Mission:
To provide insights into how laws and regulations are shaped in Washington, D.C., and in state capitals.

Background:
A project of the Sunlight Foundation, the Scoutservice allows users to sign up for customized e-mail or text alerts that track what Congress and state legislatures are doing around a specific issue or bill. Developed by Sunlight Labs, a community of open source developers and designers dedicated to promoting government transparency and accountability, the Scout service aggregates data from the Sunlight Foundation's Capitol Words and Open Statesprojects, the Government Printing Office, the Library of Congress's THOMAS database, the Federal Register, and the Web sites of the House, the Senate, the House Republican Majority Leader, and the Senate Democratic Caucus. Scout's development was funded in part by the Stanton Foundation.

Outstanding Web Features:
In addition to keyword searches of the text of bills and speeches by members of Congress, visitors to the site can search state bills, federal regulations, and Government Accountability Office reports. Researchers, journalists, and voters who register for customized e-mail or text message can track what is said about and/or action that is taken on a specific issue or bill. The service also offers curated alerts about lobbying effortsand regulatory reforms.