Political Education 101: Niftiness and Transparency Are Taken to a National Level

We provided a link a few days ago, e-lobbyist.com, which gives readers information to track legislative bills introduced in state legislatures.

Here is a link I discovered sponsored by C-Span, congress.org, which focuses on national legislation and legislators' votes:

Track your Senators' and Representative's votes by e-mail

Each week (that Congress is in session) you will receive: • Key votes by your two Senators and U.S. Representative. • Links to send e-mail to your members of Congress using pre-addressed forms. • Upcoming votes for your review and a chance to offer e-mail input before they vote. Use this weekly vote monitor to track the decisions made by your elected officials on key issues.

If you scroll down the website, you can access the following information:

Directories

• President and Vice President
• Congress
• State Elected Officials
• Local Elected Officials
• Federal Agencies
• Supreme Court

Legislation

• Bill Search
• Vote Search
• Track Votes by Email

Issues & Actions

• Take Action on Issues
• Calls to Action by Organization
• Calls to Action by Topic
• Read Your Letters to Leaders
• Hand Deliver Your Letters
• Meet the Activists

Election

• Election Candidates & Info
• Register to Vote

Soapbox

• Soapbox Alerts
• Create an Alert

More Resources

• Today's House Schedule
• Today's Senate Schedule
• Committee Hearing Search
• Capitol Hill Basics
• Add Us to Your Site
• Tell A Friend About Us

You now have an efficient manner to track legislation on the state and national levels. These sites are marvelous tools in obtaining the elusive transparency voters desire from the government and elected officials. It seems this would be a valuable tool for students studying government.

Many thanks to C-Span for this service. The entire Health Care debate was promised to be read in the spirit of transparency on C-Span by the new administration, but alas, this did not happen. The public received one hour of debate the administration allowed C-Span to air. This site may be the only transparency the voters get until that promise is fulfilled.

Watch the Legislation Proposed in Your State. This is Really a Nifty Educational Tool.

If you only bookmark one website, e-lobbyist.com might be the one to bookmark and refer to frequently while the Legislature is in session. This site is free to use and you can become aware of bills introduced in the state which you are following. You can also track up to 10 bills at a time to monitor their progress through the House, and if they make it out of the House, then through the Senate.

I had my eye on this bill last night, HB 59:

Status

January 6 2011 - Read Second Time (H)

Summary

Requires the State Board of Education to establish a coordinated health program board to develop a program on the prevention of student obesity, cardiovascular disease, and type II diabetes

It seems Michelle Obama's recent push to regulate food intake and eradication of obesity might be important in the education of our children. Do you think with Missouri's current $500 Million shortfall this year this program (complete with a board) is a necessity the state budget can afford?

Here's another thought: should childhood obesity and the tracking of childrens' medical health be left up to the parents?

That last question might be a radical thought, to leave the health management of children to the parents. It's just a crazy idea. Might save a bit of money, don't you think?

However, HB 59 may be a piggyback on HB 57 :

Status

January 6 2011 - Read Second Time (H)

Summary

Establishes the Missouri Commission on Prevention and Management of Obesity

What IS it this year? Has war been officially declared on obese children and adults? Be sure to register to track bills being presented this year. The session hasn't been in a week, and you'll be amazed how busy the legislators have been already.

Keep your eyes open! (And maybe pass on that piece of pie after dinner).