2fwhy-jeff-sessions-marijuana-crackdown-is-going-to-make-legalization-more-likely%2f%3f Jeff Sessions claimed that said the Ku Klux Klan 'was OK until I found out they smoked pot’ 138 www.infrastructurereportcard.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/2016-FTA-Report-Close-the-Gap.pdf. 139 www.businessinsider.com/trump-campaign-1-trillion-infrastructure-plan-with-no-tax-hike-2016-10.



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through tax revenue, “essentially privatizing much of the new infrastructure and making riskier investments more palatable”140

Not since the New Deal under President Franklin Delano Roosevelt has the U.S. taken on a major infrastructure project. The New Deal converted dirt roads to concrete ones, built airports and brought electricity to all corners of the nation. The economic benefits of FDR’s New Deal were unilateral. Through the Works Progress Administration (WPA), 3.2 million people were employed and a staggering 650,000 miles of roads were constructed, 78,000 bridges built, 125,000 civilian and military buildings erected, and 800 airports were constructed or improved.141

Although infrastructure spending is not the “sexy” way to spend federal funds, it is one in which the economic impact is mighty. Millions of Americans drive to work every day for their job. Wasted fuel on deteriorating road costs Americans 100 billion dollars of wasted fuel and time each year.142

Communications and Technology Internet

The Internet has become a controversial issue recently, with specific emphasis on Net Neutrality and Censorship on Social Media.

Net Neutrality Network neutrality, or simply net neutrality, is the principle that Internet service

providers (ISPs) must treat all Internet communications equally, and not discriminate or charge differently based on user, content, website, platform, application, type of equipment, or method of communication. With net neutrality, ISPs may not intentionally block, slow down, or charge money for specific online content. Without net neutrality, ISPs may prioritize certain types of traffic, meter others, or potentially block traffic from specific services, while charging consumers for various tiers of service.

140 www.businessinsider.com/trump-campaign-1-trillion-infrastructure-plan-with-no-tax-hike-2016-10. 141 www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2017-05-31/the-u-s-has-forgotten-how-to-do-infrastructure. 142 https://publicpolicy.wharton.upenn.edu/live/news/2084-americas-infrastructure-problem-and-how-to-fix-it/for-students/blog/news.php#_edn6



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Net neutrality in the United States has been a point of conflict between network users and service providers since the 1990s. Much of the conflict over net neutrality arises from how Internet services are classified by the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) under authority of the Communications Act of 1934. The FCC would have significant ability to regulate ISPs should Internet services be treated as a Title II "common carrier service", or otherwise the ISPs would be mostly unrestricted by the FCC if Internet services fell under Title I "information services". Through 2017, the FCC has generally been favorable towards net neutrality, treating ISPs under Title II common carrier.143 With the onset of the Presidency of Donald Trump in 2017, and the appointment of Ajit Pai, an opponent of net neutrality, to the chairman of the FCC, the FCC has reversed many previous net neutrality rulings, and reclassified Internet services as Title I information services.144 The FCC's decisions have been a matter of several ongoing legal challenges by both states supporting net neutrality, and ISPs challenging it.

Social Media, Algorithms, and Allegations of Censorship Conservatives have alleged that social media companies such as Facebook, Twitter, and

Alphabet (the parent Company of Google and YouTube) are censoring content. On both sides of the aisle, attention has been directed to the algorithms that are used to curate content for users.

On the left, Democrats are concerned of reports that Social Media companies have directed users to pages and videos that feature disturbing content. There are 1.5 billion YouTube users in the world, which is more than the number of households that own televisions. What they watch is shaped by this algorithm, which skims and ranks billions of videos to identify 20 “up next” clips that are both relevant to a previous video and most likely, statistically speaking, to keep a person hooked on their screen.145 Many are concerned that the algorithm promotes radical or disturbing videos. The algorithm has been found to be promoting conspiracy theories about the Las Vegas mass shooting, for example.146 Lewd and violent videos have been algorithmically served up to toddlers watching YouTube Kids, a dedicated app for children.147 Senators are concerned about this promotion of disturbing content, and have pressured social media sites to adjust or disclose their algorithms and how they work.148

143 http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/CX3629100443/GVRL?u=mcc_pv&sid=GVRL&xid=4d1b573d 144 https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-internet/u-s-net-neutrality-rules-will-end-on-june-11-fcc-idUSKBN1IB1UN 145 https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2018/feb/02/how-youtubes-algorithm-distorts-truth 146 https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/oct/04/las-vegas-shooting-youtube-hoax-conspiracy-theories 147 https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/04/business/media/youtube-kids-paw-patrol.html 148 https://www.c-span.org/video/?462071-1/technology-companies-algorithms a 2-hour hearing on technology companies and algorithms.

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Conservatives, on the other hand, are concerned that the companies themselves are biased against them (many are located in liberal strongholds like California and Washington) and allege that they are censoring conservative content by both their algorithms and by alleged abuse of terms of conditions to ban accounts like InfoWars149 and PragerU.150

PragerU, an account which posts videos favoring conservatives, sued Alphabet in court (Prager University v Google LLC et al, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, No. 17-06064), claiming YouTube’s “animus” toward its “political identity and viewpoint” led it to curb access to videos, including through its “Restricted Mode” setting, on such topics as abortion, gun rights, Islam and terrorism, despite its stated promise of neutrality.151 But US District Judge Lucy Koh said Google and YouTube, both units of Mountain View, California-based Alphabet Inc, did not qualify as “state actors” subject to the First Amendment by creating a “public forum” for speech.

“Defendants are private entities who created their own video-sharing social media website and make decisions about whether and how to regulate content that has been uploaded on that website,” Koh wrote.

