Everyone is biased — and that's okay. There's no such thing as unbiased news. But hidden media bias misleads, manipulates and divides us. So everyone should learn how to spot media bias.

- Julie Mastrine

• Followthemoney.org -- Provides free access to federal and state level campaign contributions.  Data can also be accessed through an API or downloaded.
• OpenSecrets.org -- From the Center for Responsive Politics
• Sunlight Foundation -- Nonpartisan non-profit that advocates for open government.  Provides many tools and API (Application Programming Interface) for tracking money influencing Congress.
• Federal Election Commission's Data Catalog --  Find campaign finance information from the FEC.  Other areas of the site allow for chart creation, data on Super PACs, etc.
• LobbyView -- via MIT, allows tracking of lobby funds going back to the late 1990's for many organizations, companies, cities, etc.  Track by organization or bill number. Also provides access to lobbying disclosure forms.

Adapted from:Tracking Congressional Issues by The Regents of the University of California , subject to a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License

Rule-making (aka regulations) is the second half of law creation in the United States

Laws passed by the U.S. Congress are generally written using broad language, and its up to the federal agencies, with assistance from the White House Office of Management and Budget, and public comments, to produce the regulations specifying how the law is to be interpreted.  Proposed rules are published for public comment in the Federal Register (FR), and it is pretty easy for anyone to submit a comment on any proposed rule via FederalRegister.gov.  You can also sign up for a free account to be notified on potential rules in areas you are interested in or rules proposed by one or more agencies you want to follow.

Notices of Federal agencies and organizations, as well as Executive Orders and other Presidential Documents are also published in the FR.  For more information on the FR, see The Federal Register: What It Is and How to Use It.

Another option for commenting on proposed rules is regulations.gov.  This site will also allow you to search and submit comments directly, as well as directing you to regulations with comment periods ending soon.

Adapted from:Comment on Pending Regulations by The Regents of the University of California , subject to a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License