Teams and Points

Points:

· Legislation- All sponsored pieces of legislation (including amendments) receive a higher score as they move further down the legislative process.

i. A bill is introduced: 5 points

ii. A bill is sent to a committee and approved by the full committee: 10 points

iii. A bill is read on the House or Senate floor after examined by the committee: 15 points

iv. A bill is passed by one chamber of Congress: 25 points

v. A bill travels to the other chamber Congress and is referred to a committee: 30 points

vi. The bill is approved by the full committee: 35 points

vii. The bill is debated on the floor of the House or Senate: 40 points

viii. The bill is passed by the second chamber of Congress: 50 points

ix. The bill travels to a conference committee: 60 points

x. The bill is approved in its final form by both the House and the Senate: 70 points

xi. The bill is signed into law by the President: 80 points

· Co-Sponsorship- All cosponsored pieces of legislation (including amendments) receive a higher score as they move through the legislative process. You will receive 3/5th of the total points earned if the co-sponsorship is known on the date of the bill’s introduction. You will receive 1/5th of the total points earned if the co-sponsorship is known within one week of the bill’s introduction.

· Voting Metrics- Your team will receive 5 points for each vote taken by each of your members. Your team will lose 3 points per vote not taken by each of your players.

· Press – Your team will receive 15 points for each quote (in print, video, or radio) about their support or not of a particular bill. (Not about an “issue” in general, but a specific bill)

· Maverick- Your team will receive 10 points for each vote that breaks from party ranks if the bill passes. You will receive 5 points for each vote that breaks from party ranks if the bill is rejected.

· Scandals- You will lose 40 points for each member of your team that becomes involved in a scandal during the game. If you have 3 team members involved in scandals over the course of the game, that means you lose 120 points! Scandals can involve tax evasion, selling of senate seats, sex scandals, or illegal political donations. Basically, if it would make your mother disappointed, it is classified as a scandal.

· Points for this class: You will earn a grade for playing this game. Of course, you cannot be held accountable for terrible congressional draft picks, but you are held accountable for updating your team's information and responding to my questions on Facebook. To earn full credit, you must thoughtfully respond to my posts. You must also post your team’s weekly score every Monday evening.

The following websites will help you track your players:

· congress.org

· thomas.loc.gov

• Go to Congressional Record Daily Digest on the right side

· govtrack.us

· opencongress.org

• washington post congress votes database

You will enter your scores on the scoresheet.