The San Jose, California-based judge also dismissed a claim that YouTube engaged in false advertising by implying that Prager’s videos were “inappropriate.”152

Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) has led the charge in the Senate against tech companies by introducing the SMART Act- a bill aimed at curbing what Hawley calls “social media addiction.” The legislation wouldn’t kill off social media companies like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube entirely, but it would force them to change the core ways their products function. Among other things, it would ban infinite scroll and autoplay on their apps and websites, and it would automatically limit a user’s time on a platform to 30 minutes a day. A user could change or remove the time limit, but it would reset every month.153

Hawley has introduced multiple bills on issues such as data tracking, children’s online privacy, and data monetization. He’s also pushed tech executives in hearings and pushed federal regulators to take more action on tech. In a USA Today op-ed in May, Hawley wrote that the country might be better off if Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter just went away entirely. “Maybe social media is best understood as a parasite on productive investment, on meaningful relationships, on a healthy society,” he wrote.154

149 https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/infowars-youtube-ban-alex-jones-conspiracy-theory-school-shootings-a9085561.html 150 https://www.prageru.com/petition/youtube/ 151 https://digitalcommons.law.scu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2688&context=historical 152 https://www.reuters.com/article/us-alphabet-google-youtube-censorship/google-defeats-lawsuit-claiming-youtube-censors-conservatives-idUSKBN1H320D 153 https://www.vox.com/recode/2019/7/31/20748732/josh-hawley-smart-act-social-media-addiction 154 https://www.vox.com/recode/2019/7/31/20748732/josh-hawley-smart-act-social-media-addiction



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Reforms Constitutional Reforms-

Electoral College Causes and Justification-The Election of President Donald J. Trump was the fifth

instance where the candidate who lost the popular vote won the Electoral College and thus became President. In this most recent case, Hillary Clinton won the popular vote by more than three million votes, but Donald Trump won the Electoral College, 304-227, by winning the key electoral states of Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and Florida by a combined margin of less than 100,000 votes.155 This has led many to argue that the Electoral College is an artifact of the past, is unrepresentative of the will of the voters, and ought to be replaced by a national popular vote.156

Historical Background- In Federalist n.68, Alexander Hamilton reasons that the Electoral College is superior to a direct popular election. While noting that, “it was desirable that the sense of the people should operate in the choice” of the President, he argued that the choice, “should be made by men most capable of analyzing the qualities adapted to the station, and acting under circumstances favorable to deliberation, and to a judicious combination of all the reasons and inducements which were proper to govern their choice. A small number of persons, selected by their fellow-citizens from the general mass, will be most likely to possess the information and discernment requisite to such complicated investigations.”157 Hamilton later notes that the temporary nature of the Electors would make them less susceptible to corruption.

It is important to note here that Hamilton’s stated objective of having educated men analyse the qualities of each candidate and make an educated decision independent of the state popular vote is undermined by State Laws against faithless electors. Currently, thirty states and the District of Columbia have such laws, however only Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, and Utah (10) cancel a faithless vote and replace the elector, while New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Washington (5) penalize the elector in question with a fine.158 In practice, however, almost all electoral votes from a state are distributed in a winner-take-all format to the winner of the popular vote in that state, with the notable exceptions of Maine and Nebraska which distribute electors based on congressional district.

Proposals- The National Popular Vote Interstate Compact seeks to remedy the Electoral College by guaranteeing the Presidency to the candidate who receives the most popular votes across all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The Compact comes into effect when states representing a majority of the Electoral College sign on (270), and each member of the Compact pledges all of its electors to the winner of the national popular vote, thus guaranteeing the

155 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election/us2016/results 156 https://harvardpolitics.com/united-states/the-case-against-the-electoral-college/ 157 https://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/fed68.asp 158 https://www.fairvote.org/faithless_elector_state_laws



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Presidency. The Compact has been signed by California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaiʻi, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maryland, New Mexico, New York, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington (15 states with 196 votes), with legislation pending in Georgia, Kansas, Minnesota, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Wisconsin (9 states with 108 votes). The other option is a Constitutional Amendment.159

Defense of the Status Quo- Defenders of the electoral college argue that if the shoe was on the other foot and a Democrat was elected despite a Republican popular vote win, Democrats would defend the Electoral College. Defenders further argue that the Electoral College gives a voice to small, rural states whose needs may otherwise be overshadowed by metropolitan areas with larger voter bases. Today, there are many small states that fall into the “Safe R” or “Safe D” columns and thus do not receive a visit from any Presidential candidate. However, political preferences are a dynamic system and states change their leanings once their needs are no longer met by their political party.160 To win the election, presidential candidates need electoral votes from multiple regions and therefore they build campaign platforms with a national focus, meaning that the winner will actually be serving the needs of the entire country.161 New York State Senator Michael Gianaris said on PBS Newshour,” If you come to a system that's purely based on popular vote, all you're going to see is money being spent in the big media markets because that's where the density is. Some of these bigger populations would then drive the attention to the exclusion of the rest of the country, and I don't think that would be good either.”162

Supreme Court of the United States Causes- A number of proposals have come from the left to reform the Supreme Court of

the United States. The cause of much of this frustration is Mitchell McConnell (R-KY) failing to consider Judge Merrick Garland163 to fill Antonin Scalia’s seat on the court in the final year of the Obama Administration. Leader McConnell argued that the seat should be filled by the next president164 and kept Garland from having a hearing in the Senate, let alone a vote. The seat was immediately filled by President Donald Trump with Justice Neil Gorsuch, a conservative.165 In the opinion of many democrats, this seat was stolen.166

159 https://www.nationalpopularvote.com/ 160 https://www.270towin.com/historical-presidential-elections/timeline/

161 https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2012/11/defending-the-electoral-college.html 162 https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/system-calls-popular-vote-determine-winner 163 https://www.washingtonpost.com/gdpr-consent/?destination=%2fpolitics%2f2019%2f04%2f02%2fmitch-mcconnells-never-ending-quest-make-merrick-garland-sick-his-stomach%2f%3f 164 Republicans commented publicly that should Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton be elected president, the Senate ought to confirm Judge Garland in the ensuing lame-duck session to prevent the theoretical President Clinton from filling the seat with a younger, more liberal justice. https://text.npr.org/s.php?sId=498328520 165 https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/07/us/politics/neil-gorsuch-supreme-court.html 166 https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/mitch-mcconnell-supreme-court-obama-merrick-garland-neil-gorsuch_us_5d152a12e4b07f6ca57a98b5?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly9jb25zZW50LnlhaG9vLmN



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Justification- Some proposals simply aim to correct for the ‘theft’ of a liberal seat by adding one (or more) justices to the court.167 Another plan would be to limit SCOTUS terms to 18 years, which would change the ‘lottery’ 168 of which president happens to be in office when a justice dies or retires. In order to allow the justices to serve for life as is constitutionally mandated, they would then be moved to a lower federal appellate court.169 Others (Sen. Bernie Sanders I-VT) want to overhaul the court and its lifetime appointments, which in theory would remove the partisanship which has developed. Senator Sanders’ plan would rotate judges with other appellate judges on a regular basis.170

Other Historical Proposals- President Franklin D. Roosevelt proposed a reorganization bill to Congress that would allow the president to appoint a new justice for each one who was at least 70 years old. Congress did not oblige, of course: this was seen as a court-packing scheme that would have given Roosevelt too much power. 171

Constitutional Status Quo- The current status quo under the United States Constitution provides for a Supreme Court of the United States made of Justices appointed by the President of the United States with the “advice and consent of the Senate.” Constitutionally, there is no limit to the number of justices on the court, but an 1869 law limits the number to nine.

