WIRING INTO WASHINGTON ON THE WEB
By PETER KEATING

(MONEY Magazine) – MAYBE THE GETTYSBURG Address would not have been any better had Lincoln written it on a laptop. But if today's crop of federal Websites had existed back in '63, Abe would have had access to a lot of useful financial information, including 66 ways to help balance the First Family's budget (see below). This month, I review five of the most popular government Websites and find one knockout, three winners-by-decision and one that lies flatter than old Abe himself these days. All are currently free on the World Wide Web (when the government is running, that is). You can reach them using any browser, including those available through America Online, CompuServe, the Microsoft Network and Prodigy.

Remember that series of TV commercials that closed with a deep voice saying, "May the Source be with you"--and it turned out the source was the Consumer Information Center, a clearinghouse for consumer advice from more than 40 federal agencies? Well, you don't have to write to Pueblo, Colo. anymore to find out what's happening at the CIC. These days, you can check its home page at http://www.gsa.gov/staff/pa/cic/cic.htm to find on-line guidance for everything from choosing the right infant formula to shopping for a funeral that won't kill your savings. One of the most popular offerings: "66 Ways to Save Money." And here's No. 67: Read the pamphlet on-line, and you'll save the 50¢ cost of ordering it by mail. All of the CIC's more than 200 publications are available in electronic form. And the site's design beats the standard government issue too, with colorful screens and easy-to-follow directions (that's the main menu page on Lincoln's laptop, above). Among them: how to download and play those old TV commercials on your computer.

If you're an active investor, you'll want to visit the Securities and Exchange Commission at http://www.sec.gov. Reason: The SEC site contains a giant database of documents such as mutual fund prospectuses and 10-Ks (annual financial reports) that companies have to file with the agency. Only about three-quarters of U.S. firms now post their data electronically. But all will have to do so by May. And in the meantime, the database--known as EDGAR, for Electronic Data Gathering and Retrieval System--can still offer useful tips. For example, if you search for all 13D filings submitted during the past 90 days (that's the form investors have to file when they buy more than 5% of a company's shares), you'll get a free list of companies that could include many potential takeover targets. Note: A bill pending in Congress--H.R. 2131, sponsored by Rep. Jack Fields (R-Texas; see In Your Interest in the December issue of MONEY)--would privatize EDGAR, turning it into a pay service.

Curious about how much money you'll have to make next year before the Social Security Administration stops taking its 6.2% bite out of your paycheck? The answer--$62,700--is among the useful numbers found at the SSA's Website (http://www.ssa.gov/). The one drawback to this service: There is no way yet to file a Request for Earnings and Benefits Statement form on-line to check on the SSA's record of your earnings. "Before we let people tap into this information on-line, we need a way for them to enter an electronic signature that we can authenticate," says spokesman Carolyn Cheezum, "and we don't know when that technology will be available."

THOMAS (http://thomas.loc.gov), the legislative information service run by Congress, lets you search by keyword for the full text or a digest of any bill introduced since 1993. The site also features a directory that shows each member's address, phone number and E-mail address, if any. But while THOMAS reports whether a bill has passed the House or Senate, it doesn't provide a vote tally or any index to members' voting records. Nor does it offer committee prints of bills (the "chairman's marks" that insiders use to shape final legislation), committee reports or hearings transcripts--some of which were promised when House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) announced the site last January.

Finally, while the Website for the Internal Revenue Service (http://www.ustreas.gov) offers downloadable versions of more than 400 tax forms, trying to find the one you want can be truly taxing. Ask to see instructions, and you'll get a confusing list of five "libraries" that lead you to a bibliography of enlightening titles like "F1028.PDF: Application for Recognition of Exemption Under Section 521 of the Internal Revenue Code." Go to the on-line help desk, and you'll be told to write a letter or place a phone call for assistance. So what is available? Well, a large-print profile of Commissioner Peggy Richardson, for starters. Bottom line: For good explanations of the tax code and instructions on how to fill out those forms, stick to today's popular tax software (I'll rate the four best ones in January's MONEY).

If you'd like to explore some of the other 60-plus federal Websites on your own, check out the Federal Web Locator (http://www.law.vill.edu/Fed-Agency/fed webloc.html) run by the Center for Information Law and Policy at Villanova University.

--Peter Keating