The Health Care Reform Act turmoil

SuDocQueen@evpl — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 17:33:00 GMT

Opinions and concerns abound about this issue, sometimes to the point that the facts get obscured. Can I separate all the facts from the fiction? Nope, I can be duped and sucked in as easily as the next person. But I can tell you where to go to form your own opinions undiluted by anyone else with an agenda. Thomas from the Library of Congress is an excellent site for following legislation and the workings of Congress. As a matter of fact, Thomas has made it easy for people right now. You don't even have to search for the House's health care bill. They've put up a direct link on the very front of their website. From that link, you can then read a summary of the bill, see what Committees it's been referred to, see who is sponsoring it, and read the bill word for word yourself. Be warned, the bill's over 1,000 pages long and very dense to read! That doesn't mean I think it's not worth reading; I'm just saying don't expect to skim through it on your lunch hour unless you belong to Mensa. :)

You can also get some very useful links from Congressman Brad Ellsworth's "Online Office." He has the PDF of the full bill, just as Thomas does, but he additionally has links to the committee work being done on the bill.

And while we're talking Congressmen, if you want to share your opinion, do you know who to share yours with? Indiana's Senators are Evan Bayh and Richard Lugar, while Evansville's Congressman is Brad Ellsworth.

Lastly, here's on other place I like to go when I'm inundated with opinions, http://factcheck.org/. They appear non-partisan to me. They've debunked pro and con statements surrounding the health care debate. And, their website/services don't exist solely for the health care debate (it just looks that way right now :). Take a look at their Archives or Ask Factcheck to see some of the other political issues they address.

Official ".gov" web site of the office of the President Elect

Bufkinite@evpl — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 15:18:00 GMT

It's been said that Barack Obama ran a transformational campaign, and is a transformational political figure. Now, with the advent of www.change.gov, we have what looks like the beginning of a transformational Presidency. This is the official ".gov" website of the office of the President-elect. Not politics, but policy.

Top-of-page informational links include a Newsroom and Blog, a "Learn" link to biographical information on the Presidential and Vice-Presidential families, and an "Agenda" link with Obama adminstration policy statements in 25 different policy areas.

But the truly "transformational" part are the remaining top-of-page links. The "American Moment" link invites you to share your vision for the direction America needs to go. The "America Serves" link currently is not very fleshed out, but looks to become a clearinghouse to opportunities for citizens to volunteer for the Peace Corps, Americorps, and projected new government orchestrated volunteer organizations: Classroom Corps, Health Corps, Clean Energy Corps, and Veterans Corps. The "Jobs" link encourages anyone to begin the process of applying for a job in the Obama administration. Finally, the "About" link contains links for contacting the transition team, and a link to the GSA's "Transition Directory," a very interesting document which was developed to assist in-coming administrations work with the current administration to smooth the transfer of power.

Thanks to googler@evpl for bringing this site to my attention.

What do you think about this level of transparency? What is your vision for the first 100 days of an Obama administration?

Research Blog : politics, policy

The Health Care Reform Act turmoil

Official ".gov" web site of the office of the President Elect