{
    "version" : "https://jsonfeed.org/version/1",
    "content" : "news",
    "type" : "single",
    "title" : "Congress.gov Homepage Highlights, Alerts, and More Enhancements |Digital.gov",
    "description": "Congress.gov Homepage Highlights, Alerts, and More Enhancements",
    "home_page_url" : "/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/","feed_url" : "/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2016/11/16/congress-gov-homepage-highlights-alerts-and-more-enhancements/index.json","item" : [
    {"title" :"Congress.gov Homepage Highlights, Alerts, and More Enhancements","summary" : "This has been an exciting and successful year for Congress.gov. We accomplished a major milestone when we retired THOMAS in July. Over the course of 2016, we completed a number of enhancements to Congress.gov. In April we expanded quick search to include the Congressional Record, Committee Reports, Nominations, Treaty Documents, and Communications. In May we launched several new RSS feeds and","date" : "2016-11-16T11:00:37-04:00","date_modified" : "2025-01-27T19:42:55-05:00","authors" : {"andrew-weber" : "Andrew Weber"},"topics" : {
        
            "content-strategy" : "Content strategy",
            "design" : "Design",
            "human-centered-design" : "Human-centered design",
            "product-and-project-management" : "Product and project management"
            },"branch" : "bc-archive-content-3",
      "filename" :"2016-11-16-congress-gov-homepage-highlights-alerts-and-more-enhancements.md",
      
      "filepath" :"news/2016/11/2016-11-16-congress-gov-homepage-highlights-alerts-and-more-enhancements.md",
      "filepathURL" :"https://github.com/GSA/digitalgov.gov/blob/bc-archive-content-3/content/news/2016/11/2016-11-16-congress-gov-homepage-highlights-alerts-and-more-enhancements.md",
      "editpathURL" :"https://github.com/GSA/digitalgov.gov/edit/bc-archive-content-3/content/news/2016/11/2016-11-16-congress-gov-homepage-highlights-alerts-and-more-enhancements.md","slug" : "congress-gov-homepage-highlights-alerts-and-more-enhancements","url" : "/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2016/11/16/congress-gov-homepage-highlights-alerts-and-more-enhancements/","content" :"\u003cp\u003eThis has been an exciting and successful year for \u003ca href=\"https://www.congress.gov/?loclr=bloglaw\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCongress.gov\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/a\u003e. We accomplished a major milestone when we \u003ca href=\"http://blogs.gov.gov/law/2016/07/time-to-say-goodbye-to-thomas/?loclr=bloglaw\"\u003eretired THOMAS in July\u003c/a\u003e. Over the course of 2016, we completed a number of enhancements to Congress.gov. In April we \u003ca href=\"http://blogs.gov.gov/law/2016/04/congress-gov-spring-cleaning-expanded-quick-search/?loclr=bloglaw\"\u003eexpanded quick search\u003c/a\u003e to include the \u003ca href=\"https://www.congress.gov/quick-search/congressional-record?loclr=bloglaw\"\u003eCongressional Record\u003c/a\u003e, \u003ca href=\"https://www.congress.gov/quick-search/committee-reports?loclr=bloglaw\"\u003eCommittee Reports\u003c/a\u003e, \u003ca href=\"https://www.congress.gov/quick-search/nominations?loclr=bloglaw\"\u003eNominations\u003c/a\u003e, \u003ca href=\"https://www.congress.gov/quick-search/treaty-documents?loclr=bloglaw\"\u003eTreaty Documents\u003c/a\u003e, and \u003ca href=\"https://www.congress.gov/quick-search/communications?loclr=bloglaw\"\u003eCommunications\u003c/a\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn May we launched several \u003ca href=\"http://blogs.gov.gov/law/2016/05/new-email-alerts-and-rss-feeds-on-congress-gov/?loclr=bloglaw\"\u003enew RSS feeds and email alerts\u003c/a\u003e and added \u003ca href=\"http://blogs.gov.gov/law/2016/06/new-saved-search-email-alerts-on-congress-gov/?loclr=bloglaw\"\u003esaved search email alerts\u003c/a\u003e soon after in June. This is a feature that was never available on THOMAS. Also \u003ca href=\"http://blogs.gov.gov/law/2016/06/new-congress-gov-enhancements-including-advanced-search/?loclr=bloglaw\"\u003eadded in June\u003c/a\u003e was a powerful new \u003ca href=\"https://www.congress.gov/advanced-search/legislation?loclr=bloglaw\"\u003eadvanced search for legislation\u003c/a\u003e. This search form provides greater access to the underlying data than was available on THOMAS. The September release \u003ca href=\"http://blogs.gov.gov/law/2016/09/recess-revisions-congress-gov-clean-up-and-enhancements/?loclr=bloglaw\"\u003eadded new nomination alerts\u003c/a\u003e and provided more consistency across the site.