Library of Congress
Get the latest information on any bill, committee or legislator in the
US Congress.
Aquatic
Policy Updates from American Society of Limnology & Oceanography
(ASLO)
Summarized monthly from the three branches of the US Government and
relevant nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). The focus is policy developed
in Washington, DC with relevance to the entire United States. Regional
issues are included if the policy has greater ramifications than the
local jurisdiction.
eNotes from
National Association of Conservation Districts (NACD)
Weekly News Briefs from NACD focused on policy news from NRCS, USDA
and other federal agencies of relevance to conservation districts. Published
every Tuesday. NACD also publishes monthly BufferNotes
and Forestry
Notes.
State Environmental
Resource Center (SERC)
SERC focuses on state-level legislative environmental initiatives and
offers a free weekly e-mail newsletter.
Environmental News Network (ENN)
ENN is a free-access Web site with daily news reports on national and
international environmental issues.
Environmental News Service
(ENS)
The ENS Newswire is a subscription-based Web site with daily
news reports on a variety of environmental issues.
The US Congress' web site, Thomas,
contains a wealth of information including Congressional contacts, who's
on what committee, track bills, and go to your state government home
page to get the same kind of information at the state level.
The U.S. Government Web site at
http://www.whitehouse.gov/government/ provides current news, access
to federal agencies, information on federal commissions, councils and
advisory groups, links to Congress, and links to the Judicial Branch,
which includes the Supreme Court and its searchable databases of federal
court decisions.
Another Web site, http://www.loc.gov/law/guide/usexec.html,
provides access to a searchable database for federal rules (Code of
Federal Regulations).
Tips on writing your Congressman/woman:
A good letter has three components:
- Identify the issue in the first paragraph - use bill number if you
know it.
- Tell why it is important - use local examples they can relate to.
- Say what action you would like them to take.
Be courteous, be to the point, and include key information, using examples
to support your position. Address only one issue per letter, and try
to keep it to one or two pages.