AP Government – Senate Simulation
Our class will hold mock Senate proceedings January 20th, January 22nd, January 26th, January
29th and February 2nd. You will portray a senator and participate in the lawmaking process
throughout the simulation.
Step 1: Preparation
You will spend time prior to the simulation beginning by preparing. First you should complete
the Congressional Interactive Learning Modules at http://congress.indiana.edu/
At the website glide your cursor arrow over where it says “Learn about Congress” to find all
pages
1. Click on “What is Congress”
Complete the module “The Many Roles of a Member of Congress”
2. Click on “How Does Congress Work”
Complete the modules “The Dynamic Legislative Process” & “How a Member Decides
to Vote”
3. Click on “What Does Congress Do for Me?”
Complete the module “The Impact of Congress”
Summarize each of the modules on a separate typed sheet:
Preparation paper is due Thursday, January 14th
Then, begin learning about your Senator and brainstorming a possible bill.
Step 2: Senator Profile
 You will be assigned a current or recent U.S. Senator and committee assignments.
 Create a profile of yourself as a Senator and include the following information:
o Hometown
o Occupation before your election to the Senate
o Demographics of your home state that might influence your voting patterns, for
example: socio-economic statistics, major industries, urban verses rural
development, etc… (Cite sources for this data)
o Brainstorm a list of possible legislative topics that would benefit your state if they
were passed based on your research of your state.
o Outline the duties of your committee assignments and briefly discuss the type of
legislation you would expect each committee to address.
 The profile must be typed (including your citing of sources) and turned in on Thursday,
January 14th
Republicans
Mitch McConnell(R-KY) Majority Leader
John Cornyn (R-TX) Majority Whip
Mike Crapo (R-ID)
Richard Shelby (R-AL)
Bob Corker (R-TN)
Marco Rubio (R-FL)
Ron Johnson (R-WI)
David Vitter (R-LA)
James Inhofe (R-OK)
John Barasso (R-WY)
Lisa Murkowski (R-AK)
Rob Portman (R-OH)
Richard Burr (R-NC)
Roy Blunt (R-MO)
Tom Cotton (R-AR)
Daniel Coats (R-IN)
Thad Cochran (R-MS)
Susan Collins (R-ME)
Jordan Connelly
Nathan Gregor
Maggie Tullis
Nate Braunstein
Colin Bailey
Luke Corbin
Noah Frederick
Amy Bertsch
Emily Gross
Isaac Kreitzer
Delaney Bales
Matt McKeehan
Macey Broyles
Maggie McReynolds
Erin Oliver
Sebastian Palafox
Nicole Preisler
Morgan Balow
Democrats
Harry Reid (D-NV) Minority Leader
Dick Durbin (D-IL) Minority Whip
Jack Reed (D-RI)
Charles Schumer (D-NY)
Elizabeth Warren (D-MA)
Cory Booker (D-NJ)
Barbara Boxer (D-CA)
Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH)
Ben Cardin (D-MD)
Patty Murray (D-WA)
Al Franken (D-MN)
Michael Bennett (D-CO)
Richard Blumenthal (D-CT)
Christopher Coons (D-DE)
Robert Casey (D-PA)
Martin Heinrich (D-NM)
Deven Prathapa
Calvin Kim
Taylor Carman
Noah D’Andrea
Emily Blevins
Matt Prewitt
Olivia Gevedon
Hunter Evans
Whitney Reder
Paige Kornaker
Kevin Rothermund
Daniel Schell
Zane Smiddy
Ben Smith
Sean Sweeney
Patrick Tyler
COMMITTEES:
Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs
Mike Crapo Chairperson (R-ID)
Richard Shelby (R-AL)
Bob Corker (R-TN)
Richard Burr (R-NC)
Mitch McConnell (R-KY)
John Cornyn (R-TX)
Roy Blunt (R-MO)
Thad Cochran (R-MS)
Susan Collins (R-ME)
Jack Reed Ranking Member (D-RI)
Charles Schumer (D-NY)
Elizabeth Warren (D-MA)
Al Franken (D-MN)
Ben Cardin (D-MD)
Chris Coons (D-DE)
Robert Casey (D-PA)
Martin Heinrich (D-NM)
Foreign Relations
Bob Corker Chairperson (R-TN)
Marco Rubio (R-FL)
Ron Johnson (R-WI)
Rob Portman (R-OH)
James Inhofe (R-OK)
Richard Shelby (R-AL)
Mitch McConnell (R-KY)
Roy Blunt (R-MO)
Tom Cotton (R-AR)
Charles Schumer Ranking Member (D-NY)
Barbara Boxer (D-CA)
Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH)
Cory Booker (D-NJ)
Jack Reed (D-RI)
Harry Reid (D-NV)
Michael Bennett (D-CO)
Richard Blumenthal (D-CT)
Environment and Public Works
John Barrasso Chairperson (R-WY)
James Inhofe (R-OK)
David Vitter (R-LA)
Lisa Murkowski (R-AK)
Marco Rubio (R-FL)
Mike Crapo (R-ID)
Tom Cotton (R-AR)
Daniel Coats (R-IN)
Susan Collins (R-ME)
Barbara Boxer Ranking Member (D-CA)
Ben Cardin (D-MD)
Patty Murray (D-WA)
Harry Reid (D-NV)
Dick Durbin (D-IL)
Michael Bennett (D-CO)
Robert Casey (D-PA)
Martin Heinrich (D-NM)
Health, Education, Labor & Pensions:
Richard Burr Chairperson (R-NC)
Lisa Murkowski (R-AK)
Rob Portman (R-OH)
John Barrasso (R-WY)
David Vitter (R-LA)
Ron Johnson (R-WI)
John Cornyn (R-TX)
Daniel Coats (R-IN)
Thad Cochran (R-MS)
Patty Murray Ranking Member (D-WA)
Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH)
Al Franken (D-MN)
Cory Booker (D-NJ)
Elizabeth Warren (D-MA)
Dick Durbin (D-IL)
Richard Blumenthal (D-CT)
Chris Coons (D-DE)
Step 3: Creating a Bill
Develop a resolution (1 per committee assignment) that you, as a Senator, would like to pass
through the Senate and on to the House. Be sure to clearly state the intent of the bill, a
justification for the legislation, some “pork” or benefit to your constituents and the estimated cost.
