Python Congress

A Python client for the ProPublica Congress API

Install

From PyPI:

pip install python-congress

Download and run the install script:

git clone https://github.com/eyeseast/propublica-congress && cd propublica-congress
python setup.py install

Usage

The main entrypoint for the API is the Congress class, which is instantiated with your API key. (Request an API key at ProPublica’s data store.)

Endpoints are organized into subclients attached to the main Congress instance. For example:

>>> from congress import Congress
>>> congress = Congress(API_KEY)

# get member by bioguide ID
>>> pelosi = congress.members.get('P000197')
>>> pelosi['twitter_id']
'NancyPelosi'

# get recent House bills
# recent bills come in two types: 'introduced' and 'updated'
>>> introd = congress.bills.recent(
...     chamber='house',
...     congress=115,
...     type='introduced')

>>> len(introd['bills'])
20

>>> introd['chamber']
'House'

# or use a convenience function
>>> introd = congress.bills.introduced('house')
>>> introd['chamber']
'House'
>>> len(introd['bills'])
20

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