Congress: PVSWiki

===Annual Voting Records Check===
As you have read, though the automated vote entering system for Congressional votes is convenient, it produces some errors. Even though it is the responsibility of the staff member in charge of Congress to try and make sure all votes are accurate after import, some will slip through the cracks. This being Congress, we conduct annual voting records checks on all House and Senate Key Vote voting records to be sure no mistakes on a lawmakers vote exist.
The Key Votes Department Director will request from IT (similar to **[[http://mantis.votesmart.org/view.php?id=6298 this Mantis ticket]]**) the Data regarding all United States House and Senate voting records that we have in Admin for the previous year. This should be done annually during the month of August. There will be few interns, if any, and this will allow you to sift through the data, create a spreadsheet, and work on fixing any errors that might be present. Furthermore, if there are an excess of errors, staff would have the time in August to create a document that the interns can work on in the fall semester. Also, it provides ample time to have our records as accurate as possible before the November elections.
In late 2014, staff conducted the first double-check of all of the Key Votes voting records for Congress that had ever been inputted and displayed on our website. This allowed staff to have a good understanding of what the most common problem tended to be in the data sets. Staff noted that problems consistently and without fail occurred in the following moments:
- After any election, some problems would occur at the start of the new, incoming Congress; and
- After abrupt House and Senate vacancies and the subsequent special elections that came with those vacancies, the most consistent errors were produced.
For the latter, this **[[http://history.house.gov/Institution/Vacancies-Successors/Vacancies-Successors/ House page]]**, which lays out all the vacancies since the 1997-1999 Congress, was the primary resource used to identify in our IT-retrieved data where we might see problems - and we did. There are other resources on the internet that provide lists of special elections that provide similar information.
{{anchor name="CongressionalSummaryWriting"}}====__Congressional Summary Writing__====
Congressional summaries should only be written by staff or excellent interns due to their complexity and length. For the most part, congressional summaries are written in the same manner as state bill summaries. However, there are a few differences between state and congressional bill summaries, the most notably:
-Congressional bills rarely re-state existing law in the bill text. Instead, you must look up relevant portions of the US Code (frequently used) in order to see what is being amended.
-Code is nearly always referenced in Congressional bill texts. Therefore, **more research into Code is required** to correctly interpret the provisions of a bill.

Congress is the Key Votes Department's most viewed and widely read output. Readers tend to gravitate towards knowing what the federal government is up to and visit our National Key Votes page more frequently than our State Key Votes pages. This page details the slight differences between Congressional work and states. It also outlines the unique functions and tasks involved with Congress. You can access this page through the main **[[CategoryKeyVotes Key Votes wiki page]]**, under **[[CongressGuide Congress Guide]]**. Use the links in the table of contents to jump down to any section, and click the header name to jump back up to the table of contents.
Vote Smart staff are solely responsible for many of the tasks that related to Congressional work. One staff member will always be responsible for Congressional tracking, vote entering, delegating summary work, and for knowing the ins-and-outs of Congress. Though Congress requires a quick turnaround on our end from the moment the vote takes place to having a live Vote Smart summary, there is a heightened responsibility amongst both the staff member in charge of Congress and all Congressional writers to be as accurate, nonpartisan, and concise as possible when working on anything relating to Congress.
Because of the elevated online readership with Congress, **we are expected to expedite ALL of the work related to Congress**. This includes tracking, entering votes, and summarizing Key Votes. The Key Votes Department has established the following deadlines for Congressional work:
The actual ability of staff to get Congressional summaries live to the website will likely be dependent on whether there are interns or not. Regardless, the staff member in charge of Congress is responsible for making sure these deadlines are met.
Tracking Congress utilizes an almost opposite procedure than state legislatures: first, voting records are tracked and only after making a decision that a vote merits a more detailed look do we locate press. This is so that no vote ever goes unseen by staff. Because greater emphasis is placed on Congressional work in the Key Votes Department, the primary Congress tracker is responsible for checking this website **[[http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2018/index.asp]]** and this **[[https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/vote_menu_115_2.htm]]** website **every day** to see if any full chamber votes have occurred. For a more detailed guide on where to find the relevant information on these sites, visit the **[[TrackingCongressSenate Tracking Senate Guide]]** and the **[[TrackingCongressHouse Tracking House Guide]]**.
Being aware of Congressional schedules is of great assistance for efficiently tracking Congress. Checking the schedule prevents you from spending unnecessary time checking votes when none have occurred. The House Calendar for each session can be found on House Clerk website or through a simple web search. In the Senate the two party leaders are responsible for creating the Calendar for each session.
To track, you first want to search through all main passage stage for bills. This means that at this point you want to skip all amendment votes, consideration votes, and others. Click on these main passage votes and assess whether two criteria are met:
- Is it a good vote? Meaning, is it a party line or close vote? We will sometimes take lopsided votes if an important issue is being covered.
- Is there a clear issue position? Even if there is not, you may still want to search for press. If there is a lot of coverage, consider selecting it anyway.
After locating a potential Key Vote, search for press coverage of the legislation. The best way to do this is to perform a Google news search. Most votes will have press coverage within a day or so.
Effective search terms can be the bill number (ex: "HR 5710," "S 380"), the shorthand title given to the bill by its authors (ex: "Patriot Act"), or the chamber in which the vote occurred coupled with terms that describe the subject of the bill that was voted on (ex: "house financial regulation," "senate health care," etc.). You can also peruse specific news sources that you think may have information on the Congressional legislation in question, such as Politico, The Hill, etc. If you are able to find any news articles about that particular vote or about the piece of legislation in general, compile them into a press file and bring the vote up at the next selection meeting. Note about press: you are likely to find a couple of press articles for every vote that comes out of Congress because it's Congress. If it should be a Key Vote there will likely be a greater number of articles. Sometimes you will come across state or local news articles. These can be more useful than you think as they provide local insight into particular provisions of the bill. It is often appropriate to include these in the press file.
Unlike state votes, you should enter a Congressional vote into Admin immediately after selecting it. The vote will be discussed at the next selection meeting. If it is selected officially as a Key Vote you can then write the summary.
Amendments will be selected most often for the following reasons:
(1) A major issue is being covered
(2) The amendment replaces a large portion of the bill text
(3) The vote is extremely close or extremely partisan
(4) There is significant press coverage of the amendment
If a bill we are selecting has been heavily amended, you should look through those amendments to see if any merit selection in and of themselves. For amendments the press burden is significantly lower. We can select an amendment if we find at least one article on the amendment itself.
We will select most nominations for cabinet level positions. If there is significant press coverage, including questions regarding the person's qualifications, we will also select that nomination. Nominations being with the prefix “PN” and the president will be the sponsor.
After selecting a potential Key Vote the staff member in charge should immediately release the voting records and synopsis live to the website. If the vote is not selected at the selection meeting the vote can be unreleased and the entry deleted.
The following lists the data fields you will enter during any vote entry. This is just an introduction to Admin. The more in-depth Guide follows.
- Title - **We will take the official title listed in congress.gov.**
- Yeas and Nays
- Committee sponsorships
Use **[[ImportWebVotes this wiki page]]** to automatically import voting records into Admin. This is possible because of the Roll Call Number. Once imported, you will have to complete some steps in the "View Votes/Actions" page before moving on.
-Remove delegates and resident commissioners from the actions list.
-Look through the Web Import Errors listed further down on this page and make sure that each individual has been assigned the appropriate vote.
-Check that the "Did Not Votes" have imported and been assigned properly.
-Double check the vote tally by using Ctrl+F or bringing the list in Admin to a Google sheet to count it out.
After releasing the vote the staff member in charge should typically wait until after the selection meeting to continue to the summary writing stage. There will be certain votes that can be worked on before the selection meeting because we are almost certain to select them. Be sure to enter the vote information on the selection spreadsheet.
The main differences between amendments and legislation are with the bill number and sponsors and sosponsors listing. Titles are **not ** provided by congress.gov so we will create a Vote Smart title for them. Below is an overview of some differences when entering amendment votes, but go to **__[[AmendmentVotes General Amendment Votes]]__** and **__[[CongressionalAmendmentVotes]]__** for more detailed information.
Congressional amendments must be prefaced by "S" or "H" and then "Amdt [NUMBER]" to indicate the chamber (ex: S Amdt 4326 to S Amdt 4301 to HR 4213). This is required for web importation.
When entering an amendment vote the parent bill must be selected from the drop down menu. However, only bills that have an admin entry are listed in the parent bill drop-down menu. It's not uncommon for us to select an amendment vote but not a vote on the parent bill. In this case you are not required to list a parent bill. However, you should seriously consider selecting the parent bill. Here's an example of parent bill information:
When identifying the sponsor(s) of the amendment, remember that its only the sponsor(s) of the individual amendment, and not that of the parent bill. Congress does have cosponsors of amendments, but it's extremely rare for a state to assign cosponsors to amendments:
There are two fields at the top portion of an Admin Key Vote page that are specific to Congressional legislation: Public Law and URL. The Public Law will only be utilized if the president signs an existing Key Vote into law. Refer to **[[PublicLawNumber this wiki page]]** for more information. The URL field will be automatically populated once you have entered in basic bill information in Admin. This URL is used by Admin to find the bill texts link and the voting records.
Congressional summaries should only be written by staff or excellent interns due to their complexity and length. For the most part, congressional summaries are written in the same manner as state bill summaries. However, there are a few differences between state and congressional bill summaries, the most notably:
- Amendments can be found in the Amendments section of the bill's summary page on **[[http://congress.gov/ Congress.gov]]**. Click on the amendment number, then the text tab of the amendment's page. Note that amendments do not contain citations so you do not need to include them in your summary.
- Always ask questions if you need help
Congress should be given a heightened awareness when it comes to status updates. Though state status updates are completed on a quarterly basis, Congress status updates should be covered ASAP. When the president signs the bill we should immediately be covering it. When possible this also applies to all stages of any Congressional bill we select. The only exception is for Amendment votes where the lifespan of the bill internally begins and ends with that singular vote.
The staff member in charge of Congress in encouraged to utilize outside resources like **[[https://www.govtrack.us/start GovTrack]]** to help track status changes. Once subscribed, this organization will email you any updates that have occurred including updates to sponsorships, major floor votes, referred to committee statuses, and presidential actions. These emails will make it much easier to keep up with each bill's status changes. Congressional bills are still required to go through the same quarterly status update check as state bills. Be sure to click the "All Actions" option in congress.gov as opposed to only the "Major Actions." Within the "All Actions" page you will find referred to committee statuses if any are available.
Presidential vetoes are generally easy to track as any veto coming from the Executive Branch will receive plenty of press. Staff should upload a pdf document for the enrolled Bill Text as opposed to relying on the link to Congress.gov as is the case with Congressional summaries. Unlike gubernatorial vetoes, veto titles will be the official title as provided by congress.gov. Note that Presidential vetoes will only be in regular and pocket veto form. Line-item vetoes have been a long sought-after tool for Presidents; President Clinton did receive Congressional authority in 1997 to utilize a Line-Item veto before being deemed unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 1998. Also note that the president is given 10 days after a bill's enrollment to sign or veto the bill.

~-{{anchor target="altering" text="Altering Summary Check Process"}}
=={{anchor target="webimport" text="Congressional Web Import ID"}}==
Congress is the Key Votes Department's most viewed and widely read output. Readers tend to gravitate towards knowing what the federal government is up to, and therefore, visit our National Key Votes page more frequently than our State Key Votes pages. However, there are an array of instances when the Key Votes processes for states differ from those of Congress. Therefore, this page hopes to detail the slight differences Congressional work has with states and outline the unique functions and tasks revolving Congress. You can access this page through the main **[[CategoryKeyVotes Key Votes wiki page]]**, under **[[CongressGuide Congress Guide]]**. Use the links in the table of contents to jump down to any section, and click the header name to jump back up to the table of contents.
Interns who are assigned to assist with Congressional vote entries should read from "Vote Entering" to "Congressional Web Import IDs." Interns who are working on Congressional Summaries only need to review this introduction and the summary writing portion of this page.
At this point, you should not only be familiar with the major processes of the Key Votes Department, but should be entirely familiar with session tracking and be a polished writer. Vote Smart staff are solely responsible for many of the tasks that related to Congressional work. One staff member will always be responsible for Congressional tracking, vote entering, delegating summary work, and for knowing the ins-and-outs of all that is Congress. Because Congress requires so much daily effort, the staff member in charge of Congress will preferably never be the Department Director, nor will he or she be assigned Internship Coordinator roles. Though Congress requires a quick turnaround on our end from the moment the vote takes place to having a live Vote Smart summary, there is a heightened responsibility amongst both the staff member in charge of Congress and all Congressional writers to be as perfectly accurate, nonpartisan, concise, and factual as possible when working on anything relating to Congress.
Because of the elevated online readership with Congress, **we are expected to expedite ALL of the work related to Congress**. This includes Tracking, Entering Votes, and Summarizing the Key Vote. In concert with Montana, the Key Votes Department has established the following deadlines for Congressional work:
~- Releasing the Summary Live should occur as soon as possible after making the vote live, ideally within 3 business days
The actual ability of staff to get Congressional summaries live to the website will likely be dependent on whether there are interns in or not. Regardless, the staff member in charge of Congress is responsible for making sure these deadlines are met, and for those deadlines that can't be met, never losing sight of that bill and making sure that it ultimately gets done as soon as possible.
{{anchor name="altering"}}===Altering Summary Check Process to Meet Deadlines===
Due to the high priority assigned to Congressional summaries and the frequent lack of intern help, the requirements to have an Original Summary, First Summary Check, Second Summary Check, and Staff Check are loosened. This means that we can forgo one or two of those checks if certain criteria are met:
- We are authorized to skip the **Second Summary Check stage** if there is limited intern help available;
- We are authorized to skip the **Second Summary Check stage** if there is a high demand to have that summary live as quickly as possible;
- We are authorized to skip the **First and Second Summary Check stages** if the bill text is simple (indicated by a short synopsis and summary produced by the Original Summary); and
- We are authorized to skip the **First and Second Summary Check stages** if the Original Summary writer is a staff member.
The last exemption mentioned is up to the discretion of staff. If the staff Original Summary writer feels as though the summary was complex and deserves two staff reviews, then it should have an Original Summary, First Summary Check, and Staff Check with the Second Check being skipped. Never should we have all checks completed by staff as that is obviously a waste of one staff member's time.
Tracking Congress entails an almost opposite procedure than that of state legislatures: first, the voting records are tracked and, only after making a decision that a vote merits a more detailed look, then do we locate press. This is so that no vote ever goes unseen by staff. Because greater emphasis is placed on Congressional work in the Key Votes Department, the primary Congress tracker is responsible for checking this **[[http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2018/index.asp]]** and this **[[https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/vote_menu_115_2.htm]]** website **every day** to see if any full chamber votes have occurred. For a more detailed guide on where to find the relevant information on these sites, visit out **[[TrackingCongressSenate Tracking Senate Guide]]** and our **[[TrackingCongressHouse Tracking House Guide]]**.
Before we get started on the more detailed aspects of tracking, let's go over something that is necessary to tracking Congress: Schedules. Due to the daily level of attention that is required for Congress, it is helpful to always know the exact schedule for each chamber so no time is wasted visiting the Congressional votes websites if they did not convene for that day. The House Majority Leader is responsible for creating the House Calendar for each session and can be found on his or her website or through a simple web search . For the Senate, there is a more bipartisan approach where two party leaders are responsible for creating the Calendar for each session. Here is the Official **[[http://www.house.gov/legislative/ House of Representatives Schedule]]** page and the Official **[[https://www.senate.gov/pagelayout/legislative/one_item_and_teasers/2015_schedule.htm Senate Schedule]]** page. You'll notice that the schedules produced by the party leaders are much easier to read.
In accessing all the House and Senate voting records, you are able to see everything that is coming out of Congress. To track, you first want to search through all main passage stage for bills. This means that at this stage you want to skip all amendment votes, consideration votes, and others. For that day, you want to click on these main passage votes and assess whether two criteria are met:
- Is it a good vote? If it is a poor vote, you can just move on to the next vote. Sometimes, we will accept poor votes because of a big issue being covered. If it was a good vote, you can move on to the criteria.
- Is it a good issue? If the issue position is weak, you want to search for press before casting it aside. If it has a lot of press, consider selecting it. If was a good issue position, then you definitely want to go out searching for press.
Once you have located good votes that have occurred with good issue positions, check to see if they have received any press attention. The best way to do this is to perform a Google news search. As mentioned earlier, the hope is to release the vote within 1 business day. This means that enough time should have passed for there to be enough articles online.
Effective search terms can be the bill number (ex: "HR 5710," "S 380"), the shorthand title given to the bill by its authors (ex: "Patriot Act"), or the chamber in which the vote occurred coupled with terms that describe the subject of the bill that was voted on (ex: "house financial regulation," "senate health care," etc.). Also, because you should be tracking same day, try searching simply for "house/senate passes/fails" in Google as the results returned will likely be for the bill you are interested in. You can also peruse specific news sources that you think may have information on the Congressional legislation in question, such as Politico, The Hill, etc. If you are able to find any news articles about that particular vote or about the piece of legislation in general, compile them into a press file and bring the vote up at the next selection meeting. Note about press: you are likely to find a couple of press articles for each and every vote that comes out of Congress because its Congress. Try finding more articles to justify it being a Key Vote. Also, sometimes you will come across state or local news articles. Though it may be easy to ignore these, they can offer great insight into the entire bill and especially a single provision of the bill (which likely has an impact on that state or locality) and can be used, after the use of discretion, in your press file.
After you have tracked a vote and given it your initial approval, you are to bypass the selection meeting wait and go straight to entering the vote in Admin. This is to get the vote up as soon as possible which is our primary goal for all things Congress. Afterwards, the selection meeting will take place at which point all staff will vote on whether or not it is indeed a Key Vote. They will also assess your selected cats and tags and offer additional ones to include.
The method to select amendments is again reliant on the parent bill's main passage stage. After assembling a press file for a main passage stage, read through the entire press file that you created to see if any amendments were mentioned. Those amendments we will then go to the list of amendments for that bill and decide if they have a good enough vote, and issue position. If they do, check to see if there is enough press (usually, 1 article can suffice and that article could be the same one as was in the parent bill's press file where you learned of this amendment).
For those amendments that no parent bill was selected as a Key Vote, you would go through each of them listed on the House voting record list and select it if it had a good vote, good issue position, and if you can find the 1 article.
With nomination votes coming from the states, we select any and all nominations as Key Votes if the nominee receives criticism regarding his or her qualifications for that position he or she hope to fill. With Senate nominations, however, we select as Key Votes those conformation votes for individuals who have been in the news or who have recognizable names. It is also required that they too have at least some questions from opposition regarding his or her qualifications. They will have a Bill Prefix of "PN." Also, it is important to know that the president will likely be listed as the sponsor for a nomination that we might choose.
After having tracked, the staff member in charge of Congress is to release the potential-Key Vote live to the website including a synopsis and the voting records. However, only after a selection meeting has been completed, can the Congress tracker create an entry on the Congress Bill Report Google Doc (separate from the State Bill Report Google Doc). Entering Votes for Congress into Admin is the responsibility of the staff member in charge of Congress tracking. Interns should only ever be tasked with entering votes for Congress under special circumstances and with the approval of the Key Votes Director and National Director.
The following list outlines the data fields you will be asked to enter throughout the span of any vote entering. This is just an introduction to Admin. The more in-depth Guide follows.
- Title - **We will take the official title listed in congress.gov. If the title retrieved is lengthy, trim it down by cutting down on verbiage. We will have the full official title listed in the Key Vote Title field.**
- Notes on the Entire Bill
- Yeas
- Nays
- Title - **See above Title**
- Committee Actions
- Sponsorships
- Referred to Committee Action
Once ready to work on the voting records, use **[[ImportWebVotes this wiki page]]** to automatically import them into Admin. This is possible because of the Roll Call Number. Once imported, you will have to complete some steps in the "View Votes/Actions" page before moving on.
First, make sure all Delegates and the Resident Commissioners are listed as "NA". This is the only time an individual in the voting record will ever be listed as voting "NA". Delegates and Resident Commissioners do not have voting rights on typical legislation and thus we will label them this way. However, they can be co-sponsors.
Second, look through the Web Import Errors listed further down on this page and make sure that each individual has been assigned the appropriate vote.
Next, check that the "Did Not Votes" have imported and been assigned properly.
Finally, always double check the vote tally by doing a control F function or bringing the list in admin to excel to count it out.
After the vote entry has been completed and released live, the staff member in charge of Congress will wait until after the selection meeting to continue on to the summary writing portion. After all entries have been created on the Congress Bill Report Google Doc, create an entry for the Key Vote in Access. The status would be "Vote Live" with the Congress staff member's name in the "Vote Entered" field, and with "N/A" listed in the "First Check", "Second Check", and "Staff Check" fields. To make sure that the live vote appears in the weekly report query, enter the date the vote was released live in the date field next to "Staff Check".
Unlike with state Key Votes, amendments make up a significant portion of Congressional Key Votes. The main differences are with the Bill Number and Sponsors and Cosponsors listing. Titles are **not ** provided by congress.gov so we will create a Vote Smart title for them. Below is an overview of some differences when entering Amendment votes, but go to **__[[AmendmentVotes General Amendment Votes]]__** and **__[[CongressionalAmendmentVotes]]__** for more detailed information.
In contrast to state amendment votes, Congressional Amendments must be prefaced by "S" or "H" and then "Amdt (and number)" to indicate the chamber (ex: S Amdt 4326 to S Amdt 4301 to HR 4213). This is required for web importation.
However, there is a difference between what is listed on the bill summary sheet and what is listed in admin. On the bill summary sheet, the bill number should include the bill that it's amending after the amendment number (ex: S Amdt 8 to HR 205). If the amendment is amending another amendment, that too should be listed (ex: S Amdt 8 to S Amdt 2 to HR 205). However, this is not listed in the bill number textbox in admin. The bill number in admin is limited soley to the "S Amdt 8" bill number.
As mentioned earlier, when preparing the bill summary sheet for an amendment vote, you include the bill that it's amending. The reason we do this is because the bill needs to be selected in admin as the parent bill. In doing so, this allows user of our website to search for the amendment with the bill number. There is a drop-down menu in admin that contains a list of bills from that state, as follows:
However, only bills that have an admin entry are listed in the parent bill drop-down menu. It's not uncommon for us to select an amendment vote but not a vote on the parent bill. In such instances, you are required to create an admin entry for that bill. In doing so, the only information that needs to be entered into admin is the bill number and date of introduction. If it's amending another amendment, you don't need to create an entry for that or select it in the parent bill menu. Here's an example of this process:
When identifying the sponsor(s) of the amendment, remember that its only the sponsor(s) of the individual amendment, and not that of the parent bill. Congress does have cosponsors of amendments, but it's extremely rare for a state to assign cosponsors to amendments:
There are two fields at the top portion of an Admin Key Vote page that are only specific to Congressional Key Votes: Public Law and URL. The Public Law will only and always be utilized if the president signs an existing Key Vote into law. Refer to **[[PublicLawNumber this wiki page]]** for more information. The URL field will automatically be populated once you have entered in basic bill information in Admin. This URL is what is used by Admin to find the bill texts link and the voting records.
{{anchor name="webimport"}}====__Congressional Web Import IDs__====
As mentioned above, the way our votes for Congress are automated is by assigning each active Congressional member an internal "Web Import ID." This most important feature of web importation crawls through the voting records that are pulled by Admin, finds the Senator or Representative associated with that ID, and assigns the vote action listed for him or her. If the correct roll call number has been entered, you may proceed to import the votes by clicking the "Import Web Votes" button in Admin. Just as you're required to save the status and reopen it before entering the votes for a state vote, you also must save and reopen the status before importing the votes for a congressional vote. After you click the "Import Web Votes" button, a new tab will open with a list of the votes assigned to each member and a link to the vote breakdown at the top of the screen. Always click the link to the vote breakdown to ensure that it incorporated the appropriate votes. Using the aforementioned example, this **[[ImportWebVotes Screenshot Guide]]** is the process for importing the web votes after the roll call number has been entered and the status has been save and reopened.
The format of web ID's for the U.S. Senate is: "[last name] ([party initial]-[state abbreviation])" An example would be: "Kaufman (D-DE)." For U.S. House, their Web Import ID's tend to be the official's last name. However, if multiple people have the same last name, this will not be so. To verify their ID, look to see how they are listed on a voting record sheet.
The web import ID is located under the "Offices" tab of each member of Congress' biographical entry in Admin. It must be noted that web import IDs are not the responsibility of the Key Votes Department. Rather, the Research Department is required to enter or amend the web import ID when adding or amending an office of a member of the House or Senate. However, sometimes they fail to add the web import ID, fail to update the web import ID, or incorrectly enter the web import ID. Generally, when this happens to a specific member of Congress, no vote will be imported for that member and they will be absent from the website. When you encounter this, it's best to notify the Research Department. Although, you may feel it's necessary to make the change yourself and re-import the votes so as to ensure that the votes are accurate as soon as possible.
Finally, web import IDs must be checked thoroughly after a new Congress convenes. The Constitution establishes January 3 as the date to convene, but Congress may amend that date. Therefore, in early January of every odd numbered year, web import IDs must be updated accordingly. Although the Research Department is responsible for this, Key Votes must be attentive as to whether this responsibility was fulfilled because, as is mentioned in the following section, errors in importing votes can occur.
Congressional summaries should only be written by staff or excellent interns due to their complexity and length. For the most part, congressional summaries are written in the same manner as state bill summaries. However, there are a few differences between state and congressional bill summaries, the most notable of which are as follows with the other differences mentioned later:
-Staff **does not** provide bill texts for Congressional Key Votes. Instead, it is necessary to locate the bill text on **[[http://congress.gov/ Congress.gov]]**. Staff does provide the Press File.
In order to fully understand Congressional legislation for summary writing purposes, it's helpful to know exactly what happens to a bill **after** it becomes law. Once the President signs a bill, the enrolled version is sent to the Office of the Federal Register (seldom used), where it is assigned a Public Law number (e.g. Pub. L. 111-148) (seldom used). It is then published as a "slip law", or individual pamphlet. These pamphlets are available electronically from the Government Printing Office (GPO) website. At the end of a Congressional session, all slip laws are compiled, indexed, and printed in the United States Statutes at Large, which is a permanent bound volume of all laws enacted by Congress during the session. The Statutes are not available in electronic format. Finally, the laws are codified in the United States Code, which contains all permanent federal laws. Most laws enacted by Congress modify or delete some portion of the Code, however enacting clauses, effective dates, and other legislative procedures are not generally codified. If there is any discrepancy between the Code and the Statutes at Large, the Statutes always take precedence.

