GovTrack.us - Congressional Staff User Guide

<!doctype html> <html lang="en"> <head> <meta charset="utf-8"> <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1"> <title>GovTrack.us - Congressional Staff User Guide</title> <link rel="shortcut icon" href="/favicon.ico" type="image/x-icon" /> <link rel="apple-touch-icon" sizes="180x180" href="/static/favicon/apple-touch-icon.png"> <link rel="icon" type="image/png" sizes="32x32" href="/static/favicon/favicon-32x32.png"> <link rel="icon" type="image/png" sizes="16x16" href="/static/favicon/favicon-16x16.png"> <link rel="manifest" href="/static/favicon/site.webmanifest"> <meta name="msapplication-TileColor" content="#9B2347"> <meta name="theme-color" content="#9B2347"> <link href="/static/vendor/bootstrap.min.css" rel="stylesheet"> <link href="/static/vendor/fontawesome/css/fontawesome.css" rel="stylesheet"> <link href="/static/vendor/fontawesome/css/solid.css" rel="stylesheet"> <link href="/static/vendor/fontawesome/css/brands.css" rel="stylesheet"> <link media="all" rel="stylesheet" href="/static/css/all-min.css?20241114" /> <meta name="description" content="" /> <meta name="keywords" content="" /> <meta name="robots" content="noai, noimageai"> <meta name="fediverse:creator" content="@govtrack@mastodon.social" /> <meta property="fb:app_id" content="119329904748946" /> <meta property="og:site_name" content="GovTrack.us" /> <meta property="og:image" content="https://www.govtrack.us/static/images/media_icon.png?20230729" /> <script async src="https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtag/js?id=G-GD8FT6MB9V"></script> <script> window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; function gtag(){dataLayer.push(arguments);} gtag('js', new Date()); gtag('config', 'G-GD8FT6MB9V'); </script> <script type="text/javascript"> window.post_jquery_load_scripts = []; </script> </head> <body class="">   <div id="bodybody"> <div id="skiptocontent"><a href="#maincontent">skip to main content</a></div> <div id="masthead-overbar"> <div class="container"> <a href="/accounts/membership" class="yellow"> <span>Hide The Ads ▶</span> </a> <div style="display: inline-block; padding-left: 2em;"> <a id="nav_login" class="yellow" href="/accounts/login?next=/for-hill-staff"><span>Log In ▶</span></a> <div id="nav_session" class="dropdown" style="display: none"> <button class="btn btn-primary dropdown-toggle" type="button" data-bs-toggle="dropdown" aria-expanded="false" style="padding: .15rem .5rem"> Your Account </button> <ul class="dropdown-menu"> <li><a class="dropdown-item" href="/accounts/lists">Your Subscriptions & Lists</a></li> <li><a class="dropdown-item" href="/accounts/positions">Your Positions</a></li> <li><a class="dropdown-item" href="/accounts/docket">Your Docket</a></li> <li><hr class="dropdown-divider"></li> <li><a class="dropdown-item" href="/accounts/profile" title="">Account Settings</a></li> <li><a class="dropdown-item" href="/accounts/logout?next=/for-hill-staff">Log Out</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div id="masthead"> <nav class="navbar navbar-expand-lg bg-body-tertiary"> <div class="container"> <div id="logo-container"> <a id="logo" href="/" class="navbar-brand ">govtrack.us</a> <div style="margin-top: .75em; line-height: 1em; font-size: 11.75px; letter-spacing: -.25px;">Tracking the U.S. Congress #OpenGov</div> </div> <button class="navbar-toggler" type="button" data-bs-toggle="collapse" data-bs-target="#navbarSupportedContent" aria-controls="navbarSupportedContent" aria-expanded="false" aria-label="Toggle navigation"> <span class="navbar-toggler-icon"></span> </button> <div class="collapse navbar-collapse" id="navbarSupportedContent"> <ul class="navbar-nav me-auto mb-2 mb-lg-0"> <li class="nav-item dropdown"> <a class="nav-link dropdown-toggle" href="#" role="button" data-bs-toggle="dropdown" aria-expanded="false"> Bills & Votes </a> <ul