The results are in for the 2006 session of YLI’s e-Congress! With nearly 500 teachers from forty-six states and American schools abroad, this year’s participation reached an all time high for the five-year-old simulation. With enough student e-legislators to form twenty-six concurrently running House Floors, YLI was able to ensure that a student committee reviewed each of the 6,726 bills submitted. These committees passed over 2,065 bills (31%) for a full vote by members of their respective House Floors. Working within the $150 billion e-Congress budget, 16,432 student legislators logged more than 434,000 votes en route to passing 24% (1,590) of the original bills.

The issues of greatest concern to students participating in the 2006 session of e-Congress were criminal justice, education, and the environment and energy. While criminal justice was the most popular topic for bills submitted, students voted to pass more bills on the environment and energy (306) than any other topic. Of the bills with the top ten highest passing percentage, all but one affected either health and safety or energy and the environment. The top three bills were Clean Air Drives into the Future, the Safe Supplement Act, and Alternative Energy: The New Black Gold, introduced by representatives from Maryland, Arizona, and Michigan, respectively.

By proposing innovative solutions, authoring well-crafted legislation, and offering insightful comments to their peers around the country, this year’s e-legislators 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 e-Congress helps remind young people that democracy isn’t something that only happens in Washington, D.C. – it’s something we all do.