CONGRESSIONAL QUARTERLY
http://www.cq.com
Congressional Quarterly, the "scrupulously nonpartisan"
publication which has "sought to promote an informed electorate since 1945,"
has a fine web site which offers a number of subscription services and
some excellent links. They have a comprehensive listing of CQ press releases
and regularly include highlights from both CQ and its sister publication,
Governing.
FIRSTGOV LEGISLATIVE BRANCH OF THE U.S. GOVERNMENT
http://www.firstgov.org/us_gov/legislative_branch.html?ssid=981559399828_172
Congress is also accessible through the new, all-purpose
government search site. The site works pretty well, and the Legislative
Branch page offers good links to the General Accounting Office (GAO), the
Congressional Budget Office (CBO), and other federal resources.
THE HILL
http://www.hillnews.com
The Hill says that its guiding principle is to "respect
the institution, but scrutinize its members and policies." The Hill publishes
reporting, analysis, opinion, and commentary on "the most important small
town in the world." In addition to on-line subscription, The Hill offers
Campaign 1998 stories and "Pundit Speak," a daily feature of different
views on a selected topic.
NEW YORK TIMES CONGRESSIONAL DIRECTORY
http://capwiz.com/nyt/dbq/officials/directory/directory.dbq?dir=nyt&command=congdir
Need a current list of the Senate Appropriations Committee? Forget
your Senator's email address? Want to contact the Parliamentarian for the
U.S. House of Representatives? This site, run by the New York Times and
powered by Capitol Advantage, quickly and easily provides answers to these
and many other questions. It also provides concentrated information about
every Member and their staffs, offices, etc., a la the better Congressional
handbooks.
ROLL CALL ONLINE
http://www.rollcall.com
Roll Call, which calls itself "the newspaper of Capitol Hill since 1955,"
has developed what it calls "the premier web site for news and information
about Congress." Syndicated columnists, a focus on every Congressional
election race, news scoops, and more make this a fun web site for both
Congressional junkies and anyone who wants to apply Tip O'Neil's old maxium
of "all politics is local."
THOMAS - U.S. CONGRESS ON THE INTERNET
http://thomas.loc.gov/
THOMAS is, of course, the official link for Congress. Full of information
but awkward at times to navigate, it remains the best place to find the
full texts of proposed and enacted legislation. It also features a nice
collection of historical documents about Congress and its predecessors,
as well as summaries of the legislative process. Check out the "U.S.
Legislative Branch" page, w hich serves as a territif clearinghouse
of links.
U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
http://www.house.gov/
The House also maintains its own web site, which is mostly a modest
arrangement of links.
U.S. SENATE
http://www.senate.gov/
Not surprisingly, the Senate has a much more elaborate page for itself
than the House, with among other things an extensive series of features
on the Senate Art Collection. Of particular interest is the very useful
feature on "Visiting the Senate," which gives information on getting visitor
passes, touring the Senate, visitor hours, accommodations for persons with
disabilities, and a "virtual" tour.
Most of this information came from theYFJ Net News: February 2001. YFJ Net News is a service of Youth for Justice, the national coordinated law-related education program supported by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention of the United States Department of Justice. Comments or recommendations in YFJ Net News do not necessarily represent the views or policies of the United States Department of Justice.