class="dropdown-menu"> <li><a class="dropdown-item" href="/congress/bills">Bills in Congress</a></li> <li><a class="dropdown-item" href="/congress/votes">Congressional Votes</a></li> <li><a class="dropdown-item" href="/posts">Coming Up, Recap, and Analysis</a></li> </ul> </li> <li class="nav-item dropdown"> <a class="nav-link dropdown-toggle" href="#" role="button" data-bs-toggle="dropdown" aria-expanded="false"> Legislators </a> <ul class="dropdown-menu"> <li><a class="dropdown-item" href="/congress/members">Representatives & Senators</a></li> <li><a class="dropdown-item" href="/congress/members/map">Congressional Districts Map</a></li> <li><a class="dropdown-item" href="/congress/committees">Committees</a></li> <li><hr class="dropdown-divider"></li> <li><a class="dropdown-item" href="/misconduct">Misconduct Database</a></li> <li><a class="dropdown-item" href="/congress/members/missing">Missing Legislators</a></li> </ul> </li> <li class="nav-item dropdown"> <a class="nav-link dropdown-toggle" href="#" role="button" data-bs-toggle="dropdown" aria-expanded="false"> Help </a> <ul class="dropdown-menu"> <li><a class="dropdown-item" href="/how-to-use">How To Use GovTrack</a></li> <li><a class="dropdown-item" href="/for-educators">For Educators</a></li> <li><a class="dropdown-item" href="/for-advocates">For Advocates</a></li> <li><a class="dropdown-item" href="/for-hill-staff">For Congressional Staff</a></li> <li><a class="dropdown-item" href="/for-journalists">For Journalists</a></li> <li><hr class="dropdown-divider"></li> <li><a class="dropdown-item" href="/how-a-bill-becomes-a-law">How does a bill become a law?</a></li> <li><a class="dropdown-item" href="/what-is-the-law">What is the law?</a></li> <li><a class="dropdown-item" href="/congressional-procedures">Congressional Procedures</a></li> </ul> </li> <li class="nav-item dropdown"> <a class="nav-link dropdown-toggle" href="#" role="button" data-bs-toggle="dropdown" aria-expanded="false"> About Us </a> <ul class="dropdown-menu"> <li><a class="dropdown-item" href="/about">About GovTrack.us</a></li> <li><a class="dropdown-item" href="/about-our-data">About Our Data</a></li> <li><a class="dropdown-item" href="/posts/news">Site News</a></li> <li><a class="dropdown-item" href="/press">Press Clips</a></li> <li><hr class="dropdown-divider"></li> <li><a class="dropdown-item" href="/reading-list">Books and Games We Recommend</a></li> <li><a class="dropdown-item" href="/congress/committees/game">Guess the Committee<i>!</i></a></li> </ul> </li> </ul> <form class="d-flex" role="search" name="header_search" action="/search"> <label for="master_search_q" class="sr-only">Search GovTrack for</label> <input class="form-control me-2" type="search" placeholder="bill, legislator, or keyword" aria-label="Search" id="master_search_q" name="q"> <button class="btn btn-outline-success" type="submit"><span class="fas fa-search"></span> <span class="sr-only">Search</span></button> </form> </div> </div> </nav> <div id="sitenewscontainer" class="navbar-default" > <div id="sitenews"> <a href="/posts/477/2025-02-14_confirmations-and-more-republican-priority-bills">Legislative Recap Feb 14, 2025: <b>Confirmations and More Republican Priority Bills</b> »</a> </div>  </div>  </div>  <div id="breadcrumbs"> <div class="container"> </div> </div> <div id="maincontent" class="container"> <div id="content"> <h1>For Congressional Staff</h1> <p>GovTrack.us is a comprehensive database of federal legislative information, including tools and analysis you won’t find anywhere else. We’ve been providing accurate, reliable information to the American public for more than 15 years!