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World Wide Web and Gopher sites are collections of related documents in electronic form, stored on computers on the Internet, which you can browse just as easily as you would a shelf of books in your local library.
With tools such as Gopher, Lynx, Mosaic, or Netscape, you can easily "point to" files at a Gopher or Web site around the world, open and view the documents that interest you, and e-mail as many as you want back to yourself--all in a matter of seconds. In principle, you can do this whether you are in Kansas City or Kyiv, Anchorage or Almaty.
For those involved in legal and political reform projects in the NIS, one "Web site" worth exploring is that of the Library of Congress, known as "Thomas." Among the many resources it offers, one that is particularly interesting is a document, "How Our Laws Are Made," by Edward Willett. This describes the cycle of legislation in the U.S. in very specific detail, beginning from the time a legislative proposal is discussed in hearings.
To access Thomas, point your Web browser software to its Internet address, or URL. (URL stands for Uniform Resource Locator.) Thomas� URL is:
THOMAS: Legislative Information on the Internet (p. 1 of 4). In the spirit of Thomas Jefferson, a service of the U.S. Congress through its Library.
How Our Laws Are Made
I. Introduction II. The Congress III. Sources of Legislation IV. Forms of Congressional Action Bills Joint Resolutions Concurrent Resolutions Simple Resolutions V. Introduction and Reference to Committee VI. Consideration by Committee Committee Meetings Public Hearings Business Meetings Committee Action Public Inspection of Results of Rollcall Vote in Committee Proxy Voting Points of Order with respect to Committee Procedure Broadcasting Committee Hearings and Meetings VII. Reported Bills Contents of Reports Inflationary Impact and Cost Estimates in Reports Filing of Reports Availability of Reports and Hearings VIII. Legislative Review by Standing Committees IX. Calendars Union Calendar House Calendar Private Calendar Consent Calendar Calendar of Motions to Discharge Committees X. Obtaining Consideration of Measures Special Resolutions Consideration of Measures Made in Order by Previous Resolution Motion to Discharge Committee Motion to Suspend the Rules Calendar Wednesday District of Columbia Business Privileged Matters XI. Consideration Committee of the Whole House Second Reading The Committee "Rises" House Action Motions to Recommit Quorum Calls and Rollcalls Voting Electronic Voting Pairing of Members System of Lights and Bells Broadcasting Live Coverage of Floor Proceedings XII. Congressional Budget Process XIII. Engrossment and Message to Senate XIV. Senate Action Committee Consideration Chamber Procedure XV. Final Action on Amended Bill Request for a Conference Authority of Conferees Meetings and Action of Conferees Conference Reports Custody of Papers XVI. Bill Originating in Senate XVII. Enrollment XVIII. Presidential Action Veto Message XIX. Publication Slip Laws Statutes at Large United States Code
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