No more excuses. Stay informed.
Developer: Sunlight Labs
Version: 2.5
Price: Free
My Rating: 5 out of 5
The Short and Sweet
The Congress app by Sunlight Labs is basically the window into that mysterious place we call Congress. It goes far deeper than one would expect and has the best intentions behind it. It condenses all of the political happenings into one easy to handle Android app. From Legislator contact info to specific bills and their supporters. There is no longer an excuse to be uninformed.
Positives:
Negatives:
Navigation
Navigation is a cake-walk in this app. It lays everything out for you in a simple interface. The main page will let you search for laws, bills, and legislators. You can browse, "News Laws", "Just Introduced", "Latest Votes", "Bill Code", and find your Representatives, using your GPS location, State, Last Name, and Zip Code. Also you can access settings using your phone's Menu button and contact the developer, see a changelog of the app, and setup your twitter info so you can respond to the Legislators' twitter accounts through the app.
Laws & Bills
When viewing each bill individually, you're presented with the information on three separate tabs. Those tabs being, "Details" which gives you a summary of the bill and who sponsored it. "History" which tells you the steps and the dates of each step the bill has gone through and if the bill has already been passed, then also "Votes" to let you know the voters/votes pertaining to that bill.
Legislator Info
Congress does a great job laying out information about each legislator for you. It gives your their contact information very directly and gives you options to check the news on each person, follow their twitter updates, or watch Youtube videos on them. From what I've seen though, the youtube feature just does a search of their names rather than finding that person's actual channel. You can also find what bills each person sponsors/supports which would prove very useful when choosing your elected officials. Congress also give you a list of all of the committees that each person of congress serves on, which will then let you see what other politicians serve on each committee. This is what I mean when I say that this is an extensive resource.
The Wrap-Up
Don't know who your local legislators are? Easy. Congress tells you. Don't know what a certain bill is about? Congress tells you. Want to know how to contact your local office? Congress tells you. Need help figuring out which politician to vote for? Use Congress to help you decide. This is an incredible app when considering what it gives you. You can now learn about the current events going on, directly from your phone. This app allows you to more easily, make educated decisions about who we decide to put into office and follow what they're doing in office. This app really and truly provides great power, so use it.
Developer: Sunlight Labs
Version: 2.5
Price: Free
My Rating: 5 out of 5
The Short and Sweet
The Congress app by Sunlight Labs is basically the window into that mysterious place we call Congress. It goes far deeper than one would expect and has the best intentions behind it. It condenses all of the political happenings into one easy to handle Android app. From Legislator contact info to specific bills and their supporters. There is no longer an excuse to be uninformed.
Positives:
Extensive searching
Contact info for Congressmen/women
Simple, easy to follow interface
Follow each Rep. through News, Twitter, and Youtube
Extensive information on each bill
Negatives:
Can't search for older bills (Such as HR7152)
Navigation
Navigation is a cake-walk in this app. It lays everything out for you in a simple interface. The main page will let you search for laws, bills, and legislators. You can browse, "News Laws", "Just Introduced", "Latest Votes", "Bill Code", and find your Representatives, using your GPS location, State, Last Name, and Zip Code. Also you can access settings using your phone's Menu button and contact the developer, see a changelog of the app, and setup your twitter info so you can respond to the Legislators' twitter accounts through the app.
Laws & Bills
When viewing each bill individually, you're presented with the information on three separate tabs. Those tabs being, "Details" which gives you a summary of the bill and who sponsored it. "History" which tells you the steps and the dates of each step the bill has gone through and if the bill has already been passed, then also "Votes" to let you know the voters/votes pertaining to that bill.
Legislator Info
Congress does a great job laying out information about each legislator for you. It gives your their contact information very directly and gives you options to check the news on each person, follow their twitter updates, or watch Youtube videos on them. From what I've seen though, the youtube feature just does a search of their names rather than finding that person's actual channel. You can also find what bills each person sponsors/supports which would prove very useful when choosing your elected officials. Congress also give you a list of all of the committees that each person of congress serves on, which will then let you see what other politicians serve on each committee. This is what I mean when I say that this is an extensive resource.
The Wrap-Up
Don't know who your local legislators are? Easy. Congress tells you. Don't know what a certain bill is about? Congress tells you. Want to know how to contact your local office? Congress tells you. Need help figuring out which politician to vote for? Use Congress to help you decide. This is an incredible app when considering what it gives you. You can now learn about the current events going on, directly from your phone. This app allows you to more easily, make educated decisions about who we decide to put into office and follow what they're doing in office. This app really and truly provides great power, so use it.
