I'll be the first to admit that following legislation through
Congress is often less stimulating than watching paint dry. Thousands of
bills are introduced in each Congress. Most of them never become law. Unfortunately, the best time to affect a law is before
it becomes a law. There are many points in the law-making process where contacting your representatives may make a difference in the final law that is passed, or even prevent a bad law from being passed at all.
Upon introduction, nearly all bills are sent to a committee for study. Many meet an ignoble death there, ignored by their sponsors, never seeing the light of day again. Some bills are actually scheduled for hearings, but are never voted out of committee. Still other bills make it through the committee, but move through the process at glacial speeds, never making it to the finish line before the next Congress is elected and the process starts all over again. On the other hand, some bills move so fast that one wonders if their passage caused a sonic boom to echo through the halls of Congress, rattling windows and shaking loose plaster off the walls.
The problem is knowing which is which. It would be wonderful to be able to concentrate our time and efforts on only those bills that are likely to make it through the committee to a floor vote, to be sure that our voices are heard on the legislation which may actually affect our lives.
There are those who make educated guesses about which bills will ever see action, and whenever possible, I will make those "guesses" available here. Meanwhile, I feel we must keep an eye on every piece of legislation that affects our interests. Even a bill that seems dead can be suddenly revived at the drop of a constituent poll.
Bills affecting women's issues introduced into the 107th Congress
can be located via the Pending Legislation Subject page.
I've prepared several "how-to" pages to help you get started. Visit these pages and learn how to:
Research Bills
The Thomas service of the Library of Congress includes three databases that contain information regarding legislation: Legislation, the Congressional Record, and Committee Reports. Here's how to access the information.
Watch Your Legislators
Your legislators are supposed to represent you, right? Unfortunately, some representatives really hope you don't know what they're doing in Congress. Here's how to find out if they're helping or hurting your interests.
Write to Your Legislators
Letters and faxes to your Congressional representatives are the best way to make your views known. After all, they're there to represent you!
