This site lists all of the countries with a parliamentary system, offering links to the various official national Web-sites whenever available. This is an important resource, especially if you are researching a smaller country for which it is difficult to find current information. (
http://www.ipu.org/english/parlweb.htm
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This is the official site for the Senate. Here you will find directories and email access to members, committees, tourist information, etc. (
http://www.senate.gov/
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This is the official site for the House. Here you will find information on the legislative process, schedules, how to contact members, visitor information, citizen input and other interesting features. (
http://www.house.gov/
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This is the online site for the noted "inside-the-beltway" daily newspaper devoted to covering Congress. This site offers access to their insider reporting, as well as all kinds of current information, commentary, even contests and quizzes! Since most libraries do not carry Roll Call, you may find yourself often visiting this site - that is, if you are a political junkie, that is! (
http://www.rollcall.com/
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This is one of the major political sites for those who closely follow American Politics. It is easy to find out campaign finance, issue positions, voting records, etc. of a wide range of politicians. There is access to over 13,000 political leaders at the federal and state level. Note that in the CongressTrack section, there is easy to access information on the current legislation, votes, etc. (
http://www.vote-smart.org/
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This is an excellent resource for all aspects of current and historical research into the U.S. Congress. Coverage is comprehensive: information/coverage of the latest floor actions in both the House and Senate; bill summary and status; bill text, roll call votes, public laws, etc. In all cases, these resources are also available for earlier Congresses as well. The official Congressional Record is also available; if and when you need to consult the CR as it is known, you will quickly come to appreciate the on-line indexing and text that has been made available by this impressive Library of Congress project. (
http://thomas.loc.gov/
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This academic research center offers a wide range of on-line resources, including opportunities to join chat sessions and bulletin boards with congressional members, staff, and other experts. Make sure you take a look at the Resource Center which offers important sources for teachers and students. (
http://www.congresslink.org/
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This is an inventory of research notes of Richard Fenno - a leading political scientist and author of many classic social scientific works on Congress. He believes strongly in field work, observation, interviewing, etc. - what he calls "soaking and poking" around. Here, for the first time, are the notes taken of those interviews - an inside look at the thoughts and views of numerous key congressional members from the 1950s - 1960s. (
http://www.archives.gov/legislative/research/special-collections/oral-history/fenno/inter...
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