===Differences Between State and Congress===
-For Congress, we automate the voting records so there is no vote entering required by interns or staff.
-For Congressional Key Votes, we do not create a Vote Smart title. Instead, we will use the official title mentioned on the congressional website. We would do this for state Key Votes, however some states offer titles while others do not.
-For Congressional Amendment Key Votes, congress.gov does not provide a title so we will create a Vote Smart Title.
- Amendments can be found in the Amendments section of the bill's summary page on **[[http://congress.gov/ Congress.gov]]**. Select "Text of Amendment", which should be a number such as "S3290" or set of numbers such as "S3290-S3292". **Remember these numbers!**. On the next screen, select the correct page and scroll through the congressional record until you find the number of the amendment. The text of the amendment will be re-printed in the congressional record. Please note that **amendments often lack citations, therefore you do not need to include citations in your summary**.
- Always ask staff questions if you need help
Congress, unlike states, should be given a heightened awareness when it comes to new status updates on the Key Votes we have selected. Though state status updates are completed on a quarterly basis, Congress status updates should be covered ASAP. Congress provides the reality that when the president signs the bill, we should immediately be covering it. Furthermore, that applies to all stages of any Congressional bill we select. The only exception is for Amendment votes where the lifespan of the bill for our internal purposes starts and ends with that singular vote. For these reasons, it is best that anytime a staff member completes a Congressional summary check, he or she alerts the staff member in charge of Congress so he or she can keep a close watch on the bill before the Web Check process begins. After a Web Check is completed, the staff member in charge of Congress should once again closely monitor the Congress Bill Report Google Doc for Status Updates purposes.
To help in achieving a quick response time, the staff member in charge of Congress in encouraged to utilize outside resources like **[[https://www.govtrack.us/start GovTrack]]** to help track status changes. Once subscribed, this organization will email you any updates that have occurred with your Key Vote including updates to Sponsorships, Major floor votes, Referred to Committee statuses, and Presidential actions. These emails will make it abundantly easier to keep up with each bill's status changes. If a resource like this is not employed, Congressional bills are required to go through the same quarterly status update check as with state bills. Be sure to click the "All Actions" option in congress.gov as opposed to only the "Major Actions." Within the "All Actions" page you will find referred to committee statuses if any are available.
Presidential vetoes are generally easy to track as any veto coming from the Executive Branch will naturally receive plenty of press. However, there have been instances of staff uploading press releases (which, of course, still suffice) for Veto Messages instead of the official government document. Staff should upload a pdf document for the enrolled Bill Text as opposed to relying on the link to Congress.gov as is the case with Congressional summaries. Unlike gubernatorial vetoes, veto titles will be the official title as provided by the congress.gov. Note that Presidential vetoes will only be in regular and pocket veto form. Line-item vetoes have been a long sought-after tool for Presidents; President Clinton did receive Congressional authority in 1997 to utilize a Line-Item veto before being deemed unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 1998. Also note, the president is given 10 days after a bill's enrollment to sign or veto the bill.
====__Resources__====

Tracking Congress entails an almost opposite procedure than that of state legislatures: first, the voting records are tracked and, only after making a decision that a vote merits a more detailed look, then do we locate press. This is so that no vote ever goes unseen by staff. Because greater emphasis is placed on Congressional work in the Key Votes Department, the primary Congress tracker is responsible for checking this **[[http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2018/index.asp]]** and this **[[https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/vote_menu_115_2.htm]]** website **every day** to see if any full chamber votes have occurred. For a more detailed guide on where to find the relevant information on these sites, visit out **[[TrackingCongressSenate Tracking Senate Guide]]** and our **[[TrackingCongressHouse Tracking House Guide]]**.

Tracking Congress entails an almost opposite procedure than that of state legislatures: first, the voting records are tracked and, only after making a decision that a vote merits a more detailed look, then do we locate press. This is so that no vote ever goes unseen by staff. Because greater emphasis is placed on Congressional work in the Key Votes Department, the primary Congress tracker is responsible for checking this **[[http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2015/index.asp House votes]]** and this **[[http://www.senate.gov/pagelayout/legislative/a_three_sections_with_teasers/votes.htm Senate votes]]** website **every day** to see if any full chamber votes have occurred. For a more detailed guide on where to find the relevant information on these sites, visit out **[[TrackingCongressSenate Tracking Senate Guide]]** and our **[[TrackingCongressHouse Tracking House Guide]]**.

- //U.S. Congress - S Amdt 871 to S Amdt 1003 to HR 2810 (Senate Amendment Vote), 2010.//
@@{{image url=<a href="https://imgur.com/9QVkZPv"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/9QVkZPv.png" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>}}@@

- //U.S. Congress - S Amdt 4326 to S Amdt 4301 to HR 4213 (Senate Amendment Vote), 2010.//
@@{{image url="http://i802.photobucket.com/albums/yy307/Project_Vote_Smart/Entering%20Votes%20Addendum%20-%20Amendments/17.png" title="17" alt="17"}}@@

Before we get started on the more detailed aspects of tracking, let's go over something that is necessary to tracking Congress: Schedules. Due to the daily level of attention that is required for Congress, it is helpful to always know the exact schedule for each chamber so no time is wasted visiting the Congressional votes websites if they did not convene for that day. The House Majority Leader is responsible for creating the House Calendar for each session and can be found on his or her website or through a simple web search . For the Senate, there is a more bipartisan approach where two party leaders are responsible for creating the Calendar for each session. Here is the Official **[[http://www.house.gov/legislative/ House of Representatives Schedule]]** page and the Official **[[https://www.senate.gov/pagelayout/legislative/one_item_and_teasers/2015_schedule.htm Senate Schedule]]** page. You'll notice that the schedules produced by the party leaders are much easier to read.

Before we get started on the more detailed aspects of tracking, let's go over something that is necessary to tracking Congress: Schedules. Due to the daily level of attention that is required for Congress, it is helpful to always know the exact schedule for each chamber so no time is wasted visiting the Congressional votes websites if they did not convene for that day. The House Majority Leader is responsible for creating the House Calendar **[[https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BxKD95i22S6CWGRhQnY0MVVYakk&authuser=1 (example)]]** for each session and can be found on his or her website or through a simple web search . For the Senate, there is a more bipartisan approach where two party leaders are responsible for creating the Calendar **[[https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BxKD95i22S6CUXUwYlpjdWxlQTQ&authuser=1 (example)]]** for each session. Here is the Official **[[http://www.house.gov/legislative/ House of Representatives Schedule]]** page and the Official **[[https://www.senate.gov/pagelayout/legislative/one_item_and_teasers/2015_schedule.htm Senate Schedule]]** page. You'll notice that the schedules produced by the party leaders are much easier to read.

-Rep. Davidson

Presidential vetoes are generally easy to track as any veto coming from the Executive Branch will naturally receive plenty of press. However, there have been instances of staff uploading press releases (which, of course, still suffice) for Veto Messages instead of the official government document. Staff should upload a pdf document for the enrolled Bill Text as opposed to relying on the link to Congress.gov as is the case with Congressional summaries. Unlike gubernatorial vetoes, veto titles will be the official title as provided by the congress.gov. Note that Presidential vetoes will only be in regular and pocket veto form. Line-item vetoes have been a long sought-after tool for Presidents; President Clinton did receive Congressional authority in 1997 to utilize a Line-Item veto before being deemed unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 1998. Also note, the president is given 10 days after a bill's enrollment to sign or veto the bill.

Presidential vetoes are generally easy to track as any veto coming from the Executive Branch will naturally receive plenty of press. However, there have been instances of staff uploading press releases (which, of course, still suffice) for Veto Messages instead of the official government document. Staff should upload a pdf document for the enrolled Bill Text as opposed to relying on the link to Thomas or Congress.gov as is the case with Congressional summaries. Unlike gubernatorial vetoes, veto titles will be the official title as provided by the congress.gov. Note that Presidential vetoes will only be in regular and pocket veto form. Line-item vetoes have been a long sought-after tool for Presidents; President Clinton did receive Congressional authority in 1997 to utilize a Line-Item veto before being deemed unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 1998. Also note, the president is given 10 days after a bill's enrollment to sign or veto the bill.

-Staff **does not** provide bill texts for Congressional Key Votes. Instead, it is necessary to locate the bill text on **[[http://congress.gov/ Congress.gov]]**. Staff does provide the Press File.

-Staff **does not** provide bill texts for Congressional Key Votes. Instead, it is necessary to locate the bill text on **[[http://thomas.loc.gov/home/thomas.php THOMAS]]** or the newer **[[http://congress.gov/ Congress.gov]]**. Staff does provide the Press File.

-Rep. Alma Adams
-Rep. Patrick Nunnelee (out of office 2/2015)
-Rep. John Barrow (out of office, effective January 3, 2015)
-Rep. Ami Bera
-Rep. Brendan Boyle
-Rep. Julia Brownley
-Rep. Tony Cardenas
-Rep. Joaquin Castro
-Rep. Katherine Clark
-Rep. Luis Gutierrez
-Rep. John Lewis
==**Senate:**==
- Senators who, after import, are not mentioned in the Admin voting record but should be:
-Sen. John Walsh (out of office, effective January 3, 2015)

After having tracked, the staff member in charge of Congress is to release the potential-Key Vote live to the website including a synopsis and the voting records. However, only after a selection meeting has been completed, can the Congress tracker create an entry on the Congress Bill Report Google Doc (separate from the State Bill Report Google Doc). Entering Votes for Congress into Admin is the responsibility of the staff member in charge of Congress tracking. Interns should only ever be tasked with entering votes for Congress under special circumstances and with the approval of the Key Votes Director and National Director.

After having tracked, the staff member in charge of Congress is to release the potential-Key Vote live to the website including a synopsis and the voting records. However, only after a selection meeting has been completed, can the Congress tracker create an entry on the Congress Bill Report Google Doc. Entering Votes for Congress into Admin is the responsibility of the staff member in charge of Congress tracking. Interns should only ever be tasked with entering votes for Congress under special circumstances and with the approval of the Key Votes Director and National Director.

After having tracked, the staff member in charge of Congress is to release the potential-Key Vote live to the website including a synopsis and the voting records. However, only after a selection meeting has been completed, can the Congress tracker create an entry on the Congress Bill Report Google Doc. Entering Votes for Congress into Admin is the responsibility of the staff member in charge of Congress tracking. Interns should only ever be tasked with entering votes for Congress under special circumstances and with the approval of the Key Votes Director and National Director.
After the vote entry has been completed and released live, the staff member in charge of Congress will wait until after the selection meeting to continue on to the summary writing portion. After all entries have been created on the Congress Bill Report Google Doc, create an entry for the Key Vote in Access. The status would be "Vote Live" with the Congress staff member's name in the "Vote Entered" field, and with "N/A" listed in the "First Check", "Second Check", and "Staff Check" fields. To make sure that the live vote appears in the weekly report query, enter the date the vote was released live in the date field next to "Staff Check".
Congress, unlike states, should be given a heightened awareness when it comes to new status updates on the Key Votes we have selected. Though state status updates are completed on a quarterly basis, Congress status updates should be covered ASAP. Congress provides the reality that when the president signs the bill, we should immediately be covering it. Furthermore, that applies to all stages of any Congressional bill we select. The only exception is for Amendment votes where the lifespan of the bill for our internal purposes starts and ends with that singular vote. For these reasons, it is best that anytime a staff member completes a Congressional summary check, he or she alerts the staff member in charge of Congress so he or she can keep a close watch on the bill before the Web Check process begins. After a Web Check is completed, the staff member in charge of Congress should once again closely monitor the Congress Bill Report Google Doc for Status Updates purposes.

After having tracked, the staff member in charge of Congress is to release the potential-Key Vote live to the website including a synopsis and the voting records. However, only after a selection meeting has been completed, can the Congress tracker move the folder to the needs original summary drop folder. Entering Votes for Congress into Admin is the responsibility of the staff member in charge of Congress tracking. Interns should only ever be tasked with entering votes for Congress under special circumstances and with the approval of the Key Votes Director and National Director.
After the vote entry has been completed and released live, the staff member in charge of Congress will wait until after the selection meeting to continue on to the summary writing portion. After all folders have been created, create an entry for the Key Vote in Access. The status would be "Vote Live" with the Congress staff member's name in the "Vote Entered" field, and with "N/A" listed in the "First Check", "Second Check", and "Staff Check" fields. To make sure that the live vote appears in the weekly report query, enter the date the vote was released live in the date field next to "Staff Check".
Congress unlike states should be given a heightened awareness when it comes to new status updates on the Key Votes we have selected. Though state status updates are completed on a quarterly basis, Congress status updates should be covered ASAP. Congress provides the reality that when the president signs the bill, we should immediately be covering it. Furthermore, that applies to all stages of any Congressional bill we select. The only exception is for Amendment votes where the lifespan of the bill for our internal purposes starts and ends with that singular vote. For these reasons, it is best that anytime a staff member completes a Congressional summary check, he or she hands the physical folder to the staff member in charge of Congress so he or she can keep a close watch on the bill before the Web Check process begins. After a Web Check is completed, the staff member in charge of Congress should once again seek out the physical folders for Congress and hold on to them for Status Updates purposes.

Unlike with state Key Votes, amendments make up a significant portion of Congressional Key Votes. The main differences are with the Bill Number and Sponsors and Cosponsors listing. Titles are **not ** provided by congress.gov so we will create a Vote Smart title for them. Below is an overview of some differences when entering Amendment votes, but go to **__[[AmendmentVotes General Amendment Votes]]__** and **__[[CongressionalAmendmentVotes]]__** for more detailed information.

Unlike with state Key Votes, amendments make up a significant portion of Congressional Key Votes. The main differences are with the Bill Number and Sponsors and Cosponsors listing. Titles are **not ** provided by congress.gov so we will create a Vote Smart title for them. Below is an overview of some differences when entering Amendment votes, but go to **__[[AmendmentVotes this page]]__** for more detailed information.

Unlike with state Key Votes, amendments make up a significant portion of Congressional Key Votes. The main differences are with the Bill Number and Sponsors and Cosponsors listing. Titles are **not ** provided by congress.gov so we will create a Vote Smart title for them.

