Committee News is an online, free informational web site, which provides members of Congress, campaign professionals, media, pundits, volunteers, researchers, and others with up-to-date news on upcoming events. It was started in 1995 by award-winning author, Larry Griswold. Today, it is one of the most popular Internet sites for congressional news. Its purpose is to provide the fullest and most accurate information available on Capitol Hill and beyond. Members of Congress can subscribe to Committee News either by paying a fee or becoming a member. To become a member, one must sign up at their Congressional website.
The information on this site is constantly updated, as are all the news blurbs from newspapers, television, radio, and Internet sources. Each month, Committee News publishes a Digest, which is a quick summary of all the major political events occurring behind the scenes. It includes stories, bulletins, floor statements, schedules, and more. The Digest is sent to all members of Congress on their Congressional mailings. This service also helps disseminate information about upcoming town halls, religious events, fundraising events, and more.
Subscribing to a newsletter is free. To receive a daily Digest, send an e-mail to committeememberswith the subject line “News.” You may also choose to subscribe by using your zip code, which will enable you to receive electronic mail messages in your inbox. However, some members have found this inconvenient, as it takes time out of their busy schedule to visit Committee News in order to read the daily Digest.
Members’ email messages will include links to the blogs, news sections, and other content that they deem relevant to their work. For instance, every Thursday morning, committee members are sent a blog post about that day’s happenings. Blogs are written by members of Congress. Some are posted daily, and some come weekly. Posts may range from political to personal to technical, but all are informative and entertaining.
In addition, members may also sign up for news alerts through the RSS feed provided on the Committee News site. These notifications often include news blurbs about the activities of committees across the country, region, or topic of interest. They may also include links to third party sites with more detailed information.
There are many other ways to receive Committee News. If a member hasn’t signed up yet, he or she can find out by visiting the site and registering. Once registered, an alert will be sent to their e-mail, cell phone, or voice mail. Then every week, the member will receive a digest of what has been going on at their local office, district, or state. To receive these updates more regularly, subscribe to Committee News.