# Congress.gov Scraper (`crawlerbros/congress-gov-scraper`) Actor Scrape Congress.gov, the official source for US legislative data. Search bills, get member info, browse committees. Replaces GovTrack (API discontinued summer 2026). Powered by the official Congress.gov API. - **URL**: https://apify.com/crawlerbros/congress-gov-scraper.md - **Developed by:** [Crawler Bros](https://apify.com/crawlerbros) (community) - **Categories:** Automation, Developer tools, Other - **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 4 bookmarks - **User rating**: 5.00 out of 5 stars ## Pricing from $3.00 / 1,000 results This Actor is paid per event and usage. You are charged both the fixed price for specific events and for Apify platform usage. Since this Actor supports Apify Store discounts, the price gets lower the higher subscription plan you have. Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/platform/actors/running/actors-in-store#pay-per-event ## What's an Apify Actor? Actors are a software tools running on the Apify platform, for all kinds of web data extraction and automation use cases. In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours, and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store. In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server. Actors are written with capital "A". ## How to integrate an Actor? If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects. You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready. The best way to integrate Actors is as follows. In JavaScript/TypeScript projects, use official [JavaScript/TypeScript client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js.md): ```bash npm install apify-client ``` In Python projects, use official [Python client library](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python.md): ```bash pip install apify-client ``` In shell scripts, use [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): ````bash # MacOS / Linux curl -fsSL https://apify.com/install-cli.sh | bash # Windows irm https://apify.com/install-cli.ps1 | iex ```bash In AI frameworks, you might use the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/platform/integrations/mcp.md). If your project is in a different language, use the [REST API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2.md). For usage examples, see the [API](#api) section below. For more details, see Apify documentation as [Markdown index](https://docs.apify.com/llms.txt) and [Markdown full-text](https://docs.apify.com/llms-full.txt). # README ## Congress.gov Scraper Extract US legislative data from **Congress.gov** — the official source for bills, members, and committees maintained by the Library of Congress. This actor replaces GovTrack (API discontinued summer 2026) and uses the free official Congress.gov API. ### What You Get - **Bills** — title, sponsor, party, state, policy area, subjects, latest action, introduced date, cosponsor count, and direct bill URL - **Members** — bioguide ID, name, party, state, district, chamber, legislation counts, and photo URL - **Committees** — name, chamber, type, subcommittee count, and Congress.gov URL - **Bill details** — full structured data for any specific bill by congress number, type, and bill number ### Data Source All data is sourced from the **official Congress.gov API** (`api.congress.gov`) maintained by the Library of Congress. The API is free to use without registration (30 requests/hour with the default `DEMO_KEY`). Register at [api.congress.gov](https://api.congress.gov/) for 5,000 requests/hour. --- ### Input | Field | Type | Description | |-------|------|-------------| | `mode` | Select | What to fetch: `searchBills`, `billDetails`, `members`, `committees` | | `apiKey` | Text | Congress.gov API key. Defaults to `DEMO_KEY` (30 req/hr). Register for 5000 req/hr. | | `congress` | Integer | Congress number (100–119). Current is 119 (2025–2026). | | `billType` | Select | Filter by bill type: HR, S, HJRES, SJRES, HCONRES, SCONRES, HRES, SRES | | `billNumber` | Integer | Bill number for `billDetails` mode | | `query` | Text | Keyword to filter bill titles in `searchBills` mode | | `fromDate` | Text | Filter bills updated on/after this date (YYYY-MM-DD) | | `toDate` | Text | Filter bills updated on/before this date (YYYY-MM-DD) | | `chamber` | Select | Filter by chamber: `house`, `senate`, or both | | `state` | Text | Filter members by 2-letter US state code (e.g., `CA`, `TX`) | | `party` | Select | Filter members by party: `D` (Democrat), `R` (Republican), `I` (Independent) | | `currentMember` | Boolean | When true, return only currently serving members | | `maxItems` | Integer | Maximum records to return (1–500, default 20) | --- ### Modes #### `searchBills` — Search and list recent bills Returns a paginated list of bills from Congress.gov, sorted by most recently updated. ```json { "mode": "searchBills", "congress": 119, "billType": "HR", "maxItems": 20 } ```` #### `billDetails` — Get full details for a specific bill Returns