Congress on the Internet |
Finding information on the Internet can be a tedious task. This sheet
should help you find the information you need and help you head toward
a better understanding of how Congressional information is found on
the World Wide Web.
THOMAS - U.S. Congress on the Web This site is rather awkward in a navigational sense. It is also quite unhelpful if someone looking on the site doesn't know what they are looking for. This being said, Thomas has the most up to date, and pertinent information on pending and passed legislation available on the web, so it is a necessity to try and figure out how to work through the site. Here are a few hints to help you in your search:
First you will be asked to select whether you want All Legislation, Public Bills, Amendments, or Private Bills. If you don't know, stay with the default, which is All Legislation. For the most part the rest of the site is rather straightforward. If you have word/phrase keyword you are looking for, type it in. If there is a subject keyword you are looking for, type it in… One of the most wonderful options of this link is the opportunity to use the Sponsor/Co-Sponsor fields. Here, even if you don't know what the Bill is titled, or the number, or anything at all but the Sponsors of the Bill, all you need to do is scroll down the list of House Reps, or Senators and highlight them. (To highlight multiple Sponsors you need to hold your Control key on your keyboard when clicking their names.) One final note about Sponsor/Co-Sponsor option: This is a great way to keep an eye on what your House Rep or Senator might be doing on the hill. By doing a general search on your Rep or Senator you can find out what bills he or she is sponsoring or co-sponsoring. Once you have more information on your bill you can follow the progress of your bill through this search site by adding more information to the search fields on this link. However, to stay completely abreast of where a bill or legislation is at in any specific time period, it is vital to personally check with congressional staff who are in the know. Even then, it is unpredictable exactly what or when something happens.
Hopefully this little sheet will help you on your search for Congressional Enlightenment. Another good site is Project Vote Smart at: https://www.vote-smart.org. This site offers a great deal of information that includes: Voting Records, Campaign Finance, Special Interest Groups' Performance Evaluations, Campaign Issue Positions, Contact Information, Backgrounds and Previous Experience of politicians, Status of Legislation and more. Other Sites: Federal Register: https://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/aces/aces140.html Library of Congress: https://www.loc.gov/ Code of Federal Regulations: https://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/index.html EPA has the text and summaries of all federal environmental laws at https://www.epa.gov/epahome/laws.htm All US federal laws may be found at https://www.alllaw.com/ferderal_resources/federal_law_search/ This is a comprehensive web site that includes all US Code; Administrative Law; Congressional Records; case law by Federal District and the Supreme Court; the Constitution; Court Rules; all State Laws; and all law journals. For more information, or if you have any questions, feel free to contact Geoffrey Petrie: [email protected] |
Nuclear Watch of New Mexico 551 W. Cordova
Rd. #808 505.989.7342 -
phone |
Top |