Congressional Debate is like a simulation of the real United States legislature. A group of 10-25 students, called a Chamber, will compete in a legislative session. A series of bills and resolutions will be proposed by students from various schools. Students in turn will be selected by a presiding officer — a student elected to conduct the business of the round — to give speeches both advocating for and encouraging the defeat of the measure in front of them. Following each speech, competitors will be able to ask the speaker questions. Once the item is debated enough, the chamber will vote either to pass or fail the legislation, and debate moves on to the next item. Legislation comes in two types — a bill and a resolution. A bill is a plan of action, detailing how a particular policy proposal will be implemented. A resolution, meanwhile, is a statement expressing the opinion of the chamber. Typically, one session of Congress lasts about 2-3 hours. During that time, students typically give speeches 3 minutes in length. The first two speeches on a piece of legislation are known as the first affirmative, or first aff, and the first negation, or first neg. These speeches are followed by 2 minutes of questioning. After the first aff and neg speech are established, each additional speaker is subject to one minute of questioning by the chamber.

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