The point of this list is to direct you to the standard way we have tagged something - for example: "2016-Orlando-nightclub-shooting" instead of "2016-shooting-at-an-Orlando-nightclub", and "Middle-East-peace-process" instead of "Arab-Israeli-conflict". It's a good idea to keep this list open while categorizing data.
General Notes:
* For acronyms and abbreviations always tag with the full name even if everyone knows the acronym. If you'd like to tag with the acronym as well, that is acceptable, but always tag with the full name. It was the "Federal-Bureau-of-Investigation" before it was the "FBI".* Always tag the common usage, but still official, bill names, for example: "Affordable-Care-Act" instead of "Patient-Protection-and-Affordable-Care-Act".
* Always tag the person to whom a letter is addressed.
* If a population is directly mentioned or affected, categorize or tag that population but avoid redundancy.
* Avoid "[category-reform]", generally that is implicitly covered by the category. "immigration-reform" is another way of saying Immigration, "tax-reform" is another way of saying Taxes" Similarly, do not tag with the name of a category. Affirmative Action, however, is an exception to this rule, and is an acceptable tag.
* Some common triggers and common tags may not be applicable. Use your head. Here is an example where something involving the USDA would not get an Ag and Food categorization - http://votesmart.org/public-statement/781272
* When tagging geographic locations only tag it if it's an important detail in the speech. For instance if President Obama is talking about some policy started in New Mexico and now it's the model for a program being implemented at the federal level go ahead and tag "New-Mexico", but if it's a NM senator talking about the same policy don't tag "New-Mexico" because OF COURSE they'd be talking about their state.
* For recurring events, such as SOTSs and SOTUs, try to add the name of the official, not the year (e.g "Obama-Inauguration" or "Obama-State-of-the-Union", not "2013-State-of-the-Union")
* For individuals' names try to shy away from using their middle initials in tags and in letter titles. The major exception to this rule being the George Bushes. Tag either "George-HW-Bush" or "George-W-Bush".
* For an extensive list of idioms and examples, please visit the Cat and Tag Ties sheet. Link: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1cNACRQ5gZPhab71IpJh47Z67q_D3mCUCX-JGQKuoWUs/edit
For Key Votes specifics, go to KeyVotesIdioms.
Abortion
Relating to the abortion procedure and access to it. Includes issues such as the circumstances in which abortion is legal, "parental-consent", ultrasound requirements, and public funding of abortions.See: Reproductive Issues
Notes:
Common Tags: "pro-life", "Planned-Parenthood", "Planned-Parenthood-funding", "Roe-v-Wade", "Affordable-Care-Act", "Pain-Capable-Unborn-Child-Protection-Act", "public-funding-for-abortions", "abortion-regulations", "Planned-Parenthood-fetal-tissue-video", "No-Taxpayer-Funding-for-Abortion-Act"
Reproduction
Includes issues relating to the human reproductive system, contraception, and sex education.See: Abortion
Notes:
Common Tags: "Planned-Parenthood", "Affordable-Care-Act", "Planned-Parenthood-funding", "contraception", "pro-life", "womens-healthcare"
Agriculture and Food
Relating to farming, livestock, produce, and/or ranching.See: Food Processing and Sales
Notes: Ag and Food is from nature, FPS is to the consumer
Common Tags: "farm-bills", "Department-of-Agriculture", "farmers-and-ranchers", "USDA", "agriculture-industry", "Environmental-Protection-Agency", "Supplemental-Nutrition-Assistance-Program", "SNAP", "farming-and-ranching"
Animals and Wildlife
Relating to pets, fish and game, endangered species or other wildlife.Notes:
Common Tags: "Endangered-Species-Act", "Fish-and-Wildlife-Service", "endangered-species", "fishing", "commercial-fishing-industry", "National-Oceanic-and-Atmospheric-Administration", "hunting", "Asian-Carp", "invasive-species", "wildlife-conservation"
Arts, Entertainment and History
Relating to sports or the arts, as well as funding for them. Also includes issues relating to "tourism" and issues of cultural or historical significance, *such as the dedication of buildings or parks*.Notes: Other categories may apply: CLCR for example
Common Tags: "sports", "NFL", "tourism", "9/11-anniversaries", "United-States-History", "National-Park-Service", "World-War-II", "9/11-terrorist-attacks", "Dr-Martin-Luther-King-Jr"
Degrees about the arts get this Cat
Budget, Spending and Taxes
Relating to tax changes, or else focused on the budget, spending, or appropriationsSee: Government Budget and Spending, Taxes
Notes: This is a combo category - never select it.
