The internet has a multitude of information sources to assist us in our 
        legislative planning and action. They are too numerous to list all of 
       them on this page, but we wanted to highlight a few of them and point 
                       out their potential benefit to you.

 www.rollcall.com

       The main benefit of this site- easy access to your legislators' profiles,
     including addresses, email addresses, fax numbers, etc. It also contains
          the legislators voting records for selected bills. This site also 
      includes a basic primer on how to contact your representative and the 
       proper procedures to follow when telephoning, writing, and e-mailing. 
    These pages can serve as a valuable resource when conducting legislative
                           meetings or seminars.

        Instructions - once you get to the home page, click on the link "The 
          Hill Directory." Then follow the easy instructions to get to your 
         legislator's profile. From this profile you can link to a page which 
        will enable you to email directly. Another link will take you to his/her
          voting record. Going back to the home page, click on the link 
       "Congressional Contact." This contains basic information on how to 
       contact your legislators, how to address and compose letters, how to 
     conduct yourself during personal contacts, etc. This information could be 
                       used at any legislative seminar.

     Comments - The profile itself is very valuable. We would suggest printing
      it out and distributing to members of your District or Chapter who do not
      have intemet access. The voting records are limited, but you can obtain 
       your legislator's voting record on any piece of legislation by phoning 
     his office or by accessing Project Vote-Smart, discussed below.  Rollcall
      is a Capitol Hill newspaper and contains many newsy stories about Hill 
                                goings on.

       It is rather gossipy and fun and may be of interest to those of you who
                      want to know more about the Hill. 

     There are other useful links on this site and we recommend that you check
                                them out.
www.vote-smart.com
                          
       Main Benefit of this Site - Many of you are already aware of this site. 
      It continues to be an invaluable source of information to those interested
           in legislative matters. It contains the most detailed record of 
         legislators' voting records on the internet. It provides a means of
       tracking selected bills through the legislative process. It also contains
      information regarding State legislators and pending issues. You might 
      also be interested in reading some the informative articles they provide.

         Instructions - When you get to the Home Page, look for the link, 
      "Candidates & Elected Officials."  This will lead you to your legislator's
     voting records, issue positions, campaign finances, etc., and biographical
       information. This site's voting record section is a little more detailed
        than the Rollcall site discussed above, but it is well worth the effort
     because of the completeness of the data provided. If you click on the link,
      "Congress Track, " you can then find the links to track the status of any 
        piece of legislation, current or otherwise. However, these links will 
    often send you to another workhorse site, "thomas.gov," which is discussed
                                 below. 

       Comments -This is a monster site, but one which should resolve any 
         legislative inquiry that you have. All the links cannot possibly be 
     discussed here. We do recommend that you visit this site when you have
        time to spare and familiarize yourself with what it has to offer. This
       site should be particulary helpful to Legislative Liaisons, Legislative
        Officers, and anyone seriously interested in the legislative process.

www.thomas

         
        Main Benefit of this Site - This is the workhorse site for information
      on legislation. Many of the legislative sites link to Thomas as a source
      of data on pending and passed legislation.  When you get into this site,
         you can use it to track legislative bills. This site will provide you 
       with the exact language of the bill, summaries, names of the sponsors
                           and the current status.

      Instructions - When you get into the Home Page, look for the search link
       which will enable you to search for a specific bill by number, or if not
         available, by the subject of the bill. Obviously, your search will go
       faster if you have the number of the legislation, e.g. H.R. 1234. Once
         you link on the bill, the above information will be provided to you.

       Comments - This is one of the fastest ways to get information on the
          details of legislation and to obtain the exact wording of a bill. 

www.house.gov
                             
        Main Benefit.of this Site - This site gives you information as to just 
       what is going on in the House of Representatives at any given time. It
          provides Committee schedules, roll call votes on bills, annual 
        Congressional schedule, the current week's schedule, i.e., what is 
        currently on the House floor. It has a host of other information about
           the House, including Committee actions and assignments. 

       Instructions - This Is one of those sites that when you get to the Home 
       Page, follow the links where you want to go. If you wish to determine 
               committee assignments, click on the link, "House
       Directory. " The links to the House's schedule are listed at the bottom
                            of the Home Page.

      Comments - Another site you should visit when you have some time to 
          browse. This site is invaluable if you are planning to visit your 
      representative because it will give you the information you need to show
            that you are following the legislative process very closely.

www.senate.gov
                            
       This site provides similar information to that found at the House site.

www.fedweek.com
                           
  Any NARFE member should checkout the above web site and consider signing
                   up for the free online e-mail newsletter. 

www.narfe.org
                             
     The NARFE national web site should be checked frequently for the latest 
    in NARFE-related information. Not only does it contain the Hotline message,
             but other information on immediate actions necessary.


Alliance for Retired Americans
 
     Tha Alliance is the successor organization of the National Council of Senior Citizens. They deal 
       with all issues that affect senior citizens. Many of these issues, if not 
                      all of them, affect Federal retirees.

Mike Causey's Column

This site provides "ear-to-the-ground" information of interest to federal 
employees and retirees.  Those of us who worked in Washington D.C. were
daily readers of this column.

In the 106th Congress, which resumed January 6, 1999, Social Security, 
Medicare, the Older Americans Act, and many other areas which affect us all
will be debated.  This is a good site to get overall information on these 
issues. We urge that you take a look at it occasionally to have a broad 
aspect of the concerns affecting us all.

 In 1999, we expect a great deal of legislation which will affect the 
Medicare program, beginning with Medicare+Choice. Since 80% of Federal 
retirees are covered under Medicare, we will be closely watching this 
legislation. This site should help us in this oversight.