complete metadata for one bill including sponsor, subjects, action history counts. ```json { "mode": "billDetails", "congress": 119, "billType": "HR", "billNumber": 1 } ``` #### `members` — List congressional members Returns members with party, state, district, and legislation activity counts. ```json { "mode": "members", "chamber": "senate", "party": "D", "currentMember": true, "maxItems": 50 } ``` #### `committees` — List committees Returns standing, select, and joint committees with chamber and type. ```json { "mode": "committees", "chamber": "house", "maxItems": 30 } ``` *** ### Output Fields #### Bills | Field | Description | |-------|-------------| | `congress` | Congress number (e.g., 119) | | `billType` | Bill type (HR, S, HJRES, etc.) | | `billNumber` | Bill number | | `title` | Full bill title | | `originChamber` | House or Senate | | `introducedDate` | Date introduced (YYYY-MM-DD) | | `sponsor` | Sponsor's full name | | `sponsorParty` | Sponsor's party (D/R/I) | | `sponsorState` | Sponsor's state abbreviation | | `policyArea` | Primary policy area | | `latestAction` | Most recent action text | | `latestActionDate` | Date of most recent action | | `cosponsorCount` | Number of cosponsors | | `actionCount` | Total action count | | `subjects` | List of legislative subjects | | `billUrl` | Direct Congress.gov bill URL | | `updateDate` | Last update timestamp | #### Members | Field | Description | |-------|-------------| | `bioguideId` | Unique member identifier | | `name` | Full name | | `partyName` | Full party name | | `state` | State abbreviation | | `district` | Congressional district number | | `chambers` | List of chambers served | | `mostRecentChamber` | Current/most recent chamber | | `termStartYear` | Most recent term start year | | `sponsoredLegislationCount` | Bills sponsored count | | `cosponsoredLegislationCount` | Bills cosponsored count | | `imageUrl` | Official photo URL | | `memberUrl` | Congress.gov member page URL | #### Committees | Field | Description | |-------|-------------| | `committeeId` | System code identifier | | `name` | Full committee name | | `chamber` | House or Senate | | `committeeType` | Standing, Select, Joint, etc. | | `subcommitteeCount` | Number of subcommittees | | `committeeUrl` | Congress.gov committee URL | *** ### Example Output Record (Bill) ```json { "congress": 119, "billType": "HR", "billNumber": 1, "title": "American Innovation and Jobs Act", "originChamber": "House", "introducedDate": "2025-01-06", "sponsor": "Charles Schumer", "sponsorParty": "D", "sponsorState": "NY", "policyArea": "Science, Technology, Communications", "latestAction": "Referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.", "latestActionDate": "2025-01-10", "cosponsorCount": 12, "actionCount": 5, "subjects": ["Research and Development", "Tax Credits"], "billUrl": "https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/hr/1", "recordType": "bill", "scrapedAt": "2025-05-25T10:30:00+00:00" } ``` *** ### Use Cases - **Legislative research** — Track bills by topic, sponsor, or status across Congress sessions - **Civic tech** — Build apps that show what your representatives have been working on - **Journalism** — Monitor bill activity, cosponsor patterns, and committee assignments - **Policy analysis** — Study legislative trends across multiple Congress sessions - **Academic research** — Analyze voting patterns, party alignment, and policy areas - **Compliance & lobbying** — Monitor relevant legislation in your industry *** ### Rate Limits The default `DEMO_KEY` is rate-limited to **30 requests per hour**. For large-scale data collection: 1. Register a free API key at [api.congress.gov](https://api.congress.gov/) 2. Enter your key in the `apiKey` field 3. Enjoy 5,000 requests per hour The actor automatically adds delays between requests when using `DEMO_KEY` to stay within limits. *** ### FAQ **Q: How current is the data?** Congress.gov is the official US government source — data is updated within hours of official actions. **Q: What Congress numbers are available?** Historical data goes back many congresses. The current is 119 (2025–2026); 118 was 2023–2024. **Q: What are the bill type codes?** - `HR` — House Resolution (a bill originating in the House) - `S` — Senate Bill - `HJRES` — House Joint Resolution - `SJRES` — Senate Joint Resolution - `HCONRES` / `SCONRES` — Concurrent Resolutions - `HRES` / `SRES` — Simple Resolutions **Q: Can I search for bills by keyword?** Yes — use the `query` field with `mode=searchBills` to filter results by title keyword. **Q: Is a paid API key required?** No. The `DEMO_KEY` works out of the box with lower rate limits. Register at api.congress.gov for higher limits. # Actor input Schema ## `mode` (type: `string`): What to fetch from Congress.gov. ## `apiKey` (type: `string`): Congress.gov API key — uses DEMO\_KEY (30 req/hr) by default; register at api.congress.gov for 5000 req/hr. ## `query` (type: `string`): Free-text query used to filter bills by title keyword (mode=searchBills). ## `congress` (type: `integer`): Congress number to query. Current is 119 (2025-2026). 