GovTrack.us is a free, publicly available, privately run, open-government-advocating web service in good company with such sites as Project Vote Smart and CitizenJoe.  GovTrack debuted quietly in September 2004, then hit the big time with mentions in BusinessWeek and the New York Times (registration required). The attention-getting feature is this: GovTrack will send you a notice via email or RSS feed when official legislative websites such as THOMAS report that action has occurred on legislation of interest to you.