Common Tags:
Business and Consumers
Includes issues such as changes in business regulations and "taxes" placed on businesses. This category also includes issues dealing with consumer protections, such as product safety, credit, and manufacturer liability.See: Trade
Notes:
Common Tags: "small-businesses", "job-creation", "manufacturing-industry", "business-regulations", "Affordable-Care-Act", "Small-Business-Administration", "Environmental-Protection-Agency", "consumer-protections", "economic-growth"
Degrees relating to business or business administration get this Cat.
BIOS INTERNS ONLY: This is where we put "tourism" because usually when we come across it in a bio, it's talking about the business-aspect of tourism.
Business, Consumers and Employees
Includes issues of taxation and regulation, consumer protections, employment standards and unemployment issuesSee: Business and Consumers, Employment and Affirmative Action
Notes: This is a combo category - never select it.
Common Tags:
Campaign Finance
Relating to regulations on campaign finance.Notes:
Common Tags: "McCutcheon-v-FEC", "Citizens-United-v-FEC", "dark-money"
Campaign Finance and Elections
Includes issues such as changes to election laws, requirements to run for office, voting requirements, election dates, and regulations on campaign finances.See: Campaign Finance
Notes: Merely talking about an election race does not warrant this cat. It would simply get, for example, the tag "2014-congressional-election".
Common Tags: "2016-presidential-election", "Donald-Trump", "Russian-election-interference", "Russia", "Russia-US-relations", "2016-Congressional-elections", "voting-rights", "campaign-endorsements"
Civil Liberties and Civil Rights
Relating to the freedoms ensured by the Bill of Rights, personal freedoms, and "individuals' means of participating in society," such as voting rights.Notes: Civil Liberties and Civil Rights covers the following topics
1st amendment issues BESIDES religious freedom (that gets Religion)
4th amendment issues
5th amendment issues
6th amendment issues (can be Legal)
7th amendment issues (can be Legal)
Voting rights (make sure to use the "voting-rights" tag)
Historical civil rights (e.g. dedicating a statue to Rosa Parks) - and use Arts, Entertainment, and History as well
Human rights abroad - ONLY when there is no other relevant category ("We need boots on the ground in Libya because of their human rights violations" is Defense", "North Korea has terrible human rights violations" would be Civil Liberties and Civil Rights as well as Foreign Affairs).
The rule is: when there is an applicable category BESIDES Civil Liberties and Civil Rights, choose that category. Thus: 2nd amendment issues are Guns, 8th amendment issues are Criminal Justice, 10th amendment issues are Federal, State and Local Relations.
DOES NOT INCLUDE issues covered in other categories such as 2nd amendment issues (Guns), 10th amendment issues (Federal, State, and Local Relations), or Marriage/Sexual Orientation Issues (Marriage or Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity).
Common Tags: "voting-rights", "privacy-rights", "Voting-Rights-Act", "National-Security-Agency", "Dr-Martin-Luther-King-Jr", "human-rights", "PATRIOT-Act", "Civil-Rights-Act", "LGBTQ-discrimination"
Conservative
Relating to advancing the principles of conservatism. Includes interest groups that classify themselves as representing conservative perspectives on multiple issues and ratings that evaluate candidates and officials on how conservative they are.See: Socially Conservative, Fiscally Conservative
Notes: SHOULD NOT be used for Speeches or Votes unless explicitly approved by the Project Manager.