Senatorial Reforms Filibuster

Causes- As the partisan divide in American politics becomes even more exaggerated, Senate rules have been (ab)used to obstruct policy. One such rule is the filibuster. The filibuster stems from the fact that the Senate technically has unlimited debate on bills,172 and (in real life) has unlimited speaking time. The only way to end debate and force a vote is to invoke cloture, a process which requires 60 votes to pass. As no party has had a filibuster-breaking 60 votes since 2010, the minority party, if unified, can use the filibuster to obstruct legislation and nominations. If the Democrats fare well in 2020 in both the Presidential and Senate races, some are calling to end the filibuster and pass bills with 51 votes.

Some Democrats have advocated getting rid of the filibuster in order to pass legislation.173 The filibuster has already been removed for most executive and judicial nominees. To deliver most if not all the policies Democrats have advocated in 2020, they will somehow

vbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAH1O8Ds7QfV-kgsgm7aONGKSaiYPG49aHgyH-Wv40tg7lKSma-JLdg3e5H2fWIvUbyvmispvtOmUiTUFem4wL8x-27VSm7EE8ZPg7lC9GQmdMYaC3E7BdQ6rENR70xYkf0ykfjqHK8ITp-h2xFCGq3TyP_VuMvXFdGY7Mcb4m6Vl 167 https://edition.cnn.com/2019/05/31/politics/democrats-supreme-court-packing-politics/index.html 168 https://medium.com/s/story/a-better-system-for-putting-judges-on-the-u-s-supreme-court-bce9962ef0eb 169 https://fixthecourt.com/2019/04/breyer-says-he-supports-18-year-terms-for-supreme-court-justices/ 170 https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/450800-bernie-sanders-says-he-would-move-to-rotate-supreme-court-justices-if 171 https://www.britannica.com/story/why-are-there-nine-justices-on-the-u.s.-supreme-court 172 As opposed to the House, the Rules Committee of which can set speaking limits on total time and speaking time. 173 https://www.vox.com/2019/3/5/18241447/filibuster-reform-explained-warren-booker-sanders



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need to overcome the current 60-vote threshold either through compromise or removing the filibuster altogether. In order to pass the Affordable Care Act, for example, Democrats needed to remove the public option to get the bill past Republican filibusters.174

Arguments against filibuster reform or abolition involve a “shoe on the other foot” argument. The Democrats’ current stay in the minority has cooled fervor for removing the filibuster. While the Democrats may enjoy passing whatever legislation they like when in the majority, when in the minority, Republicans will have the same power. In turn, this removes one more of the “anti-majoritarian” locks that the United States has and makes American governance more similar to the British system, where the government with a majority can pass any bill.

174 https://www.ehealthinsurance.com/resources/affordable-care-act/history-timeline-affordable-care-act-aca



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General Themes of US Foreign Policy “A World Safe for Democracy:” Wilsonian Imperialism since the Great War

Beginning in 1917 and cemented in 1941, the United States has rejected its previous isolationist foreign policy in favor of a far more interventionist one. American foreign policy has reflected this interventionism ever since.

Those who took US History will likely remember President Woodrow Wilson (D) as “that World War I guy with Fourteen Points.” Wilson’s foreign policy extended further than World War I. Woodrow Wilson reformulated the way we think about international diplomacy and America’s role in the World. After the Philippine insurrection and Americans turning their backs on colonialism, Wilson wanted to impose a new foreign policy of “American Exceptionalism” and “Fighting to make the world safe for democracy.” 175 American Exceptionalism is the belief that America is a ‘shining city on a hill-’ a beacon of democracy and liberalism- and must intervene in other countries to spread this ideology. This ideology infected his desired outcomes for the Great War:

“We shall regard the war as won only when the German people say to us, through properly accredited representatives, that they are ready to agree to a settlement based upon justice and reparation of the wrongs their rulers have done… The worst that can happen to the detriment the German people is this, that if they should still, after the war is over, continue to be obliged to live under ambitious and intriguing masters interested to disturb the peace of the world, men or classes of men whom the other peoples of the world could not trust, it might be impossible to admit them to the partnership of nations which must henceforth guarantee the world's peace.”

Here, Wilson argues that the war will not be won with Germany’s military defeat (the conventional wisdom for when a war is won), but when Germany is reformed into a democracy. Echoes of the same policy can be found in President George W. Bush’s invasion of Iraq in 2003- it was not enough to invade Iraq, defeat the Iraqis militarily, and deter WMD development, but also to topple Saddam Hussein and create a democracy to replace him. We must note at this point that both instances resulted in negative outcomes, as power-vacuums in both states led to the rise of Adolf Hitler and ISIS, respectively.

