Sources & standards
How we research
This site exists so that a first-time voter can find out what their senators actually stand for without wading through jargon or spin. Here is exactly where the information comes from and the rules we hold ourselves to.
Where the information comes from
Congress.gov
Bills authored and cosponsored, official bill text, and legislative status.
The Congressional Record (GovInfo)
Potentially related Record entries. A surname mention is not proof that the member gave a speech; speech counts require verified speaker identity.
Roll-call vote records
The official source for how a member voted. Senate roll-call votes are not currently included in this site's congressional activity collection.
Official member websites and press offices
Issue pages, press releases, and the member's own description of their priorities.
Campaign material
Platform pages and published campaign promises, quoted as the candidate stated them.
The rules we follow
- 01
Positions describe, they don't judge
A position is a summary of what a member says they are for, written in neutral language and tied to a source. We never characterise a position as good, bad, extreme or moderate.
- 02
Every claim needs a public record
If we can't point to a bill, a vote, a floor statement, or the member's own published words, it doesn't go on the page. Unverified reporting and second-hand summaries are excluded.
- 03
Topic matches are not endorsements
Automated keyword matching identifies potentially related congressional records. A shared topic does not prove that a bill supports a stated position, that a member gave a speech, or that a commitment was fulfilled. Read the linked source to check the connection.
- 04
Both parties, same treatment
Every profile uses the same structure, the same sources and the same tone. Party is shown as a small factual label, never as the frame of the page.
- 05
Unfinished work is normal
Most legislation never passes, and that is a fact about Congress rather than about one member. When a commitment hasn't produced a law, we say what has happened so far instead of implying failure.
- 06
Corrections are public
If something here is wrong or out of date, tell us and we will fix it and note the change. Accuracy matters more to us than being first.
What the research totals count
Documented positions counts the sourced position entries for senators, not House members. Distinct cited source documents counts unique public source URLs linked through the congressional evidence collection. A document cited by several profiles or commitments counts once in the homepage total. These totals measure the collection, not the number of documents individually reviewed by a person or a guarantee that every topic match is relevant.