Keeping Informed of Legislative Actions and Proposals
Dennis AuBuchon
August 15, 2009
Recent events have shown that when individuals are informed of legislative actions or proposals that will affect them, they get involved. The issue of healthcare reform has touched a nerve with the general public and they do not like what they have heard. While some information may not be accurate it is hard to distinguish fact from fiction. The battles engrained in Congress on this issue are far from over. The pros and cons of the various legislative bills are trying to come to some agreement that they feel the public will accept. We must remember the government works for us not us for them and the impression though it may not be accurate in some cases appears otherwise. Our elected officials at all levels of government work for us and have the responsibility to provide for our needs as defined in the Constitution.
There are countless proposals at the state and federal levels that are processed yearly for various topics. While not every legislative proposal completes the process of becoming law, many of them do. It is important for us keep informed about legislative proposals and voice our opinion with our elected officials. Many senators and representatives especially at the federal level have local offices where citizens can communicate with them. This is a good thing. The Internet today offers greater access to our elected officials. I understand that not everyone has access or is comfortable with communicating on the Internet and these offices address this sector of the population.
Keeping informed about legislative proposals is easy when the media communicates with the public about legislation being processed. The current activity associated with the healthcare reform actions in Congress is an example where the media is serving the public well by bringing the issue to the forefront. It is important also to understand the coverage given by certain media and the details they provide. We are all busy and have our individual priorities but one of them must be to keep informed about legislative proposals before they become law. Before they become law is the key. The current healthcare reform actions, and there are more than one, has not yet been finalized. We as voters must voice our opinion about decisions being made associated with this important legislative activity.
The current technology we have today benefits the public by the choices of being better informed. As stated in another article on understanding legislation without a lawyer the public would better understand the actions being taken if the language was in plain English. This would have two benefits. The first is that the public would be better able to understand the problem and the offered solution. The other side is that when the public is able to understand legislation better there are fewer questions for our elected officials. I am not implying that we should not communicate with our elected officials. When the public understands the various legislative proposals better questions directly related to the content can be asked of our elected officials.
Another thing that makes it difficult for the public to understand and absorb the information in various proposals is their length. While there may be some critical legislation that requires longer documentation I feel that in most cases legislation is longer than it should be. Legislation should be as long as necessary to address the problem and the solution with all the details included without references to other laws already on the books. The point of the last sentence is this there is always going to be revisions to legislation or legislation that revises various conditions in other laws. When this occurs the current requirements should be identified and how the new legislation changes it. What happens in many cases in some legislation, not all is that the requirements are noted as being changed with reference to previous legislation and not the words in it. This practice I feel makes the creation of new laws confusing not only for the public but also for our legislative officials. There is one statement with which most people are familiar keep it simple stupid. Keeping legislation simple and to the point would greatly enhance the efficiency of the legislative process.
This article is about keeping informed of the legislative actions and proposals within our legislatures. It would be inappropriate to talk about keeping informed without providing some resources for accomplishing it. Below are some sites that offer options to keep abreast of legislative proposals and actions along with links to our elected officials. Along with being informed of legislation being processed it is important for us as voters to inform our applicable elected officials of our feelings when a topic is important to us such as the healthcare proposals not being created.
www.congress.org
www.GovTrack.us
www.USA.gov
This site also offers connections to state and local governments.
www.senate.gov
www.house.gov
All of these sites offer an option to be kept informed on various legislative actions and proposals and we as citizens must use the available resources to be kept informed. The government works best when the citizens are informed and can make decisions on whether we agree or disagree with any approach being taken on a given topic. One important point to make is that we should inform our elected officials not only when we have strong feelings against something they are doing but when they are doing something right. The current system we have in place I feel is the greatest and it can work best when citizens and elected officials work together to tackle the many problems we are now facing and will face in the future. Our elected officials must consider the feelings of their constituents and make the appropriate decisions in light with their feelings and concerns. To best do this they need to read all legislation before they make a decision to accept or reject it. It is important for the public to be informed about legislative actions and proposals but it is even more important for our elected officials to be informed.
