This spring, 405 teachers from 42 states and Guam participated in the 2007 session of YLI's annual legislative simulation for middle and high school students. With over 12,500 student legislators participating in the activity and voting on twenty-five concurrently running House Floors, YLI was able to ensure that a student committee reviewed each of the 5,424 bills submitted.

Student committees passed 1,606 pieces of the legislation submitted (30% of bills) to the House Floor for a full vote by members of their respective floors. Working within the $150 billion e-Congress budget, student legislators logged nearly 310,000 votes en route to passing 23% (or 1,222) of the original bills.

Among middle school representatives, the economy, health, and safety were the issues of greatest concern, while environment and energy, health and safety, and education were the most pressing issues among high school voters. Unlike previous years where two or more topics were equally popular, this year energy and environment bills were the most popular overall, as students submitted and voted to pass more bills related to this topic than any other (331 submitted and 297 passed). Of the bills with the top ten highest passing percentages across all grades, health and safety and environment and energy were the topics that most interested e-Congress voters.

Here is a breakdown of the passing percentages for each of the 14 topics e-Congress students researched, debated and voted on during the session:

The top two bills written by middle school students were Operation Clean Lungs, written by representatives in Tennessee, and Public Restaurant Smoking Ban, authored by legislators from Minnesota. The top three bills among high school students were Cut Interests on Student Loans Act, Sex Offenders Behind Tougher Bars, and Floor It Granny!, introduced by representatives from Georgia, New York and Kentucky, respectively.

By proposing innovative solutions, authoring well-crafted legislation, and offering insightful comments to their peers around the country, this year's e-legislators once again proved that students are ready and willing to learn about and participate in government when they see how it can impact their own lives. YLI's e-Congress helps remind young people that democracy isn't something that only happens in Washington, D.C. - it's something we all do.