Government Forms and Procedures Taxpayers For Common Sense Here is a source for some general information about our government. The major guiding and governing documents of this country are: The Declaration of Independance The Federalist Papers The Constitution of the United States These are all available from the National Archives, which also has a Government Information Locater Service. The Government is divided into three distinct branches: The Executive, the Legislative, and the Judicial. Here's an introduction to how the process works. Search Pending Bills Laws are made by the U.S. Senate Official Location Alternate Location and the House of Representatives Official Location Alternate Location supported by Congressional Support Agencies. Here are the duties of our congressional representatives. Congress is part of the Legislative Branch. Laws can be vetoed or signed into law by the President of the United States, who lives in the White House. The president is part of the Executive Branch. If a law is challanged, it can be interperted for constitutionality by the Supreme Court, which is part of the Judicial Branch. Here is a wealth of information about our government, and how it works. Here is a glossary of terms. That's how you are governed. But who does it? Here's some information about my representatives. You can enter your zip code to find your own information here. To find out more about who governs you, from the President to your state legislators, you might want to try this link. Here is some good general information, from The Jefferson Project. C-Span on the Web. Legal resources from FindLaw. Now, let's find out: The Major Issues Current Pending Legislation What's happeing in congress today? Search for new bills Fine. Now, how did a specific person vote? Find out here: How did they vote in the U.S. Senate? How did they vote in the House of Representatives? Recent Major Senate Votes Recent Major House Votes Free Voters' Research Hotline. Information Available Includes: Voting Records Campaign Finance Data Performance Evaluations by Special Interest Groups Issue Stances Biographies Contact Information Status of Legislation Voter Registration Information Request Free Publications Find out what district you live in Now you know something about an elected official. But what did they say when they were running for office? And how did they actually vote? Find out here! Another important question is: How did they finance their campaign? If you want even more help scrutinizing your elected officials, there are a lot of watchdogs doing that already. There are tracking resources, such as Congress Track. Or, you can do it yourself. You might also want to check out the Right To Know Network. To get information and services from your government, here is a list of government resources. Do you think your only voting choices are the republicrats? Well, there are a lot of parties out there, and most of them have web pages! Don't forget these helpful organizations: The League of Women Voters The New Haven, CT League of Women Voters may be reached at 203-785-0122 and Common Cause Charter of the United Natioms Universal Declaration of Human Rights I like my senators to hear from me. Write to Chris Dodd Write to Joe Lieberman And my representatives. Representatives: Connecticut has 6 but you are represented by only 1, by district. If you know what district you're in, you can write to your representative directly (if they have a direct e-mail address.) Otherwise, you can find and write your representative HERE. Write to Rosa DeLauro Write to Barbara Kennelly Write to Sam Gejdenson Write to Christopher Shays Write to James Maloney Write to Nancy L. Johnson State Government Ok, I couldn't resist. Here are some State Government Resources The race for Congress, Governor and the General Assembly is on! Here's my info. Here is some general information. Here is some news and information about the upcoming election. Connecticut State Government Information A Guide to Connecticut's State Government State Government & Politics Organized by Category Other Sources of State Information Connecticut Congress Members and Candidates Connecticut Governing documents The Rules of the Connecticut General Assembly Connecticut Information Connecticut Legislative Guide Connecticut State Agencies The Connecticut General Assembly The Connecticut Sitting Council Search the Sitting Council for upcoming items on the docket, by town New Haven Information New Haven City Government Links How a Bill Becomes a Law in the City of New Haven Simplified Organizational Chart of the City of New Haven Information for my neighborhood Finally, because I am who I am, let's end with a little political humor. Plus, Tom Tomorrow