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWith today’s update we have added additional items that users have requested. We frequently get questions on how to contact your member of Congress. There is now a prominent section for contacting your member. Another addition is the Recent section circled below. The first link for \u003ca href=\"https://www.congress.gov/bills-with-chamber-action/browse-by-date?loclr=bloglaw\"\u003eYesterday in Congress\u003c/a\u003e was a favorite on THOMAS that users missed.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOccasionally, we receive requests for a function that is already available on Congress.gov. There is now a featured Search Tip to share and highlight such items. You can also subscribe to search tips from the \u003ca href=\"https://www.congress.gov/rss?loclr=bloglaw\" rel=\"nofollow\"\u003eRSS and Email Alerts\u003c/a\u003e page.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"image\"\u003e\n  \u003cimg\n    src=\"https://s3.amazonaws.com/digitalgov/_legacy-img/2016/11/600-x-432-congressdotgov-homepage-2-november-2016-updates.jpg\"\n    alt=\"New Congress.gov Homepage with Recent, Contact Your Member, and Search Tips.\"/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\n\n\n\u003cp\u003eAlso included in this set of enhancements is the ability to subscribe to an \u003ca href=\"http://updates.gov.gov/accounts/USLOC/subscriber/new?topic_id=USLOC_152\"\u003eAppropriations Table email\u003c/a\u003e from that same \u003ca href=\"https://www.congress.gov/rss?loclr=bloglaw\" rel=\"nofollow\"\u003eRSS and Email Alerts\u003c/a\u003e page.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"image\"\u003e\n  \u003cimg\n    src=\"https://s3.amazonaws.com/digitalgov/_legacy-img/2016/11/600-x-543-congressdotgov-rss-and-email-alerts-appropriations.jpg\"\n    alt=\"RSS and Email Alerts now with Appropriations Tables Email.\"/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\n\n\n\u003cp\u003eSee \u003ca href=\"https://www.congress.gov/about/enhancements?loclr=bloglaw\"\u003eCongress.gov Enhancements\u003c/a\u003e for the complete rundown of this release. The page also provides a nice overview of all the enhancements since the site’s \u003ca href=\"http://blogs.gov.gov/law/2012/09/introducing-congress-gov/?loclr=bloglaw\"\u003elaunch back in September 2012\u003c/a\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cblockquote\u003e\n\u003ch3 id=\"november-2016\"\u003eNovember 2016\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eEnhancements – Homepage Links\u003c/em\u003e:\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul type=\"circle\"\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003e\n    New “Recent” set of links for “Current Legislative Activities”\n  \u003c/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003e\n    “Yesterday in Congress”\n  \u003c/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003e\n    “Bill Texts” received today\n  \u003c/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003e\n    “Calendars and Schedules”\n  \u003c/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003e\n    “Presented to President”\n  \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eEnhancements – Alerts and Saved Searches\u003c/em\u003e****\u003cem\u003e:\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul type=\"circle\"\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003e\n    Subscribe to appropriations update email alerts from RSS and Email Alerts\n  \u003c/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003e\n    Edit an existing saved search title\n  \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eEnhancements – Legislation\u003c/em\u003e:\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul type=\"circle\"\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003e\n    Subject Term links – Links from terms open lists of other bills and resolutions to which the term has been assigned. EXAMPLE: \u003ca href=\"https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/senate-bill/524/subjects?loclr=bloglaw\"\u003eSubject Terms Assigned to S.524\u003c/a\u003e\n  \u003c/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003e\n    Search bill texts by \u003ca href=\"https://www.congress.gov/quick-search/legislation-text?loclr=bloglaw\"\u003eVersions Published from Legislation Text search form\u003c/a\u003e\n  \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"image\"\u003e\n  \u003cimg\n    src=\"https://s3.amazonaws.com/digitalgov/_legacy-img/2016/11/250-x-210-congressdotgov-congressional-record-year-and-volume.jpg\"\n    alt=\"Congressional Record Year and Volume Facet.\"/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\n\nEnhancements – Congressional Record:\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul type=\"circle\"\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003e\n    Web-friendly display of \u003cem\u003eCongressional Record Index\u003c/em\u003e entries. EXAMPLE: \u003ca href=\"https://www.congress.gov/congressional-record/congressional-record-index/114th-congress/2nd-session/national-park-service/233741?loclr=bloglaw\"\u003eNational Park Service\u003c/a\u003e\n  \u003c/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003e\n    Quick Search link from \u003ca href=\"https://www.congress.gov/congressional-record?loclr=bloglaw\"\u003emost recent issue page\u003c/a\u003e\n  \u003c/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003e\n    Year/Volume facet. See it from \u003ca href=\"https://www.congress.gov/search?q=%7B%22source%22%3A%22congrecord%22%7D\u0026searchResultViewType=expanded\"\u003ethis results list\u003c/a\u003e\n  \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eEnhancements – Committee Reports:\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul type=\"circle\"\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003e\n    Find committee reports associated with law numbers from \u003ca href=\"https://www.congress.gov/quick-search/committee-reports?loclr=bloglaw\"\u003eCommittee Reports search form\u003c/a\u003e\n  \u003c/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003e\n    Display improvements. See them at \u003ca href=\"https://www.congress.gov/congressional-report/114th-congress/house-report/33?loclr=bloglaw\"\u003eH.Rept.114-33\u003c/a\u003e\n  \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eEnhancements – Legislation Advanced Search Guided Form:\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul type=\"circle\"\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003e\n    Collapse sections of the search form\n  \u003c/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003e\n    Your Selections displays Subjects, Actions, Sponsors, Cosponsors, and Committees\n  \u003c/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003e\n    Date of Introduction search\n  \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/blockquote\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"image\"\u003e\n  \u003cimg\n    src=\"https://s3.amazonaws.com/digitalgov/_legacy-img/2016/11/600-x-130-congressdotgov-advanced-search-legislation-date.jpg\"\n    alt=\"Legislation Advanced Search Date of Introduction.\"/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\n\n_What other enhancements would you like to see on \u003ca href=\"https://www.congress.gov/?loclr=bloglaw\"\u003eCongress.gov\u003c/a\u003e? \u003ca href=\"http://blogs.gov.gov/law/2016/11/congress-gov-homepage-highlights-alerts-and-more-enhancements/#respond\"\u003eLeave comments here\u003c/a\u003e, or share feedback via \u003ca href=\"https://libraryofcongress.polldaddy.com/s/congress-gov-feedback\"\u003eour survey\u003c/a\u003e._\n\u003cem\u003eThis post was originally published on the \u003ca href=\"http://blogs.gov.gov/law/\"\u003eIn Custodia Legis\u003c/a\u003e blog of the \u003ca href=\"http://www.gov.gov/law/\"\u003eLaw Library of Congress\u003c/a\u003e.\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n"}
  ]
}