Immigration has been on the forefront of American policy issues for sometime now, and the foreign population in the United States is approaching historic levels. In March 2010, the Brookings Institution's Audrey Singer and John Mollenfkopf offered a presentation that examines this transformation. The presentation is focused on the "numerous affects of the country's changing demographics, from...

In a historic and reflective gesture, a special session of Congress met today in New York City in memory of the September 11th attacks. This occasion marks only the third time in the modern era that Congress has met outside of Washington DC. During the War of 1812, Congress convened in a long-demolished building several blocks away from the Capitol and, in 1987, when Congress returned to...

Maintained by the law firm of Ballard, Spahr, Andrews and Ingersoll, this site offers a fine gateway to resources in legal research. The directories are well-organized and helpfully annotated. The site also has many other valuable features for researchers in the law, including a number of substantial online teaching tools that cover topics such as legal and factual resources on the Web, Government...

Housed at Jefferson's University (otherwise known as the University of Virginia), it makes sense that the Miller Center of Public Affairs would be located at such a distinct institution. With a mandate to "gather new knowledge about the American presidency and our government", they have created six different initiatives to complete this task. They include a massive collection of oral history...

Using data from the Federal Election Commission which was compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics (CRP) (see the July 10, 1999 Scout Report), Mother Jones has put together an eye-opening Website which reveals the nation's top 400 financial political contributors and what they may be expecting for their contributions. Users may browse the list of contributors by industry or individual donor...

"These are the times that try Men's souls. Let it be told...that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive, that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet it and to repulse it." Thomas Paine, the author of those words in 1776, apropos even today, died 200 years ago as a pauper, and was shunned by his friends and the public. His...

The Office of the Clerk On-line Information Center site contains much useful information about the House, including biographical information on Speakers of the House, Floor Leaders (1899-present) party makeup of the House and Senate since 1855, a list of candidates for Senate and House (organized by state and district) in the elections, election statistics and, of course, House directory...

Each year, the American taxpayers provide $100 million for the operating costs of the Congressional Research Service. The Service crafts hundreds of timely research papers and reports, but they can be hard to locate. The Open Congressional Research Reports (OPEN CRS) initiative makes this process much easier. The initiative is a project of the Center for Democracy & Technology, and they work with...

Why are there so many flame retardants surrounding American babies? It's an important question as these potentially toxic chemicals are present in just about every common household item. The Chicago Tribute and its research team set out to look into this situation and the results of the investigation can be found on this site. The report is divided into four parts which include video clips,...

And Annual Messages/State of the Nation Messages are available for the years 1790-1836 (Washington-Jackson) at George Welling's magnificent "From Revolution to Reconstruction and What Happened Afterwards" site (discussed in the February 9, 1996 Scout Report).