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Legislation & Regulations Research

My office can also assist you with research on state bills, regulations and statutes. Please contact the knowledgeable staff people in my offices.

For a database of current bills and schedules this is a useful link.

For my main legislative priorities and policies go to my Policy and Positions.

Here are some useful research links to websites relevant to current political issues.

Abortion Agriculture Banking and Finance Biotechnology Budget Campaign Finance Civil Rights Congress Crime and Law Enforcement Demographics and Statistics

Economic Energy Education Environment Health Policy Homeland Security Information Technology Judiciary Politics

Public Policy Social Security States Taxes Telecommunications Trade Transportation Welfare

Abortion

• Alan Guttmacher Institute: A nonprofit organization focused on sexual and reproductive health research, policy analysis and public education
• Center for Reproductive Rights
• NARAL Pro-Choice America: Formerly The National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League
• National Abortion Federation: The voice of abortion providers
• National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association
• Planned Parenthood

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Agriculture

• Council for Biotechnology Information 
• Penn State Cooperative Extension, College of Agricultural Sciences
• Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture
• Pennsylvania Certified Organic
• Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture
• Pennsylvania Farm Bureau
• Pennsylvania Farm Link
• Rural Policy Research Institute
• U.S. Department of Agriculture

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Banking and Finance

• Bank for International Settlements
• Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
• Comptroller of the Currency
• Dow Jones Indexes
• FDIC Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
• Financial Markets Center
• Pennsylvania Department of Banking
• Pennsylvania Treasury Department
• Pennsylvania Department of Revenue
• U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
• United States Department of the Treasury

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Biotechnology

• BIO Biotechnology Industry Organization
• Council for Biotechnology Information 
• Council for Biotechnology Policy
• Council for Responsible Genetics
• Federation of American Scientists  
• Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology
• Food and Drug Administration
• National Institutes of Health, Office of Biotechnology Activities
• Union of Concerned Scientists
• United States Patent and Trademark Office

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Budget

• Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
• Citizens against Government Waste  
• The Concord Coalition: A nonpartisan organization advocating federal fiscal responsibility
• Congressional Budget Office
• Governor’s Office of the Budget
• National Priorities Project: Offers citizens tools and resources to shape federal budget and policy priorities  
• Office of Management and Budget
• U.S. House Budget Committee
• U.S. House of Representatives Appropriations Committee
• U.S. Senate Budget Committee
• U.S. Senator John McCain: Featuring a federal pork barrel report

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Campaign Finance

• BuyingTime.org: Database on televised campaign advertising
• The Campaign Finance Institute
• Common Cause
• Federal Election Commission
• National Institute on Money in State Politics: FollowTheMoney.org  
• OpenSecrets.org: Guide to money in U.S. Elections
• Pennsylvania Campaign Finance: Campaign contributions in a searchable database
• Pennsylvania Department of State
• Political Money Line: A searchable PAC database
• Public Campaign: Nonpartisan organization to rid campaigns of special interest money

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Civil Rights

• American Civil Liberties Union
• civilrights.org
• Human Rights Campaign
• Institute for Justice Litigating for Liberty
• NAACP
• National Council of La Raza: A nonprofit, nonpartisan, to improve life opportunities for Hispanic Americans
• National Urban League
• League of Gay and Lesbian Voters
• Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission
• Rainbow-PUSH Coalition
• U.S. Commission on Civil Rights
• U.S. Department of Justice Home Page
• U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

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Congress

• C-SPAN
• Center on Congress
• Congressional Biographical Directory
• CQ.com: The online version of Congressional Quarterly
• GOP.gov: News from Republicans in Congress
  
• National Journal
  
• Roll Call: The newspaper of Capitol Hill  
• THOMAS: Legislative information on the Internet
• U.S. House Majority Whip
  
• U.S. House of Representatives
  
• U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Rules
• U.S. National Archives & Records Administration
  
• U.S. Senate

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Crime and Law Enforcement

• Bureau of Justice Statistics
• CrimeLynx: The criminal defense practitioner’s guide through the Internet
• Criminal Justice Journalists
• Death Penalty News & Updates
• FindLaw.com
• Legal Information Institute
• Officer.com: News and information for the law enforcement industry
• Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse: Nonpartisan information on federal enforcement, staffing and spending  