Common Tags:
Constitution
Includes amendments to federal and state constitutions and constitutional conventions.See: Civil Rights and Civil Liberties
Notes:
Common Tags: "balanced-budget-amendments", "2nd-Amendment", "budget-process", "national-debt"
Criminal Justice
Relating to domestic crime, law enforcement, and/or corrections.See: Civil Liberties and Civil Rights, Death Penalty, Drugs, Guns, Legal, National Security
Notes:
Common Tags: "law-enforcement", "human-trafficking", "sexual-assault", "domestic-violence", "police-officers", "Department-of-Justice", "Violence-Against-Women-Act", "public-safety", "criminal-justice-system", "military-sexual-assault", "gun-violence"
Criminal Justice degrees get this Cat.
Death Penalty
Includes issues such as official procedures for executions and prohibiting execution by the state.Notes:
Common Tags: "clemency-requests", "clemency-trials", "lethal-injection"
Defense
Relating to the defense of the United States, including defense spending and policy, as well as actions of the military.Notes:
Common Tags: "National-Defense-Authorization-Act", "defense-spending", "Iraq", "Iraq-War", "ISIL/ISIS/Islamic-State/Daesh", "Afganistan", "Syria", "Department-of-Defense", "NDAA", "terrorism", "Afghanistan-War", "United-States-Air-Force", "military-intervention-in-Syria", "cybersecurity"
Drugs
Includes issues relating to illegal drugs, legalizing drugs and the abuse of drugs.See: Marijuana Legalization
Notes: Select Health and Health Care for issues relating to prescription health care
Common Tags: "opioid-abuse", "opioid-addiction", "prescription-drug-abuse", "opioids", "heroin-abuse", "drug-addiction", "drug-overdoses", "Comprehensive-Addiction-and-Recovery-Act", "prescription-drugs", "drug-abuse"
Economy and Fiscal
Relating to taxation, government budgeting or spending, and business regulations.See: Budget, Spending and Taxes; and Business, Consumers and Employees
Notes:
Common Tags: "job-creation", "economic-growth", "unemployment-rates", "small-businesses", "economic-development", "employment-reports", "national-debt", "Affordable-Care-Act", "minimum-wages"
Education
Relating to educational standards, policies, and funding.See: K-12 education, Higher Education
Notes:
Common Tags: "education-funding", "early-childhood-education", "job-training", "STEM-education", "Common-Core", "public-schools", "Department-of-Education", "public-education-system", "Head-Start-Program"
Degrees in Education get this Cat.
Employment and Affirmative Action
Includes issues relating to employment standards and practices, such as hiring, termination, compensation, and workplace safety. Also includes issues of unemployment (but only as they relate to employment practices, such as tax credits for hiring unemployed workers).See: Labor Unions
Notes:
Common Tags: "job-creation", "minimum-wages", "unemployment-rates", "job-training", "Affordable-Care-Act", "small-businesses", "job-growth", "manufacturing-industry", "Department-of-Labor", "Paycheck-Fairness-Act"
Energy
Includes issues such as utility regulations, natural resource exploration, drilling for oil, incentives for cleaner energy, and emissions standards.See: Oil and Gas
Notes:
Common Tags: "Environmental-Protection-Agency", "renewable-energies", "EPA", "climate-change", "clean-energies", "energy-independence", "Department-of-Energy", "energy-efficiency", "nuclear-energy"
Entitlements and the Safety Net