~-{{anchor target="selectamdt" text="Selecting Floor Amendments"}}
~-{{anchor target="voteamdt" text="Amendment Votes"}}
{{anchor name="selectamdt"}}===Selecting Floor Amendments===
{{anchor name="voteamdt"}}===Amendment Votes===

===Selecting Floor Amendments===
===Amendment Votes===

Interns who are assigned to assist with Congressional vote entries should read from "Vote Entering" to "Congressional Web Import IDs." Interns who are working on Congressional Summaries only need to review this introduction and the summary writing portion of this page.

~~Interns who are working on Congressional Summaries only need to review this introduction and the summary writing portion of this page.~~

=={{anchor target="webimport" text="Congressional Web Import ID"}}==
{{anchor name="webimport"}}====__Congressional Web Import IDs__====

~~====__Congressional Web Import IDs__====~~

=={{anchor target="voteentering" text="Vote Entering"}}==
{{anchor name="voteentering"}}====__Vote Entering__====

~~====__Vote Entering__====~~

=={{anchor target="tracking" text="Tracking"}}==
{{anchor name="tracking"}}====__Tracking__====

~~====__Tracking__====~~

First, make sure all Delegates and the Resident Commissioners are listed as "NA". This is the only time an individual in the voting record will ever be listed as voting "NA". Delegates and Resident Commissioners do not have voting rights on typical legislation and thus we will label them this way. However, they can be co-sponsors.
Second, look through the Web Import Errors listed further down on this page and make sure that each individual has been assigned the appropriate vote.
Next, check that the "Did Not Votes" have imported and been assigned properly.
Finally, always double check the vote tally by doing a control F function or bringing the list in admin to excel to count it out.
After the vote entry has been completed and released live, the staff member in charge of Congress will wait until after the selection meeting to continue on to the summary writing portion. After all folders have been created, create an entry for the Key Vote in Access. The status would be "Vote Live" with the Congress staff member's name in the "Vote Entered" field, and with "N/A" listed in the "First Check", "Second Check", and "Staff Check" fields. To make sure that the live vote appears in the weekly report query, enter the date the vote was released live in the date field next to "Staff Check".

First, make sure all Delegates and the Resident
Always double check the vote tally by doing a control F function or bringing the list in admin to excel to count it out.
After the vote entry has been completed and released live, the staff member in charge of Congress will wait until after the selection meeting to continue on to the summary writing portion. After all folders have been created, create an entry for the Key Vote in Access. The status would be "Vote Live" with the Congress staff member's name in the "Vote Entered" field, and with "N/A" listed in the "First Check", "Second Check", and "Staff Check" fields.

After having tracked, the staff member in charge of Congress is to release the potential-Key Vote live to the website including a synopsis and the voting records. However, only after a selection meeting has been completed, can the Congress tracker move the folder to the needs original summary drop folder. Entering Votes for Congress into Admin is the responsibility of the staff member in charge of Congress tracking. Interns should only ever be tasked with entering votes for Congress under special circumstances and with the approval of the Key Votes Director and National Director.

After having tracked, the staff member in charge of Congress is to release the potential-Key Vote live to the website including a synopsis and the voting records. However, only after a selection meeting has been completed, can the Congress tracker move the folder to the needs original summary drop folder. Entering Votes for Congress into Admin is exclusively the responsibility of the staff member in charge of Congress tracking. Interns should never be tasked with entering votes for Congress.

-Rep. Brendan Boyle
-Rep. Judy Chu
-Rep. Michael F. Doyle
-Rep. Renee Ellmers
-Rep. Tom Emmer
-Rep. Jody Hice
-Rep. Ted Lieu
-Rep. Tom Price

~~-(As of March 2015, Reps. Adams, Brat, Clarke, and Hill consistently import incorrectly, though all these names should be checked)~~

- Representatives who, after import, are assigned votes twice. Cause currently unknown:
-Jose Serrano

>>==Congress - Quick Links==

~~>>==Congress - Table of Contents==~~

=={{anchor target="CongressionalSummaryWriting" text="Congressional Summary Writing"}}==>>
{{anchor name="CongressionalSummaryWriting"}}====__Congressional Summary Writing__====

=={{anchor target="DigitalBillFolder" text="The Digital Bill Folder"}}==
~-{{anchor target="utbox" text="Press File & Bill Text"}}
=={{anchor target="Admin" text="Admin"}}==
~-{{anchor target="createentry" text="How to Create Entry in Admin"}}
~-{{anchor target="datafields" text="Data Entry Fields in Admin"}}
~-{{anchor target="temphighlights" text="Temporary Highlight"}}
~-{{anchor target="guide" text="Entering Votes in Admin Guide"}}
~-{{anchor target="checklist" text="Entering Votes in Admin Checklist"}}
=={{anchor target="votechecks" text="Vote Checks"}}==
~-{{anchor target="process" text="Process"}}
~-{{anchor target="goals" text="Goals"}}
~-{{anchor target="tips" text="Tips & Guidelines"}}
=={{anchor target="faq" text="FAQs"}}==>>
====__Congressional Summary Writing__====

Interns who are working on Congressional Summaries only need to review this introduction and the summary writing portion of this page.

-Rep. Patrick Nunnelee (out of office 2/2015)

~~-Rep. Patrick Nunnelee~~

-Rep. Patrick Nunnelee

-(As of March 2015, Reps. Adams, Brat, Clarke, and Hill consistently import incorrectly, though all these names should be checked)

-Rep. French Hill

With nomination votes coming from the states, we select any and all nominations as Key Votes if the nominee receives criticism regarding his or her qualifications for that position he or she hope to fill. With Senate nominations, however, we select as Key Votes those conformation votes for individuals who have been in the news or who have recognizable names. It is also required that they too have at least some questions from opposition regarding his or her qualifications. They will have a Bill Prefix of "PN." Also, it is important to know that the president will likely be listed as the sponsor for a nomination that we might choose.
After having tracked, the staff member in charge of Congress is to release the potential-Key Vote live to the website including a synopsis and the voting records. However, only after a selection meeting has been completed, can the Congress tracker move the folder to the needs original summary drop folder. Entering Votes for Congress into Admin is exclusively the responsibility of the staff member in charge of Congress tracking. Interns should never be tasked with entering votes for Congress.
Always double check the vote tally by doing a control F function or bringing the list in admin to excel to count it out.

With nomination votes coming from the states, we select any and all nominations as Key Votes if the nominee receives criticism regarding his or her qualifications for that position he or she hope to fill. With Senate nominations, however, we select as Key Votes those conformation votes for individuals who have been in the news or who have recognizable names. It is also required that they too have at least some questions from opposition regarding his or her qualifications. They will have a Bill Prefix of "PN." Also, it is important to know that the president will likely be listed as the sponsor for a nomination that we might choose.
After having tracked, the staff member in charge of Congress is to release the potential-Key Vote live to the website including a synopsis and the voting records. However, only after a selection meeting has been completed, can the Congress tracker move the folder to the needs original summary drop folder.
Entering Votes for Congress into Admin is exclusively the responsibility of the staff member in charge of Congress tracking. Interns should not be responsible for entering votes for Congress.
So always double check the vote tally by doing a control F function or bringing the list in admin to excel to count it out.

- Synopsis {{color c="gray" text="- Key Votes Only"}} - **Be sure to produce a very strong and accurate synopsis; more detail can be used in congressional synopses than state synopses**

- Synopsis {{color c="gray" text="- Key Votes Only"}} - **A strong synopsis should be created**

Presidential vetoes are generally easy to track as any veto coming from the Executive Branch will naturally receive plenty of press. However, there have been instances of staff uploading press releases (which, of course, still suffice) for Veto Messages instead of the official government document. Staff should upload a pdf document for the enrolled Bill Text as opposed to relying on the link to Thomas or Congress.gov as is the case with Congressional summaries. Unlike gubernatorial vetoes, veto titles will be the official title as provided by the congress.gov. Note that Presidential vetoes will only be in regular and pocket veto form. Line-item vetoes have been a long sought-after tool for Presidents; President Clinton did receive Congressional authority in 1997 to utilize a Line-Item veto before being deemed unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 1998. Also note, the president is given 10 days after a bill's enrollment to sign or veto the bill.

Presidential vetoes are generally easy to track as any veto coming from the Executive Branch will naturally receive plenty of press. However, there have been instances of staff uploading press releases (which, of course, still suffice) for Veto Messages instead of the official government document. Staff should upload a pdf document for the enrolled Bill Text as opposed to relying on the link to Thomas or Congress.gov as is the case with Congressional summaries. Unlike gubernatorial vetoes, veto titles will be the official title as provided by the congress.gov. Note that Presidential vetoes will only be in regular and pocket veto form. Line-item vetoes have been a long sought-after tool for Presidents; President Clinton did receive Congressional authority in 1997 to utilize a Line-Item veto before being deemed unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 1998.

===Selecting Floor Amendments===

~~===Selecting Amendments===~~

Once ready to work on the voting records, use **[[ImportWebVotes this wiki page]]** to automatically import them into Admin. This is possible because of the Roll Call Number. Once imported, you will have to complete some steps in the "View Votes/Actions" page before moving on.
First, make sure all Delegates and the Resident

- Bill Number - **"S 349"; "HR 243"; "S Amdt 7"; "PN 1711"; etc.**
- Synopsis {{color c="gray" text="- Key Votes Only"}} - **A strong synopsis should be created**
- Tags - **We will always tag the bill's title along with other necessary tags**
- Bill Text {{color c="gray" text="- Key Votes Only"}} - **No Bill Text will be uploaded, instead, there will be a link on our website directing our users to congress.gov**
- Notes on a Specific Stage - **A common note is the "3/5 majority vote" note**
- Sponsorships - **The president can sponsor nominations**

- **Bill Number - "S 349"; "HR 243"; "S Amdt 7"; "PN 1711"; etc.**
**- Synopsis** {{color c="gray" text="- Key Votes Only"}} **- A strong synopsis should be created**
**- Tags - We will always tag the bill's title along with other necessary tags**
**- Bill Text** {{color c="gray" text="- Key Votes Only"}} **- No Bill Text will be uploaded, instead, there will be a link on our website directing our users to congress.gov**
**- Notes on a Specific Stage - A common note is the "3/5 majority vote" note**
**- Sponsorships - The president can sponsor nominations**

- Title - **We will take the official title listed in congress.gov. If the title retrieved is lengthy, trim it down by cutting down on verbiage. We will have the full official title listed in the Key Vote Title field.**
- Title - **See above Title**

- **Title - We will take the Official Title listed in congress.gov**
- Title

- **Title - We will take the Official Title listed in congress.gov**
- **Bill Number - "S 349"; "HR 243"; "S Amdt 7"; "PN 1711"; etc.**
**- Synopsis** {{color c="gray" text="- Key Votes Only"}} **- A strong synopsis should be created**
**- Tags - We will always tag the bill's title along with other necessary tags**
**- Bill Text** {{color c="gray" text="- Key Votes Only"}} **- No Bill Text will be uploaded, instead, there will be a link on our website directing our users to congress.gov**
**- Notes on a Specific Stage - A common note is the "3/5 majority vote" note**
**- Sponsorships - The president can sponsor nominations**

- Title - We will take the Official Title listed in congress.gov
- Bill Number - "S 349"; "HR 243"; "S Amdt 7"; "PN 1711"; etc.
- Synopsis {{color c="gray" text="- Key Votes Only"}}
- Tags - We will always tag the bill's title along with other necessary tags
- Bill Text {{color c="gray" text="- Key Votes Only"}}
- Notes on a Specific Stage - A common note is the "3/5 majority vote" note
- Sponsorships - The president can sponsor nominations

After the vote entry has been completed and released live, the staff member in charge of Congress will wait until after the selection meeting to continue on to the summary writing portion. After all folders have been created, create an entry for the Key Vote in Access. The status would be "Vote Live" with the Congress staff member's name in the "Vote Entered" field, and with "N/A" listed in the "First Check", "Second Check", and "Staff Check" fields.

After the vote entry has been completed and released live, the staff member in charge of Congress will wait until after the selection meeting to continue on to the summary writing portion. After all folders have been created, create an entry for the Key Vote in Access. The status would be "VoteLive" with the Congress staff member's name in the "Vote Entered" field, and with "N/A" listed in the "First Check", "Second Check", and "Staff Check" fields.

To help in achieving a quick response time, the staff member in charge of Congress in encouraged to utilize outside resources like **[[https://www.govtrack.us/start GovTrack]]** to help track status changes. Once subscribed, this organization will email you any updates that have occurred with your Key Vote including updates to Sponsorships, Major floor votes, Referred to Committee statuses, and Presidential actions. These emails will make it abundantly easier to keep up with each bill's status changes. If a resource like this is not employed, Congressional bills are required to go through the same quarterly status update check as with state bills. Be sure to click the "All Actions" option in congress.gov as opposed to only the "Major Actions." Within the "All Actions" page you will find referred to committee statuses if any are available.

To help in achieving a quick response time, the staff member in charge of Congress in encouraged to utilize outside resources like **[[https://www.govtrack.us/start GovTrack]]** to help track status changes. Once subscribed, this organization will email you any updates that have occurred with your Key Vote including updates to Sponsorships, Major floor votes, Referred to Committee statuses, and Presidential actions. These emails will make it abundantly easier to keep up with each bill's status changes. If a resource like this is not employed, Congressional bills are required to go through the same quarterly status update check as with state bills.

After the vote entry has been completed and released live, the staff member in charge of Congress will wait until after the selection meeting to continue on to the summary writing portion. After all folders have been created, create an entry for the Key Vote in Access. The status would be "VoteLive" with the Congress staff member's name in the "Vote Entered" field, and with "N/A" listed in the "First Check", "Second Check", and "Staff Check" fields.

==**Bill Number**==
==**Parent Bill**==
==**Sponsors and Cosponsors**==

===Bill Number===
===Parent Bill===
===Sponsors and Cosponsors===

- President Action

~~- Governor Action~~

With nomination votes coming from the states, we select any and all nominations as Key Votes if the nominee receives criticism regarding his or her qualifications for that position he or she hope to fill. With Senate nominations, however, we select as Key Votes those conformation votes for individuals who have been in the news or who have recognizable names. It is also required that they too have at least some questions from opposition regarding his or her qualifications. They will have a Bill Prefix of "PN." Also, it is important to know that the president will likely be listed as the sponsor for a nomination that we might choose.
- Title - We will take the Official Title listed in congress.gov
- Date Introduced
- Bill Number - "S 349"; "HR 243"; "S Amdt 7"; "PN 1711"; etc.
- Tags - We will always tag the bill's title along with other necessary tags
- Notes on a Specific Stage - A common note is the "3/5 majority vote" note
- Sponsorships - The president can sponsor nominations

With nomination votes coming from the states, we select any and all nominations as Key Votes if the nominee receives criticism regarding his or her qualifications for that position he or she hope to fill. With Senate nominations, however, we select as Key Votes those conformation votes for individuals who have been in the news or who have recognizable names. It is also required that they too have at least some questions from opposition regarding his or her qualifications.
- Date Introduced
- Bill Number
- Tags
- Notes on a Specific Stage
- Sponsorships

===Amendment Votes===
===Public Law and URL Admin Fields===

====__Amendment Votes__====
====__Public Law and URL Admin Fields__====

The following list outlines the data fields you will be asked to enter throughout the span of any vote entering. This is just an introduction to Admin. The more in-depth Guide follows.
- Title
- Date Introduced
- Bill Type
- Bill Number
- Notes on the Entire Bill
- Chamber (Level)
- Stage
- Outcome
- Status Date
- Roll Call Number
- Key Vote Checkbox {{color c="gray" text="- Key Votes Only"}}
- Voice Vote Checkbox
- Rank
- Yeas
- Nays
- Title
- Highlights {{color c="gray" text="- Key Votes Only"}}
- Synopsis {{color c="gray" text="- Key Votes Only"}}
- Categories
- Tags
- Bill Text {{color c="gray" text="- Key Votes Only"}}
- Notes on a Specific Stage
- Committee Actions
- Sponsorships
- Referred to Committee Action
- View Votes/Actions
- Sponsorships
- Voting Records {{color c="gray" text="- Key Votes Only"}}
- Governor Action

====__Public Law and URL Admin Fields__====
There are two fields at the top portion of an Admin Key Vote page that are only specific to Congressional Key Votes: Public Law and URL. The Public Law will only and always be utilized if the president signs an existing Key Vote into law. Refer to **[[PublicLawNumber this wiki page]]** for more information. The URL field will automatically be populated once you have entered in basic bill information in Admin. This URL is what is used by Admin to find the bill texts link and the voting records.

===Public Law and URL Admin Fields===
There are two fields at the top portion of an Admin Key Vote page that are only specific to Congressional Key Votes: Public Law and URL. The Public Law will only and always be utilized if the president signs an existing Key Vote into law. Refer to **[[PublicLawNumber this wiki page]]** for more information.

After having tracked, the staff member in charge of Congress is to release the potential-Key Vote live to the website including a synopsis and the voting records. However, only after a selection meeting has been completed, can the Congress tracker move the folder to the needs original summary drop folder.
Unlike with state Key Votes, amendments make up a significant portion of Congressional Key Votes. The main differences are with the Bill Number and Sponsors and Cosponsors listing. Titles are **not ** provided by congress.gov so we will create a Vote Smart title for them.
Sometimes, after hitting the save button at the top of the Admin page for that Key Vote, the selected parent bill will disappear. Try assigning the parent bill to it one more time and hitting save again and it should stick.
===Public Law and URL Admin Fields===
There are two fields at the top portion of an Admin Key Vote page that are only specific to Congressional Key Votes: Public Law and URL. The Public Law will only and always be utilized if the president signs an existing Key Vote into law. Refer to **[[PublicLawNumber this wiki page]]** for more information.

After having tracked, the staff member in charge of Congress is to release the potential-Key Vote live to the website including a synopsis and the voting records. Only after a selection meeting has been completed, can the staff begin working on the summary. Also, any selection meeting
Unlike with state Key Votes, amendments make up a significant portion of Congressional Key Votes. The main differences are with the Bill Number and Sponsors and Cosponsors listing.

After you have tracked a vote and given it your initial approval, you are to bypass the selection meeting wait and go straight to entering the vote in Admin. This is to get the vote up as soon as possible which is our primary goal for all things Congress. Afterwards, the selection meeting will take place at which point all staff will vote on whether or not it is indeed a Key Vote. They will also assess your selected cats and tags and offer additional ones to include.

After you have tracked a vote, given it your initial approval, and located press, you are to create the Admin entry, enter the votes, and release it live to the website. This is to get the vote up as soon as possible which is our primary goal for all things Congress. Afterwards, the selection meeting will take place at which point all staff will vote on whether or not it is indeed a Key Vote. They will also assess your selected cats and tags and offer additional ones to include.