I have the highest respect for the offices our elected officials hold at all levels. They have an important responsibility and they must perform them with integrity of purpose. This involves making good decisions on legislation they understand. If legislation being presented cannot be understood by our legislators how can they be understood by the general public. As previously stated all legislation should be in language that the general public can understand. If legislation is confusing how can the government expect compliance to it. While there is a need for lawyers in some cases it should not be necessary to have a lawyer to understand actions by our legislative officials.
There are countless proposals at the state and federal levels that are processed yearly for various topics. While not every legislative proposal completes the process of becoming law, many of them do. It is important for us keep informed about legislative proposals and voice our opinion with our elected officials. Many senators and representatives especially at the federal level have local offices where citizens can communicate with them. This is a good thing. The Internet today offers greater access to our elected officials. I understand that not everyone has access or is comfortable with communicating on the Internet and these offices address this sector of the population.
Keeping informed about legislative proposals is easy when the media communicates with the public about legislation being processed. The current activity associated with the healthcare reform actions in Congress is an example where the media is serving the public well by bringing the issue to the forefront. It is important also to understand the coverage given by certain media and the details they provide. We are all busy and have our individual priorities but one of them must be to keep informed about legislative proposals before they become law. Before they become law is the key. The current healthcare reform actions, and there are more than one, has not yet been finalized. We as voters must voice our opinion about decisions being made associated with this important legislative activity.
The current technology we have today benefits the public by the choices of being better informed. As stated in another article on understanding legislation without a lawyer the public would better understand the actions being taken if the language was in plain English. This would have two benefits. The first is that the public would be better able to understand the problem and the offered solution. The other side is that when the public is able to understand legislation better there are fewer questions for our elected officials. I am not implying that we should not communicate with our elected officials. When the public understands the various legislative proposals better questions directly related to the content can be asked of our elected officials.
Another thing that makes it difficult for the public to understand and absorb the information in various proposals is their length. While there may be some critical legislation that requires longer documentation I feel that in most cases legislation is longer than it should be. Legislation should be as long as necessary to address the problem and the solution with all the details included without references to other laws already on the books. The point of the last sentence is this there is always going to be revisions to legislation or legislation that revises various conditions in other laws. When this occurs the current requirements should be identified and how the new legislation changes it. What happens in many cases in some legislation, not all is that the requirements are noted as being changed with reference to previous legislation and not the words in it. This practice I feel makes the creation of new laws confusing not only for the public but also for our legislative officials. There is one statement with which most people are familiar keep it simple stupid. Keeping legislation simple and to the point would greatly enhance the efficiency of the legislative process.
This article is about keeping informed of the legislative actions and proposals within our legislatures. It would be inappropriate to talk about keeping informed without providing some resources for accomplishing it. Below are some sites that offer options to keep abreast of legislative proposals and actions along with links to our elected officials. Along with being informed of legislation being processed it is important for us as voters to inform our applicable elected officials of our feelings when a topic is important to us such as the healthcare proposals not being created.
www.congress.org
www.GovTrack.us
www.USA.gov
This site also offers connections to state and local governments.
www.senate.gov
www.house.gov
All of these sites offer an option to be kept informed on various legislative actions and proposals and we as citizens must use the available resources to be kept informed. The government works best when the citizens are informed and can make decisions on whether we agree or disagree with any approach being taken on a given topic. One important point to make is that we should inform our elected officials not only when we have strong feelings against something they are doing but when they are doing something right. The current system we have in place I feel is the greatest and it can work best when citizens and elected officials work together to tackle the many problems we are now facing and will face in the future. Our elected officials must consider the feelings of their constituents and make the appropriate decisions in light with their feelings and concerns. To best do this they need to read all legislation before they make a decision to accept or reject it. It is important for the public to be informed about legislative actions and proposals but it is even more important for our elected officials to be informed.
I have the highest respect for the offices our elected officials hold at all levels. They have an important responsibility and they must perform them with integrity of purpose. This involves making good decisions on legislation they understand. If legislation being presented cannot be understood by our legislators how can they be understood by the general public. As previously stated all legislation should be in language that the general public can understand. If legislation is confusing how can the government expect compliance to it. While there is a need for lawyers in some cases it should not be necessary to have a lawyer to understand actions by our legislative officials.
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