Relating to government-administered social programs, including Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, and food stamps. Includes public pensions.Notes:
Common Tags: "Medicare", "Medicaid", "Social-Security", "unemployment-benefits", "welfare-fraud", "food-stamps", "TANF", "school-lunches", "Medicaid-expansion", "public-pensions"
Environment
Includes issues such as emissions standards, conservation, wilderness preservation, water and air quality regulations, and water supplies.Notes:
Common Tags: "Environmental-Protection-Agency", "wind-energy", "hydroelectric-power", "nuclear-power", "geothermal-power", "climate-change" (not global-warming), "sea-level-rise", "air-quality" (not air-pollution), "natural-disasters" (also gets National Security), "EPA-regulations, "severe-weather", "water-resources", "Great-Lakes", "water-supply", "water-quality", "wave-energy", "greenhouse-gases", "greenhouse-gas-emissions","BP-oil-spill", "Deepwater-Horizon"
Executive Branch
Includes issues relating to the Executive Branch, such as confirmation, impeachment, and administrative authority.Notes:
Common Tags: "executive-orders", "Alderman", "Board-of-Selectmen", "mayors"
Federal, State, and Local Relations
Relating to conflicts or changes of jurisdiction between the federal, state, and local levels of government, or between different governments on the same level.Notes:
Common Tags: "Puerto-Rican-statehood", "10th-Amendment", "PILT-program"
Finance and Banking
Relating to banks and other financial institutions. Includes issues such as credit, insurance, and securities.Notes:
Common Tags: "Wall-Street", "Dodd-Frank", "financial-industry-bailouts" (not "bank-bailouts), "US-credit-rating", "Detroit-bankruptcy", "bailouts", "bankruptcy", "SEC" and "Securities-and-Exchange-Commission", Terrorism-Risk-Insurance-Act", "accounting"
Degrees in Accounting or any other financial degree get this Cat.
Fiscally Conservative
Relating to advancing the principles of conservatism in fiscal matters.Notes: SHOULD NOT be used for Speeches or Votes unless explicitly approved by the Project Manager.
Common Tags:
Fiscally Liberal
Relating to advancing the principles of liberalism in fiscal matters.Notes: SHOULD NOT be used for Speeches or Votes unless explicitly approved by the Project Manager.
Common Tags:
Food Processing and Sales
Relating to the treatment, manufacture, and processing of food and beverages and food and beverage sales. Includes issues relating to food inspection, regulations, mandatory ingredients, restrictions on consumption, etc.Notes: Ag and Food is from nature, FPS is to the consumer
Common Tags: "food-stamps", "nutrition-programs", "SNAP" and "Supplemental-Nutrition-Assistance-Program", "TANF" and "Temporary-Assistance-for-Needy-Families", "e-cigarettes", "brewery-grain", "school-lunches"
Foreign Affairs
Relating to the United States' relations and policies with foreign nations.See: Defense, Foreign Aid, Immigration, Military, National Security, Trade
Notes:
Common Tags: "international-security", "Muammar-Gaddafi", "Hezbollah", "Middle-East-peace-process", "[name of a country]", "[name of a head of state]" ("Francois-Hollande", "Angela-Merkel" etc.), "Puerto-Rican-statehood", "2014-Russia-military-intervention-in-Ukraine", "2014-Ebola-outbreak" (if talking about "West-Africa), "Arab-Spring"
Degrees in international affairs/relations/studies get this Cat.