The method to select amendments is again reliant on the parent bill's main passage stage. After assembling a press file for a main passage stage, read through the entire press file that you created to see if any amendments were mentioned. Those amendments we will then go to the list of amendments for that bill and decide if they have a good enough vote, and issue position. If they do, check to see if there is enough press (usually, 1 article can suffice and that article could be the same one as was in the parent bill's press file where you learned of this amendment).
For those amendments that no parent bill was selected as a Key Vote, you would go through each of them listed on the House voting record list and select it if it had a good vote, good issue position, and if you can find the 1 article.
With nomination votes coming from the states, we select any and all nominations as Key Votes if the nominee receives criticism regarding his or her qualifications for that position he or she hope to fill. With Senate nominations, however, we select as Key Votes those conformation votes for individuals who have been in the news or who have recognizable names. It is also required that they too have at least some questions from opposition regarding his or her qualifications.
After having tracked, the staff member in charge of Congress is to release the potential-Key Vote live to the website including a synopsis and the voting records. Only after a selection meeting has been completed, can the staff begin working on the summary. Also, any selection meeting

The method to select amendments is again reliant on the parent bill's main passage stage. After assembling a press file for a main passage stage, read through the press file to see if any amendments
With nomination votes coming from the states, we select any and all nominations as Key Votes if the nominee receives criticism regarding his or her qualifications for that position he or she hope to fill. With Senate nominations, we are authorized to select as Key Votes those conformation votes for individuals who have been in the news or who have recognizable names. It is also required that they too have questions from opposition regarding his or her qualifications.
After having tracked, the staff member in charge of Congress is to release the potential-Key Vote live to the website including a synopsis and the voting records. Only after a selection meeting has been completed, can the staff begin working on the summary. Also, any selection meeing

The method to select amendments is again reliant on the parent bill's main passage stage. After assembling a press file for a main passage stage, read through the press file to see if any amendments

Th

Effective search terms can be the bill number (ex: "HR 5710," "S 380"), the shorthand title given to the bill by its authors (ex: "Patriot Act"), or the chamber in which the vote occurred coupled with terms that describe the subject of the bill that was voted on (ex: "house financial regulation," "senate health care," etc.). Also, because you should be tracking same day, try searching simply for "house/senate passes/fails" in Google as the results returned will likely be for the bill you are interested in. You can also peruse specific news sources that you think may have information on the Congressional legislation in question, such as Politico, The Hill, etc. If you are able to find any news articles about that particular vote or about the piece of legislation in general, compile them into a press file and bring the vote up at the next selection meeting. Note about press: you are likely to find a couple of press articles for each and every vote that comes out of Congress because its Congress. Try finding more articles to justify it being a Key Vote. Also, sometimes you will come across state or local news articles. Though it may be easy to ignore these, they can offer great insight into the entire bill and especially a single provision of the bill (which likely has an impact on that state or locality) and can be used, after the use of discretion, in your press file.
After having tracked, the staff member in charge of Congress is to release the potential-Key Vote live to the website including a synopsis and the voting records. Only after a selection meeting has been completed, can the staff begin working on the summary. Also, any selection meeing

Effective search terms can be the bill number (ex: "HR 5710," "S 380"), the shorthand title given to the bill by its authors (ex: "Patriot Act"), or the chamber in which the vote occurred coupled with terms that describe the subject of the bill that was voted on (ex: "house financial regulation," "senate health care," etc.). Also, because you should be tracking same day, try searching simply for "house/senate passes/fails" in google as the results returned will likely be for the bill you are interested in. You can also peruse specific news sources that you think may have information on the Congressional legislation in question, such as Politico, The Hill, etc. If you are able to find any news articles about that particular vote or about the piece of legislation in general, compile them into a press file and bring the vote up at the next selection meeting.

- Is it a good vote? If it is a poor vote, you can just move on to the next vote. Sometimes, we will accept poor votes because of a big issue being covered. If it was a good vote, you can move on to the criteria.
- Is it a good issue? If the issue position is weak, you want to search for press before casting it aside. If it has a lot of press, consider selecting it. If was a good issue position, then you definitely want to go out searching for press.
Effective search terms can be the bill number (ex: "HR 5710," "S 380"), the shorthand title given to the bill by its authors (ex: "Patriot Act"), or the chamber in which the vote occurred coupled with terms that describe the subject of the bill that was voted on (ex: "house financial regulation," "senate health care," etc.). Also, because you should be tracking same day, try searching simply for "house/senate passes/fails" in google as the results returned will likely be for the bill you are interested in. You can also peruse specific news sources that you think may have information on the Congressional legislation in question, such as Politico, The Hill, etc. If you are able to find any news articles about that particular vote or about the piece of legislation in general, compile them into a press file and bring the vote up at the next selection meeting.
===Selecting Amendments===
Th

Is it a good vote? If it is a poor vote, you can just move on to the next vote. Sometimes, we will accept poor votes because of a big issue being covered. If it was a good vote, you can move on to the criteria.
Is it a good issue? If the issue position is weak, you want to search for press before casting it aside. If it has a lot of press, consider selecting it. If was a good issue position, then you definitely want to go out searching for press.
Effective search terms can be the bill number (ex: "HR 5710," "S 380"), the shorthand title given to the bill by its authors (ex: "Patriot Act"), or the chamber in which the vote occurred coupled with terms that describe the subject of the bill that was voted on (ex: "house financial regulation," "senate health care," etc.). You can also peruse specific news sources that you think may have information on the Congressional legislation in question, such as Politico, The Hill, etc. If you are able to find any news articles about that particular vote or about the piece of legislation in general, compile them into a press file and bring the vote up at the next selection meeting.

In accessing all the House and Senate voting records, you are able to see everything that is coming out of Congress. To track, you first want to search through all main passage stage for bills. This means that at this stage you want to skip all amendment votes, consideration votes, and others. For that day, you want to click on these main passage votes and assess whether two criteria are met:
Is it a good vote? If it is a poor vote, you can just move on to the next vote. Sometimes, we will accept poor votes because of a big issue being covered. If it was a good vote, you can move on to the criteria.
Is it a good issue? If the issue position is weak, you want to search for press before casting it aside. If it has a lot of press, consider selecting it. If was a good issue position, then you definitely want to go out searching for press.
Note that the House produces far more Key Votes than the Senate and the Senate votes far more on nominations than on legislation. However, this is not to say that you can't locate legislation and votes through major media outlets or Google.
Once you have located good votes that have occurred with good issue positions, check to see if they have received any press attention. The best way to do this is to perform a Google news search. As mentioned earlier, the hope is to release the vote within 1 business day. This means that enough time should have passed for there to be enough articles online.
Effective search terms can be the bill number (ex: "HR 5710," "S 380"), the shorthand title given to the bill by its authors (ex: "Patriot Act"), or the chamber in which the vote occurred coupled with terms that describe the subject of the bill that was voted on (ex: "house financial regulation," "senate health care," etc.). You can also peruse specific news sources that you think may have information on the Congressional legislation in question, such as Politico, The Hill, etc. If you are able to find any news articles about that particular vote or about the piece of legislation in general, compile them into a press file and bring the vote up at the next selection meeting.

===Tracking Each Vote===
Note that the House produces far more Key Votes than the Senate and the Senate votes far more on nominations than on legislation. However, this is not to say that you can't locate legislation and votes through major media outlets or Google. If you locate a vote, proceed to search for any press attention.
In accessing all the House and Senate voting records, you are able to see everything that is coming out of Congress. To track you first want to search through all main passage stage for bills; this means you want to skip all amendment votes, consideration votes,
Once you have located new votes that have occurred, check to see if they got any press attention. The best way to do this is to perform a Google news search. Effective search terms can be the bill number (ex: "HR 5710," "S 380"), the shorthand title given to the bill by its authors (ex: "Patriot Act"), or the chamber in which the vote occurred coupled with terms that describe the subject of the bill that was voted on (ex: "house financial regulation," "senate health care," etc.). You can also peruse specific news sources that you think may have information on the Congressional legislation in question, such as Politico, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, etc. If you are able to find any news articles about that particular vote or about the piece of legislation in general, compile them into a press file and bring the vote up at the next selection meeting.

===Finding Key Votes===
In accessing all the House and Senate voting records, you are able to see everything that is coming out of Congress. To track you first want to search through all main passage stage for bills; this means you want to skip all amendment votes, consideration votes,
===Senate Nominations===
With nomination votes coming from the states, we select any and all nominations as Key Votes if the nominee receives criticism regarding his or her qualifications for that position he or she hope to fill. With Senate nominations, we are authorized to select as Key Votes those conformation votes for individuals who have been in the news or who have recognizable names. It is also required that they too have questions from opposition regarding his or her qualifications.

It is not rare for Congress to take 1 or more weeks off in any given month, so the Congress tracker should expect an occasional break from tracking.
===Tracking Each Vote===

It is not rare for Congress to take 1 or more weeks off in any given month, so breaks the Congress tracker should expect nice breaks.
===Finding Key Votes===
In accessing all the House and Senate voting records, you are able to see everything that is coming out of Congress. To track you first want to search through all main passage stage for bills; this means you want to skip all amendment votes, consideration votes,
===Senate Nominations===
With nomination votes coming from the states, we select any and all nominations as Key Votes if the nominee receives criticism regarding his or her qualifications for that position he or she hope to fill. With Senate nominations, we are authorized to select as Key Votes those conformation votes for individuals who have been in the news or who have recognizable names. It is also required that they too have questions from opposition regarding his or her qualifications.

===Finding Key Votes===
In accessing all the House and Senate voting records, you are able to see everything that is coming out of Congress. To track you first want to search through all main passage stage for bills; this means you want to skip all amendment votes, consideration votes,
===Senate Nominations===
With nomination votes coming from the states, we select any and all nominations as Key Votes if the nominee receives criticism regarding his or her qualifications for that position he or she hope to fill. With Senate nominations, we are authorized to select as Key Votes those conformation votes for individuals who have been in the news or who have recognizable names. It is also required that they too have questions from opposition regarding his or her qualifications.

~~===Tracking Each Vote===~~

It is not rare for Congress to take 1 or more weeks off in any given month, so breaks the Congress tracker should expect nice breaks.

~~Also, it is not rare for Congress to take 1 or more weeks off in any given month, and, so, breaks from tracking are always great for the staff member responsible for Congress.~~

Before we get started on the more detailed aspects of tracking, let's go over something that is necessary to tracking Congress: Schedules. Due to the daily level of attention that is required for Congress, it is helpful to always know the exact schedule for each chamber so no time is wasted visiting the Congressional votes websites if they did not convene for that day. The House Majority Leader is responsible for creating the House Calendar **[[https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BxKD95i22S6CWGRhQnY0MVVYakk&authuser=1 (example)]]** for each session and can be found on his or her website or through a simple web search . For the Senate, there is a more bipartisan approach where two party leaders are responsible for creating the Calendar **[[https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BxKD95i22S6CUXUwYlpjdWxlQTQ&authuser=1 (example)]]** for each session. Here is the Official **[[http://www.house.gov/legislative/ House of Representatives Schedule]]** page and the Official **[[https://www.senate.gov/pagelayout/legislative/one_item_and_teasers/2015_schedule.htm Senate Schedule]]** page. You'll notice that the schedules produced by the party leaders are much easier to read.

Before we get started on the more detailed aspects of tracking, let's go over something that is necessary to tracking Congress: Schedules. Due to the daily level of attention that is required for Congress, it is helpful to always know the exact schedule for each chamber so no time is wasted visiting the Congressional votes websites if they did not convene for that day. The House Majority Leader is responsible for creating the House Calendar for each session and can be found on his or her website or through a simple web search **[[https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BxKD95i22S6CWGRhQnY0MVVYakk&authuser=1 (example)]]**. For the Senate, there is a more bipartisan approach where two party leaders are responsible for creating the schedule for each session **[[https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BxKD95i22S6CUXUwYlpjdWxlQTQ&authuser=1 (example)]]**. Here is the Official **[[http://www.house.gov/legislative/ House of Representatives Schedule]]** page and the Official **[[https://www.senate.gov/pagelayout/legislative/one_item_and_teasers/2015_schedule.htm Senate Schedule]]** page. You'll notice that the schedules produced by the party leaders are much easier to read.

===Tracking Each Vote===

~~===Tracking Votes Steps===~~

http://www.majorityleader.gov/Calendar/114thCongressFirstSession.pdf
https://www.senate.gov/legislative/resources/pdf/2015_calendar.pdf

Tracking Congress entails an almost opposite procedure than that of state legislatures: first, the voting records are tracked and, only after making a decision that a vote merits a more detailed look, then do we locate press. This is so that no vote ever goes unseen by staff. Because greater emphasis is placed on Congressional work in the Key Votes Department, the primary Congress tracker is responsible for checking this **[[http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2015/index.asp House votes]]** and this **[[http://www.senate.gov/pagelayout/legislative/a_three_sections_with_teasers/votes.htm Senate votes]]** website **every day** to see if any full chamber votes have occurred. For a more detailed guide on where to find the relevant information on these sites, visit out **[[TrackingCongressSenate Tracking Senate Guide]]** and our **[[TrackingCongressHouse Tracking House Guide]]**.

Tracking Congress entails an almost opposite procedure than that of state legislatures. Because greater emphasis is placed on Congressional work in the Key Votes Department, the primary Congress tracker is responsible for checking this **[[http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2015/index.asp House votes]]** and this **[[http://www.senate.gov/pagelayout/legislative/a_three_sections_with_teasers/votes.htm Senate votes]]** website **every day** to see if any full chamber votes have occurred. For a more detailed guide on where to find the relevant information on these sites, visit out **[[TrackingCongressSenate Tracking Senate Guide]]** and our **[[TrackingCongressHouse Tracking House Guide]]**.

Before we get started on the more detailed aspects of tracking, let's go over something that is necessary to tracking Congress: Schedules. Due to the daily level of attention that is required for Congress, it is helpful to always know the exact schedule for each chamber so no time is wasted visiting the Congressional votes websites if they did not convene for that day. The House Majority Leader is responsible for creating the House Calendar for each session and can be found on his or her website or through a simple web search **[[https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BxKD95i22S6CWGRhQnY0MVVYakk&authuser=1 (example)]]**. For the Senate, there is a more bipartisan approach where two party leaders are responsible for creating the schedule for each session **[[https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BxKD95i22S6CUXUwYlpjdWxlQTQ&authuser=1 (example)]]**. Here is the Official **[[http://www.house.gov/legislative/ House of Representatives Schedule]]** page and the Official **[[https://www.senate.gov/pagelayout/legislative/one_item_and_teasers/2015_schedule.htm Senate Schedule]]** page. You'll notice that the schedules produced by the party leaders are much easier to read.

Before we get started on the more detailed aspects of tracking, let's go over something that is necessary to tracking Congress: Schedules. Due to the daily level of attention that is required for Congress, it is helpful to always know the exact schedule for each chamber so no time is wasted visiting the Congressional votes websites if no they did not convene for that day. The House Majority Leader is responsible for creating the House Calendar for each session and can be found on his or her website or through a simple web search **[[https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BxKD95i22S6CWGRhQnY0MVVYakk&authuser=1 (example)]]**. For the Senate, there is a more bipartisan approach where two party leaders are responsible for creating the schedule for each session **[[https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BxKD95i22S6CUXUwYlpjdWxlQTQ&authuser=1 (example)]]**. Here is the Official **[[http://www.house.gov/legislative/ House of Representatives Schedule]]** page and the Official **[[https://www.senate.gov/pagelayout/legislative/one_item_and_teasers/2015_schedule.htm Senate Schedule]]** page. You'll notice that the schedules produced by the party leaders are much easier to read.

Before we get started on the more detailed aspects of tracking, let's go over something that is necessary to tracking Congress: Schedules. Due to the daily level of attention that is required for Congress, it is helpful to always know the exact schedule for each chamber so no time is wasted visiting the Congressional votes websites if no they did not convene for that day. The House Majority Leader is responsible for creating the House Calendar for each session and can be found on his or her website or through a simple web search **[[https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BxKD95i22S6CWGRhQnY0MVVYakk&authuser=1 (example)]]**. For the Senate, there is a more bipartisan approach where two party leaders are responsible for creating the schedule for each session **[[https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BxKD95i22S6CUXUwYlpjdWxlQTQ&authuser=1 (example)]]**. The

Due to the daily level of attention that is required for Congress, it is helpful to always know the exact schedule for each chamber so no time is wasted visiting the Congressional votes websites if no they did not convene for that day. The House Majority Leader is responsible for creating the House Calendar for each session and can be found on his or her website or through a simple web search. For the Senate, there is a more bipartisan approach where two party leaders are responsible for creating the schedule for each session. The

Tracking Congress entails an almost opposite procedure than that of state legislatures. Because greater emphasis is placed on Congressional work in the Key Votes Department, the primary Congress tracker is responsible for checking this **[[http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2015/index.asp House votes]]** and this **[[http://www.senate.gov/pagelayout/legislative/a_three_sections_with_teasers/votes.htm Senate votes]]** website **every day** to see if any full chamber votes have occurred. For a more detailed guide on where to find the relevant information on these sites, visit out **[[TrackingCongressSenate Tracking Senate Guide]]** and our **[[TrackingCongressHouse Tracking House Guide]]**.
===Congress Schedules===
Due to the daily level of attention that is required for Congress, it is helpful to always know the exact schedule for each chamber so no time is wasted visiting the Congressional votes websites if no they did not convene for that day. The House Majority Leader is responsible for creating the House Calendar for each session and can be found on his or her website or through a simple web search. For the Senate, there is a more bipartisan approach where two party leaders are responsible for creating the schedule for each session. The
Also, it is not rare for Congress to take 1 or more weeks off in any given month, and, so, breaks from tracking are always great for the staff member responsible for Congress.

Tracking Congress entails an almost opposite procedure than that of state legislatures. Because greater emphasis is placed on Congressional work in the Key Votes Department, the primary Congress tracker is responsible for checking this **[[http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2015/index.asp House votes]]** and this **[[http://www.senate.gov/pagelayout/legislative/a_three_sections_with_teasers/votes.htm Senate votes]]** website **every day** to see if any full chamber votes have occurred. For a more detailed guide on where to find the relevant information on these sites, visit out **[[TrackingCongressSenate Tracking Senate Guide]]** and our **[[TrackingCongressHouse Tracking House Guide]]**. Finally, due to the daily attention level that is required for Congress, it is helpful to always know the exact schedule for each chamber so no time is wasted visiting the Congressional votes websites if no they were did not convene for that day. Also, it is not rare for Congress to take 1 or more weeks off in any given month, and, so, breaks from tracking are always great for the staff member responsible for Congress.

Tracking Congress entails an almost opposite procedure than that of state legislatures. Because greater emphasis is placed on Congressional work in the Key Votes Department, the primary Congress tracker is responsible for checking this **[[http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2015/index.asp House votes]]** and this **[[http://www.senate.gov/pagelayout/legislative/a_three_sections_with_teasers/votes.htm Senate votes]]** website **every day** to see if any full chamber votes have occurred. For a more detailed guide on where to find the relevant information on these sites, visit out **[[TrackingCongressSenate Tracking Senate Guide]]** and our **[[TrackingCongressHouse Tracking House Guide]]**.

Tracking Congress entails an almost opposite procedure than that of state legislatures. Because greater emphasis is placed on Congressional work in the Key Votes Department, the primary Congress tracker is responsible for checking this **[[http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2015/index.asp House votes]]** and this **[[http://www.senate.gov/pagelayout/legislative/a_three_sections_with_teasers/votes.htm Senate votes]]** website **every day** to see if any full chamber votes have occurred. For a more detailed guide on where to find the relevant information on these sites, visit out **[[TrackingCongressSenate Tracking Senate Guide]]** and our **[[TrackingCongressHouse Tracking House Guide]]**.
===Tracking Votes Steps===
Note that the House produces far more Key Votes than the Senate and the Senate votes far more on nominations than on legislation. However, this is not to say that you can't locate legislation and votes through major media outlets or Google. If you locate a vote, proceed to search for any press attention.

Tracking Congress entails an almost opposite procedure than that of state legislatures. Because greater emphasis is placed on Congressional work in the Key Votes Department, the primary Congress tracker is responsible for checking this **[[http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2015/index.asp House votes]]** and this **[[http://www.senate.gov/pagelayout/legislative/a_three_sections_with_teasers/votes.htm Senate votes]]** website **every day** to see if any full chamber votes have occurred. For a more detailed guide on where to find the relevant information on these sites, visit out **[[TrackingCongressSenate Tracking Senate Guide]]** and our **[[TrackingCongressHouse Tracking House Guide]]**. Note that the House produces far more Key Votes than the Senate and the Senate votes far more on nominations than on legislation. However, this is not to say that you can't locate legislation and votes through major media outlets or Google. If you locate a vote, proceed to search for any press attention.

===Searching for Press===

**[[TrackingCongressSenate Tracking the United States Senate]]**
**[[TrackingCongressHouse Tracking the United States House of Representatives]]**
**Searching for Press**

Tracking Congress entails an almost opposite procedure than that of state legislatures. Because greater emphasis is placed on Congressional work in the Key Votes Department, the primary Congress tracker is responsible for checking this **[[http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2015/index.asp House votes]]** and this **[[http://www.senate.gov/pagelayout/legislative/a_three_sections_with_teasers/votes.htm Senate votes]]** website **every day** to see if any full chamber votes have occurred. For a more detailed guide on where to find the relevant information on these sites, visit out **[[TrackingCongressSenate Tracking Senate Guide]]** and our **[[TrackingCongressHouse Tracking House Guide]]**. Note that the House produces far more Key Votes than the Senate and the Senate votes far more on nominations than on legislation. However, this is not to say that you can't locate legislation and votes through major media outlets or Google. If you locate a vote, proceed to search for any press attention.

