Iraq, AIDS, Abortion and Congress

CONGRESS.ORG WEEKLY UPDATE OCTOBER 16, 2006 COUNTDOWN TO CONTROL OF CONGRESS WHAT ISSUES ARE IMPORTANT TO YOU? Also: Evaluate Your Incumbents What's Your Issue? Voters are clamoring for candidates to talk about the issues in their campaigns, but which issues should they be talking about? Write to Congress and your local media and tell them which of these issue categories do you want them to talk about. You may pick as many as you wish. We will post the results on Congress.org. Tell candidates to talk about: “Security” Issues: Fighting Terrorism, War in Iraq “Fiscal” Issues: Cutting Taxes, Reducing Growth of Government “Social” Issues: Promoting Health Care and Education Programs “Values” Issues: Blocking Gay Marriage and Abortion “Global” Issues: Global Warming, AIDS How Did They Do? Before you vote, look at the record of your incumbents by using these resources below. - Voting Attendance? - How Did They Vote on Bills You Care About? - What Bills or Laws Did They Introduce? - Who Gave Them Money? You can also see the issue statements of your candidates in our Election Guide. The Weekly Update Editors ___________________________________________________________________ TO ALL YOU NEW SUBSCRIBERS OUT THERE If you're new to this newsletter or haven't been to Congress.org for awhile, here is a reminder of the things you can do to make an impact on your elected officials. HOW POWERFUL ARE YOUR MEMBERS OF CONGRESS? We ranked Congress from the most powerful and effective members to the least. Where do your Senators and your Representative rank in the Power Rankings? WHAT DO YOU LOOK LIKE? You can now personalize your e-mail to Congress by adding a picture of you or your issue and a bit about yourself. Use the "See Me" option when you send a message to Congress. Look at the gallery of activists HAVE IT HAND DELIVERED You can have your message personally delivered to the Capitol offices of your members of Congress for $8.95 each message by using the "Extra Impact" option when composing your message. LET OTHERS READ WHAT YOU HAVE TO SAY You can post that letter you wrote to your elected officials for everyone to see by using the "Letters to Leaders" option. Read letters from others. Or, you can create a Soapbox Alert that will allow you to raise an issue and allow others to write to the elected officials you target. You can see for yourself how many people read your views and how many took action on them. (Click here for details) Also post your own Soapbox Commentary on the bio page of any elected official. Think they are saying one thing and doing another? Call them on it. Do you know something about an official everyone should know? Post that as well for up to 30 days. Visit the biography page of any elected official for details. There's more to see on Congress.org. Stop by if you haven't been there for awhile. Don't forget to add Congress.org@Capwiz.com to your address book to ensure prompt delivery of this newsletter each week.

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NEW GOVERNMENT DATA

OPEN SECRETS has databases on congressional personal finances and
travel. Want to know how much your congressman is worth? Curious why
your senator flew to Hawaii on an interest group's dime? This searchable
database also details the finances of the president, vice president and
select executive branch officials. How do their investment portfolios
compare to yours?

PERSONAL FINANCIAL DISCLOSURES:
http://www.opensecrets.org/pfds/overview.asp

PRIVATELY SPONSORED TRIPS:
http://www.opensecrets.org/travel

GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS AND GRANTS, FROM OMB WATCH:
http://www.fedspending.org