Nuclear Weapons: Nobody else can have them. While the United States was the first to use a nuclear weapon in combat against Japan in

the Second World War, it has also been quick to make sure that no volatile nation has the power to wipe out all life on earth. The primary way that the United States and international community writ large ensures this is through the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT). The NPT is a landmark international treaty whose objective is to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and weapons technology, to promote cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy and to further the goal of achieving nuclear disarmament and general and

175 http://www.let.rug.nl/usa/presidents/woodrow-wilson/state-of-the-union-1917.php (Wilson’s 1917 State of the Union Address)



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complete disarmament.176 The NPT is often seen to be based on a central bargain: The NPT non-nuclear-weapon states agree never to acquire nuclear weapons and the NPT nuclear-weapon states in exchange agree to share the benefits of peaceful nuclear technology and to pursue nuclear disarmament aimed at the ultimate elimination of their nuclear arsenals. The United States has been keen to limit or eliminate nuclear weapons development in other states. In Iran, the Obama Administration signed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action which limited Iranian nuclear development in exchange for sanctions relief.177

On clear caveat is when the state in question is an ally of the United States, such as Israel. Israel is widely believed to possess weapons of mass destruction, and to be one of four nuclear-armed countries not recognized as a Nuclear Weapons State by the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). 178The US Congress Office of Technology Assessment has recorded Israel as a country generally reported as having undeclared chemical warfare capabilities, and an offensive biological warfare program. Officially, Israel neither confirms nor denies possessing nuclear weapons. Where the United States invaded Iraq for suspicion of WMD development, and sanctions Iran and North Korea, no action has ever been taken either to investigate or sanction Israel. Israel has also declined to sign the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), despite international pressure to do so, saying that would be contrary to its national security interests.179

176 https://www.un.org/disarmament/wmd/nuclear/npt/ 177 http://eeas.europa.eu/archives/docs/statements-eeas/docs/iran_agreement/iran_joint-comprehensive-plan-of-action_en.pdf 178 https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jan/15/truth-israels-secret-nuclear-arsenal 179 https://www.reuters.com/article/us-israel-nuclear-treaty/israel-rejects-call-to-join-anti-nuclear-treaty-idUSTRE64S1ZN20100529



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Current Issues in Foreign Affairs The United Kingdom-Boris and Brexit

Since Churchill and President Franklin Delano Roosevelt (D), the United States and the United Kingdom have had a “special relationship” of friendly relations. With Boris Johnson as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom who is far more friendly to President Trump than Theresa May was, the United Kingdom is more likely to pivot to the United States for trade and friendly relations as a result of leaving the European Union.

North Korea Negotiations are off-and-on with the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea in order to

limit their nuclear weapons program. It is unknown if any progress has been made.

At the outset of the Trump Administration, North Korea had taken a more aggressive tone, increasing missile and nuclear testing. This led to more aggressive rhetoric on the part of President Trump (“fire and fury”). 180

As Donald Trump became the first American President to meet with a supreme leader of North Korea181 and was the first to cross into North Korean territory,182 the regime began to reduce its aggressive acts, indicating that progress has been made.

Past presidents have tried and failed to accomplish North Korean denuclearization. The North Korean issue has stymied four American administrations while the DPRK continues its march towards an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead. The Clinton Administration and North Korea signed the Agreed Framework (AF) in 1994, which stipulated that the DPRK would use nuclear power for peaceful energy generation monitored by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and continued membership in the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) in exchange for a normalization of both political and economic relations.183 The Agreed Framework eventually broke down in 2003 with a North Korean withdrawal from the NPT declaring the AF, ‘dead.’184

The Six-Party Talks consisting of North and South Korea, Japan, the United States under the George W Bush Administration, China, and Russia pursued a similar framework, trading fuel aid to the DPRK in exchange for normalizing relations with Japan and the United States including removal of American sanctions.185 These too fell apart and the DPRK continued developing nuclear weapons and ballistic missile technology. In each of these situations, the American president was presented with military options, but declined to use them. President

180 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8p1JIgTuKQk 181 https://www.straitstimes.com/trump-kim-singapore-summit 182 https://edition.cnn.com/2019/06/29/politics/kim-jong-un-donald-trump-dmz-north-korea/index.html 183 https://www.jstor.org/stable/43908953?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents 184 https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/north-korea-missile-test-us-1994-agreed-framework-pyongyang-programme-kim-jong-un-donald-trump-a7876446.html 185 https://www.armscontrol.org/factsheets/6partytalks



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Clinton’s special envoy William Perry noted that the United States had planned for war in 1994, but also that, ‘war involves many casualties in the process.’186

Russia- The Old Foe Russia continues to be a thorn in the West’s side in international politics. In Syria,

President Vladimir Putin propped up Syrian Leader Bashaar Al-Assad in the Syrian Civil War,187 which allowed Assad to hang on despite western support for the rebels in the Syrian Civil War.

Concerns also exist over potential Russian interference in the 2020 election, as has been noted above.

China, People’s Republic The ongoing trade wars with the People’s Republic of China and increased economic and

military power present a new challenge for the United States.

The Trump Administration has placed unilateral tariffs on Chinese exports and the Chinese have responded in kind.188 The Chinese tariffs against imports of American soybean exports hurt farmers in the Midwest, while tariffs on imported goods from China hurt American consumers, as a tariff is essentially an additional tax to discourage trade and give the advantage to domestic consumers.

Chinese economic and military power is on the rise. The Belt and Road initiative and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank present a new challenge to American dominance over the global financial system, and the establishment of the South China Sea as China’s lake represent a new challenge to American military dominance.189

Iran, WMDs, and the JCPOA- Flashbacks to 2003 vs a New “Evil Empire” Iran is in the news yet again, as President Trump pulled out of the Joint Comprehensive

Plan of Action. During the 2016 campaign, Trump ridiculed the JCPOA as “the worst deal in American history.” Trump has not since released plans for a new deal.190

Democrats fear that President Trump is trying to drag the United States into a full-scale invasion of Iran, based on the rhetoric and the composition of Trump’s national security team. John Bolton, Trump’s third National Security Adviser, was one of the biggest proponents of the Iraq War of 2003.

186 https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/10/03/north-korea-war-maniac-donald-trump-215672 187 https://foreignpolicy.com/2019/02/01/what-putin-really-wants-in-syria-russia-assad-strategy-kremlin/ 188 https://edition.cnn.com/2019/09/11/perspectives/tariff-trump-china-trade/index.html 189 https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/how-settle-south-china-sea-question-once-and-all-china-wont-it-79741 190 https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/president-donald-j-trump-cutting-off-funds-iranian-regime-uses-support-destructive-activities-around-world/



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Since the United States’ withdrawal, Iran has taken aggressive actions, seizing a tanker191 and enriching uranium beyond the limits set in the deal.192 This is seen as caused by Trump’s withdrawal, however.

