Re: Gov tracking service?

From: GBurch1@aol.com
Date: Sun Jul 16 2000 - 11:29:01 MDT


In a message dated 7/14/00 1:08:09 PM Central Daylight Time,
brian@posthuman.com writes:

> I get tired of trying to keep track of all the laws and junk congress
> keeps spewing. And especially bad is the fact that you often read about
> a proposed law, but never find out what happens to it. Did it get passed?
> Is there a site out there that tracks all this and keeps you informed
> of everything?

The "everything" in your question makes the answer an almost certain "No".
There's just too much going on, especially if you count the states, as well
as all the branches of the federal government, and administrative agency
action, as well as true legislative activity. The best bet is to narrow your
inquiry to specific subjects of interest, and then look for the many sources
that track government action related to that subject. The best such services
tend to be commercial enterprises and charge for access to the information
they gather and collate.

That said, there is one fairly good tool for tracking the activity of the US
Congress:

     http://thomas.loc.gov/

The Thomas system is actually pretty good and using its search tools -- along
with a basic knowledge of the procedural rules by which "the sausage gets
made" to use Bismarck's phrase -- will yield useful information.

       Greg Burch <GBurch1@aol.com>----<gburch@lockeliddell.com>
      Attorney ::: Vice President, Extropy Institute ::: Wilderness Guide
      http://users.aol.com/gburch1 -or- http://members.aol.com/gburch1
                                           ICQ # 61112550
        "We never stop investigating. We are never satisfied that we know
        enough to get by. Every question we answer leads on to another
       question. This has become the greatest survival trick of our species."
                                          -- Desmond Morris



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