This must be typed and ready to turn into committee on January 14th. Be sure to use formal
language in your resolution: “Be it resolved that the U.S. Senate enact…”, Where as…”, or “Be it
resolved…” etc…
You are strongly advised to use the template for writing bills from the Princeton Model
Congress website: http://www.princetonmodelcongress.com/delegates-write-bill
Make sure to make enough copies for EVERY MEMBER of your committee AND ONE FOR
YOUR TEACHER!
Step 4: Committee Meetings
The class will spend January 20th, 22nd & 26th in committee meetings. Note if you are the chair of
the committee. All members of the Senate are assigned to more than one committee, so be sure
you have a quorum to vote and divide your time equally.
Committee Schedule:
Wednesday (1/20) – Foreign Relations (First Half)
- Environment and Public Works (Second Half)
- Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs (Entire Period)
Friday (1/22) – Foreign Relations (First Half)
- Environment and Public Works (First Half)
- Health, Education, Labor & Pensions (Second Half)
- Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs (Second Half)
Tuesday (1/26) – Foreign Relations (First Half)
- Environment and Public Works (Second Half)
- Health, Education, Labor & Pensions (Entire Period)
Committee chairs (with some assistance from the ranking member) will be responsible for
creating the agenda (order of bills to be considered)
Each committee should attempt to pass as many bills along to the Senate floor as possible but
keep in mind the interests of your constituents. Each group is expected to pass at least one bill to
the floor. Remember that part of your grade will reflect how well you represented your state, so
don’t pass all bills through without edit or discussion. A list of bills passed on to the Senate floor
will be posted by the beginning of class February 6th.
Authors of bills need to make copies of final drafts of bills passed through committee by
Thursday, January 29th.
Step 5: Senate Debate
Our Senate debate will follow parliamentary procedure. Our mock Senate will meet on Friday,
January 29th and Tuesday, February 2nd and participation is a significant portion of the grade
for this assignment. That being said please do not attempt to filibuster, as it will negatively
affect everyone’s grade. Holds are not permitted either. You must make a motion or debate a bill
at least twice in order to receive a passing grade in your individual participation requirement for
the simulation.
Step 6: Reflection
At the conclusion, students are to compose a 1-2 paper (MLA format, sans work cited) reflecting
on their impact during the Senate simulation. In the paper, students need to address the
following:
a. Ability to get their own legislation passed into law. If successful, why? If not successful, why
not?
b. Ability to make deals during the legislative process. What success did you have working deals
with other senators (be specific with which other senators)? What did the deals include? This
can relate to logrolling, but deals should be legal under the eyes of the law. If you were not
successful in making deals, why not?
c. Ability to effectively represent the needs of your constituents by speeches/actions in committees
and floor debate. When and how did you actively speak upon your constituents behalf (be
specific)? How did your votes properly represent your state? BE SPECIFIC by identifying the
specific needs of your state, and exactly what you did and said to properly represent them.
d. Were some actions taken (speeches, votes, deals made) during your work in the simulation
that could negatively alter your re-election chances? Why? Be specific with examples.
Your reflection is due Friday, February 5th
Internet Resources:
The following list of sources might be helpful to you as you prepare your Senator profile and
resolutions:
www.senate.gov Senate home page
www.cq.com Congressional Quarterly
http://thomas.loc.gov/home/thomas.html good resource for current topics in the legislature,
committees, etc…
www.cspan.org CSPAN
www.vis.org Voter Information Services
www.votesmart.org
www.loc.gov Library of Congress
Grading
Your grade will be based on what extent you effectively complete steps 1 through 6, as
demonstrated in the attached rubric.
Extra Credit will be awarded (4 points per day of simulation) for “business attire” worn.
Men: Collared Dress Shirt, Tie, Dress Pants (with belt), Dress Socks (dark) and Dress
Shoes
Women: Professional dress or interview suit, no open-toed shoes, skirts at appropriate
length
All extra credit is at my discretion, so don’t take chances with your attire if you wish to receive
extra credit.
You must be ready for 1/14! Failure to be prepared means that the simulation will not work
effectively…Your classmates are depending upon you to be prepared!
This simulation is worth 500 points.
Mock Senate Simulation Grading Sheet
Category
Points Possible
Preparation Paper
100
Senator Profile includes a
hometown and occupational
history
Senator Profile includes
detailed demographics of your
home state that might
influence your voting patterns
and properly cites the source
of the data.
Senator Profile includes an
outline of the duties of your
committee assignments and
briefly discuss the type of
legislation you would expect
each committee to address
Senator Profile includes a list
of possible legislative topics
that would benefit your state if
they were passed
Legislation clearly stated the
intent of the bill, a
justification for the
legislation, “pork” for
constituents, and a realistic
estimated cost. The bill
follows an appropriate format.
Senator Actively participated
in committee work (in
character) with a strong
attempt to get at least one bill
passed to the Senate floor
Senator actively participated
(in character) in floor debate
with a strong attempt to get
their legislation passed.
Reflection Paper
15
Extra Credit for Dress Attire
(Max: 20 points)
Total
0
35
35
15
100 (50 points each)
50
50
100
500
Points Earned