Israel/Palestine Conflict The Trump Administration moved the US Embassy to the State of Israel from Tel Aviv

to Jerusalem, which demonstrates Trump’s favoritism towards Israel.193

On the left, the growing BDS (Boycott/Divest/Sanctions) movement demonstrates growing sentiment against Prime Minister Netanyahu, if not Israel as a whole, in opposition to what is viewed as an apartheid situation. 194

Saudi Arabia, Kashoggi, Yemen, and Arms Sales. The murder of Jamal Khashoggi showed the ruthlessness of the ruling House of Saud in

Saudi Arabia. While President Trump has approved additional arms sales to the Arabians, attempts by Democrats to block these sales based on a destructive war in Yemen passed the House and Senate, but failed to override Trump’s veto.

Appendix A-Notable Senate Bills While any Senate Bill introduced in the 116th Congress is available to delegates in this

committee, the Director has compiled this list of notable Senate Bills or Resolutions to ease delegates’ research. This Appendix contains a list of Director-selected Senate bills that delegates may be interested in discussing, amending, or passing. Summaries of the selected bills are provided from the Congressional Research Service and were obtained from Congress.gov ‘s search function.

S.2, Fair Trade with China Enforcement Act195

Marco Rubio, R-FL

This bill revises trade, finance, and tax provisions with respect to China.

The bill directs the Department of Commerce to prohibit the export of certain U.S. technology and intellectual property to China.

The bill places a shareholder cap on Chinese investments in certain U.S. corporations.

191 https://edition.cnn.com/2019/09/04/middleeast/iran-uk-tanker-crew-release-intl/index.html 192 https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/world/2019/09/iran-moves-to-enrich-uranium-united-nations-watchdog.html 193 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-44120428 194 US Representatives Rashida Tlaib (D-MI-12) and Ilhan Omar (D-MN-9) were notably barred from entering Israel for supporting BDS- https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/ilhan-omar-and-rashida-tlaib-barred-from-entering-israel-a9060856.html 195 https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/senate-bill/2



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Federal agencies are prohibited from using or procuring telecommunications equipment or services from Huawei Technologies Company, ZTE Corporation, or any other entity reasonably believed to be owned or controlled by China.

The bill requires the U.S. Trade Representative to list certain Chinese products that receive support pursuant to China's Made in China 2025 policy. The bill expedites the countervailing duty process (i.e., the imposition of duties to offset a subsidy by a foreign government) for products on such a list.

The bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to (1) repeal certain reduced withholding rates for residents of China, and (2) tax income received by China from certain U.S. investments.

S.4- LIFT (Livable Incomes for Families Today) the Middle Class Act196

Kamala Harris, D-CA

This bill establishes a refundable middle class tax credit of up to $3,000 for individuals and up to $6,000 for married individuals filing joint returns. Taxpayers must be at least 18 years of age to receive the credit and may elect to receive payments of the credit in advance on a monthly basis.

The bill limits the amount of the credit and eligibility for the credit based on annual income and filing status. Both the income limitations and the amount of the credit must be adjusted for inflation after 2019.

The bill also requires the Internal Revenue Service to establish a Community Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Matching Grant Program to provide matching funds for the development, expansion, or continuation of tax preparation programs to assist low-income taxpayers and members of underserved populations. The program must be substantially similar to the Community Volunteer Income Tax Assistance matching grants demonstration program established under the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2008.

The bill expresses the sense of the Senate that the costs of the bill should be offset through (1) repealing P.L. 115-97 (commonly known as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act), with the exception of provisions that provide relief to taxpayers with under $100,000 in annual income; and (2) assessing a fee on financial institutions with total consolidated assets of more than $50 billion.

S.20 - Presidential Tax Transparency Act197

Ron Wyden D-OR

196 https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/senate-bill/4?q=%7B%22search%22%3A%5B%22S..4%22%5D%7D&s=2&r=1 197 https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/senate-bill/20?q=%7B%22search%22%3A%5B%22S.20%22%5D%7D&s=3&r=1



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This bill requires the President and certain candidates for President to disclose federal income tax returns for the three most recent taxable years in reports filed with either the Office of Government Ethics (OGE) or the Federal Election Commission (FEC), in the case of a candidate.

The OGE or the FEC must make the disclosed tax returns publicly available after making appropriate redactions. If the income tax returns are not disclosed as required by this bill, the OGE or the FEC must request the returns from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

S.42 - Background Check Expansion Act198

Chris Murphy D-CT

This bill establishes new background check requirements for firearm transfers between private parties (i.e., unlicensed individuals).

Specifically, it prohibits a firearm transfer between private parties unless a licensed gun dealer, manufacturer, or importer first takes possession of the firearm to conduct a background check.

The prohibition does not apply to certain firearm transfers, such as a gift between spouses in good faith.

S.97 - Affordable and Safe Prescription Drug Importation Act199

Bernard Sanders I-VT

S.109- No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion and Abortion Insurance Full Disclosure Act of 2019200

Roger Wicker R-MS

The bill prohibits the use of federal funds for abortions or for health coverage that includes abortions

The bill's restrictions regarding the use of federal funds do not apply in cases of rape, incest, or where a physical disorder, injury, or illness endangers a woman's life unless an abortion is performed. The Hyde Amendment provides the same exceptions.

The bill also prohibits qualified health plans from including coverage for abortions. Currently, qualified health plans may cover abortion, but the portion of the premium attributable to abortion coverage is not eligible for subsidies.

198 https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/senate-bill/42?q=%7B%22search%22%3A%5B%22S.42%22%5D%7D&s=4&r=1 199 https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/senate-bill/97?q=%7B%22search%22%3A%5B%22S.97%22%5D%7D&s=5&r=1 200 https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/senate-bill/109?q=%7B%22search%22%3A%5B%22S.109%22%5D%7D&s=6&r=1



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S.124 - Freedom to Compete Act201

Marco Rubio R-FL

This bill amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to prohibit an employer from enforcing, or threatening to enforce, any non-compete agreement in employment contracts with certain entry level, lower wage workers. A non-compete agreement entered into before the enactment of this bill shall be void and have no effect.

S.149 - Stop Senior Scams Act202

Robert Casey Jr. D-PA

This bill establishes a Senior Scams Prevention Advisory Council, which shall create model educational materials to educate employees of retailers, financial-services companies, and wire-transfer companies on how to identify and prevent scams that affect seniors.

