How to Blog with Bill Numbers, and Why YOU Should Care.
As you can see from my diary list, I don't write too often. I don't have the time (time=money for freelancers). This diary exists because we are all lobbyists, we are all constituents, we are all activists, and we all have some sway with our congress critters.
If you are writing about legislation, you NEED to blog with bill numbers.
Why do Bill Numbers Matter?
Bill numbers are progressive. Bill numbers allow for accountability, oversight and openness. Bill numbers can serve two important functions here on the Orange Blog.
1-Track discussion: You can search all diaries about a bill. This will matter years from now when we are renewing old legislation like No Child Left Behind or CAN-SPAM.
2-Coordinate responses: You can call a congressperson and refer to a specific piece of legislation by number. This makes you harder to ignore and makes life on the staffers easier. We can discuss specific bills, and coordinate a community-wide approach to addressing legislative issues.
So, tag your diary and list that H.R., S. etc. for the world to see!
After the flip: What is a Bill Number, How to use them, Where to find them, etc.
Legislation is complex. We need to be able to refer to SPECIFIC bills when pestering our congress critters or debating legislation. There have been 3-5 bills all covering the same topic at times. They come up as competing pieces of legislation, one of which might be good, the others of which might be horrible. We need to be able to respond to specific pieces of legislation, not just "That FISA Bill" or "The SCHIP bill".
What you can do:
ALWAYS cite a bill number in your diary. Always put it in the tags. When Tagging: consider 3 datapoints: Bill Number, Title, and congress. Example: S.2248-110, FISA
Where to find bill numbers: (source)
THOMAS is a very good resource. This is run by the Library of Congress and is a searchable database of ALL current legislation, and past legislation to the 1970s. find it at thomas.loc.gov
UPDATE: THOMAS only holds links valid for a session (60 minutes). To provide a static link from your diary to a bill, MH in PA refers us to Help - Direct Links To Thomas Documents. The syntax coding is a little complex, so I won't break it down here. Remember not to forget the colon at the end of the link.
The GPO has a searchable database of legislation.
LEGIS The Legislative Research Center (office of the clerk) is available at (202) 225-1772
Call your Senator, or the sponsoring Senator. Congressional switchboard: (202) 224-3121
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UPDATE: I brought this section in line with the dkos librarians group policy, as per information SarahLee gave me.
Let's take a look at that citation: S.2248-110, FISA
The bill number is S.2248. We are in the 110th congress. That is ess period two two four eight dash one one zero. It appears to be existing site policy that no space is used. The number indicates the bill originated in the Senate as a standard bill in the 110th congress (2007) and is generally known as The FISA bill.
Bill Number: Bill numbers are assigned in the order bills are introduced. Let's take a look at different kinds of bills:
House Bills: (Source)
H. R. -This is a House Resolution. Formally introduced legislation. A proposed law requiring the approval of both Houses and the signature of the President to enact.
H. J. Res. -Stands for House Joint Resolution. It becomes law if passed by both the House and Senate, and approved by the President. Usually used for appropriations and continuances of existing legislation.
H. Con. Res. -Stands for House Concurrent Resolution. This type of measure must pass both the House and Senate, but does not become public law.
H. Res. -Stands for House Resolution. This type of measure pertains only to the House and does not make law.
Senate Bills: (Source)
S. -The principal vehicle employed by lawmakers for introducing their proposals (enacting or repealing laws, for example) in the Senate. Bills are designated S.1, S.2, and so on depending on the order in which they are introduced.
S. J. Res. -A legislative measure numbered consecutively upon introduction, which requires the approval of both chambers. Usually used for appropriations and continuances of existing legislation.
S. Con. Res. -Senate Concurrent Resolution. Legislation in the form of a joint resolution enacted by Congress, when the new fiscal year is about to begin or has begun, to provide budget authority for Federal agencies and programs to continue in operation until the regular appropriations acts are enacted.
S. Res. -simple resolutions are used to express nonbinding positions of the Senate or to deal with the Senate's internal affairs, such as the creation of a special committee. They do not require action by the House of Representatives.
Congress Bill numbers start anew at zero every new congress. The congress must be specified, lest the following confusion result:
H.R.83-110 (2007) is a regulatory bill having to do with fish, specifically the importation of Carp.
H.R.83-104 (1995) "withheld contributions to certain organizations that assist Iraq, Iran, Libya, and Cuba".
H.R.83-103 (1993) was the "Workplace Family Leave Policy Disclosure Act of 1993".
H.R.83-102 (1991) was a bill "To prohibit the use of Federal funds for abortions except where the life of the mother would be endangered".
Titles are a colloquial reference and the way we talk about bills, and are a convenient shorthand, but they are the least useful way to refer to legislation. Also, titles play into the propaganda/advertising efforts of the administration and the congress. For instance, "No Child Left Behind" was a sales title, as was "CAN-SPAM." Perhaps if we use bill numbers, we can ignore badly named bills and concentrate on what they actually do, not what the title says they do.
It would be preferable to label legislation by full format (H.R.number-congress) but at least labeling with the bill number (S.number) would be a start.
Anyway, indulge me in my pet peeve, and write with bill numbers. Trust me, it is a good idea.