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Demographics and Statistics

• Adherents.com: Religious statistics
• ChildStats.gov: Forum on child and family statistics
• Fannie Mae Foundation  
• FedStats: Statistics from over 100 federal agencies
• Penn State Population Research Institute
• Pennsylvania State Data Center: The Commonwealth's official source of demographic and economic data  
• Population Reference Bureau
• U.S. Census Bureau
• U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics
• United Nations
• United Nations Population Information Network

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Economics

• Federal Reserve System, Board of Governors
• FreeLunch.com: Access to 900,000 economic and financial data series
• National Bureau of Economic Research
• Pennsylvania State Data Center: The Commonwealth's official source of demographic and economic data  
• U.S. Census Bureau
• U.S. Department of Commerce
• U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis
• U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics

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Education

• Education Commission of the States
• Education Week: American Education’s Online Newspaper of Record
• National Center for Education Statistics
• No Child Left Behind: U.S. Department of Education-sponsored site  
• Pennsylvania Department of Education
• Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency
• Pennsylvania School Boards Association Pennsylvania State Education Association
• Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education
• The Thomas B. Fordham Foundation: Supports research, publications, and projects in elementary/secondary education reform
• U.S. Department of Education
• U. S. Department of Education, Office of Educational Research & Improvement  
• U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on Education and the Workforce  

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Energy

• Energy Central: Industry-sponsored resource for the global power and gas interests
• Energy Information Administration: Official energy statistics from the U.S. government
• Environment & Energy Publishing, LLC: Environmental and energy policy
• Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
• One Nuclear Place: Nuclear news, information and connections to the industry
• Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources
• Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection
• Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission
• Nuclear Regulatory Commission
• U.S. Department of Energy
• World Energy News

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Environment

• Audubon Society
• Chesapeake Bay Foundation
• Environment & Energy Publishing, LLC: Environmental and energy policy
• Environmental Defense
• Federation of American Scientists
• The League of Conservation Voters
• The National Academies: Advisors to the nation on science, engineering and medicine
• National Environmental Trust: NET   
• Nature Serve: Information on threatened species and ecosystems
• Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources
• Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection
• Physicians for Social Responsibility
• Scorecard: States rated for hazardous air quality
• Sierra Club
• U.S. Department of the Interior
• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
• Union of Concerned Scientists
• The Wilderness Society

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Health Policy

• Alliance for Health Reform
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
  
• The Commonwealth Fund: Foundation supporting independent research on health and social issues
• Families USA: Non-partisan health care advocacy organization  
• Health Affairs: The Policy Journal of the Health Sphere
• Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation: Independent philanthropic organization focusing on major health care issues
• The Heritage Foundation Policy Research and Analysis
• KaiserNetwork.org: Online resource for timely and in-depth coverage of health policy news, debates and discussions
• Mathematical Policy Research, Inc
• The National Academies: Advisors to the nation on science, engineering and medicine
• National Institutes of Health
• Physicians for Social Responsibility
• Pennsylvania Department of Health
• United States Department of Health and Human Services

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Homeland Security

• Center for Civilian Biodefense Strategies
• Center for Defense Information
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• Federal Emergency Management Agency
• Federation of American Scientists
• Institute for Homeland Security
• The National Security Archive
• Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency
• Pennsylvania National Guard
• U.S. Army Soldier and Biological Chemical Command
• U.S. Coast Guard
• U.S. Commission on National Security
• U.S. Department of Homeland Security
• U.S. Department of State

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Information Technology

• Business Software Alliance: Promoting a safe and legal digital world
• Computer & Communications Industry Association
• Electronic Privacy Information Center
• Federal Communications Commission
• Tech Law Journal: News and analysis of legislation, litigation, and regulation affecting the computer and Internet industry
• TechNet: Effective Politics for the Innovation Economy