S.157 - Student Empowerment Act203

Rafael Cruz R-TX

This bill allows tax-exempt distributions from qualified tuition programs (known as 529 plans) to be used for additional educational expenses in connection with enrollment or attendance at an elementary or secondary school.

The bill allows the distributions to be used for additional educational expenses, including

• curriculum and curricular materials,

• books or other instructional materials,

• online educational materials,

• tutoring or educational classes outside the home,

• testing fees,

• fees for dual enrollment in an institution of higher education, and

• educational therapies for students with disabilities.

Distributions may also be used for tuition and the purposes above in connection with a homeschool (whether treated as a homeschool or a private school under state law).

201 https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/senate-bill/124?q=%7B%22search%22%3A%5B%22S.124%22%5D%7D&s=7&r=1 202 https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/senate-bill/149?q=%7B%22search%22%3A%5B%22S.149%22%5D%7D&s=8&r=1 203 https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/senate-bill/157?q=%7B%22search%22%3A%5B%22S.157%22%5D%7D&s=9&r=1



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S.158 - A bill to prohibit Federal funding of Planned Parenthood Federation of America.204

Rand Paul R-KY

S.176 - Estate Tax Rate Reduction Act205

Tom Cotton R-AR

This bill reduces the rate for the tax on estates, gifts, and generation-skipping transfers to 20%. (Under current law, the highest rate is 40%.)

S.189 - Social Media Privacy Protection and Consumer Rights Act of 2019206

Amy Klobuchar D-MN

This bill requires online platform operators to inform a user, prior to a user creating an account or otherwise using the platform, that the user's personal data produced during online behavior will be collected and used by the operator and third parties. The operator must provide a user the option to specify privacy preferences, and an operator may deny certain services or complete access to a user if the user's privacy elections create inoperability in the platform.

S.373 - A bill to provide for the retention and service of transgender individuals in the Armed Forces.207

Kirsten Gillibrand D-NY

This bill prohibits (1) an individual serving as a member of the Armed Forces from being involuntarily separated from the Armed Forces, or denied reenlistment or continuation in service, solely on the basis of the member's gender identity; and (2) an individual from being denied initial enlistment, commissioning, or other accession into the Armed Forces solely on such basis.

S.1129 - Medicare for All Act of 2019208

Bernard Sanders I-VT

This bill establishes a national health insurance program that is administered by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

204 https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/senate-bill/158?q=%7B%22search%22%3A%5B%22S.158%22%5D%7D&s=10&r=1 205 https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/senate-bill/176?q=%7B%22search%22%3A%5B%22S.176%22%5D%7D&s=1&r=1 206 https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/senate-bill/189?q=%7B%22search%22%3A%5B%22S.189%22%5D%7D&s=2&r=1 207 https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/senate-bill/373?q=%7B%22search%22%3A%5B%22Gillibrand%22%5D%7D&s=7&r=5 208 https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/senate-bill/1129?q=%7B%22search%22%3A%5B%22S.1129%22%5D%7D&s=8&r=1



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Among other requirements, the program must (1) cover all U.S. residents; (2) provide for automatic enrollment of individuals upon birth or residency in the United States; and (3) cover items and services that are medically necessary or appropriate to maintain health or to diagnose, treat, or rehabilitate a health condition, including hospital services, prescription drugs, mental health and substance abuse treatment, dental and vision services, and home- and community-based long-term care.

The bill prohibits cost-sharing (e.g., deductibles, coinsurance, and co-payments) and other charges for covered services, with the exception of prescription drugs. Additionally, private health insurers and employers may only offer coverage that is supplemental to, and not duplicative of, benefits provided under the program.

Health insurance exchanges and specified federal health programs terminate upon program implementation. However, the program does not affect coverage provided through the Department of Veterans Affairs or the Indian Health Service. Additionally, state Medicaid programs must cover certain institutional long-term care services.

The bill also establishes a series of implementing provisions relating to (1) health care provider participation; (2) HHS administration; and (3) payments and costs, including the requirement that HHS negotiate prices for prescription drugs and establish a formulary.

Individuals who are age 18 or younger may enroll in the program starting one year after enactment of this bill; other individuals may buy into a transitional plan or an expanded Medicare program at this time, depending on age. The bill's program must be fully implemented four years after enactment.

S.1337 PREP Act209

Brian Schatz D-HI

To amend title 18, United States Code, to establish an Office of Correctional Education, and for other purposes.

S.1365 Comprehensive Addiction Resources Emergency Act of 2019210

Elizabeth Warren D-MA

S.1914- Ending Support for Internet Censorship Act211

Josh Hawley R-MO

209 https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/senate-bill/1337/text?q=%7B%22search%22%3A%5B%22S.1337%22%5D%7D&r=1&s=3 210 https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/senate-bill/1365?q=%7B%22search%22%3A%5B%22S.1365%22%5D%7D&s=9&r=1 211 https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/senate-bill/1914?q=%7B%22search%22%3A%5B%22S.1914%22%5D%7D&s=10&r=1



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To amend the Communications Decency Act to encourage providers of interactive computer services to provide content moderation that is politically neutral.

S. 2314 Social Media Addiction Reduction Technology Act212

Josh Hawley R-MO

This bill requires social media companies to structure their platforms in a manner calculated to reduce the risks of internet addiction.

The bill prohibits social media companies from using infinite scroll, auto refill, and autoplay functions and restricts them from giving users awards for higher levels of engagement. The bill further instructs social media companies to automatically limit users' time spent on their platforms across all devices to a default of 30 minutes per day and to implement regular stopping points designed to end scrolling after 3 minutes. Social media companies are also charged to conspicuously display a notification at least twice an hour showing users how much time they have spent on the platform that day.

S.2310 Bridge Investment Act of 2019213

Sherrod Brown D-OH.

A bill to amend title 23, United States Code, to establish a competitive grant program to repair, improve, rehabilitate, or replace bridges to improve the safety, efficiency, and reliability of the movement of people and freight over bridge crossings, and for other purposes.

