WORKING WITH GOVERNMENT
There is a popular saying among national politicians that “all politics is local”. This refers to the fact that if politicians do not please their constituents, they will lose their jobs. It is important that local organizers understand the role of public pressure versus corporate capital in relation to government. Governments at all levels can and will respond to people’s desire for greater self-reliance, if the people can demonstrate they have the information and the organization to bring it about. The following sites will help you know what government is up to and how you can work with it to meet your objectives.
 
State And Local
Federal 
United Nations
International Agencies 

State And Local

US Census Bureau - Governments
http://www.census.gov/govs/www/index.html
The following data is currently available from this site: Information about State and Local Government Structure • The Governments Classification Manual • Finance Data for the Largest City and County Governments • School Finance Data (Individual unit data) • State Government Finance Data by State • State Tax Collections by State • State and Local Government Finance Estimates, by State • Annual Public Employment and Payroll • Annual Public Employee Retirement • Quarterly Public Employee Retirement • Quarterly Tax Revenue • Federal Government Data.

City Net
http://www.CITY.NET/
A comprehensive guide to cities. City Net provides easy and timely access to information on travel, entertainment, and local business. It also includes information on government and community services in the larger cities.

All Aboard PTI's Local Government WWW Train!
http://pti.nw.dc.us/AllAboard.htm
“These World Wide Web sites represent the pioneering efforts of local governments as they explore the Internet's potential. Select a state and look for your favorite cities and counties.”

Library of Congress: State and Local Governments
http://lcweb.loc.gov/global/state/stategov.html
Meta-index for state and government information. Links to: StateSearch National Assn. of State Information Resources Executives • Council of State Governments (Lexington, Kentucky) • National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSLNet) • Piper Includes "State & Local Govt. on the Net" list • State Government Sources (Yahoo) • State Government Information (Indiana University) • State Government Information (Chicago-Kent University) • State Government on the Net (Dana Noonan, Piper Publishing) Public Technology, Inc. • USA CityLink (Links to U.S city WWW pages) • City Net (Links to cities and communities around the world, including government information for U.S. cities) • Regional Economic Information System (REIS) (University of Virginia) Economic data for U.S. regions, states, counties or MSAs (1969-1992) • State Maps • State Government Information • Council of State Governments • National Center for State Courts • Individual States • Other Servers • Links to resources for each state.

Find it on StateSearch
http://www.nasire.org/
This site provides links to state homepages that point to their on-line departments and agencies. As more states develop an on-line presence, local organizers gain easy access to much useful information including ways to access local resources.

Library of Congress Gopher Menu
gopher://marvel.loc.gov:70/11/federal/state.local
Links to federal, state and local gopher and ftp sites other than world wide web.

Local Government - Rural Development Related Web Sites
http://www.ilgard.ohiou.edu/web.sites.html
Pointers to 16 hot sites for local rural planners. (Also see our section on Rural Development for additional resources.)

Federal

Information Services

FedWorld
http://www.fedworld.gov/index.html#usgovt
This is the big one for locating information about the federal government. Links to:
FedWorld FTP Site (Government information, documents and files) • FedWorld Dialup/Telnet Site (detailed information from over 50 agencies etc.) • FedWorld/FLITE Supreme Court Database (OMB/NTIS) • Government Information Locator Service (GILS) • Federal Job Announcement Search • Looking for Tax Forms and Instructions? (IRS) • FAA Service, Training and Regulatory Information (FAA) • Davis-Bacon Act Database (DOL) • Recent U.S. Government Reports (All Agencies) • U.S. Government Information Servers (Internet) • National Technical Information Service (NTIS) • U.S. Customs Service (Treasury) • EC, EDI & CALS Resource Locator Web Page (NTIS) • Foreign Broadcast Information Service Glossaries (FBIS) • Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) • Internal Revenue Service (IRS) • Services for Federal Agencies (NTIS) • National Performance Review (Executive Office of the President) • United States Treasury • U.S. Business Advisor • World News Connection (WNC). This site also allows a search of US Government Information Servers. The Servers have been sorted into main subject categories. You can search these subject files that describe hundreds of US Government Websites. You can also view a list of category files that you can search.

Government Printing Office Access
http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/dbsearch.html
On-line connection to The Federal Register, Congressional Record, Congressional bills and other federal government information. Allows you to "follow the money".

White House

The White House
http://www.whitehouse.gov/
This site provides a tour of the White House. You can also see photos of the first family in moments of leisure. The site also contains pointers to the Executive Branch, Publications and Press Briefings.

White House Offices and Agencies
http://www2.whitehouse.gov/WH/EOP/html/EOP_org.html
Links to Council of Economic Advisers • Council on Environmental Quality • National Economic Council • National Security Council • Office of Administration • Office of the Counselor to the President • Office of The First Lady • Office of Management and Budget • Office of National Drug Control Policy • Office of Science and Technology Policy • President's Interagency Council on Women • White House Office for Women's Initiatives and Outreach • President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board • President's Council on Physical Fitness & Sports • United States Trade Representative • White House Fellows • The President's Council on Sustainable Development.