Tracking Congress entails an almost opposite procedure than that of state legislatures. Because greater emphasis is placed on Congressional work in the Key Votes Department, the primary Congress tracker is responsible for checking this **[[http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2015/index.asp House votes]]** and this **[[http://www.senate.gov/pagelayout/legislative/a_three_sections_with_teasers/votes.htm Senate votes]]** website **every day** to see if any full chamber votes have occurred. Note that the House produces far more Key Votes than the Senate and the Senate votes far more on nominations than on legislation. However, this is not to say that you can't locate legislation and votes through major media outlets or Google. If you locate a vote, proceed to search for any press attention.

Tracking Congress entails an almost opposite procedure than that of state legislatures. Because greater emphasis is placed on Congressional work in the Key Votes Department, the primary Congress tracker is responsible for checking this **[[http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2015/index.asp House votes]]** and this **[[http://www.senate.gov/pagelayout/legislative/a_three_sections_with_teasers/votes.htm Senate votes]]** website **every day** to see if any full chamber votes have occurred. However, this is not to say that you can't locate legislation and votes through major media outlets or Google. If you locate a vote, proceed to search for any press attention.

Tracking Congress entails an almost opposite procedure than that of state legislatures. Because greater emphasis is placed on Congressional work in the Key Votes Department, the primary Congress tracker is responsible for checking this **[[http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2014/index.asp House votes]]** and this **[[http://www.senate.gov/pagelayout/legislative/a_three_sections_with_teasers/votes.htm Senate votes]]** website **every day** to see if any full chamber votes have occurred. However, this is not to say that you can't locate legislation and votes through major media outlets or Google. If you locate a vote, proceed to search for any press attention.

Tracking Congress entails an almost opposite procedure than that of state legislatures. However, this is not to say that you can't locate legislation and votes through major media outlets or Google. However, because greater emphasis is placed on Congressional work in the Key Votes Department, the primary Congress tracker is responsible for checking the House and Senate's votes website **every day** to see if any full chamber votes have occurred. If you locate a vote, proceed to search for any press attention.

Tracking Congress entails a different procedure than that of state legislatures. That is not to say that you can't locate legislation and votes through Stateline and major media outlets. However, because greater emphasis is placed on Congressional work in the Key Votes Department, the primary Congress tracker should check the House and Senate's website each day to see if any full chamber votes have occurred. If you locate a vote, proceed to search for any press attention.

Presidential vetoes are generally easy to track as any veto coming from the Executive Branch will naturally receive plenty of press. However, there have been instances of staff uploading press releases (which, of course, still suffice) for Veto Messages instead of the official government document. Staff should upload a pdf document for the enrolled Bill Text as opposed to relying on the link to Thomas or Congress.gov as is the case with Congressional summaries. Unlike gubernatorial vetoes, veto titles will be the official title as provided by the congress.gov. Note that Presidential vetoes will only be in regular and pocket veto form. Line-item vetoes have been a long sought-after tool for Presidents; President Clinton did receive Congressional authority in 1997 to utilize a Line-Item veto before being deemed unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 1998.

Presidential vetoes are generally easy to track as any veto coming from the Executive Branch will naturally receive plenty of press. However, there have been instances of staff uploading press releases (which, of course, still suffice) for Veto Messages instead of the official government document. Staff should upload a pdf document for the enrolled Bill Text as opposed to relying on the link to Thomas or Congress.gov as is the case with Congressional summaries. Unlike gubernatorial vetoes, veto titles will be the official title as provided by the congress.gov.

===Veto Links===
- Similarly, you can see which legislation has been vetoed by visiting the **[[http://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/vetoed-legislation White House website]]** or the **[[http://www.senate.gov/reference/reference_index_subjects/Vetoes_vrd.htm Senate website]]**

==Veto Links==
- Similarly, you can see which legislation has been vetoed by visiting the following websites: http://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/vetoed-legislation or http://www.senate.gov/reference/reference_index_subjects/Vetoes_vrd.htm

Presidential vetoes are generally easy to track as any veto coming from the Executive Branch will naturally receive plenty of press. However, there have been instances of staff uploading press releases (which, of course, still suffice) for Veto Messages instead of the official government document. Staff should upload a pdf document for the enrolled Bill Text as opposed to relying on the link to Thomas or Congress.gov as is the case with Congressional summaries. Unlike gubernatorial vetoes, veto titles will be the official title as provided by the congress.gov.
==Veto Links==
**[[http://thomas.loc.gov/home/LegislativeData.php Federal/Presidential Veto Link]]**:
- Similarly, you can see which legislation has been vetoed by visiting the following websites: http://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/vetoed-legislation or http://www.senate.gov/reference/reference_index_subjects/Vetoes_vrd.htm

Presidential vetoes are generally easy to track as any veto coming from the Executive Branch will naturally receive plenty of press. However, there have been instances where staff has uploaded press releases (which still suffice) for Veto Messages instead of the official government document. Additionally, staff should upload a pdf document for the enrolled Bill Text as opposed to relying on the link to Thomas or Congress.gov as is the case with Congressional summaries. For the same reasons we try to produce our best of summaries for Congress, we will try the same for when we title vetoes.
1) **Federal/Presidential**: http://thomas.loc.gov/home/LegislativeData.php?&n=BSS&c=113
- Similarly, you can see which legislation has been vetoed by visiting the White House website: http://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/vetoed-legislation or http://www.senate.gov/reference/reference_index_subjects/Vetoes_vrd.htm

Presidential vetoes are generally easy to track as any veto coming from the Executive Branch will naturally receive plenty of press. However, there have been instances where staff has uploaded press releases (which still suffice) for Veto Messages instead of the official government document. Additionally, staff should upload a pdf document for the enrolled Bill Text as opposed to relying on the link to Thomas or Congress.gov as is the case with Congressional summaries. For the same reasons we try to produce our best of summaries for Congress, we will try the same for when we title vetoes.
1) **Federal/Presidential**: http://thomas.loc.gov/home/LegislativeData.php?&n=BSS&c=113
- Under the "Stage in Legislative Process" menu, select "Vetoed by President" and perform the search.
- This option will not appear if no vetoes have yet been issued for the current session.
- Similarly, you can see which legislation has been vetoed by visiting the White House website: http://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/vetoed-legislation or http://www.senate.gov/reference/reference_index_subjects/Vetoes_vrd.htm

Congressional summaries should only be written by staff or excellent interns due to their complexity and length. For the most part, congressional summaries are written in the same manner as state bill summaries. However, there are a few differences between state and congressional bill summaries, the most notable of which are as follows with the other differences mentioned later:

Congressional summaries should only be written by staff or excellent interns due to their complexity and length. For the most part, congressional summaries are written in the same manner as state bill summaries. However, there are a few differences between state and congressional bill summaries, the most notable of which are as follows:

The format of web ID's for the U.S. Senate is: "[last name] ([party initial]-[state abbreviation])" An example would be: "Kaufman (D-DE)." For U.S. House, their Web Import ID's tend to be the official's last name. However, if multiple people have the same last name, this will not be so. To verify their ID, look to see how they are listed on a voting record sheet.

The format of web ID's for the U.S. Senate is: "[last name] ([party initial]-[state abbreviation])" An example would be: "Kaufman (D-DE)." For U.S. House, their Web Import ID's tend to be the official's last name. However, if multiple people have the same last name, this will not be so. To verify their ID, look to see how they are listed on [[http://thomas.loc.gov/home/rollcallvotes.html Thomas' Roll Call Votes]].

The format of web ID's for the U.S. Senate is: "[last name] ([party initial]-[state abbreviation])" An example would be: "Kaufman (D-DE)." For U.S. House, their Web Import ID's tend to be the official's last name. However, if multiple people have the same last name, this will not be so. To verify their ID, look to see how they are listed on [[http://thomas.loc.gov/home/rollcallvotes.html Thomas' Roll Call Votes]].
The web import ID is located under the "Offices" tab of each member of Congress' biographical entry in Admin. It must be noted that web import IDs are not the responsibility of the Key Votes Department. Rather, the Research Department is required to enter or amend the web import ID when adding or amending an office of a member of the House or Senate. However, sometimes they fail to add the web import ID, fail to update the web import ID, or incorrectly enter the web import ID. Generally, when this happens to a specific member of Congress, no vote will be imported for that member and they will be absent from the website. When you encounter this, it's best to notify the Research Department. Although, you may feel it's necessary to make the change yourself and re-import the votes so as to ensure that the votes are accurate as soon as possible.
Finally, web import IDs must be checked thoroughly after a new Congress convenes. The Constitution establishes January 3 as the date to convene, but Congress may amend that date. Therefore, in early January of every odd numbered year, web import IDs must be updated accordingly. Although the Research Department is responsible for this, Key Votes must be attentive as to whether this responsibility was fulfilled because, as is mentioned in the following section, errors in importing votes can occur.

Congress unlike states should be given a heightened awareness when it comes to new status updates on the Key Votes we have selected. Though state status updates are completed on a quarterly basis, Congress status updates should be covered ASAP. Congress provides the reality that when the president signs the bill, we should immediately be covering it. Furthermore, that applies to all stages of any Congressional bill we select. The only exception is for Amendment votes where the lifespan of the bill for our internal purposes starts and ends with that singular vote. For these reasons, it is best that anytime a staff member completes a Congressional summary check, he or she hands the physical folder to the staff member in charge of Congress so he or she can keep a close watch on the bill before the Web Check process begins. After a Web Check is completed, the staff member in charge of Congress should once again seek out the physical folders for Congress and hold on to them for Status Updates purposes.

Congress unlike states should be given a heightened awareness when it comes to new status updates on the Key Votes we have selected. Though state status updates are completed on a quarterly basis, Congress status updates should be covered ASAP. Congress provides the reality that when the president signs the bill, we should immediately be covering it. Furthermore, that applies to all stages of any Congressional bill we select. The only exception is for Amendment votes where the lifespan of the bill for our internal purposes starts and ends with that singular vote.

-Congressional bills rarely re-state existing law in the bill text. Instead, you must look up relevant portions of the US Code (frequently used) in order to see what is being amended.
In order to fully understand Congressional legislation for summary writing purposes, it's helpful to know exactly what happens to a bill **after** it becomes law. Once the President signs a bill, the enrolled version is sent to the Office of the Federal Register (seldom used), where it is assigned a Public Law number (e.g. Pub. L. 111-148) (seldom used). It is then published as a "slip law", or individual pamphlet. These pamphlets are available electronically from the Government Printing Office (GPO) website. At the end of a Congressional session, all slip laws are compiled, indexed, and printed in the United States Statutes at Large, which is a permanent bound volume of all laws enacted by Congress during the session. The Statutes are not available in electronic format. Finally, the laws are codified in the United States Code, which contains all permanent federal laws. Most laws enacted by Congress modify or delete some portion of the Code, however enacting clauses, effective dates, and other legislative procedures are not generally codified. If there is any discrepancy between the Code and the Statutes at Large, the Statutes always take precedence.

-Congressional bills rarely re-state existing law in the bill text. Instead, you must look up relevant portions of the US Code (frequently used), Federal Register (seldom used), or Public Laws (seldom used) in order to see what is being amended. More information on these resources is detailed below.
In order to fully understand congressional legislation, it's helpful to know exactly what happens to a bill **after** it becomes law. Once the President signs a bill, the enrolled version is sent to the Office of the Federal Register, where it is assigned a Public Law number (e.g. Pub. L. 111-148). It is then published as a "slip law", or individual pamphlet. These pamphlets are available electronically from the Government Printing Office (GPO) website. At the end of a Congressional session, all slip laws are compiled, indexed, and printed in the United States Statutes at Large, which is a permanent bound volume of all laws enacted by Congress during the session. The Statutes are not available in electronic format. Finally, the laws are codified in the United States Code, which contains all permanent federal laws. Most laws enacted by Congress modify or delete some portion of the Code, however enacting clauses, effective dates, and other legislative procedures are not generally codified. If there is any discrepancy between the Code and the Statutes at Large, the Statutes always take precedence.

Congressional summaries should only be written by staff or excellent interns due to their complexity and length. For the most part, congressional summaries are written in the same manner as state bill summaries. However, there are a few differences between state and congressional bill summaries, the most notable of which are as follows:
-Staff **does not** provide bill texts for Congressional Key Votes. Instead, it is necessary to locate the bill text on **[[http://thomas.loc.gov/home/thomas.php THOMAS]]** or the newer **[[http://congress.gov/ Congress.gov]]**. Staff does provide the Press File.
-Congressional bills rarely re-state existing law in the bill text. Instead, you must look up relevant portions of the US Code (frequently used), Federal Register (seldom used), or Public Laws (seldom used) in order to see what is being amended. More information on these resources is detailed below.
-Code is nearly always referenced in Congressional bill texts. Therefore, **more research into Code is required** to correctly interpret the provisions of a bill.
In order to fully understand congressional legislation, it's helpful to know exactly what happens to a bill **after** it becomes law. Once the President signs a bill, the enrolled version is sent to the Office of the Federal Register, where it is assigned a Public Law number (e.g. Pub. L. 111-148). It is then published as a "slip law", or individual pamphlet. These pamphlets are available electronically from the Government Printing Office (GPO) website. At the end of a Congressional session, all slip laws are compiled, indexed, and printed in the United States Statutes at Large, which is a permanent bound volume of all laws enacted by Congress during the session. The Statutes are not available in electronic format. Finally, the laws are codified in the United States Code, which contains all permanent federal laws. Most laws enacted by Congress modify or delete some portion of the Code, however enacting clauses, effective dates, and other legislative procedures are not generally codified. If there is any discrepancy between the Code and the Statutes at Large, the Statutes always take precedence.
- If the Code has already been updated to reflect the specific bill provisions you are working on, use the **[[http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/browse/collectionUScode.action? GPO's website]]** to find Codes from past years

Congressional summaries should only be written by staff or excellent interns due to their complexity and length. For the most part, congressional summaries are written in the same manner as state bill summaries. However, there are a few differences between state and congressional bill summaries (listed below). The most notable differences are as follows: First, congressional bills rarely re-state existing law; you must look up relevant portions of the US Code, Federal Register, or Public Laws in order to see what is being amended. You will frequently reference US Code; Federal Register and Public Law information is seldom used. Second, staff do not download the bill texts onto our shared drive. Instead, you must find the correct version of the text yourself on **[[http://thomas.loc.gov/home/thomas.php THOMAS]]** or the newer **[[http://congress.gov/ Congress.gov]]**. You may use either the .pdf or HTML version; the benefit of the HTML version is that you can skip around the bill text through the Table of Contents (which is hyperlinked).
In order to fully understand congressional legislation, it's helpful to know exactly what happens to a bill **after** it becomes law. Once the President signs a bill, the enrolled version is sent to the Office of the Federal Register, where it is assigned a public law number (e.g. Pub. L. 111-148). It is then published as a "slip law", or individual pamphlet. These pamphlets are available electronically from the Government Printing Office (GPO) website. At the end of a congressional session, all slip laws are compiled, indexed, and printed in the United States Statutes at Large, which is a permanent bound volume of all laws enacted by Congress during the session. The Statutes are not available in electronic format. Finally, the laws are codified in the United States Code, which contains all permanent federal laws. Most laws enacted by Congress modify or delete some portion of the Code, however enacting clauses, effective dates, and other legislative procedures are not generally codified. If there is any discrepancy between the Code and the Statutes at Large, the Statutes always take precedence.
-Staff **does not** provide bill texts for Congressional Key Votes. Instead, it is necessary to locate the bill text in congress.gov. However, staff does provide the press file.
-Code is frequently referenced in Congressional bill texts and therefore **more research into Code is often required** to correctly interpret a given provision.
- If the Code has already been updated to reflect the specific bill provisions you are working on, use the **[[http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/browse/collectionUScode.action? Government Printing Office's (GPO) website]]** to find Codes from past years

Congress unlike states should be given a heightened awareness when it comes to new status updates on the Key Votes we have selected. Though state status updates are completed on a quarterly basis, Congress status updates should be covered ASAP. Congress provides the reality that when the president signs the bill, we should immediately be covering it. Furthermore, that applies to all stages of any Congressional bill we select. The only exception is for Amendment votes where the lifespan of the bill for our internal purposes starts and ends with that singular vote.

Congress unlike states should be given a heightened awareness when it comes to new status updates on the Key Votes we have selected. Though for states, status updates are completed on a quarterly basis, Congress should be covered ASAP. Congress provides the reality that when the president signs the bill, we should immediately be covering it. Furthermore, that applies to all stages of any bill we select. The only exception is for Amendment votes where the lifespan of the bill for our internal purposes starts and ends with that singular vote.

-For Congressional Key Votes, we do not create a Vote Smart title. Instead, we will use the official title mentioned on the congressional website. We would do this for state Key Votes, however some states offer titles while others do not.
-For Congressional Amendment Key Votes, congress.gov does not provide a title so we will create a Vote Smart Title.
- Amendments can be found in the Amendments section of the bill's summary page on **[[http://congress.gov/ Congress.gov]]**. Select "Text of Amendment", which should be a number such as "S3290" or set of numbers such as "S3290-S3292". **Remember these numbers!**. On the next screen, select the correct page and scroll through the congressional record until you find the number of the amendment. The text of the amendment will be re-printed in the congressional record. Please note that **amendments often lack citations, therefore you do not need to include citations in your summary**.

-For Congressional Key Votes, we do not create a PVS Title. Instead, we will use the official title mentioned in congress.gov. We would do this for state Key Votes, however some states offer titles while others do not.
-For Congressional Amendment Key Votes, congress.gov does not provide a title so we will create a PVS Title.
- Amendments can be found in the Amendments section of the bill's summary page on **[[http://thomas.loc.gov/home/thomas.php THOMAS]]** or **[[http://congress.gov/ Congress.gov]]**. Select "Text of Amendment", which should be a number such as "S3290" or set of numbers such as "S3290-S3292". **Remember these numbers!**. On the next screen, select the correct page and scroll through the congressional record until you find the number of the amendment. The text of the amendment will be re-printed in the congressional record. Please note that **amendments often lack citations, therefore you do not need to include citations in your summary**.

-Staff **does not** provide bill texts for Congressional Key Votes. Instead, it is necessary to locate the bill text in congress.gov. However, staff does provide the press file.
- Don't read an entire 1,000 page bill text from start to finish. Find the provisions that pertain to information mentioned in the Press File first, then skim the rest of the bill for important provisions that were overlooked by the press.
- Amendments can be found in the Amendments section of the bill's summary page on **[[http://thomas.loc.gov/home/thomas.php THOMAS]]** or **[[http://congress.gov/ Congress.gov]]**. Select "Text of Amendment", which should be a number such as "S3290" or set of numbers such as "S3290-S3292". **Remember these numbers!**. On the next screen, select the correct page and scroll through the congressional record until you find the number of the amendment. The text of the amendment will be re-printed in the congressional record. Please note that **amendments often lack citations, therefore you do not need to include citations in your summary**.
- Congressional bills tend to be very complex so proofread your summary to make sure that it can be understood by the average citizen. If the summary is too complicated for you, look for ways to make it easier to understand.
- Always ask staff questions if you need help

-Staff **does not** provide bill texts for Congressional Key Votes. Instead, it is necessary to locate the bill text in congress.gov. However, staff does provide the press file.
- Don't sit there and read an entire 1,000-page bill from start to finish. Find the provisions that pertain to information mentioned in the press file first, then review the rest of the bill for important provisions that were overlooked by the press.
- Amendments can be found in the Amendments section of the bill's summary page on THOMAS. Select "Text of Amendment", which should be a number such as "S3290" or set of numbers such as "S3290-S3292". **REMEMBER THESE NUMBERS**. On the next screen, select the correct page and scroll through the congressional record until you find the number of the amendment. The text of the amendment will be re-printed in the congressional record. **Please note that amendments often lack citations, therefore you do not need to include citations in your summary.**
- Proofread your summary and make sure that it can be understood by a layperson. If the summary is too complicated for you, it's probably too complicated for the average reader.