212 https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/senate-bill/2314?q=%7B%22search%22%3A%5B%22S.2314%22%5D%7D&s=1&r=1 213 https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/senate-bill/2310?q=%7B%22search%22%3A%5B%22S.2310%22%5D%7D&s=2&r=1



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Appendix B-Bibliography Ainsley, Julia Edwards. “Exclusive - Trump Border 'Wall' to Cost $21.6 Billion, Take 3.5...” Reuters, Thomson Reuters, 10 Feb. 2017, www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-immigration-wall-exclusive/exclusive-trump-border-wall-to-cost-21-6-billion-take-3-5-years-to-build-internal-report-idUSKBN15O2ZN.

“America's Infrastructure Problem and How to Fix It.” Wharton Public Policy Initative, publicpolicy.wharton.upenn.edu/live/news/2084-americas-infrastructure-problem-and-how-to-fix-it/for-students/blog/news.php#_edn6.

Arnold, Amanda. “Are Any of the Paid Family Leave Plans Actually Any Good?” The Cut, The Cut, 8 Apr. 2019, www.thecut.com/2019/04/paid-family-leave-plans-guide.html.

Avalon Project - Washington's Farewell Address 1796, avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/washing.asp.

The Avalon Project : Federalist No 68, avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/fed68.asp.

Barr, Andy. “The GOP's No-Compromise Pledge.” POLITICO, 28 Oct. 2010, www.politico.com/story/2010/10/the-gops-no-compromise-pledge-044311.

“BDS Movement.” BDS Movement, 30 July 2019, bdsmovement.net/.

“Bernie 2020 - Not Me. Us.” Bernie Sanders, berniesanders.com/.

Caygle, Heather, et al. “Government Shutdown 2019.” POLITICO, 19 June 2019, www.politico.com/latest-news-updates/government-shutdown-2019.

“The Constitution of the United States: A Transcription.” National Archives and Records Administration, National Archives and Records Administration, www.archives.gov/founding-docs/constitution-transcript.

“The Constitution.” The White House, The United States Government, www.whitehouse.gov/about-the-white-house/the-constitution/.

Cost, Jay. “The Expanding Power of the Presidency.” Hoover Institution-Stanford University, www.hoover.org/research/expanding-power-presidency.

Davis, Julie Hirschfeld. “Trump Orders Mexican Border Wall to Be Built and Plans to Block Syrian Refugees.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 25 Jan. 2017, www.nytimes.com/2017/01/25/us/politics/refugees-immigrants-wall-trump.html.

“Drug Scheduling.” DEA, www.dea.gov/drug-scheduling.

Fergus, Devin. “My Students Pay Too Much for College. Blame Reagan.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 2 Sept. 2014, www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2014/09/02/my-students-pay-too-much-for-college-blame-reagan/?utm_term=.af9802a95528.



59

Ferrante, Mary Beth. “A Look Into The Best And Worst Paid Family Leave Policies.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 10 Dec. 2018, www.forbes.com/sites/marybethferrante/2018/12/10/a-look-into-the-best-and-worst-paid-family-leave-policies/#2cd0268b65d3.

Frymer, Paul. "Debating the Causes of Party Polarization in America." California Law Review 99, No. 2 (2011): 335-49. Http://Www.jstor.org.ezproxy.st-Andrews.ac.uk/Stable/23018604.

Glueck, Katie. “Biden, Recalling 'Civility' in Senate, Invokes Two Segregationist Senators.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 19 June 2019, www.nytimes.com/2019/06/19/us/politics/biden-segregationists.html.

Grannan, Cydney. “Why Are There Nine Justices on the U.S. Supreme Court?” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., www.britannica.com/story/why-are-there-nine-justices-on-the-u.s.-supreme-court.

Greenhouse, Linda. “In a 6-to-3 Vote, Justices Uphold a Voter ID Law.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 29 Apr. 2008, www.nytimes.com/2008/04/29/washington/29scotus.html.

Hagen, Lisa. “Sanders Pushes Paid Family Leave Legislation.” TheHill, 1 Feb. 2016, thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/presidential-races/265228-sanders-pushes-paid-family-leave-legislation.

“Hawaii v. Trump.” Constitutional Accountability Center, www.theusconstitution.org/litigation/hawaii-v-trump/.

“Issues: Elizabeth Warren.” Issues | Elizabeth Warren, elizabethwarren.com/issues.

Jensen, Cory. "Net Neutrality." American Governance, edited by Stephen Schechter, et al., vol. 3, Macmillan Reference USA, 2016, p. 326. Gale Virtual Reference Library, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/CX3629100443/GVRL?u=mcc_pv&sid=GVRL&xid=4d1b573d. Accessed 16 June 2018.

“King George III.” PBS, Public Broadcasting Service, www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/adams-king-george-III/.

Kliff, Sarah. “Elizabeth Warren's Universal Child Care Plan, Explained.” Vox, Vox, 22 Feb. 2019, www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/2/22/18234606/warren-child-care-universal-2020.

“Library of Congress.” Congress.gov, congress.gov/.

Loiaconi, Stephen. “Experts: Trump's Border Wall Could Be Costly, Ineffective.” WJLA, WJLA, 18 Aug. 2015, wjla.com/news/nation-world/trumps-border-wall-could-be-costly-ineffective-experts-say.

Mueller, Robert S. “Report On the Investigation Into Russian Interference In the 2016 Presidential Election.” US Department of Justice, US Department of Justice, 2019, www.documentcloud.org/documents/5955118-The-Mueller-Report.html.



60

“National Popular Vote.” National Popular Vote, 12 June 2019, www.nationalpopularvote.com/.

O'Neil, Patrick H., et al. Cases in Comparative Politics. W.W. Norton Et Company, 2018.

Pildes, Richard. “Why The Center Does Not Hold.” California Law Review.

“Promises Kept: President Donald J. Trump's Accomplishments.” Promises Kept | President Donald J. Trump's Accomplishments, www.promiseskept.com/.

Public Affairs. “What Is the U.S. Opioid Epidemic?” HHS.gov, Https://Plus.google.com/+HHS, www.hhs.gov/opioids/about-the-epidemic/index.html.

Rashbaum, William K. “For First Time, Pharmaceutical Distributor Faces Federal Criminal Charges Over Opioid Crisis.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 23 Apr. 2019, www.nytimes.com/2019/04/23/nyregion/opioid-crisis-drug-trafficking-rochester.html.

