Off The Shelf

With one political convention just finished and another one in full swing, there’s been a lot of talk about politicians’ records. Since both the major party candidates are Senators, there’s a one-stop-shop for looking at their actual doings on the job. And it’s from America’s biggest library: the Library of Congress.

It’s called THOMAS, and in the “spirit of Thomas Jefferson” it provides detailed information about congressional activities. This includes:

• Full text of bills and resolutions
• Full text of recent public laws
• Status of current bills
• The Congressional Record
• Roll Call votes
• Lists of bills by sponsor
• Presidential Nominations
• Treaties
• Committee Reports

All in all, you can see a lot of the sausage being made in Washington.

If you thought elections could be long and drawn out, they’ve got nothing on the tedious process of legislating. For a trip down memory lane, check out Schoolhouse Rock’s “I”m Just a Bill,” which chronicles that long process from start to finish. Watch the video on YouTube.

- Erin