</p> <p>Here are some ways you can use GovTrack:</p> <h2><span>Access extensive legislative analysis tools</span></h2> <p>You can use GovTrack’s comprehensive databases to find the latest information about Congress including<p> <ul> <li>Current or historical legislatve activity</li> <li>Members’ legislative records and press releases</li> <li>Committee Activity and press releases</li> </ul> <p>Use built-in text comparison tools to view legislative text side-by-side to previous versions or related legislation.</p> <p>Bill pages also feature a Position Statements section with select press releases from Members of Congress.</p> <h2><span>Find likely cosponsors to help advance your legislation</span></h2> <p>You can find full cosponsorship data on any member by clicking “view cosponsors” at the bottom of the Bills Sponsored section of their page. Use this feature to get a list of your boss’ most frequent cosponsors sorted by legislative topic.</p> <p>GovTrack also offers unique analysis comparing members’ relative leadership and ideology using cosponsorship data on member pages, as well as annual <a href="https://www.govtrack.us/congress/members/report-cards/2019">legislative report cards</a> with statistics on each member. Report cards include rankings on bipartisanship, bills enacted, missed votes, and more. Use this information to profile other members’ standings in Congress.</p> <h2><span>Search through a database of congressional procedures</span></h2> <p>GovTrack features a number of comprehensive databases that can make your job easier. We’ve collected all of the Congressional Research Services reports on congressional procedures on GovTrack’s <a href="https://www.govtrack.us/congressional-procedures">Congressional Procedures, Rules, and Norms page</a>. Reports are gathered from EveryCRSReport.com.</p> <h2><span>Personalize tracker lists for regular updates on congressional activity</span></h2> <p>Use tracker lists to tailor your own email updates and RSS feeds to track updates on specific bills, committee activities, or individual Members of Congress. To create a new list visit <a href="https://www.govtrack.us/accounts/lists">your tracker lists page</a>. To add a new tracker to a list simply click on the green track button at the top of most GovTrack pages. You can make as many tracker lists as you like.</p> <h2><span>Comment on your trackers and share them with your constituents and your team</span></h2> <p>Leave notes on your tracker lists and share them to keep your colleagues in the loop about your office’s legislative priorities. Lists come with a link to a page where you can comment on your trackers. Sharing this link with your colleagues will allow them to follow along with your trackers and comments.</p> </div> </div>  </div>  <footer id="footer"> <div class="container"> <div class="row"> <nav class="col-6 col-md-2"> <ul> <li><a href="/">Home</a></li> <li><a href="/about">About GovTrack</a></li> <li><a href="/about-our-data">About the Data</a></li> <li><a href="/contact">Contact Us</a></li> <li><a href="/legal">Privacy & Legal</a></li> </ul> </nav> <nav class="col-6 col-md-2"> <ul> <li><a href="/posts/news"><i class="fas fa-list fa-fw"></i>Site News</a></li> <li><a rel="me" href="https://mastodon.social/@GovTrack"><i class="fab fa-mastodon fa-fw"></i>Mastodon</a></li> <li><a href="https://bsky.app/profile/govtrack.us"><i class="fab fa-bluesky fa-fw"></i>Bluesky</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.patreon.com/govtrack"><i class="fas fa-dollar-sign fa-fw"></i><span>Patreon</span></a></li> <li><a href="https://github.com/govtrack"><i class="fab fa-github fa-fw"></i><span>GitHub</span></a></li> </ul> </nav> <section class="col-12 col-md-8"> <p>GovTrack helps everyone learn about and track the activities of the United States Congress. Launched more than 20 years ago, we’re one of the oldest government transparency and accountability websites on the Internet.</p> <p>This is a project of <a href="http://www.civicimpulse.com">Civic Impulse, LLC</a>. 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GovTrack.us - Congressional Staff User Guide