Foreign Aid
Relating to monetary or humanitarian aid given to foreign nations or groups, generally through the State Department.Notes:
Common Tags: "natural-disasters"
Gambling and Gaming
Relating to legalizing, licensing, regulating, restricting, or banning any form of gambling or gaming.Notes:
Common Tags: "casinos"
Government Budget and Spending
Relating to government spending or appropriations. Includes budget billsSee: Entitlements, Foreign Aid, Infrastructure
Notes: Never do "debt-" without "debt-limit"
Common Tags: "budget-process", "sequester", "US-credit-rating", "pork-spending", "budget-super-committee", "auto-industry-bailouts", "financial-industry-bailouts" (not "bank-bailouts), "foreign-bailouts", "debt-limit", "balanced-budget-amendments", "national-debt", "earmarks"
Government Operations
Relating to the role, structure, or practices of governmentSee: Budget, Spending, and Taxes, Campaign Finance and Elections, Constitution, Executive Branch, Judicial Branch, Legislative Branch, Federal, State and Local Relations
Notes:
Common Tags: "lobbying" and "lobbyists", "census", "government-shutdowns", "transparency" (not "government-transparency", "congressional-transparency" etc. Please do "transparency' and the thing the transparency is affecting (or intended to affect) instead of a single tag. E.g. "Federal-Reserve" and "transparency" not "Federal-Reserve-transparency"), "House-Select-Committee-on-Benghazi", "Ryan-budget", "redistricting", "gerrymandering", "zoning", "city-planning", "Planning-and-Zoning-Board," "daylight-savings-time," "time-zones"
Degrees in Political Science
Guns
Relating to purchasing, registering, carrying, and/or using firearms.Notes:
Common Tags: "hunting", "self-defense", "Stand-Your-Ground-laws", "gun-control", "background-checks", "2nd-Amendment", "high-capacity-magazines", "assault-weapons", "Newtown", "Aurora", "Manchin-Toomey-amendment", "straw-purchasing", "violent-media", "violent-video-games", "Operation-Fast-and-Furious"
Health and Health Care
Includes issues relating to public health, health insurance, prescription drugs, government healthcare programs, and medical malpracticeSee: Reproduction, Food Processing and Sales, Drugs, Environment, Health Insurance, Stem Cell Research
Notes: For diseases/conditions - In general: lowercase unless they have a persons name as in "Crohns-disease" or "Lou-Gehrigs-disease"
Common Tags: "HIV/AIDS" (do this whether they are talking about HIV or AIDS), "mental-health", "VA-scandal", "anthrax-attacks", "Ebola-virus", "VA-waiting-lists", "mental-health-care", "Affordable-Care-Act", "Affordable-Care-Act-repeals", "dentistry", "Registered-Nurses", "ophthalmology"
Any degrees of medicine/health get this Cat.
Health Insurance
Relating to private health insurance and/or healthcare programs administered by the governmentNotes:
Common Tags: "Affordable-Care-Act", "Medicare", "Medicaid", "health-insurance-premiums"
Obamacare related - Always do "Affordable-Care-Act", never do "Obamacare" even if that is all that is mentioned.
"Affordable-Care-Act-mandates" - this covers "employer-mandates", "individual-mandates", and "ACA-1099-reporting-mandates"
"Affordable-Care-Act-implementation" - this covers most of the issues with the roll-out of Healthcare.gov
"Affordable-Care-Act-repeal"
"Affordable-Care-Act-enrollment"
"health-insurance-exchanges" - this covers the "health-insurance-marketplace"
"pre-existing-conditions"
"Medicaid-expansion"
"dependent-health-care-coverage"
"religious-exemptions"
High Priority
Relating to the stated priorities of an official or candidateNotes: SHOULD ONLY be selected in collaboration between departments with explicit approval of the directors and the project manager.
Common Tags:
Higher Education
Relating to issues of higher education, such as student loans.Notes:
Common Tags: "student-loans", "community-colleges", "college-affordability", "tuition-rates", "Pell-Grants", "bachelors-degree", "associates-degree", "masters-degree", "professional-doctorate", "university-professors"
ANY college experience must get this CAT and just because a degrees is a BS or MS does not mean it automatically gets the Science Cat.
- Most Often Occurring College Majors:
-
Major Category besides Higher Education tag(s) Business Administration Business and Consumers Education Education History Arts, Entertainment, and History Physics Science physics Psychology Science Political Science Government Operations Law Legal lawyers Economics Economy and Fiscal Public Administration Government Operations Accounting Finance and Banking accounting Engineering Technology and Communications engineering Communications Technology and Communications Computer Science Technology and Communications Criminal Justice Criminal Justice Marketing Business and Consumers marketing Biology Science biology Chemistry Science chemistry Fine Arts Arts, Entertainment, and History
Housing and Property
Includes issues such as the transfer of land, eminent domain, building standards, affordable housing, and property taxes.Notes:
Common Tags: "veteran-homelessness" (also gets Veterans), "LIHEAP", "property-taxes", "Habitat-for-Humanity", "planning-commissions", "zoning", "city-planning", "homelessness", "Planning-and-Zoning-Board", "PILT-program",
Ideology
Relating to the interests representedSee: Impartial\Nonpartisan, Conservative, Liberal
Notes: This is a combo category - never select it.