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Judiciary

• American Judicature Society
• Brennan Center for Justice
• Federal Judicial Center
• Independent Judiciary
• Judicial Selection.org
• The National Center for State Courts
• Pennsylvania Unified Judicial System
• Trips for Judges: Exposes judicial lobbying by special interest groups
• U.S Courts: The Federal Judiciary
• U.S. Department of Justice Office of Legal Policy

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Politics

• Drudge Report
• Grist Magazine: Environmental news and humor
• National Governors Association
• Pennsylvania Association for Government Relations
• Pennsylvania Online Lobbyists Network
• Pennsylvania Newsmakers
• The Political Graveyard: Comprehensive Source of U.S. Political Biography
• PoliticsNJ.com
• PoliticsPA.com
• Washingtonpost.com: The online edition of the Washington Post

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Public Policy

• American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research
• The Brookings Institution
• Cato Institute
• Center for Policy Alternatives (StateAction.org): A nonpartisan progressive public policy and leadership development center
• Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
• Common Cause
• Community Rights Counsel: Provides strategic assistance to state and local government attorneys
• Our Future: Campaign for America’s future
• Pennsylvania Public Interest Research Group
• Progressive Policy Institute
• Public Agenda Online
• Mathematical Policy Research, Inc.
• RAND: a nonpartisan think tank
• Rural Policy Research Institute
• The Urban Institute: A nonpartisan economic and social policy research organization

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Social Security

• Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
• Congressional Budget Office
• Our Future: Campaign for America’s future
• President's Commission to Strengthen Social Security
• Social Security Advisory Board
• Social Security Choice and Reform, a Cato Institute Project
• Social Security Online

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States

• American Legislative Exchange Council
• Center for Policy Alternatives (StateAction.org): A nonpartisan progressive public policy and leadership development center
• Council of State Governments  
• Governing: Online version of the magazine  
• National Conference of State Legislatures
• National Governors Association
• StateScape: Comprehensive legislative and regulatory monitoring in all 50 states  
• Stateline.org: State news from the Pew Center on the States

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Taxes

• Americans for Tax Reform
• Build Your Own Tax Policy
• Center on Budget and Policy Priorities: A nonpartisan research organization that analyses government policies and programs with an emphasis on those affecting low- and moderate income groups
• Internal Revenue Service
• Pennsylvania Department of Revenue
• U.S. Congress Joint Committee on Taxation
• Tax and Accounting Sites Directory: A directory of tax and accounting sites nationwide

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Telecommunications

• Broadcasting & Cable: A news source for every aspect of the television industry
• Federal Communications Commission  
• Multichannel News: News relevant to the cable TV and telecommunications industries

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Trade

• Economist.com: Publishes all articles from The Economist print edition
• FT.com: The online edition of Financial Times
• Federal Trade Commission
• Global Trade Negotiations: A centralized information resource on global trade negotiations  
• Office of the United States Trade Representative
• U.S. Department of Commerce
• U.S. Department of Commerce, Export.gov: The U.S. government export portal
• U.S. Department of Commerce, International Trade Administration 
• United States Mission to the European Union
• World Trade Organization

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Transportation

• Air Transport Association of America: The trade organization for the principal U.S. airlines
• American Road & Transportation Builders Association: ARTBA is a full-service association with more than 5,000 members
• National Transportation Library: Administered by the Bureau of Transportation Statistics in cooperation with federal, state and local partners
• National Transportation Safety Board: Charged by Congress with investigating civil aviation accidents and significant transportation accidents, including  railroad, highway, marine and pipeline
• PennDOT
• The Public Purpose: Wendell Cox, a consultant and advocate of property rights and opponent of “smart growth” policies
• SprawlWatch.org: A clearinghouse for sprawl and “smart growth” issues
• Surface Transportation Policy Project: A non-profit organization advocating transportation reform
• U.S. Department of Transportation
• U.S. Department of Transportation, Bureau of Transportation Statistics
• U.S. Department of Transportation, Office of Inspector General
• U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure

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Welfare

• The Brookings Institution
• HandsNet: Online collaboration and information sharing for the nonprofit human services community  
• U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
• U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Administration, for Children & Families: Direct link to the welfare reform section of their site
• The Urban Institute
• Welfare Information Network

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