“Report of the Select Committee on Intelligence United States Senate on Russian Active Measures Campaigns and Interference in the 2016 Election.” Senate Select Committee in Intelligence, United States Senate, 2019, www.intelligence.senate.gov/sites/default/files/documents/Report_Volume1.pdf.

Silva, Chantal Da. “Visa Overstays Far Exceed Illegal Border Crossings in U.S.-and a Wall Won't Change That, Study Says.” Newsweek, Newsweek, 18 Jan. 2019, www.newsweek.com/visa-overstays-far-exceed-illegal-border-crossings-us-and-wall-wont-change-1295413.

“Standing Orders of the House of Commons - Public Business.” UK Parliament, www.parliament.uk/business/publications/commons/standing-orders-public11/.

Stempel, Jonathan. “Google Defeats Lawsuit Claiming YouTube Censors Conservatives.” Reuters, Thomson Reuters, 27 Mar. 2018, www.reuters.com/article/us-alphabet-google-youtube-censorship/google-defeats-lawsuit-claiming-youtube-censors-conservatives-idUSKBN1H320D.

Stewart, Emily. “Josh Hawley's Bill to Limit Your Twitter Time to 30 Minutes a Day, Explained.” Vox, Vox, 31 July 2019, www.vox.com/recode/2019/7/31/20748732/josh-hawley-smart-act-social-media-addiction.

Various. “Rules of The Senate: U.S. Senate Committee on Rules & Administration.” Rules of the Senate | U.S. Senate Committee on Rules & Administration, 2019, www.rules.senate.gov/rules-of-the-senate.

“What Is the Freedom Dividend?” Andrew Yang for President, www.yang2020.com/what-is-freedom-dividend-faq/.

“Woodrow Wilson's 2017 State of the Union.” State of the Union 1917 < Woodrow Wilson < Presidents < American History From Revolution To Reconstruction and Beyond, www.let.rug.nl/usa/presidents/woodrow-wilson/state-of-the-union-1917.php.



61

Zhou, Li. “Kirsten Gillibrand Is Making Paid Family Leave a Defining Issue in Her 2020 Run.” Vox, Vox, 22 Mar. 2019, www.vox.com/2019/3/22/18220998/kirsten-gillibrand-paid-family-leave.

Appendix C-Photo Credits Links to sources for photos can be found here. The citations correspond with the number

of the photo, found on the caption below or next to the photo. Photos are used without permission for non-profit educational and teaching purposes, pursuant to both British214 and American215 Laws.

Volume I

1. https://edition.cnn.com/videos/politics/2017/07/28/mccain-no-vote-health-care-moment-es.cnn

2. https://slate.com/culture/2017/06/house-of-cards-season-5-reviewed.html 3. https://www.scotsman.com/news/politics/john-bercow-s-7-most-controversial-moments-

as-commons-speaker-1-5000857 4. https://www.politico.com/newsletters/playbook-power-briefing/2018/04/25/emmanuel-

macron-speech-to-congress-265990 5. https://www.c-span.org/video/?c4795368/senator-hirono-barr-you-knew-lied 6. https://www.c-span.org/video/?c4611514/governor-linda-lingle 7. https://www.c-span.org/video/?456494-1/us-senate-swears-newly-elected-elected-

senators 8. https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/pelosi-poised-make-history-back-

gavel/story?id=60138168 9. https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=125058400 10. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitutional_Convention_(United_States) 11. https://www.trover.com/d/895C-united-states-capitol-washington-dc 12. https://www.history.com/topics/cold-war/henry-kissinger 13. X 14. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/trump-travel-order-raises-specter-superior-race-

hawaii-attorney-general-n731596 15. https://thefederalist.com/2019/06/21/biden-civil-segregationists-ally/ 16. https://edition.cnn.com/2019/07/10/politics/senate-frustration-trump-administration-arms-

sale-emergency/index.html 17. https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2017/02/the-daily-show-lives-on-in-

late-night-with-stephen-colbert/515280/

214 https://www.gov.uk/guidance/exceptions-to-copyright, https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/copyright-acts-and-related-laws 215 https://www.baylor.edu/copyright/index.php?id=56543



62

Volume II

1. https://www.axios.com/donald-trump-racist-tweets-republican-reaction-df2a7ce7-466e-4250-8ec7-e616d6ee46fe.html

2. https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/2020-candidate-sen-bernie-sanders-fault-trump-north/story?id=62825098

3. https://www.businessinsider.com/who-is-elizabeth-warren-bio-age-family-key-positions-2019-3?r=US&IR=T

4. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wq-O52H2NGg 5. https://dailycaller.com/2019/09/03/andrew-yang-take-over-cnn/ 6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reaganomics 7. http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2017/05/03/ahca_live_blog_it_is_happening_agai

n.html 8. https://www.brookings.edu/blog/fixgov/2017/09/13/why-bernie-sanderss-plan-for-

universal-health-care-is-only-half-right/ 9. https://www.hhs.gov/opioids/ 10. https://www.washingtonpost.com/gdpr-

consent/?destination=%2fnews%2fwonk%2fwp%2f2015%2f03%2f01%2fthis-is-the-best-explanation-of-gerrymandering-you-will-ever-see%2f%3f

11. https://edition.cnn.com/2019/07/24/politics/robert-mueller-congress-testimony-fact-check/index.html

12. https://edition.cnn.com/videos/us/2019/08/05/daily-news-briefing-08052019-2.cnn 13. https://www.npr.org/2019/08/04/748111546/dayton-police-killed-shooter-within-30-

seconds-of-first-shot 14. https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2018/08/democrats-sessions-trump-attorney-

general/568510/ 15. https://www.itv.com/news/2019-07-03/us-homeland-security-reports-overcrowding-

prolonged-detention-migration-detention-centres-border-patrol-facilities-south-texas/ 16. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/us-citizen-detained-by-ice-francisco-erwin-galicia-

border-officials-conditions-bad-almost-self-deported/ 17. https://www.washingtonpost.com/gdpr-consent/?destination=%2fnews%2fact-

four%2fwp%2f2017%2f05%2f25%2ftrump-in-2017-or-nixon-in-1974-from-shady-charities-to-self-sabotage-who-can-tell%2f%3f

18. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ajit_Pai

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