How Does Your Representative Vote?
By: Joanne | June 24, 2008 | Category: Home and Family
You know how it goes; you pay a little attention to political candidates before an election, and you uphold your responsibility to vote for the candidate of your choice. Once they’re in office you’re too busy to think about what they’re doing with the power you’ve given them.
At the national level, sometimes we see news stories about hot topics and bills being passed by the U.S. Congress. I’ve often seen people write in to USA.gov wanting to contact a high profile member of the House or Senate in order to express an opinion on a topic.
There’s something you need to know about contacting a member of Congress – they answer to their constituents, that is, the people in their voting district. If you really want to get your message through to the Congress, you’ve got to keep tabs on the House Member or Senator from your voting district. When they do something you like, let them know! When they do something you don’t like, let them know! Sometimes I feel like only special interest groups have influence over their members of Congress, but then I also wonder if the special interest groups are the only voices being heard because the rest of us just grumble about public policy in our kitchens.
Permalink | View Comments [7] | E-mail This Entry | Tags: bill congress house joanne law legislation representative senate senator vote
Posted by bobtenn on June 24, 2008 at 12:27 PM EDT
Posted by canoe on June 24, 2008 at 03:06 PM EDT
Posted by Joanne on June 24, 2008 at 03:14 PM EDT
Sometimes the problem isn't that "the government" isn't listening. I mean, I hear you loud and clear, but just because I work for the government, doesn't mean that I have the power to make the changes you suggest. I don't. The trick (and it can be tricky) is to direct your comments at the right people, and elected officials are the place to go. On USA.gov you'll find links to contact information for your elected officials at: http://www.usa.gov/Contact/Elected.shtml Comment Permalink
Posted by DOHTALKS on June 25, 2008 at 07:49 AM EDT
Posted by Citizen Jmaximus on June 27, 2008 at 10:42 AM EDT
Posted by Joanne on June 27, 2008 at 02:48 PM EDT
You can track legislative votes on the House and Senate websites. I can't create hyperlinks when posting a comment, but here are the urls. You can copy and paste them into your browser's address bar.
U.S. House of Representatives: http://clerk.house.gov/legislative/legvotes.html
U.S. Senate: http://www.senate.gov/pagelayout/legislative/a_three_sections_with_teasers/votes.htm Comment Permalink
Posted by buzzy on July 13, 2008 at 12:13 PM EDT
The people of the United States are losing in every possible direction with any of the candidates the Republican or Democratic party has given the citizenry of the United States.
Neither one of them will close the borders...........they wish to provide amnesty to the 12 to 13 million "illegals" in this country. They have broken the law and are no different than any other individual who has broken the law.
We do not worry about the thieves from Enron or Tyco who have broken the law and now must be punished. "Too bad for their families". Both John McCain and Barack Obama express concerns about breaking up families. Thier families will remain intact when they stop "breaking the law".
Our political system is a disaster and the only way to start fixing this system is when we got to the polls to vote. VOTE these political stooges out of office. Washington is overloaded with Harvard Lawyers who are ruining this country everyday of the week.
Did NAFTA do anything for the working class American? Yes, it destroyed their jobs. Does FREE TRADE do anything for Americans? Yes, thier jobs have been exported. The "Illegals" will be filling the balance of the jobs. This is what happens when we allow "Lobbyists" to influence our Politicians, as if they were not sleezy enough, now they are being purchased by Corporate America. A Lobbyist is nothing more than a representative of Corporate Special Interest with a suitcase full of money looking for a Senator or Congressman to bribe. This is the America we have, thanks to the "Low Life Lawyer Senators and Congressman in Washington"
The only jobs that are created in America are those created by the service sector which the pay will be in the minimum wage category.
Our Automotive Industry is "off-shore" and our beloved Washington elite would like to get our Aircraft Industry out of the United States as well.
If " We The People" is important, it is time to CHANGE Washington, D.C. to elected representatives who act on behalf of the American Public.
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