III. The Service Provider

TWO ROLES
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.... Essentially, The Congressional Service Provider would have two roles in the Line-Item Legislation scenario. Their first role would be to create and sustain the Congressional system (Lilly) described in the previous section:

1). To provide and sustain the hardware, including the workstations and Networking.
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2). To write a software program that is able to accommodate the Line-Item Intranet voting procedure.
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3). To provide data processing services, system security arrangements, and maintenance of the entire system.

.... But the second role is even more exciting and will present an even bigger opportunity, as discussed below.

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THE GOVERNMENT INFORMATION NETWORK (GINNY)
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.... Besides the Line Item Legislation System (Lilly), described above, the Service Provider will maintain another, much larger system. Information from the Congressional intranet (Lilly) will be interfaced to this secondary system, which we will be called the Government Information Network (Ginny). 
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.... Ginny would replicate the entire Congressional voting system, making information from any bill (including those still in committee or under discussion) available for public revue over the Internet.
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.... Through this system, each legislator’s voting records could be accessed by private citizens or watchdog groups. The legislator’s comments or explanations could also be accessed. Furthermore, line-items could be flagged by participants at home for return routing in real-time as voting occurs, just as the legislators themselves would be able to flag them.
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.... Congressional findings, statistics, reports, or any other documents of Congressional use or origin could eventually become available as the system expands in its services. This information would be transcribed and archived into the system by the Service Provider operation, to include both current and historical information originating in Congress, or supplied to Congress in government findings.
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SHADOW LEGISLATION
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.... All of the options previously described would be offered for the purpose of public observation and information, but there would also be a program that allows unofficial participation. This program, called ‘Shadow Legislation’, would empower individual Americans. Persons who participated in the Shadow Legislation program would have a chance to ‘vote’ and comment on the legislation on Ginny, just as legislators themselves would vote on Lilly. Of course, their votes would be entirely non-binding and would chiefly be used to advise their legislators. The program would also provide participants with a ‘shadow’ political record of their own, and an initial, trial degree of political experience, in case they, too, should decide to enter politics one day.
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.... Conversely, Legislators from each district would automatically ‘poll’ their district's shadow legislation (or shadow legislation from any other district, as an option), to gauge the support or opposition each line item might have back home. This could help advise the legislator in undecided matters, in showing them how to represent their constituency; or conversely, it would demonstrate to them that a better case still needs to be made to those back home whom they are representing.
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.... Furthermore, Legislators would have the ability to read the optional comments from their district’s shadow legislation. They might even wish to cut-and-paste some of them into the real legislation. For example, they might comment: “I am against this item of legislation for reasons most properly stated by a voter from my district, Mr. Bill Smith, who put it this way: (Bill Smith’s shadow legislation comment is quoted here.)”
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.... What better way to show the folks back home that you are representing them? (And guess who Bill Smith will be voting for in the next election?)
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MATERIAL NEEDS FOR GINNY
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.... Initially this operation would require a powerful computer host, which we have called ‘Ginny’, an interface with the Congressional mainframe (Lilly); software to re-render the data received into 'shadow' form, software to field and route requests within the Government Information Network, networking to computer archives, a system of servers and land lines, cable lines or satellite communications, and other gear normally associated with a large computer or service provider network.
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.... The project would also require an administrative organization capable of handling the system maintenance and processing requirements, security arrangements, customer support lines, etc. A mail service might also be provided for those who are not participants but wish for printed copies of certain basic texts.

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To proceed to the next section, on Preparation and Principle, click here.