StateScape Billfinder

StateScape Billfinder is a policy tracking and analysis website that allows you to quickly find any state or federal bills. As the creators describe themselves,

StateScape serves organizations seeking a competitive edge in government relations by providing the fastest and most accurate legislative and regulatory information and analysis service on the market.

Further,

Bill Finder helps you find any bill eligible for consideration in the current calendar year using either keywords and phrases or bill numbers.

StateScape provides:

• Legislative and regulatory monitoring
• Coverage of all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, hundreds of localities and the federal government
• Issue analysis and political intelligence
• Real time updates and e-mail alerts
• Report formatting possibilities
• Links to customized reports with real time updates
• Customized web pages and direct data feeds

Among the search options is a quick search, legis track, and Bill finder. If you had an experience with this website, feel free to share your opinions.

Comparison of House and Senate Bailout Bills

The Senate Finance Committee website has a side-by-side comparison of the notable differences in the House and Senate bailout bills available here. Among the significant differences are:

• Senate bill includes an AMT patch for 2009
• Senate bill includes an above-the-line deduction for interest expenses and sales taxes paid on the purchase of a new car
• House bill includes DOE grant for renewable energy projects
• Senate bill includes a plan to require repayment of large bonuses by institutions that received TARP funds
• House bill includes extension of Medicaid to unemployed not eligible for COBRA

Obama Signed Pay Equity Law

Via Reuters, President B. Obama signed the long-awaiting bill (H.R. 11) amending Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, and covering pay discrimination based on gender, race, national origin, religion, age, and disabilities.

Signing this bill today is to send a clear message: that making our economy work means making sure it works for everybody, that there are no second-class citizens in our workplaces, said the Democratic president.

The Bill passed the House (Yeas - Nays Vote of 250-177) and in Senate (Yeas - Nays Vote of 61-36) and on January 29, 2009, when signed by the president, it became Public Law No.: 111-002. See more details here, at the Library of Congress Thomas and GPO Access.

Authenticated Bills on GPO Access

Authenticated bills from the House and Senate are available on the GPO Access site for the 110th and 111th Congresses. These PDF files have been digitally signed and certified to assure users that the online documents are official and authentic.

GPO offers other authenticated digital documents, including the 2009 official budget and public and private laws (beginning with the 110th Congress). Read more about the GPO authentication initiative here.