- The United States Code contains all permanent federal laws
- Supplements to the Code are published every year, although the entire Code is re-printed only once every 4 years
- Use the **[[http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text Cornell University Law School's Legal Information Institute version of the US Code]]** as it is updated frequently and presented in an easy-to-read way
- If the Code has already been updated to reflect the specific bill provisions you are working on, use the **[[http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/browse/collectionUScode.action? Government Printing Office's (GPO) website]]** to find Codes from past years
- The Federal Register contains notices, rules, proposed rules, and presidential documents. Agency regulations, such as those for the Environmental Protection Agency, are contained here
- To find pages in the Federal Register, enter the full citation **[[https://www.federalregister.gov/citation/search here]]**
- A congressional bill may reference a public law number, which is the enrolled version of a bill signed by the president
- The citation will begin with Pub. L., then two sets of numbers separated by a hyphen (ex: Pub. L. 111-148 for the PPACA). You may also see it cited as "PL," "P.L." or "Public Law No.", followed by the number
- To find the text of public laws, click on the appropriate Congress and then scroll through the list of laws on the **[[http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/browse/collection.action?collectionCode=PLAW GPO website]]**

- The United States Code contains all permanent federal laws.
- Supplements to the Code are published every year, although the entire Code is re-printed only once every 4 years.
- Use the **[[http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text Cornell University Law School's Legal Information Institute version of the US Code]]** as it is updated frequently and presented in an easy-to-read way.
- If the Code has already been updated to reflect the specific bill provisions you are working on, use the **[[http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/browse/collectionUScode.action? Government Printing Office's website]]** to find Codes from past years
- The Federal Register contains notices, rules, proposed rules, and presidential documents. Agency regulations, such as those for the Environmental Protection Agency, are contained here.
- To find pages in the Federal Register, enter the full citation **[[https://www.federalregister.gov/citation/search here]]**.
- Occasionally a congressional bill may reference a public law number. The citation will begin with Pub. L., then two sets of numbers separated by a hyphen (e.g. Pub. L. 111-148 for the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act). You may also see it cited as "PL," "P.L." or "Public Law No.", followed by the number.
- To find the text of public laws, click on the appropriate Congress and then scroll through the list of laws on the Government Printing Office (GPO) website: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/browse/collection.action?collectionCode=PLAW

Congressional summaries should only be written by staff or excellent interns due to their complexity and length. For the most part, congressional summaries are written in the same manner as state bill summaries. However, there are a few differences between state and congressional bill summaries (listed below). The most notable differences are as follows: First, congressional bills rarely re-state existing law; you must look up relevant portions of the US Code, Federal Register, or Public Laws in order to see what is being amended. You will frequently reference US Code; Federal Register and Public Law information is seldom used. Second, staff do not download the bill texts onto our shared drive. Instead, you must find the correct version of the text yourself on **[[http://thomas.loc.gov/home/thomas.php THOMAS]]** or the newer **[[http://congress.gov/ Congress.gov]]**. You may use either the .pdf or HTML version; the benefit of the HTML version is that you can skip around the bill text through the Table of Contents (which is hyperlinked).
- Use the **[[http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text Cornell University Law School's Legal Information Institute version of the US Code]]** as it is updated frequently and presented in an easy-to-read way.
- If the Code has already been updated to reflect the specific bill provisions you are working on, use the **[[http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/browse/collectionUScode.action? Government Printing Office's website]]** to find Codes from past years
- To find pages in the Federal Register, enter the full citation **[[https://www.federalregister.gov/citation/search here]]**.

Congressional summaries should only be written by staff or excellent interns due to their complexity and length. For the most part, congressional summaries are written in the same manner as state bill summaries. However, there are a few differences between state and congressional bill summaries (listed below). The most notable differences are as follows: First, congressional bills rarely re-state existing law; you must look up relevant portions of the US Code, Federal Register, or public laws in order to see what is being amended. Second, staff do not download the bill texts onto our shared drive. Instead, you must find the correct version of the text yourself on **[[http://thomas.loc.gov/home/thomas.php THOMAS]]** or the newer **[[http://congress.gov/ Congress.gov]]**. You may use either the .pdf or HTML version; the benefit of the HTML version is that you can skip around the bill text through the Table of Contents (which is hyperlinked).
- Use the Cornell University Law School's Legal Information Institute version of the US Code, available here: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text
- If the Code has already been updated to reflect the specific bill provisions you are working on, use the GPO's website to find Codes from past years: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/browse/collectionUScode.action?collectionCode=USCODE
- To find pages in the Federal Register, enter the full citation here: https://www.federalregister.gov/citation/search

As you have read, though the automated vote entering system for Congressional votes is convenient, it produces some errors. Even though it is the responsibility of the staff member in charge of Congress to try and make sure all votes are accurate after import, some will slip through the cracks. This being Congress, we conduct annual voting records checks on all House and Senate Key Vote voting records to be sure no mistakes on a lawmakers vote exist.

As you have read, though the automated vote entering system for Congressional votes is convenient, it produces some errors. This is still Congress we are dealing with and we want to be extremely careful with the "Yeas," "Nays," and "Did Note Votes" that we list on the website.

As mentioned above, the way our votes for Congress are automated is by assigning each active Congressional member an internal "Web Import ID." This most important feature of web importation crawls through the voting records that are pulled by Admin, finds the Senator or Representative associated with that ID, and assigns the vote action listed for him or her. If the correct roll call number has been entered, you may proceed to import the votes by clicking the "Import Web Votes" button in Admin. Just as you're required to save the status and reopen it before entering the votes for a state vote, you also must save and reopen the status before importing the votes for a congressional vote. After you click the "Import Web Votes" button, a new tab will open with a list of the votes assigned to each member and a link to the vote breakdown at the top of the screen. Always click the link to the vote breakdown to ensure that it incorporated the appropriate votes. Using the aforementioned example, this **[[ImportWebVotes Screenshot Guide]]** is the process for importing the web votes after the roll call number has been entered and the status has been save and reopened.

As mentioned above, the way our votes for Congress are automated is by assigning each active Congressional member an internal "Web Import ID." This most important feature of web importation - the ability to import the votes cast by members of congress - is contingent upon the correct roll call number being assigned to vote. If you fail to input any roll call number into admin, no votes will be imported. If you input the wrong roll call number, the wrong votes will be imported. Therefore, it's extremely important that you know how to correctly identify the roll call number and type that number into the roll call text box of the status that you're work on in admin. The roll call numbers are listed fairly conspicuously next to the vote in the bill history, which represents the link to the vote breakdown. This ID crawls through the voting records that are pulled by Admin, finds the Senator or Representative associated with that ID, and assigns the vote action listed for him or her.

==**House:**==
==**Senate:**==

==House:==
==Senate:==

====__Congressional Summary Writing__====
Congressional summaries should only be written by staff or excellent interns due to their complexity and length. For the most part, congressional summaries are written in the same manner as state bill summaries. However, there are a few differences between state and congressional bill summaries (listed below). The most notable differences are as follows: First, congressional bills rarely re-state existing law; you must look up relevant portions of the US Code, Federal Register, or public laws in order to see what is being amended. Second, staff do not download the bill texts onto our shared drive. Instead, you must find the correct version of the text yourself on **[[http://thomas.loc.gov/home/thomas.php THOMAS]]** or the newer **[[http://congress.gov/ Congress.gov]]**. You may use either the .pdf or HTML version; the benefit of the HTML version is that you can skip around the bill text through the Table of Contents (which is hyperlinked).
====Finding Existing Law====
==**United States Code**==
==**Federal Register**==
==**Public Laws**==

====__Summary Writing__====
Congressional summaries should only be written by staff or excellent interns due to their complexity and length. For the most part, congressional summaries are written in the same manner as state bill summaries. However, there are a few differences between state and congressional bill summaries (listed below). The most notable differences are as follows: First, congressional bills rarely re-state existing law; you must look up relevant portions of the US Code, Federal Register, or public laws in order to see what is being amended. Second, staff do not download the bill texts onto our shared drive. Instead, you must find the correct version of the text yourself on [[http://thomas.loc.gov/home/thomas.php THOMAS]] or the newer [[http://congress.gov/ Congress.gov]]. You may use either the .pdf or HTML version; the benefit of the HTML version is that you can skip around the bill text through the Table of Contents (which is hyperlinked).
===Finding Existing Law===
__United States Code__
__Federal Register__
__Public Laws__

Though the automated vote entry system for Congress has been in place for a while, it is generally the case that the automated voting record retrieval process produces errors. Be careful to put too much assurance in what this automated system can produce and to always be aware of the chance of error. The following lists for the House and Senate detail those members of Congress who have, at one time or another, been erroneously inserted in Admin or left out completely.
As you have read, though the automated vote entering system for Congressional votes is convenient, it produces some errors. This is still Congress we are dealing with and we want to be extremely careful with the "Yeas," "Nays," and "Did Note Votes" that we list on the website.

It is generally the case that the automated Congressional voting record retrieval produces errors.
As you have read, one of the most convenient aspects of Congressional work is the automated vote entering system. This has been in place for a while. However, be careful to put too much assurance in what this automated system can produce. This is still Congress we are dealing with and we want to be extremely careful with the "Yeas," "Nays," and "Did Note Votes" that we list on the website.

====__Congressional Web Import IDs__====
===Annual Voting Records Check===

====__Annual Voting Records Check__====
===Congressional Web Import ID===

====__Annual Voting Records Check__====

~~===Annual Voting Records Check===~~

===Congressional Web Import ID===
As mentioned above, the way our votes for Congress are automated is by assigning each active Congressional member an internal "Web Import ID." This most important feature of web importation - the ability to import the votes cast by members of congress - is contingent upon the correct roll call number being assigned to vote. If you fail to input any roll call number into admin, no votes will be imported. If you input the wrong roll call number, the wrong votes will be imported. Therefore, it's extremely important that you know how to correctly identify the roll call number and type that number into the roll call text box of the status that you're work on in admin. The roll call numbers are listed fairly conspicuously next to the vote in the bill history, which represents the link to the vote breakdown. This ID crawls through the voting records that are pulled by Admin, finds the Senator or Representative associated with that ID, and assigns the vote action listed for him or her.

~~===Congressional ID===~~

===Bill Number===
===Parent Bill===
===Sponsors and Cosponsors===

==Bill Number==
==Parent Bill==
==Sponsors and Cosponsors==

====__Amendment Votes__====

~~===Amendment Votes===~~

As mentioned earlier, when preparing the bill summary sheet for an amendment vote, you include the bill that it's amending. The reason we do this is because the bill needs to be selected in admin as the parent bill. In doing so, this allows user of our website to search for the amendment with the bill number. There is a drop-down menu in admin that contains a list of bills from that state, as follows:
However, only bills that have an admin entry are listed in the parent bill drop-down menu. It's not uncommon for us to select an amendment vote but not a vote on the parent bill. In such instances, you are required to create an admin entry for that bill. In doing so, the only information that needs to be entered into admin is the bill number and date of introduction. If it's amending another amendment, you don't need to create an entry for that or select it in the parent bill menu. Here's an example of this process:

The Key Votes Department Director will request from IT (similar to **[[http://mantis.votesmart.org/view.php?id=6298 this Mantis ticket]]**) the Data regarding all United States House and Senate voting records that we have in Admin for the previous year. This should be done annually during the month of August. There will be few interns, if any, and this will allow you to sift through the data, create a spreadsheet, and work on fixing any errors that might be present. Furthermore, if there are an excess of errors, staff would have the time in August to create a document that the interns can work on in the fall semester. Also, it provides ample time to have our records as accurate as possible before the November elections.

The Key Votes Department Director will request from IT (similar to **[[http://mantis.votesmart.org/view.php?id=6298 this Mantis ticket]]**) the Data regarding all United States House and Senate voting records that we have in Admin for the previous year. This should be done annually during the month of August. There will be few interns, if any, and this will allow you to sift through the data, create a spreadsheet, and work on fixing any errors that might be present. Furthermore, if there are an excess of errors, staff would have the time in August to create a document that the interns can work on. Also, it provides ample time to have our records as accurate as possible before an election.

The Key Votes Department Director will request from IT(similar to **[[http://mantis.votesmart.org/view.php?id=6298 this Mantis ticket]]**) the Data regarding all United States House and Senate voting records that we have in Admin for the previous year. This should be done annually during the month of August. There will be few interns, if any, and this will allow you to sift through the data, create a spreadsheet, and work on fixing any errors that might be present. Furthermore, if there are an excess of errors, staff would have the time in August to create a document that the interns can work on. Also, it provides ample time to have our records as accurate as possible before an election.

~~====__FINAL NOTE__====~~

The Key Votes Department Director will request from IT(similar to **[[http://mantis.votesmart.org/view.php?id=6298 this Mantis ticket]]**) the Data regarding all United States House and Senate voting records that we have in Admin for the previous year. This should be done annually during the month of August. There will be few interns, if any, and this will allow you to sift through the data, create a spreadsheet, and work on fixing any errors that might be present. Furthermore, if there are an excess of errors, staff would have the time in August to create a document that the interns can work on. Also, it provides ample time to have our records as accurate as possible before an election.

The Key Votes Department Director will request (similar to **[[http://mantis.votesmart.org/view.php?id=6298 this Mantis ticket]]** from IT) the Data regarding all United States House and Senate voting records that we have in Admin for the previous year. This should be done annually during the month of August. There will be few interns, if any, and this will allow you to sift through the data, create a spreadsheet, and work on fixing any errors that might be present. Furthermore, if there are an excess of errors, staff would have the time in August to create a document that the interns can work on. Also, it provides ample time to have our records as accurate as possible before an election.

The Key Votes Department Director will request (similar to **[[http://mantis.votesmart.org/view.php?id=6298 this Mantis ticket]]** from IT the Data regarding all United States House and Senate voting records that we have in Admin for the previous year. This should be done annually during the month of August. There will be few interns, if any, and this will allow you to sift through the data, create a spreadsheet, and work on fixing any errors that might be present. Furthermore, if there are an excess of errors, staff would have the time in August to create a document that the interns can work on. Also, it provides ample time to have our records as accurate as possible before an election.

- After any election, some problems would occur at the start of the new, incoming Congress; and
- After abrupt House and Senate vacancies and the subsequent special elections that came with those vacancies, the most consistent errors were produced.

- After any election, some problems would occur at the start of the new, oncoming session; and
- After abrupt House and Senate vacancies and the subsequent special elections that came with that produced the most consistent errors.

After any election, some problems would occur at the start of the new, oncoming session; and
After abrupt House and Senate vacancies and the subsequent special elections that came with that produced the most consistent errors.

In late 2014, staff conducted the first double-check of all of the Key Votes voting records for Congress that had ever been inputted and displayed on our website. This allowed staff to have a good understanding of what the most common problem tended to be in the data sets. Staff noted that problems consistently and without fail occurred in the following moments:

In late 2014, staff conducted the first review of all of the Key Votes voting records for Congress that had ever been inputted. This allowed staff to have a good understanding of what the most common problem tended to be in the data sets. Staff noted that problems consistently and without fail occurred in the following moments:

Unlike with state Key Votes, amendments make up a significant portion of Congressional Key Votes. The main differences are with the Bill Number and Sponsors and Cosponsors listing.

http://www.majorityleader.gov/Calendar/114thCongressFirstSession.pdf
https://www.senate.gov/legislative/resources/pdf/2015_calendar.pdf

In late 2014, staff conducted the first review of all of the Key Votes voting records for Congress that had ever been inputted. This allowed staff to have a good understanding of what the most common problem tended to be in the data sets. Staff noted that problems consistently and without fail occurred in the following moments:
After any election, some problems would occur at the start of the new, oncoming session; and
After abrupt House and Senate vacancies and the subsequent special elections that came with that produced the most consistent errors.
For the latter, this **[[http://history.house.gov/Institution/Vacancies-Successors/Vacancies-Successors/ House page]]**, which lays out all the vacancies since the 1997-1999 Congress, was the primary resource used to identify in our IT-retrieved data where we might see problems - and we did. There are other resources on the internet that provide lists of special elections that provide similar information.

~-{{anchor target="Content" text="Content"}}
~-{{anchor target="howtouseinfo" text="How Content Will Be Used"}}
~-{{anchor target="BillHistory" text="Bill History Sheet"}}
~-{{anchor target="VotingRecord" text="Voting Record Sheet"}}

**[[TrackingCongressSenate Tracking the United States Senate]]**
**[[TrackingCongressHouse Tracking the United States House of Representatives]]**

