Mtech Press Releases

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 18, 2005

Groundbreaking Legislative Impact Analysis Tool Featured in New Potomac Publishing Service

COLLEGE PARK, Md.—The first online system offering real-time analysis of how proposed federal legislation impacts existing law was launched on July 17 as Potomac Publishing (www.potomacpublishing.com).

The new research service, designed for individuals and organizations that follow federal legislation and regulations, was developed by College Park-based DataStream Content Solutions, LLC.

"From the moment a bill is introduced, we can immediately tell how it will impact all aspects of existing law," said Mark Anstey, president of DataStream. "The parties supporting a new law obviously understand their proposal. The opposition, however, is often faced with the huge challenge of determining where the 'land mines' are hidden. For anyone who needs to keep an eye on changes in the law-this is something they can't afford to miss."

With legislation getting larger-omnibus bills can exceed 400 pages-it's easy for critical details to be buried or even hidden throughout the document, according to Anstey. "Over 6,000 bills and resolutions have already been proposed during the current Congress. Our tool will help make sure you don't get blindsided. At the most basic level, we provide a safety net."

The service's document collection will include public laws, bills and resolutions, the United States Code, the Congressional Record, the Federal Register, the Code of Federal Regulations, the Congressional Research Service's Bill Digest, committee reports, and the Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents. Potomac's versions of the U.S. Code and Code of Federal Regulations are updated on a real-time basis with data provided by Legal Content, Inc.

Potomac Publishing is built on state-of-the-art technology, including a search engine developed by Corpora Software, and an interface refined through focus groups. Accuracy of the impact analysis has been developed and validated using data generated by the last three Congresses.

"We provide a truly unique capability-real-time legislative impact analysis," said Anstey. "Add to that our up-to-date U.S. Code and CFR, a complete selection of supporting information, aggressive-pricing, and our intuitive interface, and you have a winning offering."

Other features Potomac Publishing will include:

• Browsing of laws by volume and popular name;

• Browsing of bills and resolutions by number, popular name, and sponsor;

• Congressional facts and figures;

• A Washington calendar;

• Custom legislative alerts;

• Custom book printing of any text housed on Potomac Publishing's Web site; and

• Really Simple Syndication (RSS) feeds related to legislation.

Potomac Publishing's data is formatted in XML (eXtensible Markup Language), a flexible text format designed for large-scale electronic publishing, as well as for exchanging data both over the Internet and a variety of other platforms.

DataStream is located in the University of Maryland's Technology Advancement Program (www.tap.umd.edu), a leading venture incubator and accelerator for early-stage companies. TAP is a program of the Maryland Technology Enterprise Institute, the A. James Clark School of Engineering's unit devoted to advancing entrepreneurship and research.

About DataStream
DataStream Content Solutions (DSCS), founded in 1994, specializes in converting legislative documents and metadata to XML and assisting governing bodies in formulating data structures and systems for storing, managing, and searching legislative documents and information. DSCS currently collects, converts, and disseminates daily XML feeds of legislative data from a variety of government organizations-including the governments of the United States, France, and Canada. DSCS has won more contracts than any other single organization supporting the U.S. Congress in the development of legislative XML. Organizations that make accurate information their business rely on DataStream to handle their most complex, time-critical and cost-sensitive projects. For more information, visit www.dscs.com or www.potomacpublishing.com.

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