Celebrating THOMAS

This week begins a new semester and a new U.S. Congress (the 114th). THOMAS, the popular Library of Congress web site named for Thomas Jefferson and providing free online legislative research and other factual information about Congress and its work, is also celebrating its 20th anniversary this week.  Launched January 5, 1995, and soon to be replaced by the new federal public information site, Congress.gov, THOMAS has seen many changes reflecting the dramatic growth and progress of online information delivery in the past two decades. Check out "Twenty Years of Thomas," a fascinating retrospective of this pioneering site, posted yesterday on In Custodia Legis, the blog of the law librarians of Congress. 

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Politics and Government going mobile

Stay informed on Washington happenings while mobile.  Check out the White House News Media app(iOS, Android) for news from the White House and the Congressional Record app (iOS) for what our representatives and senators are discussing.  Get a more current take on late breaking political news from the app Politics Today (iOS).  This app gathers Twitter feeds and then presents them as "news', "liberal" or "conservative"

For more detail on these and other political apps, see the NY Times article Let the Phone Be Your Political Advisor .

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Wealthiest Members of Congress

This week Roll Call, one of the most respected publications covering Congress and now a free site, posted "50 Richest Members of Congress," a run-down of the financial worth of the 50 wealthiest members of the legislative branch and the sources of their wealth.  The results of this latest study, an annual project of Roll Call since 1990, includes a break down of financial assets and member profiles, with recent news coverage, for each of the 41 men and 9 women in this exclusive group. While the source of their wealth ranges from tech entrepreneurship to family trust funds, 18 of them hold a J.D.

Beyond this special report, Roll Call is a great source for law students and attorneys on the latest developments on Capitol Hill, unique news coverage of Congress, fundraising and seniority charts, and policy updates, with Roll Call blogs and free registration to receive daily updates on legal areas or policy issues of interest to you.   

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

HeinOnline Congress and the Courts Library

HeinOnline's Congress and the Courts Library provides materials prepared by various Congresses relating to the purpose, formation, and organization of the federal government.  The Library provides numerous documents of legislative intent, testimony, and other historical information.  Congress and the Courts also provides Congress & the Courts: A Legislative History 1787-2010 compiled by William H. Manz as well as periodicals, links to scholarly articles, CFR Title 28 and more.  Click here to access the library and click here to learn more.


Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA)

Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA) Passes the House of Representatives

CISPA is headed for the U.S. Senate.  So, what is CISPA and how did it get to the Senate?  "CISPA’s designed to let private business share information about cybersecurity threats with one another and with the U.S. federal government."

(Read more about the CISPA controversy here: http://mashable.com/2012/04/29/where-cispa-stands-now/)

Although the cybersecurity legislation has many supporters, there are others who do not believe that citizens' privacy is adequately addressed.  "In a statement, Michelle Richardson, [the American Civil Liberties Union] ACLU legislative counsel, said that “CISPA goes too far for little reason. Cybersecurity does not have to mean abdication of Americans’ online privacy. As we’ve seen repeatedly, once the government gets expansive national security authorities, there’s no going back. We encourage the Senate to let this horrible bill fade into obscurity.”"

(For more information about CISPA supporters and critics, see: http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/technology/cispa-whos-for-it-whos-against-it-and-how-it-could-affect-you/2012/04/27/gIQA5ur0lT_story.html)
Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

The Legislative Process Goes Digital

The Office of Legal Counsel decided recently that it is permissible for congress to send the president bills electronically and for the president to sign them electronically. A fully digitized legislative process may be around the corner.

(thanks ConLawProfBlog)


Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Tracking Congress

Wonder what Congress is doing (or not doing) about Food Safety, on the health reform law or two of my interests, cybersecurity and claiming pets as dependents for tax deductions? Govtrack.us is your answer.

On Govtrack.us, you can set up email alerts or RSS feeds to track particular bills in congress, subject areas, members of Congress or general trackers for the activity of the whole Congress. Use the Trackers link to set these up.

By the way, the bill to deduct pet care expenses died in Congress last year, but I have set up my tracker for Animal protection and human-animal relationships . Know any good lobbyists?

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Visual History of the Supreme Court

Timeplots.com has created a beautiful poster/webpage which diagrams the history of the U.S. Supreme Court, including all of its justices, who appointed them, when they served, and landmark decisions. It is viewable here. A snapshot of part of it is below.

This is part of a three-part project which also includes wonderful diagrams of the histories of the U.S. Senate and the Presidency.





Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

C-SPAN Video Library

While looking forward to Spring Break, you may have missed the recent news that all of C-SPAN's programming from 1987 forward--on all three C-SPAN networks--is now available free online in the just launched C-SPAN Video Library. This site is well organized, with a great browse page, and searchable to provide easy access to material such live and unedited Congressional debates and speeches actually made on the House and Senate floor and videos of Congressional committee hearings. In addition, hundreds of C-SPAN public affairs programs from the "America and the Courts" and "Newsmakers" series provide valuable background material on issues, legislation, and people for law school research papers. You'll find more about this constantly growing resource and how to use it to best advantage in this helpful article from Information Today.


Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

111th Congress

The 111th Congress has begun its work. If you want to keep up with the documents produced, including the latest laws signed by the President, there are two web sites to check. First, the one I mentioned yesterday, GPO Access , will have Congressional bills, Reports and other Congressional documents. GPO Access is also a great source for Presidential and Executive branch documents as well.

For really up-to-date legislative actions, make sure to check Thomas from the Library of Congress. You will find the text of the latest Public Laws, and records of actions on current bills, such as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 now being debated in Congress.


Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

MetaVid

MetaVid is a relatively new site that archives videos of federal legislative action. Its contents are only from about the last two years, and because it relies largely on user uploads, it does not contain videos of everything that happens in Congress. But because MetaVid gives you the ability to find information on and videos related to a bill simply by entering its name, number, or a legislator's name (among other search options), it may become a valuable resource and it is already a good option for anyone researching recent legislation.



Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat