iGovern Insider

Dear Members-elect,

Whether you are an incoming member of the House of Representatives or the Senate, you are preparing to be sworn into one of the two greatest deliberative bodies in the world. Although the American people have decided to set up a divided Congress, and I know we will face some heated political debates this session, the Speaker and I are coming together in a spirit of bipartisanship to welcome you to Congress!

This session, we are sure to face many important legislative issues. These will be the issues that your constituents have elected you to deal with. You will be writing the legislation that we will be considering the session. Now, we know that many of you are new members who have never written legislation before. Therefore, we have put together this area to help prepare you for doing the people’s business.

So, take some time to look around at the resources, and the Speaker and I will be adding more information for you as we come closer to the convening on this next session of Congress. If you have any questions as you write your legislation and prepare for the next session, please feel free to shoot me an email at glenn@generationjoshua.org.

Sincerely,

Sen. Glenn W. Bertsch (B-PA), President Pro Tempore of the Senate

This is your one stop shop to prep for life in the legislature.

Once you've adjusted to the idea that you are a member of congress, review the following links for helpful resources.

"Ladies and gentleman, the President of the United States." These words command everyone's attention as the Leader of the Free World enters a room. However, although the President is the face of the executive branch, there is much more to that branch than just one person.

The President's Cabinet, initially envisioned primarily as advisors to the President, now serve more as administrators. As Congress has delegated more and more authority and powers to the executive branch, the Cabinet and other executive officials appointed by the President have actual authority, although they still serve at the pleasure of the President.

At iGovern, the executive branch will play a crucial role assisting the President in working with Congress as well as taking executive action to address crises rising in the United States and around the world.

At iGovern, there is a robust economy that involves millions of dollars, the stock market, and the Internal Revenue Service. If you can successfully navigate the IRS and the stock market, you can turn your congressional salary into millions of dollars, but if you fail, you will be begging your friends for cash.

At iGovern, you can use your money for many different things. Some are mandatory (meals, fines, etc.), while others are optional (donating to campaigns, investing in the stock market, etc.). You can play it safe with your money and just save it, or you can strategically invest your money and become the next George Soros, Koch brother, or Donald Trump. It’s up to you!

Navigating the IRS is actually fairly simple. Your employer (the United States Government) will give you a W-2 form. You will then use that information to fill out the IRS Form 1040. If you pay your taxes, life will go well with you, but if you don’t…

Welcome to the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). Within the confines of decorum and diplomatic relations, you will work to solve multiple different international crises. As a representative of your country, you will work with other diplomats to pass treaties, aid allies, deal with enemies, and resolve the issues that are affecting the world.

In the UNGA, you will work with allies and form new alliances, when necessary, in order to negotiate proper settlements that will benefit your country. Negotiation, bargaining, and making personal connections with other ambassadors will be your keys to getting what your country wants or needs. However, it is always important to keep the global perspective in mind, or the issues at large may not be resolved.

Dealing with the many different issues in the UNGA will entail knowing how to interact with both allies and enemies on a diplomatic level. Negotiations will not be short, but if the representatives from the nations work together, diplomacy can be very beneficial.

The Federal Election Commission, the bane of iGovern candidates since 2008. The FEC is responsible for ensuring that political parties, candidates, and political action committees (PACs) follow election law. The way this agency monitors all donations to your campaign and your campaign’s expenditures is through the wonderful medium of paperwork. Candidates, parties, and PACs must file a summary of receipts and expenditures every day. Because of this, the words, “have you filed your FEC forms yet” have become infamous in the campaign world. This is also one of the best reasons to ensure your treasurer is competent.

Although the FEC can seem very intimidating, they exist to ensure that everyone plays by the same set of rules so that elections are fair. Therefore, the FEC is more than willing to help answer your questions and explain FEC regulations. Daunting though they may be, they play a very important role in the American electoral process.

With patience, hard work, and a good treasurer, the FEC can be like a puppy dog, instead of a roaring lion. However, if one fails to abide by the regulations instituted by this just organization, you will be thrown into the lion’s den, where there is much wailing and gnashing of teeth… (In all seriousness, there is no lion’s den, but there are fines.)

Surviving the FEC Resources

Here are some valuable resources to survive the FEC at iGovern.