Dedication & Acknowledgements
Dedication
Acknowledgments
I could not have written this book without the assistance and contributions that I received from many people. I must first thank Senator Edward Kennedy for being the forward-thinking legislator that he is, and for allowing me to help his Senate office break new ground for a member of Congress on the Net. Jonathan Gourd, Eric Loeb, and John Mallery, each provided essential assistance to my efforts to get Kennedy online, and in recalling those events. And Jock Gill has been, and continues to be, a voice of support and encouragement.
I conducted many interviews to gather material for this book, and I am indebted
to those who shared their time and expertise with me as I researched the
subject. Senators Bill Frist and Pat Leahy, and Representatives
Charlie Rose and Vern Ehlers each took time from their busy schedules to speak with me about their own use of the Net as members of Congress, and thier thoughts on how the Internet will be dealt with by Congress in the future. Mike Bartell, former director of the Senate Computer Center, and Jack Belcher, former manager of information systems at House Information Systems, both offered valuable insights into the operations of and politics behind Congress’ computer support services. Gary Ruskin of the Congressional Accountability Project,
Jamie Love of the Taxpayer Assets Project, and Judy Russell of the Government
Printing Office, each provided information about the process and politics
of the development of public access to Congressional documents. Steve Corman
and Peter Loge provided details on their leading edge efforts in the House
of Representatives for Representative Sam Coppersmith. Paul Mann of Senator
Leahy’s office, Marlo Meuli of the Senate Republican Policy Committee, Matthew
McGowan of Senator Robb’s office, Rob Patton of Senator Boxer’s office,
Jack Merrit in Congressman Rose’s office, and many other Hill staffers provided
me with a wealth of insight into the use of the Net in their respective
offices and by Congress in general. Jeff Hecker of the Democratic Policy Committee and my partner in CapWeb is a friend and colleague who is relentless in his efforts to bring Congress into the information age. He provided me with a sounding board and timeline for much of the content of this book. Several people who prefer to remain nameless also were generous with their time and knowledge. They know who they are, and for their assistance I am thankful.
Grace York of the University of Michigan provides a wonderful public service
to the Net with her Congressional e-mail and URL listing, and I am pleased
to be able to include it as an appendix to this book. Dr. Jean Casey (mom
to me), Jill Geltmaker, and Dick Bell all read through my manuscript and
offered tremendously helpful comments for its improvement.
My parents, William and Jean Casey, taught me the joys of reading, writing
and computing. I hope to pass these loves onto my own children, Katie and
Will, who sacrificed much time with their Dad during this book’s writing
(as well as time using the PowerBook on which it was written). If I sell
enough books (and even if I don’t), I’ll soon get them a computer of their
own and teach them how to surf.