The newly renamed Congressional Data Task Force met virtually on December 13, 2022. Resources on the event, including a video of the proceedings, slides from the clerk and slides from GPO, are available on the Innovation Hub here.
Continue readingAuthor Archives: Daniel Schuman
Congressional Data Task Force Meeting Announced for March 14, 2023
The next Congressional Data Task Force Meeting is scheduled for 2-4PM EST on Tuesday, March 14, 2023.
To register, use the following link: https://ushr.webex.com/weblink/register/r10370082ab6d3795e3bd3a105f7c717d.
Continue readingHouse of Reps Publishes Unofficial Member Data for 118th Congress
In advance of the start of the 118th Congress, the House of Representatives published resources on members of the House on the Clerk’s webpage on December 30, 2022. The resources include:
- An unofficial list of members organized by state, published as a PDF
- An unofficial member telephone directory, published as a PDF, which includes phone numbers and room numbers
- Unofficial member data, published as XML, which includes member names, bioguide IDs, room numbers, phone numbers, and state/district number
To download the information, go to the Clerk’s page > Member Information > look to the column on the far right entitled “Additional Resources.” I’ve included a screenshot below.
Advisory Committee on the Records of Congress Meeting Set for December 5, 2022
The Advisory Committee on the Records of Congress announced its semi-annual meeting will be held on December 5, 2012, from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. ET at the Government Publishing Office. Back in June, we had request that these meetings include a virtual component, but the notice apparently requires in-person attendance only and the meetings are not otherwise recorded. We have reached out again to request a virtual aspect for those who cannot attend in person.
Continue readingImproving the House Statement of Disbursements: Feedback Requested
The House of Representatives wants to improve how the Statements of Disbursements are published as data and they are asking for your help and input. A summary of how we got to this point is immediately below. Skip to the bottom if you want to share your views on how the Statements of Disbursements should be published, including reviewing a sample data set that contains the House’s proposal as well as a link to where you can provide feedback.
Continue readingSave the Dates: Congressional Data Task Force Meetings Set for End of 2022
The Congressional Data Task Force announced the dates of its third and fourth quarter public meetings.
The CDTF will hold its Q3 public meeting from 2-4pm ET on Thursday September 29. In the future, you can follow this link to register online.
The CDTF will hold its Q4 public meeting from 2-4 PM ET on Thursday, December 13. In the future, you can follow this link to register online.
Catch up with this recap from the June meeting.
Continue readingLibrary of Congress Launches Congress.gov API
On September 6th, the Library of Congress announced it launched a beta version of its Congress.gov API. While APIs for legislative data aren’t new for the Legislative branch — see, for example, the Government Publishing Office’s API — this is a pretty big deal. For the reason why, it’s helpful to know a little history.
Continue readingLibrary of Congress announces date for Virtual Public Forum on Congress.gov
The Library of Congress announced it will hold its third virtual public forum on congress.gov on September 21, 2022 from 1:30-4:30 PM ET. The forum will focus on user suggestions for enhanced access to congressional information/data on congress.gov and also provide an opportunity for the Library to provide updates on improvements to that website.
Pursuant to Congressional direction, the Library of Congress hosted virtual public fora over the last two years, which we summarized in these blogposts from 2021 and 2020. The Library had previously said it would hold this meeting, but had expressed concern about a decrease in attendance from the first to second forums. (To date, nearly 1,500 people have watched the second forum online and 6,000 have watched the first one, both of which are quite large numbers.)
To attend you must RSVP online here. The Library also has an online feedback form for those who wish to submit comments individually.
Continue readingThe Congressional Data Task Force Continues Efforts to Modernize Congressional Tech, Including Itself
The Congressional Data Task Force announced significant legislative branch technology modernization efforts at their second quarter meeting on June 21, 2022, starting with a name change from the Bulk Data Task Force in recognition of the expanded scope of the working group as it goes into its second decade of existence.
We have a full report on what happened at the two-hour meeting below, but here are some highlights:
Continue readingBulk Data Task Force Meeting Set for June 21, 2022
The Congressional Bulk Data Task force announced its upcoming quarterly meeting with take place on Tuesday, June 21, from 2-4 p.m. To join the meeting, register on its webpage.
On the agenda:
- Welcome and Background (Meeting starts at 2:01/2:02)
- Reports/Presentations/Updates from civil society organizations
- Reports/Presentations/Updates from our Legislative Branch organizations: LOC, GPO, House Clerk, House CAO, Senate Secretary, CBO, others
- Time for Discussion/Questions and AnswersAnnouncements/Closing (Meeting ends at 4:00 pm EST)
Don’t miss our recap from the March 2021 meeting.