**[[TrackingCongressSenate Tracking the US Senate]]
[[TrackingCongressHouse Tracking the US House of Representatives]]**

~-{{anchor target="altering" text="Altering Summary Check Process"}}

~~~-{{anchor target="altering" text="Altering Summary Check Process"}}==~~

~-{{anchor target="altering" text="Altering Summary Check Process"}}==

~~=={{anchor target="altering" text="Altering Summary Check Process"}}==~~

~-{{anchor target="deadlines" text="Deadlines & Expectations"}}
=={{anchor target="altering" text="Altering Summary Check Process"}}==
{{anchor name="introduction"}}====__Introduction__====
{{anchor name="overviewjumpdown"}}===Overview of the Process===
{{anchor name="deadlines"}}===Deadlines & Expectations===
{{anchor name="altering"}}===Altering Summary Check Process to Meet Deadlines===

~-{{anchor target="whatyouwillneed" text="What You Will Need"}}
=={{anchor target="physicalbillfolder" text="The Physical Bill Folder"}}==
====__Introduction__====
===Overview of the Process===
===Deadlines and Expectations===
===Altering Summary Check Process to Meet Deadlines===

Because of the elevated online readership with Congress, **we are expected to expedite ALL of the work related to Congress**. This includes Tracking, Entering Votes, and Summarizing the Key Vote. In concert with Montana, the Key Votes Department has established the following deadlines for Congressional work:

Because of the elevated readership with Congress, **we are expected to expedite ALL of the work related to Congress**. This includes Tracking, Entering Votes, and Summarizing the Key Vote. In concert with Montana, the Key Votes Department has established the following deadlines for Congressional work:

Congress is the Key Votes Department's most viewed and widely read output. Readers tend to gravitate towards knowing what the federal government is up to, and therefore, visit our National Key Votes page more frequently than our State Key Votes pages. However, there are an array of instances when the Key Votes processes for states differ from those of Congress. Therefore, this page hopes to detail the slight differences Congressional work has with states and outline the unique functions and tasks revolving Congress. You can access this page through the main **[[CategoryKeyVotes Key Votes wiki page]]**, under **[[CongressGuide Congress Guide]]**. Use the links in the table of contents to jump down to any section, and click the header name to jump back up to the table of contents.
At this point, you should not only be familiar with the major processes of the Key Votes Department, but should be entirely familiar with session tracking and be a polished writer. Vote Smart staff are solely responsible for many of the tasks that related to Congressional work. One staff member will always be responsible for Congressional tracking, vote entering, delegating summary work, and for knowing the ins-and-outs of all that is Congress. Because Congress requires so much daily effort, the staff member in charge of Congress will preferably never be the Department Director, nor will he or she be assigned Internship Coordinator roles. Though Congress requires a quick turnaround on our end from the moment the vote takes place to having a live Vote Smart summary, there is a heightened responsibility amongst both the staff member in charge of Congress and all Congressional writers to be as perfectly accurate, nonpartisan, concise, and factual as possible when working on anything relating to Congress.
Because of the elevated readership with Congress, **we are expected to expedite ALL of the work related to Congress**. This includes Tracking, Entering Votes, and Summarizing the Key Vote. In concert with Montana, the Key Votes Department has established the following deadlines for Congressional work:

Congress is the Key Votes Department's most viewed and most widely read output. Readers tend to gravitate towards knowing what the federal government is up to, and therefore, visit our National Key Votes page more frequently than our State Key Votes pages. However, there are an array of instances when the Key Votes processes for states differ from those of Congress. Therefore, this page hopes to detail the slight differences Congressional work has with states and outline the unique functions and tasks revolving Congress. You can access this page through the main **[[CategoryKeyVotes Key Votes wiki page]]**, under **[[CongressGuide Congress Guide]]**. Use the links in the table of contents to jump down to any section, and click the header name to jump back up to the table of contents.
At this point, you should not only be familiar with the major processes of the Key Votes Department, but should be entirely familiar with session tracking and be a polished writer. Vote Smart staff are solely responsible for many of the tasks that related to Congressional work. One staff member will always be responsible for Congressional tracking, vote entering, delegating summary work, and for knowing the ins-and-outs of all that is Congress. Because Congress requires so much daily effort, the staff member in charge of Congress will preferably never be the Department Director, nor will he or she be assigned Internship Coordinator roles. Though Congress requires a quick turnaround on our end from tracked bill to live summary, there is a heightened responsibility amongst the staff member in charge of Congress and all Congressional writers to be as perfectly accurate, nonpartisan, concise, and factual as possible. This requirement to both produce at but still have well-written work is why we have
Because the most widely-used and visited part of our Department's web page is Congress, **we are expected to expedite ALL of the work related to Congress**. This includes Tracking, Entering Votes, and Summarizing the Key Vote. In concert with Montana, the Key Votes Department has established the following deadlines for Congressional work:

At this point, you should not only be familiar with the major processes of the Key Votes Department, but should be entirely familiar with session tracking and be a polished writer. Vote Smart staff are solely responsible for many of the tasks that related to Congressional work. One staff member will always be responsible for Congressional tracking, vote entering, delegating summary work, and for knowing the ins-and-outs of all that is Congress. Because Congress requires so much daily effort, the staff member in charge of Congress will preferably never be the Department Director, nor will he or she be assigned Internship Coordinator roles. Though Congress requires a quick turnaround on our end from tracked bill to live summary, there is a heightened responsibility amongst the staff member in charge of Congress and all Congressional writers to be as perfectly accurate, nonpartisan, concise, and factual as possible. This requirement to both produce at but still have well-written work is why we have

~~At this point, you should not only be familiar with the major processes of the Key Votes Department, but should be entirely familiar with session tracking and be a polished writer.~~

At this point, you should not only be familiar with the major processes of the Key Votes Department, but should be entirely familiar with session tracking and be a polished writer.

~~At this point, you should not only be familiar with the major processes of the Key Votes Department but should be entirely familiar to session tracking and be a polished writer.~~

At this point, you should not only be familiar with the major processes of the Key Votes Department but should be entirely familiar to session tracking and be a polished writer.

~~At this point, you should not only be familiar with the major process of the Key Votes Department but should be entirely familiar to session tracking and be a polished writer.~~

At this point, you should not only be familiar with the major process of the Key Votes Department but should be entirely familiar to session tracking and be a polished writer.

~~At this point, you should not only be familiar with the major Key Votes processes but should be entirely familiar to session tracking and be a polished writer.~~

At this point, you should not only be familiar with the major Key Votes processes but should be entirely familiar to session tracking and be a polished writer.

~~At this point, you should not only be familiar with the Key Vote process but should be entirely familiar to session tracking and be a polished writer.~~

Congress is the Key Votes Department's most viewed and most widely read output. Readers tend to gravitate towards knowing what the federal government is up to, and therefore, visit our National Key Votes page more frequently than our State Key Votes pages. However, there are an array of instances when the Key Votes processes for states differ from those of Congress. Therefore, this page hopes to detail the slight differences Congressional work has with states and outline the unique functions and tasks revolving Congress. You can access this page through the main **[[CategoryKeyVotes Key Votes wiki page]]**, under **[[CongressGuide Congress Guide]]**. Use the links in the table of contents to jump down to any section, and click the header name to jump back up to the table of contents.

Congress is the Key Votes Department's most viewed and most widely read output. Readers tend to gravitate towards knowing what the federal government is up to, and therefore, visit our National Key Votes page more frequently than our State Key Votes pages. However, there are an array of instances when the Key Votes processes for states differ from those of Congress. Therefore, this page hopes to detail the slight differences Congressional work has with states, and outline the unique functions revolving around Congress. You can access this page through the main **[[CategoryKeyVotes Key Votes wiki page]]**, under **[[CongressGuide Congress Guide]]**. Use the links in the table of contents to jump down to any section, and click the header name to jump back up to the table of contents.

Congress is the Key Votes Department's most viewed and most widely read output. Readers tend to gravitate towards knowing what the federal government is up to, and therefore, visit our National Key Votes page more frequently than our State Key Votes pages. There are an array of instances when the Key Votes processes for Congress differ to that of states. This page hopes to detail the slight differences Congressional work has with states, and outline the unique functions revolving around Congress. You can access this page through the main **[[CategoryKeyVotes Key Votes wiki page]]**, under **[[CongressGuide Congress Guide]]**. Use the links in the table of contents to jump down to any section, and click the header name to jump back up to the table of contents.

At this point, you should not only be familiar with the Key Vote process but should be entirely familiar to session tracking and be a polished writer.

~~At this point, you should not only be familiar with the Key Vote process but should be entirely familiar to session tracking and be a polished writer.~~

At this point, you should not only be familiar with the Key Vote process but should be entirely familiar to session tracking and be a polished writer.

~~At this point, you should not only be familiar with the Key Vote process but should be significantly exposed to session tracking and be a polished writer.~~

Congress is the Key Votes Department's most viewed and most widely read output. Readers tend to gravitate towards knowing what the federal government is up to, and therefore, visit our National Key Votes page more frequently than our State Key Votes pages. There are an array of instances when the Key Votes processes for Congress differ to that of states. This page hopes to detail the slight differences Congressional work has with states, and outline the unique functions revolving around Congress. You can access this page through the main **[[CategoryKeyVotes Key Votes wiki page]]**, under **[[CongressGuide Congress Guide]]**. Use the links in the table of contents to jump down to any section, and click the header name to jump back up to the table of contents.

Congress is the Key Votes Department's most viewed and most widely read output. Readers tend to gravitate towards knowing what the federal government is up to, and therefore, visit our National Key Votes page more frequently than our State Key Votes pages. There are an array of instances when the Key Votes processes for Congress differ to that of states. This page hopes to detail the slight differences Congressional work has with states, and outline the unique functions revolving around Congress. You can access this page through the main **[[CategoryKeyVotes Key Votes wiki page]]**, under **[[CongressGuide Congress Guide]]**. You can also return to the **[[UTInternTraining Intern Training Guide]]** from this page. Use the links in the table of contents to jump down to any section, and click the header name to jump back up to the table of contents.

Congress is the Key Votes Department's most viewed and most widely read output. Readers tend to gravitate towards knowing what the federal government is up to, and therefore, visit our National Key Votes page more frequently than our State Key Votes pages. There are an array of instances when the Key Votes processes for Congress differ to that of states. This page hopes to detail the slight differences Congressional work has with states, and outline the unique functions revolving around Congress. You can access this page through the main **[[CategoryKeyVotes Key Votes wiki page]]**, under **[[CongressGuide Congress Guide]]**. Use the links in the table of contents to jump down to any section, and click the header name to jump back up to the table of contents.

Congress is the Key Votes Department's most viewed and most widely read output. Readers tend to gravitate towards knowing what the federal government is up to, and therefore, visit our National Key Votes page more frequently than our State Key Votes pages. There are an array of instances when the Key Votes processes for Congress differ to that of states. This page hopes to detail the slight differences Congressional work has with states, and outline the unique functions revolving around Congress. You can access this page through the main **[[CategoryKeyVotes Key Votes wiki page]]**, under **[[CongressGuide Congress Guide]]**. Use the links in the table of contents to jump down to any section, and click the header name to jump back up to the table of contents.
At this point, you should not only be familiar with the Key Vote process but should be significantly exposed to session tracking and be a polished writer.

Congress is the Key Votes Department's most viewed and most widely read output. Readers tend to gravitate towards knowing what the federal government is up to, and therefore, visit our National Key Votes page more frequently than our State Key Votes pages. There are an array of instances when the Key Votes processes for Congress differ to that of states. This page hopes to outline the process for Congressional work.

The Key Votes Department Director will request (similar to **[[http://mantis.votesmart.org/view.php?id=6298 this Mantis ticket]]** from IT the Data regarding all United States House and Senate voting records that we have in Admin for the previous year. This should be done annually during the month of August. There will be few interns, if any, and this will allow you to sift through the data, create a spreadsheet, and work on fixing any errors that might be present. Furthermore, if there are an excess of errors, staff would have the time in August to create a document that the interns can work on. Also, it provides ample time to have our records as accurate as possible before an election.

The Key Votes Department Director will request (similar to **[[http://mantis.votesmart.org/view.php?id=6298 this Mantis ticket]]** from IT the Data regarding all United States House and Senate voting records that we have in Admin for the previous year. This should be done annually during the month of August. There will be few interns, if any, and this will allow you to sift through the data, create a spreadsheet, and work on fixing any errors that might be present. Furthermore, if there are an excess of errors, staff would have the time in August to create a document that the interns can work on.

So always double check the vote tally by doing a control F function or bringing the list in admin to excel to count it out.
As you have read, one of the most convenient aspects of Congressional work is the automated vote entering system. This has been in place for a while. However, be careful to put too much assurance in what this automated system can produce. This is still Congress we are dealing with and we want to be extremely careful with the "Yeas," "Nays," and "Did Note Votes" that we list on the website.
The Key Votes Department Director will request (similar to **[[http://mantis.votesmart.org/view.php?id=6298 this Mantis ticket]]** from IT the Data regarding all United States House and Senate voting records that we have in Admin for the previous year. This should be done annually during the month of August. There will be few interns, if any, and this will allow you to sift through the data, create a spreadsheet, and work on fixing any errors that might be present. Furthermore, if there are an excess of errors, staff would have the time in August to create a document that the interns can work on.

====__Resources__====
====__FINAL NOTE__====

~~====__Additional Resources__====~~

**[[TrackingCongressSenate Tracking the US Senate]]
[[TrackingCongressHouse Tracking the US House of Representatives]]**

[[TrackingCongressSenate Tracking the US Senate]]
[[TrackingCongressHouse Tracking the US House of Representatives]]

To help in achieving a quick response time, the staff member in charge of Congress in encouraged to utilize outside resources like **[[https://www.govtrack.us/start GovTrack]]** to help track status changes. Once subscribed, this organization will email you any updates that have occurred with your Key Vote including updates to Sponsorships, Major floor votes, Referred to Committee statuses, and Presidential actions. These emails will make it abundantly easier to keep up with each bill's status changes. If a resource like this is not employed, Congressional bills are required to go through the same quarterly status update check as with state bills.

To help in achieving a quick response time, the staff member in charge of Congress in encouraged to utilize outside resources like **[[https://www.govtrack.us/start GovTrack]]** to help track status changes. Once subscribed, this organization will email you any updates that have occurred with your Key Vote including updates to Sponsorships, Major floor votes, Referred to Committee statuses, and Presidential actions. These emails will make it abundantly easier to keep up with each bill's status changes. If a resource like this is not employed, Congressional bills are required to go through the quarterly status update check like state bills.

Congress unlike states should be given a heightened awareness when it comes to new status updates on the Key Votes we have selected. Though for states, status updates are completed on a quarterly basis, Congress should be covered ASAP. Congress provides the reality that when the president signs the bill, we should immediately be covering it. Furthermore, that applies to all stages of any bill we select. The only exception is for Amendment votes where the lifespan of the bill for our internal purposes starts and ends with that singular vote.
To help in achieving a quick response time, the staff member in charge of Congress in encouraged to utilize outside resources like **[[https://www.govtrack.us/start GovTrack]]** to help track status changes. Once subscribed, this organization will email you any updates that have occurred with your Key Vote including updates to Sponsorships, Major floor votes, Referred to Committee statuses, and Presidential actions. These emails will make it abundantly easier to keep up with each bill's status changes. If a resource like this is not employed, Congressional bills are required to go through the quarterly status update check like state bills.

Congress is the Key Votes Department's most viewed and most widely read output. Readers tend to gravitate towards knowing what the federal government is up to, and therefore, visit our National Key Votes page more frequently than our State Key Votes pages. There are an array of instances when the Key Votes processes for Congress differ to that of states. This page hopes to outline the process for Congressional work.

Congress is the Key Votes Department's most viewed and most widely read output. Readers tend to gravitate towards knowing what the federal government is up to, and therefore, visit our National Key Votes page more frequently than our State Key Votes pages. There are an array of instances when the processes for Congress differ to those of states. This page hopes to outline the process for Congressional work.

The actual ability of staff to get Congressional summaries live to the website will likely be dependent on whether there are interns in or not. Regardless, the staff member in charge of Congress is responsible for making sure these deadlines are met, and for those deadlines that can't be met, never losing sight of that bill and making sure that it ultimately gets done as soon as possible.

The actual ability of staff to get Congressional summaries live to the website will likely be dependent on whether there are interns in or not. Regardless, the staff member in charge of Congress is responsible for making sure these deadlines are met, and, for those deadlines that can't be met, never losing sight of that bill and making sure that it ultimately gets done as soon as possible.

The actual ability of staff to get Congressional summaries live to the website will likely be dependent on whether there are interns in or not. Regardless, the staff member in charge of Congress is responsible for making sure these deadlines are met, and that, for those deadlines that can't be met, never losing sight of that bill and making sure that it ultimately gets done as soon as possible.

~- Tracking should be conducted every day
~- Releasing the Vote Live should occur within 1 business day of the Key Vote vote date
~- Releasing the Summary Live should occur as soon as possible after making the vote live, ideally within 3 business days

~- Tracking should be conducted **every day**
~- Releasing the Vote Live should occur **within 1 business day** of the Key Vote vote date
~- Releasing the Summary Live should occur as soon as possible after making the vote live, ideally **within 3 business days**

~- Tracking should be conducted every day
~- Releasing the Vote Live should occur within 1 business day of the Key Vote vote date
~- Releasing the Summary Live should occur as soon as possible after making the vote live, ideally within 3 business days

The last exemption mentioned is up to the discretion of staff. If the staff Original Summary writer feels as though the summary was complex and deserves two staff reviews, then it should have an Original Summary, First Summary Check, and Staff Check with the Second Check being skipped. Never should we have all checks completed by staff as that is obviously a waste of one staff member's time.

The last exemption mentioned is up to the discretion of staff. If the staff Original Summary writer feels as though the summary was complex and deserves two staff reviews, then it should have an Original Summary, First Summary Check, and Staff Check with the Second Check being skipped.

===Overview of the Process===

~~==Overview of the Process==~~

==Overview of the Process==

- We are authorized to skip the **Second Summary Check stage** if there is limited intern help available;
- We are authorized to skip the **Second Summary Check stage** if there is a high demand to have that summary live as quickly as possible;
- We are authorized to skip the **First and Second Summary Check stages** if the bill text is simple (indicated by a short synopsis and summary produced by the Original Summary); and
- We are authorized to skip the **First and Second Summary Check stages** if the Original Summary writer is a staff member.

We are authorized to skip the **Second Summary Check stage** if there is limited intern help available;
We are authorized to skip the **Second Summary Check stage** if there is a high demand to have that summary live as quickly as possible;
We are authorized to skip the **First and Second Summary Check stages** if the bill text is simple (indicated by a short synopsis and summary produced by the Original Summary); and
We are authorized to skip the **First and Second Summary Check stages** if the Original Summary writer is a staff member.

Due to the high priority assigned to Congressional summaries and the frequent lack of intern help, the requirements to have an Original Summary, First Summary Check, Second Summary Check, and Staff Check are loosened. This means that we can forgo one or two of those checks if certain criteria are met:

Due to the high priority assigned to Congressional summaries and the frequent lack of intern help, the requirements to have an Original Summary, First Summary Check, Second Summary Check, and Staff Check are loosened. This means that we can skip one or two of those checks if certain criteria are met:

Congress is the Key Votes Department's most viewed and most widely read output. Readers tend to gravitate towards knowing what the federal government is up to, and therefore, visit our National Key Votes page more frequently than our State Key Votes pages. There are an array of instances when the processes for Congress differ to those of states. This page hopes to outline the process for Congressional work.

Congress is the Key Votes Department's most viewed and most widely read output. Readers tend to gravitate towards knowing what the federal government is up to, and therefore, visit our National Key Votes page more frequently than our State Key Votes pages.

>>==Congress - Table of Contents==
=={{anchor target="introduction" text="Introduction"}}==
~-{{anchor target="overviewjumpdown" text="Overview of the Process"}}
~-{{anchor target="whatyouwillneed" text="What You Will Need"}}
=={{anchor target="physicalbillfolder" text="The Physical Bill Folder"}}==
~-{{anchor target="Content" text="Content"}}
~-{{anchor target="howtouseinfo" text="How Content Will Be Used"}}
~-{{anchor target="BillHistory" text="Bill History Sheet"}}
~-{{anchor target="VotingRecord" text="Voting Record Sheet"}}
=={{anchor target="DigitalBillFolder" text="The Digital Bill Folder"}}==
~-{{anchor target="utbox" text="Press File & Bill Text"}}
=={{anchor target="Admin" text="Admin"}}==
~-{{anchor target="createentry" text="How to Create Entry in Admin"}}
~-{{anchor target="datafields" text="Data Entry Fields in Admin"}}
~-{{anchor target="temphighlights" text="Temporary Highlight"}}
~-{{anchor target="guide" text="Entering Votes in Admin Guide"}}
~-{{anchor target="checklist" text="Entering Votes in Admin Checklist"}}
=={{anchor target="votechecks" text="Vote Checks"}}==
~-{{anchor target="process" text="Process"}}
~-{{anchor target="goals" text="Goals"}}
~-{{anchor target="tips" text="Tips & Guidelines"}}
=={{anchor target="faq" text="FAQs"}}==>>

-Rep. John Barrow (out of office, effective January 3, 2015)
-Sen. John Walsh (out of office, effective January 3, 2015)
Congressional summaries should only be written by staff or excellent interns due to their complexity and length. For the most part, congressional summaries are written in the same manner as state bill summaries. However, there are a few differences between state and congressional bill summaries (listed below). The most notable differences are as follows: First, congressional bills rarely re-state existing law; you must look up relevant portions of the US Code, Federal Register, or public laws in order to see what is being amended. Second, staff do not download the bill texts onto our shared drive. Instead, you must find the correct version of the text yourself on [[http://thomas.loc.gov/home/thomas.php THOMAS]] or the newer [[http://congress.gov/ Congress.gov]]. You may use either the .pdf or HTML version; the benefit of the HTML version is that you can skip around the bill text through the Table of Contents (which is hyperlinked).

-Rep. John Barrow (out of office - 1/3/15)
-Sen. John Walsh (out of office - 1/3/15)
Congressional summaries should only be written by staff or exceptional interns due to their complexity and length. For the most part, congressional summaries are written in the same manner as state bill summaries. However, there are a few differences between state and congressional bill summaries (listed below). The most notable differences are as follows: First, congressional bills rarely re-state existing law; you must look up relevant portions of the US Code, Federal Register, or public laws in order to see what is being amended. Second, staff do not download the bill texts onto our shared drive. Instead, you must find the correct version of the text yourself on [[http://thomas.loc.gov/home/thomas.php THOMAS]] or the newer [[http://congress.gov/ Congress.gov]]. You may use either the .pdf or HTML version; the benefit of the HTML version is that you can skip around the bill text through the Table of Contents (which is hyperlinked).

-Rep. John Barrow (out of office - 1/3/15)
-Sen. John Walsh (out of office - 1/3/15)

-Rep. John Barrow (out of office)
-Rep. Karen Bass
-Sen. John Walsh (out of office)

Congress is the Key Votes Department's most viewed and most widely read output. Readers tend to gravitate towards knowing what the federal government is up to, and therefore, visit our National Key Votes page more frequently than our State Key Votes pages.

Congress is the Key Votes Department's most viewed and widely read output. Readers tend to gravitate towards knowing what the federal government is up to, and therefore, visit our National Key Votes page more frequently than our State Key Votes pages.

===Altering Summary Check Process to Meet Deadlines===

~~===Altering Summary Check Process===~~

- Representatives who, after import, are given "NA" status or are not mentioned in the Admin voting record but should be. This type of problem seems to occur after an election:
- Senators who, after import, are not mentioned in the Admin voting record but should be:

- Representatives who, after import, are given "NA" status or are not mentioned in the Admin voting record but should. This type of problem seems to occur after an election:
- Senators who, after import, are not mentioned in the Admin voting record but should:

===Altering Summary Check Process===

~~===Summary Check Process===~~

We are authorized to skip the **Second Summary Check stage** if there is limited intern help available;
We are authorized to skip the **Second Summary Check stage** if there is a high demand to have that summary live as quickly as possible;
We are authorized to skip the **First and Second Summary Check stages** if the bill text is simple (indicated by a short synopsis and summary produced by the Original Summary); and
We are authorized to skip the **First and Second Summary Check stages** if the Original Summary writer is a staff member.

We can skip the **Second Summary Check stage** if there is limited intern help available;
We can skip the **Second Summary Check stage** if there is a high demand to have that summary live as quickly as possible;
We can skip the **First and Second Summary Check stages** if the bill text is simple (indicated by a short synopsis and summary produced by the Original Summary); and
We can skip the **First and Second Summary Check stages** if the Original Summary writer is a staff member.

We can skip the **First and Second Summary Check stages** if the bill text is simple (indicated by a short synopsis and summary produced by the Original Summary); and
We can skip the **First and Second Summary Check stages** if the Original Summary writer is a staff member.

We can skip the First and Second Summary Check stages if the bill text is simple (indicated by a short synopsis and summary produced by the Original Summary); and
We can skip the First and Second Summary Check stages if the Original Summary writer is a staff member.

The actual ability of staff to get Congressional summaries live to the website will likely be dependent on whether there are interns in or not. Regardless, the staff member in charge of Congress is responsible for making sure these deadlines are met, and that, for those deadlines that can't be met, never losing sight of that bill and making sure that it ultimately gets done as soon as possible.
===Summary Check Process===
Due to the high priority assigned to Congressional summaries and the frequent lack of intern help, the requirements to have an Original Summary, First Summary Check, Second Summary Check, and Staff Check are loosened. This means that we can skip one or two of those checks if certain criteria are met:
We can skip the **Second Summary Check stage** if there is limited intern help available;
We can skip the **Second Summary Check stage** if there is a high demand to have that summary live as quickly as possible;
We can skip the First and Second Summary Check stages if the bill text is simple (indicated by a short synopsis and summary produced by the Original Summary); and
We can skip the First and Second Summary Check stages if the Original Summary writer is a staff member.
The last exemption mentioned is up to the discretion of staff. If the staff Original Summary writer feels as though the summary was complex and deserves two staff reviews, then it should have an Original Summary, First Summary Check, and Staff Check with the Second Check being skipped.

The actual ability of staff to get Congressional summaries live to the website will likely be dependent on whether there are interns in or not. Regardless, the staff member in charge of Congress is responsible for making sure these deadlines are met, and that, for those deadlines that can't be met, never losing sight of that bill and making sure that it ultimately gets done as soon as possible.

The actual ability of staff to get Congressional summaries live to the website will likely be dependent on whether there are interns in or not. Regardless, the staff member in charge of Congress is responsible for making sure these deadlines are met, and, that, for those deadlines that can't be met, never losing sight of that bill and making sure that it ultimately gets done as soon as possible.

~- Releasing the Vote Live should occur within 1 business day of the Key Vote vote date

