You need some "How To.." Stickies for people

So that they can more efeectively make their voices heard in time to do some good.

Instructions on how to find things on Thomas come to mind:

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It's actually pretty easy to negotiate the "Thomas" site so that you can read and understand things better for yourself. 

Go here: http://thomas.loc.gov/ , then (as in this case where you've got an actual bill number to work with) you'd type  H.R. 984 in the "Search Bill Text" field and put the dot in the "Bill Number" radio button, then click "Search". Make sure that you always type H.R. (with both periods) and a "space" before the actual number - for Senate-sponsored bills, you type S. (period) with no space before the actual number.

Conversely, if you know only the exact name of a given bill, you can "Search" for that, making sure you have the dot in the radio button marked "Word/Phrase" (if you don't have the exact name of the bill, you can still do a "Search", but it gets mighty confusing and time-consuming at that point).

Searching Thomas (after you get used to the process) is relative child's play compared to what you have to do to add a "Comment" about proposed new "regulations" or "rules" by various government agencies." 

and also detailed instructions on how people can go about making those comments. 

I'm trying to do a write-up on the "Comments" thing right now, since it'll be useful for people to voice their concerns about Real ID - do you want me to tack it on to this thread when I get done? Pete

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How to add a "Comment" to proposed "Regulations" or "Rules" by various government agencies

Let's go ahead and use the "REALId" proposed regulations for this example, since the "Comment" period is still open for that.

To begin with, it's important for you to know (if you want your voice heard on a particular issue, anyway) that proposed "regulations" by any government agency are normally done with a "Comment period" included, to get feedback not just from business' or other agencies, but from the public itself.

Finding out about a proposed regulation that could seriously impact your freedom or privacy in some respect is NOT always an easy thing to do.

Proposed "Regulations" or "Rules" can be found in the Federal Register ( http://www.gpoaccess.gov/fr/index.html ) - they get announced there first, generally. You could constantly keep an eye on that for new stuff, but I've found it easier to rely on the various "privacy" and "freedom"-related organizations to tip me off when I need to respond.

In the case of "REAL ID", I found out about the "Comment" period from C.D.T ( http://cdt.org/headlines/975 ), followed the link from that page ( "Draft Proposed Regulations" ) and by page 2 of that, it was telling me about the "Comment" period:

"DATES: Submit comments by [Insert date 60 days after date of publication in the Federal Register].

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by the DHS docket number DHS-2006-0030 that corresponds to this rulemaking, using any one of the following methods:

1. Federal Rulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov . Follow the instructions for submitting comments.

1. Fax: 866-466-5370.

1. Mail: Paper, disk or CD-ROM submissions can be mailed to the Department of Homeland Security, Attn: NAC 1-12037, Washington, D.C. 20528."

(I bolded & underlined the "docket no." because we're fixing to need that very shortly).

So we click on the regulations.gov link above; click in the radio button in front of "Documents Open for Public Comment" to select it; click on the context menu to the right of "Document Type" and then select "Dept. Of Homeland Security*"  and either type - exactly - the DHS-2006-0030 into the "Keyword or ID" field, or c&p it into there and then click "Submit".

On the page that comes up, slide your cursor all the way over to the little yellow balloon on the right and click on it (your tool tip thing should tell you "Add Comment" when you hover over the balloon).

This brings you - finally - to the "Comment Form" page. You type in ALL required information (down to "Submitter's Representative, generally, if you're a private citizen making a comment) and then - Glory be! - you get to type in your comment. Do so, being as cool and level-headed as possible. Add an attachment with your comment in a Word .doc - it looks and reads better.

Then click on "Next Step" at the bottom of that page.

Check all your info on the page that comes up for correctness, including your comment itself. Make sure the attachment (if you included one) is still there. If you need to "Edit" something, do so with the "Edit" button.

If not, click on "Submit". Write down your "Comment tracking Number" ! And/or use the "Print" link on that page! Click on "Close and go back".

Now - you want to see what everyone else has been saying? Good! Click on the "Document ID" number (in this case, DHS-2006-0030) and - WAL-LA! - you can start reading others' comments by clicking on either the "PDF" or "HTML" icons in the far-right column.

You see? That wasn't so hard, now was it? And look at how much fun you had!

Don't be concerned if your comment doesn't show up instantaneously after you successfully complete it - it won't. It'll show up in their own sweet time - but it will show up. FI, my comment number for this example will be DHS-2006-0030-0018. To make matters easier, you can now bookmark the Comments page for any particular "rule" to make it easier to return to and keep up with - you can also choose to have notifications emailed to you when anyone posts a comment on that particular issue.

Listen - putting your thoughts on a serious matter somewhere that it might do some good is a heck of a lot more effective than simply groaning and grumbling about it online or to your friends and family, right?

You actually did something! Getting it all off your chest is guaranteed to make you feel better - and hopefully do some good. Pete

 

 

 

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