Is the congressional power to create U.S. law being sold to highest spender? Are members of both houses acting on outside interests instead of the interests of the American people? The following sources will allow you to find exact dollar amounts flowing through Congress, track campaign contributions to the member, and track how the member voted, among other ways money can influence politics.
These sources are free to anyone:
The below sources are restricted to UCB ONLY:
Tracking a bill through Congress can be exciting. The following links will allow you to track current bills, though there are many other similar sites and tools on the internet.
Congress rarely considers bills in a linear fashion. There are many rules, procedures and precedents that may affect how a bill makes its way though the House and the Senate. The sources below detail Congressional Procedure in both chambers.
House
Senate
Trying to figure out what was influencing Congress is a goal of many researchers. The following databases will allow you to search for articles and books that will provide background and context into Congressional actions and proceedings. For current issues, another good source to check are the major newspapers (Washington Post, NYT, etc). Also consider following groups on issues you are interested in--many of these will put out statements on about/for/against legislation.