~~~- Releasing the Vote Live should occur within 1 business days of the Key Vote vote date~~

Because the most widely-used and visited part of our Department's web page is Congress, **we are expected to expedite ALL of the work related to Congress**. This includes Tracking, Entering Votes, and Summarizing the Key Vote. In concert with Montana, the Key Votes Department has established the following deadlines for Congressional work:

Because the most widely-used and visited part of our Department's web page is Congress, **we are expected to expedite ALL of the work related to Congress**. This includes Tracking, Entering Votes, and Summarizing the Key Vote. In concert with Montana, Key Votes Department has laid-out the following deadlines for Congressional work:

Because the most widely-used and visited part of our Department's web page is Congress, **we are expected to expedite all of the work related to Congress**. This includes Tracking, Entering Votes, and Summarizing the Key Vote. In concert with Montana, Key Votes Department has laid-out the following deadlines for Congressional work:

===Errors in Importing Votes===

~~===Importing Errors===~~

~- Releasing the Vote Live should occur within 1 business days of the Key Vote vote date
~- Releasing the Summary Live should occur as soon as possible after making the vote live, ideally within 3 business days

~- Releasing the Vote Live should occur within 3 business days of the Key Vote vote date
~- Releasing the Summary Live should occur as soon as possible after making the vote live, ideally within 3 business days as well

~- Releasing the Summary Live should occur as soon as possible after making the vote live, ideally within 3 business days as well

~~~- Releasing the Summary Live should occur as soon as possible after making the vote live~~

~- Tracking should be conducted every day
~- Releasing the Vote Live should occur within 3 business days of the Key Vote vote date
~- Releasing the Summary Live should occur as soon as possible after making the vote live

~- For Tracking, same day of the vote
~- For Releasing the Vote Live, within 3 business days of the Key Vote vote date
~- For Releasing the Summary Live, as soon as possible after making the vote live

Because the most widely-used and visited part of our Department's web page is Congress, **we are expected to expedite all of the work related to Congress**. This includes Tracking, Entering Votes, and Summarizing the Key Vote. In concert with Montana, Key Votes Department has laid-out the following deadlines for Congressional work:

Because the most widely-used and visited part of our Department's web page is Congress, **we are expected to expedite all of the work related to Congress**. This includes Tracking, Entering Votes, and Summarizing the Key Vote. In concert with Montana, Key Votes Department has laid-out the following deadlines:

Because the most widely-used and visited part of our Department's web page is Congress, **we are expected to expedite all of the work related to Congress**. This includes Tracking, Entering Votes, and Summarizing the Key Vote. In concert with Montana, Key Votes Department has laid-out the following deadlines:
~- For Tracking, same day of the vote
~- For Releasing the Vote Live, within 3 business days of the Key Vote vote date
~- For Releasing the Summary Live, as soon as possible after making the vote live
The actual ability of staff to get Congressional summaries live to the website will likely be dependent on whether there are interns in or not. Regardless, the staff member in charge of Congress is responsible for making sure these deadlines are met, and, that, for those deadlines that can't be met, never losing sight of that bill and making sure that it ultimately gets done as soon as possible.

Because the most widely-used and visited part of our Department's web page is Congress, **we are expected to expedite all of the work related to Congress**. This includes Tracking, Entering Votes, and Summarizing the Key Vote. In concert with Montana, Key Votes Department has expected to release the bill history and voting information within 3 business days of the vote occurring. Afterwards, the summary is expected to go up live **as soon as possible**. The actual ability of staff to get Congressional summaries live to the website will likely be dependent on whether there are interns in or not. The staff member in charge of Congress is responsible for making sure these deadlines are met, and, those deadlines can't be met, he or she is responsible for never losing sight of that bill and making sure that it ultimately gets done as soon as possible.

Because the most widely-used and visited part of our Department's web page is Congress, **we are expected to expedite all of the work related to Congress**. This includes Tracking, Entering Votes, and Summarizing the Key Vote. In concert with Montana, Key Votes Department is expected to release the bill history and voting information within 3 business days of the vote occurring. Afterwards, the summary is expected to go up live **as soon as possible**. The actual ability of staff to get Congressional summaries live to the website will likely be dependent on whether there are interns in or not. The staff member in charge of Congress is responsible for making sure these deadlines are met, and, those deadlines can't be met, he or she is responsible for never losing sight of that bill and making sure that it ultimately gets done as soon as possible.

Congress is the Key Votes Department's most viewed and widely read output. Readers tend to gravitate towards knowing what the federal government is up to, and therefore, visit our National Key Votes page more frequently than our State Key Votes pages.
Because the most widely-used and visited part of our Department's web page is Congress, **we are expected to expedite all of the work related to Congress**. This includes Tracking, Entering Votes, and Summarizing the Key Vote. In concert with Montana, Key Votes Department is expected to release the bill history and voting information within 3 business days of the vote occurring. Afterwards, the summary is expected to go up live **as soon as possible**. The actual ability of staff to get Congressional summaries live to the website will likely be dependent on whether there are interns in or not. The staff member in charge of Congress is responsible for making sure these deadlines are met, and, those deadlines can't be met, he or she is responsible for never losing sight of that bill and making sure that it ultimately gets done as soon as possible.
Entering Votes for Congress into Admin is exclusively the responsibility of the staff member in charge of Congress tracking. Interns should not be responsible for entering votes for Congress.

Tracking Congress entails a different procedure than that of state legislatures. That is not to say that you can't locate legislation and votes through Stateline and major media outlets. However, because greater emphasis is placed on Congressional work in the Key Votes Department, the primary Congress tracker should check the House and Senate's website each day to see if any full chamber votes have occurred. If you locate a vote, proceed to search for any press attention.
[[TrackingCongressSenate Tracking the US Senate]]
[[TrackingCongressHouse Tracking the US House of Representatives]]
**Searching for Press**
Once you have located new votes that have occurred, check to see if they got any press attention. The best way to do this is to perform a Google news search. Effective search terms can be the bill number (ex: "HR 5710," "S 380"), the shorthand title given to the bill by its authors (ex: "Patriot Act"), or the chamber in which the vote occurred coupled with terms that describe the subject of the bill that was voted on (ex: "house financial regulation," "senate health care," etc.). You can also peruse specific news sources that you think may have information on the Congressional legislation in question, such as Politico, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, etc. If you are able to find any news articles about that particular vote or about the piece of legislation in general, compile them into a press file and bring the vote up at the next selection meeting.

===Importing Errors===
It is generally the case that the automated Congressional voting record retrieval produces errors.
==House:==
==Senate:==

=="Problems with Importing"==
House:
Senate:

=="Problems with Importing"==

~~=="Problem People"==~~

- Representatives who, after import, are given "NA" status or are not mentioned in the Admin voting record but should. This type of problem seems to occur after an election:

~~- Representatives who, after import, are given "NA" status or who are not mentioned in the Admin voting record but should. This type of problem seems to occur after an election:~~

- Representatives who, after import, are given "NA" status or who are not mentioned in the Admin voting record but should. This type of problem seems to occur after an election:
- Representatives who, after import, are given "Did Not Vote" status. This does not seem to be tied election results, instead it seems as though Admin cannot accurately read their names:
- Senators who, after import, are not mentioned in the Admin voting record but should:

- Representatives who are given "NA" status or who are not mentioned in the Admin voting record but should. This type of problem seems to occur after an election:
- Representatives who are given "Did Not Vote" status. This does not seem to be tied election results, instead it seems as though Admin cannot accurately read their names:
- Senators who are not mentioned in the Admin voting record but should:

=="Problem People"==

~~==Problem People==~~

- Representatives who are given "NA" status or who are not mentioned in the Admin voting record but should. This type of problem seems to occur after an election:

~~- Representatives who are given "NA" status or who are not mentioned in the Admin voting record but should. This seems to occur after an election:~~

House:
- Representatives who are given "NA" status or who are not mentioned in the Admin voting record but should. This seems to occur after an election:
-Rep. Alma Adams
-Rep. Dave Brat
-Rep. Donald Norcross
- Representatives who are given "Did Not Vote" status. This does not seem to be tied election results, instead it seems as though Admin cannot accurately read their names:
-Rep. John Barrow (out of office)
-Rep. Karen Bass
-Rep. Ami Bera
-Rep. Julia Brownley
-Rep. Tony Cardenas
-Rep. Joaquin Castro
-Rep. Katherine Clark
-Rep. Yvette Clarke
-Rep. Luis Gutierrez
-Rep. John Lewis
Senate:
- Senators who are not mentioned in the Admin voting record but should:
-Sen. John Walsh (out of office)

==Problem People==

==Bill Number==
In contrast to state amendment votes, Congressional Amendments must be prefaced by "S" or "H" and then "Amdt (and number)" to indicate the chamber (ex: S Amdt 4326 to S Amdt 4301 to HR 4213). This is required for web importation.
However, there is a difference between what is listed on the bill summary sheet and what is listed in admin. On the bill summary sheet, the bill number should include the bill that it's amending after the amendment number (ex: S Amdt 8 to HR 205). If the amendment is amending another amendment, that too should be listed (ex: S Amdt 8 to S Amdt 2 to HR 205). However, this is not listed in the bill number textbox in admin. The bill number in admin is limited soley to the "S Amdt 8" bill number.

==Sponsors and Cosponsors==

~~==Sponsors and Cosponsors===~~

==Parent Bill==
[[ParentBill Parent Bill Information]]
==Sponsors and Cosponsors===

When identifying the sponsor(s) of the amendment, remember that its only the sponsor(s) of the individual amendment, and not that of the parent bill. Congress does have cosponsors of amendments, but it's extremely rare for a state to assign cosponsors to amendments:

When identifying the sponsor(s) of the amendment, remember that its only the sponsor(s) of the individual amendment, and not that of the parent bill. Congress does have cosponsors of amendments, but it's extremely rare for a state to assign cosponsors to amendments. Locating sponsors of amendments varies by state, and its generally different from how they list sponsors of full legislation. Some will clearly list the sponsor next to the link, others will list the sponsor in the amendment text, and others will introduce the sponsor along with the text in the legislative journal. Here are some examples:

When identifying the sponsor(s) of the amendment, remember that its only the sponsor(s) of the individual amendment, and not that of the parent bill. Congress does have cosponsors of amendments, but it's extremely rare for a state to assign cosponsors to amendments. Locating sponsors of amendments varies by state, and its generally different from how they list sponsors of full legislation. Some will clearly list the sponsor next to the link, others will list the sponsor in the amendment text, and others will introduce the sponsor along with the text in the legislative journal. Here are some examples:
- //U.S. Congress - S Amdt 4326 to S Amdt 4301 to HR 4213 (Senate Amendment Vote), 2010.//
@@{{image url="http://i802.photobucket.com/albums/yy307/Project_Vote_Smart/Entering%20Votes%20Addendum%20-%20Amendments/17.png" title="17" alt="17"}}@@

===Deadlines and Expectations===

~~====__Deadlines and Expectations__====~~

===Congressional ID===

===Amendment Votes===
===Annual Voting Records Check===

====__Amendment Votes__====
====__Annual Voting Records Check__====

In order to fully understand congressional legislation, it's helpful to know exactly what happens to a bill **after** it becomes law. Once the President signs a bill, the enrolled version is sent to the Office of the Federal Register, where it is assigned a public law number (e.g. Pub. L. 111-148). It is then published as a "slip law", or individual pamphlet. These pamphlets are available electronically from the Government Printing Office (GPO) website. At the end of a congressional session, all slip laws are compiled, indexed, and printed in the United States Statutes at Large, which is a permanent bound volume of all laws enacted by Congress during the session. The Statutes are not available in electronic format. Finally, the laws are codified in the United States Code, which contains all permanent federal laws. Most laws enacted by Congress modify or delete some portion of the Code, however enacting clauses, effective dates, and other legislative procedures are not generally codified. If there is any discrepancy between the Code and the Statutes at Large, the Statutes always take precedence.

In order to fully understand congressional legislation, it's helpful to know exactly what happens to a bill**after** it becomes law. Once the President signs a bill, the enrolled version is sent to the Office of the Federal Register, where it is assigned a public law number (e.g. Pub. L. 111-148). It is then published as a "slip law", or individual pamphlet. These pamphlets are available electronically from the Government Printing Office (GPO) website. At the end of a congressional session, all slip laws are compiled, indexed, and printed in the United States Statutes at Large, which is a permanent bound volume of all laws enacted by Congress during the session. The Statutes are not available in electronic format. Finally, the laws are codified in the United States Code, which contains all permanent federal laws. Most laws enacted by Congress modify or delete some portion of the Code, however enacting clauses, effective dates, and other legislative procedures are not generally codified. If there is any discrepancy between the Code and the Statutes at Large, the Statutes always take precedence.

In order to fully understand congressional legislation, it's helpful to know exactly what happens to a bill //after// it becomes law. Once the President signs a bill, the enrolled version is sent to the Office of the Federal Register, where it is assigned a public law number (e.g. Pub. L. 111-148). It is then published as a "slip law", or individual pamphlet. These pamphlets are available electronically from the Government Printing Office (GPO) website. At the end of a congressional session, all slip laws are compiled, indexed, and printed in the United States Statutes at Large, which is a permanent bound volume of all laws enacted by Congress during the session. The Statutes are not available in electronic format. Finally, the laws are codified in the United States Code, which contains all permanent federal laws. Most laws enacted by Congress modify or delete some portion of the Code, however enacting clauses, effective dates, and other legislative procedures are not generally codified. If there is any discrepancy between the Code and the Statutes at Large, the Statutes always take precedence.

====__Additional Resources__====

~~====__Resources__====~~

===Finding Existing Law===
===Differences Between State and Congress===
===Helpful Hints===

====Finding Existing Law====
====Differences Between State and Congress====
====Helpful Hints====

Congressional summaries should only be written by staff or exceptional interns due to their complexity and length. For the most part, congressional summaries are written in the same manner as state bill summaries. However, there are a few differences between state and congressional bill summaries (listed below). The most notable differences are as follows: First, congressional bills rarely re-state existing law; you must look up relevant portions of the US Code, Federal Register, or public laws in order to see what is being amended. Second, staff do not download the bill texts onto our shared drive. Instead, you must find the correct version of the text yourself on [[http://thomas.loc.gov/home/thomas.php THOMAS]] or the newer [[http://congress.gov/ Congress.gov]]. You may use either the .pdf or HTML version; the benefit of the HTML version is that you can skip around the bill text through the Table of Contents (which is hyperlinked).
In order to fully understand congressional legislation, it's helpful to know exactly what happens to a bill //after// it becomes law. Once the President signs a bill, the enrolled version is sent to the Office of the Federal Register, where it is assigned a public law number (e.g. Pub. L. 111-148). It is then published as a "slip law", or individual pamphlet. These pamphlets are available electronically from the Government Printing Office (GPO) website. At the end of a congressional session, all slip laws are compiled, indexed, and printed in the United States Statutes at Large, which is a permanent bound volume of all laws enacted by Congress during the session. The Statutes are not available in electronic format. Finally, the laws are codified in the United States Code, which contains all permanent federal laws. Most laws enacted by Congress modify or delete some portion of the Code, however enacting clauses, effective dates, and other legislative procedures are not generally codified. If there is any discrepancy between the Code and the Statutes at Large, the Statutes always take precedence.
====Finding Existing Law====
__United States Code__
- The United States Code contains all permanent federal laws.
- Supplements to the Code are published every year, although the entire Code is re-printed only once every 4 years.
- Citations will consist of a number from 1-51, the acronym "USC" and a second number (e.g. 21 USC 321A)
- The first number is the title, the second number is the section (with subsection, if applicable)
- Use the Cornell University Law School's Legal Information Institute version of the US Code, available here: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text
- If the Code has already been updated to reflect the specific bill provisions you are working on, use the GPO's website to find Codes from past years: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/browse/collectionUScode.action?collectionCode=USCODE
__Federal Register__
- The Federal Register contains notices, rules, proposed rules, and presidential documents. Agency regulations, such as those for the Environmental Protection Agency, are contained here.
- Citations will consist of a 2-digit number, the acronym "FR", and a much longer number (e.g. 47 FR 11262)
- To find pages in the Federal Register, enter the full citation here: https://www.federalregister.gov/citation/search
__Public Laws__
- Occasionally a congressional bill may reference a public law number. The citation will begin with Pub. L., then two sets of numbers separated by a hyphen (e.g. Pub. L. 111-148 for the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act). You may also see it cited as "PL," "P.L." or "Public Law No.", followed by the number.
- The first number is always the number of the Congress during which the law was enacted (i.e. 111 is the 111th Congress, 109 is the 109th Congress, etc.)
- To find the text of public laws, click on the appropriate Congress and then scroll through the list of laws on the Government Printing Office (GPO) website: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/browse/collection.action?collectionCode=PLAW

====Differences Between State and Congress====
-For Congress, we automate the voting records so there is no vote entering required by interns or staff.
-For Congressional Key Votes, we do not create a PVS Title. Instead, we will use the official title mentioned in congress.gov. We would do this for state Key Votes, however some states offer titles while others do not.
-For Congressional Amendment Key Votes, congress.gov does not provide a title so we will create a PVS Title.
-Staff **does not** provide bill texts for Congressional Key Votes. Instead, it is necessary to locate the bill text in congress.gov. However, staff does provide the press file.
-Code is frequently referenced in Congressional bill texts and therefore **more research into Code is often required** to correctly interpret a given provision.

====Helpful Hints====
- Don't sit there and read an entire 1,000-page bill from start to finish. Find the provisions that pertain to information mentioned in the press file first, then review the rest of the bill for important provisions that were overlooked by the press.
- Amendments can be found in the Amendments section of the bill's summary page on THOMAS. Select "Text of Amendment", which should be a number such as "S3290" or set of numbers such as "S3290-S3292". **REMEMBER THESE NUMBERS**. On the next screen, select the correct page and scroll through the congressional record until you find the number of the amendment. The text of the amendment will be re-printed in the congressional record. **Please note that amendments often lack citations, therefore you do not need to include citations in your summary.**
- Proofread your summary and make sure that it can be understood by a layperson. If the summary is too complicated for you, it's probably too complicated for the average reader.

====__Introduction__====

====__Tracking__====

====__Vote Entering__====

====__Amendment Votes__====

====__Annual Voting Records Check__====

====__Summary Writing__====

====__Deadlines and Expectations__====

====__Status Update Resources__====

====__Vetoes__====

====__Resources__====

======Congress======----

~~======Congress Guide======----~~

PVSWiki : CongressGuide

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