118 = 2023-2024, 117 = 2021-2022. ## `billType` (type: `string`): Filter by bill type (mode=searchBills or billDetails). ## `billNumber` (type: `integer`): The bill number when using mode=billDetails (e.g., 1 for HR 1). ## `fromDate` (type: `string`): Only return bills updated on or after this date (mode=searchBills). Format: YYYY-MM-DD. ## `toDate` (type: `string`): Only return bills updated on or before this date (mode=searchBills). Format: YYYY-MM-DD. ## `chamber` (type: `string`): Filter by chamber (mode=members or committees). ## `state` (type: `string`): Filter members by US state abbreviation (e.g. CA, TX, NY) — mode=members. ## `party` (type: `string`): Filter members by party affiliation (mode=members). ## `currentMember` (type: `boolean`): When true, only return currently serving members (mode=members). ## `maxItems` (type: `integer`): Hard cap on emitted records. ## Actor input object example ```json { "mode": "searchBills", "apiKey": "DEMO_KEY", "congress": 119, "billType": "", "chamber": "", "party": "", "currentMember": true, "maxItems": 5 } ``` # Actor output Schema ## `records` (type: `string`): Dataset containing all scraped Congress.gov records. # API You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup. ## JavaScript example ```javascript import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client'; // Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token // Replace the '' with your token const client = new ApifyClient({ token: '', }); // Prepare Actor input const input = { "mode": "searchBills", "apiKey": "DEMO_KEY", "congress": 119, "billType": "", "chamber": "", "party": "", "currentMember": true, "maxItems": 5 }; // Run the Actor and wait for it to finish const run = await client.actor("crawlerbros/congress-gov-scraper").call(input); // Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any) console.log('Results from dataset'); console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`); const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems(); items.forEach((item) => { console.dir(item); }); // 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs ``` ## Python example ```python from apify_client import ApifyClient # Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token # Replace '' with your token. client = ApifyClient("") # Prepare the Actor input run_input = { "mode": "searchBills", "apiKey": "DEMO_KEY", "congress": 119, "billType": "", "chamber": "", "party": "", "currentMember": True, "maxItems": 5, } # Run the Actor and wait for it to finish run = client.actor("crawlerbros/congress-gov-scraper").call(run_input=run_input) # Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any) print("💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/" + run["defaultDatasetId"]) for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items(): print(item) # 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start ``` ## CLI example ```bash echo '{ "mode": "searchBills", "apiKey": "DEMO_KEY", "congress": 119, "billType": "", "chamber": "", "party": "", "currentMember": true, "maxItems": 5 }' | apify call crawlerbros/congress-gov-scraper --silent --output-dataset ``` ## MCP server setup ```json { "mcpServers": { "apify": { "command": "npx", "args": [ "mcp-remote", "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=crawlerbros/congress-gov-scraper", "--header", "Authorization: Bearer " ] } } } ``` ## OpenAPI specification ```json { "openapi": "3.0.1", "info": { "title": "Congress.gov Scraper", "description": "Scrape Congress.gov, the official source for US legislative data. Search bills, get member info, browse committees. Replaces GovTrack (API discontinued summer 2026). Powered by the official Congress.gov API.", "version": "1.0", "x-build-id": "DCypaxrHkwaahCbIB" }, "servers": [ { "url": "https://api.apify.com/v2" } ], "paths": { "/acts/crawlerbros~congress-gov-scraper/run-sync-get-dataset-items": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-get-dataset-items-crawlerbros-congress-gov-scraper", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for its completion, and returns Actor's dataset items in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK" } } } }, "/acts/crawlerbros~congress-gov-scraper/runs": { "post": { "operationId": "runs-sync-crawlerbros-congress-gov-scraper", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor and returns information about the initiated run in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK", "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/runsResponseSchema" } } } } } } }, "/acts/crawlerbros~congress-gov-scraper/run-sync": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-crawlerbros-congress-gov-scraper", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for completion, and returns the OUTPUT from Key-value store in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK" } } } } }, "components": { "schemas": { "inputSchema": { "type": "object", "required": [ "mode" ], "properties": { "mode": { "title": "Mode", "enum": [ "searchBills", "billDetails", "members", "committees" ], "type": "string", "description": "What to fetch from Congress.gov.", "default": "searchBills" }, "apiKey": { "title": "Congress.gov API Key", "type": "string", "description": "Congress.gov API key — uses DEMO_KEY (30 req/hr) by default; register at api.congress.gov for 5000 req/hr.", "default": "DEMO_KEY" }, "query": { "title": "Search query (mode=searchBills)", "type": "string", "description": "Free-text query used to filter bills by title keyword (mode=searchBills)." }, "congress": { "title": "Congress number", "minimum": 100, "maximum": 119, "type": "integer", "description": "Congress number to query. Current is 119 (2025-2026). 118 = 2023-2024, 117 = 2021-2022.", "default": 119 }, "billType": { "title": "Bill type", "enum": [ "", "HR", "S", "HJRES", "SJRES", "HCONRES", "SCONRES", "HRES", "SRES" ], "type": "string", "description": "Filter by bill type (mode=searchBills or billDetails).", "default": "" }, "billNumber": { "title": "Bill number (mode=billDetails)", "minimum": 1, "maximum": 99999, "type": "integer", "description": "The bill number when using mode=billDetails (e.g., 1 for HR 1)." }, "fromDate": { "title": "From date (YYYY-MM-DD)", "type": "string", "description": "Only return bills updated on or after this date (mode=searchBills). Format: YYYY-MM-DD." }, "toDate": { "title": "To date (YYYY-MM-DD)", "type": "string", "description": "Only return bills updated on or before this date (mode=searchBills). Format: YYYY-MM-DD." }, "chamber": { "title": "Chamber", "enum": [ "", "house", "senate" ], "type": "string", "description": "Filter by chamber (mode=members or committees).", "default": "" }, "state": { "title": "State (2-letter code)", "type": "string", "description": "Filter members by US state abbreviation (e.g. CA, TX, NY) — mode=members." }, "party": { "title": "Party", "enum": [ "", "D", "R", "I" ], "type": "string", "description": "Filter members by party affiliation (mode=members).", "default": "" }, "currentMember": { "title": "Current members only", "type": "boolean", "description": "When true, only return currently serving members (mode=members).", "default": true }, "maxItems": { "title": "Max items", "minimum": 1, "maximum": 500, "type": "integer", "description": "Hard cap on emitted records.", "default": 20 } } }, "runsResponseSchema": { "type": "object", "properties": { "data": { "type": "object", "properties": { "id": { "type": "string" }, "actId": { "type": "string" }, "userId": { "type": "string" }, "startedAt": { "type": "string", "format": "date-time", "example": "2025-01-08T00:00:00.000Z" }, "finishedAt": { "type": "string", "format": "date-time", "example": "2025-01-08T00:00:00.000Z" }, "status": { "type": "string", "example": "READY" }, "meta": { "type": "object", "properties": { "origin": { "type": "string", "example": "API" }, "userAgent": { "type": "string" } } }, "stats": { "type": "object", "properties": { "inputBodyLen": { "type": "integer", "example": 2000 }, "rebootCount": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "restartCount": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "resurrectCount": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "computeUnits": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 } } }, "options": { "type": "object", "properties": { "build": { "type": "string", "example": "latest" }, "timeoutSecs": { "type": "integer", "example": 300 }, "memoryMbytes": { "type": "integer", "example": 1024 }, "diskMbytes": { "type": "integer", "example": 2048 } } }, "buildId": { "type": "string" }, "defaultKeyValueStoreId": { "type": "string" }, "defaultDatasetId": { "type": "string" }, "defaultRequestQueueId": { "type": "string" }, "buildNumber": { "type": "string", "example": "1.0.0" }, "containerUrl": { "type": "string" }, "usage": { "type": "object", "properties": { "ACTOR_COMPUTE_UNITS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 1 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_LISTS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_INTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_EXTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_RESIDENTIAL_TRANSFER_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_SERPS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 } } }, "usageTotalUsd": { "type": "number", "example": 0.00005 }, "usageUsd": { "type": "object", "properties": { "ACTOR_COMPUTE_UNITS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_WRITES": { "type": "number", "example": 0.00005 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_LISTS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_INTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_EXTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_RESIDENTIAL_TRANSFER_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_SERPS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 } } } } } } } } } } ```