The President's Cabinet
http://www.whitehouse.gov/WH/Cabinet/html/cabinet_links-plain.html
Links to Department of Agriculture • Department of Commerce • Department of Defense • Department of Education • Department of Energy • Department of Health and Human Services • Department of Housing and Urban Development • Department of Interior • Department of Justice • Department of Labor • Department of State • Department of Transportation • Department of Treasury • Department of Veterans Affairs.

Independent Federal Agencies and Commissions
http://www.whitehouse.gov/WH/Independent_Agencies/html/independent_links.html
Links to: Arms Control and Disarmament Agency • Central Intelligence Agency •
Consumer Product Safety Commission • Corporation For National Service • Commodity Futures Trading Commission • Environmental Protection Agency • Federal Communications Commission • Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation • Federal Election Commission • Federal Emergency Management Agency • Federal Trade Commission • General Services Administration • US Merit Systems Protection Board • National Aeronautic and Space Administration • National Archives and Records Administration • National Endowment for the Arts • National Endowment For The Humanities • National Performance Review • National Science Foundation • National Security Agency • National Technology Transfer Center • Nuclear Regulatory Commission • Peace Corps • President's Council on Physical Fitness • Railroad Retirement Board • Securities and Exchange Commission • Small Business Administration • Smithsonian Institution • Social Security Administration • US Agency For International Development • US Information Agency •
US International Trade Commission • United States Postal Service • Voice of America •
White House Fellows.

Congress

Congress.Org
http://www.policy.net/capweb/
A great one-stop shop for information on capitol hill. Pointers to the Senate, House of Representatives, Library of Congress, email addresses, bills, votes, laws, and Congressional support agencies and caucuses.

The United States Senate
http://www.senate.gov/
This site provides information from and about the members of the Senate, Senate Committees, and Senate leadership and support offices. You can also find general background information about US Senate legislative procedures, Senate facilities in the Capitol Building, and the history of the Senate.

The United States House of Representatives
http://www.house.gov/
This site provides public access to legislative information as well as information about Members, Committees, and Organizations of the House and to other US government information resources.

Judiciary

The Federal Court Locator
http://www.law.vill.edu/Fed-Ct/fedcourt.html#usappeals
Links to The United States Supreme Court • The United States Court of Appeals • Third Circuit • Fourth Circuit • Fifth Circuit • Sixth Circuit • Eleventh Circuit • The Federal Judicial Center • The US Federal Courts • The United State Code • United States laws in force as of January 26th 1994.

Decisions of the US Supreme Court
http://supct.law.cornell.edu/supct/index.html
Recent Decisions • Selected Historic Decisions • 1937-75 Decisions

United Nations

United Nations Homepage
http://www.un.org/
Believe it or not, the UN is a great place to get information about sustainable development and other local development initiatives. Check out this site: Overview • Global issues • UN News • Documents • 50th Anniversary • Departments • Information resources • Photos • Conferences • Publications and sales • New on the net.

United Nations International Computing Center
http://www.unicc.org
This site will connect you to the web and gopher sites of all UN agencies. Access research and program information from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAA) • International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) • International Labor Organization (ILO) • United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP) • United Nations Population Fund • World Health Organization • World Food Program • UN Research Institute for Social Development etc., etc.

International Agencies

The World Bank
http://www.worldbank.org/
The majority of nonprofits involved in international development work believe that more bad than good can be said about the World Bank, as it is the primary vehicle for exploitation of third world resources by multinational corporations. Yet it’s research on development issues can be very good. There is a lot to be learned here for the local organizer. This site includes: 1996 Annual Meetings • 1996 World Bank Annual Report • News • Publications • Topics in Development • Countries and Regions Doing Business with the Bank • About the World Bank Group - IBRD • IDA • IFC • MIGA.

NATO Home Page
http://www.nato.int/
The Organisation and Web-Archive : Basic Texts, Fact Sheets, Press Releases, Handbook, NATO Review, Speeches, Ministerial Meetings,...

Maritime Command and Control Information System
http://cliffie.nosc.mil/
MCCIS is a Military Maritime Command and Control System which has been developed and maintained for members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). MCCIS electronically processes data from multiple sources, displays data in various command and control applications, and allows the user to manipulate this data. The MCCIS assists strategic and tactical commanders and their staffs in the decision making process.

International Organizations and Groups
http://cliffie.nosc.mil/~NAWFB/wfb-appc.html
Comprehensive list of international organizations and contacts. This site does not provide web links but it does provide the organization’s name, address, telephone, fax, when the organization was established, its mission and its member nations. You can find out which nations are linked to whom for what purposes.

 
 

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