Common Tags:
Immigration
Relating to immigration (legal and illegal), including requirements for immigration, border security, public benefits for illegal immigrants, defining the official language(s) of government, proof of citizenship requirements, and identification requirements.Notes: Do "H-1B-visas" or "H-2A-visas" or "J-1-visas" (no letter, still ok). Don't do "-program" as in "H-2B-visa-program" - just do "-visas"
"Common Tags": "border-security", "undocumented-children", "official-US-language", "preventing-foreign-terrorist-entry-executive-order", "immigration-enforcement"
Not OK
"illegal-immigrants"
"criminal-immigrants"
"amnesty-for-illegal-immigrants"
Impartial/Nonpartisan
Relating to advancing impartiality or nonpartisanship in matters of governanceNotes: SHOULD NOT be used for Speeches or Votes unless explicitly approved by the Project Manager.
Common Tags:
Indigenous Peoples
Relating to the relationships between the state or federal government and Native Americans/American Indians, Native Hawaiians, and Native Alaskans.Notes:
Common Tags: "tribal-lands", "tribal-sovereignty"
Industries
Relating to a specific industrySee: Agriculture and Food, Arts, Entertainment and History, Defense, Education, Energy, Finance and Banking, Gambling and Gaming, Health and Health Care, Housing and Property, Science,
Communication, Transportation
Notes: This is a combo category - never select it.
Common Tags:
Infrastructure
Relating to public services, including water, power, public property, and other basic government services.See: Transportation
Notes:
Common Tags: "police-officers", "firefighters", "solid-waste", "United-States-Postal-Service," "police-department-funding", "ports-harbors-and-waterways", "infrastructure-funding"
Includes funding for police departments (which could also get Criminal Justice in some cases)
Judicial Branch
Relating to judicial practices and procedures, including nominations, term limits, and other issues specific to the judicial branch.See: Legal
Notes:
Common Tags: "judicial-nominations", "federal-judicial-nominations", "United-States-District-Courts", "Supreme-Court", "Supreme-Court-rulings"
K-12 Education
Relating to issues of K-12 education. Includes issues such as charter schools, vouchers, teachers' pay, and No Child Left Behind.Notes:
Common Tags: "charter-schools", "school-choice", "Common-Core-standards" (could also be Federal, State, and Local Relations), "No-Child-Left-Behind", "NCLB-waivers", "Common-Core", "teachers", "early-childhood-education", "K-12-education-funding"
Labor Unions
Relating to trade unions and/or collective bargaining.Notes:
Common Tags: "National-Labor-Relations-Board", "AFL-CIO" and "American-Federation-of-Labor-and-Congress-of-Industrial-Organizations", "United-Auto-Workers"
Legal
Relating to legal processes and procedures. Includes issues relating to lawsuits.Notes:
Common Tags: "patents", "adoptions", "lawyers", "bar-associations"
If a degree is a JD, Cat Legal and tag "lawyers"
Legislative Branch
Relating to the benefits and restrictions Congress or a state legislature imposes on itself, including compensation, ethics standards, and authority. This category also includes campaign regulations on Congressional and state legislative candidates.Notes:
Common Tags: "congressional-pay", "filibusters", "congressional-ethics", "transparency", "City-Council", "county-commissioners", "Alderman", "freeholders" (only found in New Jersey), "town-supervisors"
Liberal
Relating to advancing the principles of liberalism. Includes interest groups that classify themselves as representing liberal perspectives on multiple issues and ratings that evaluate candidates and officials on how liberal they are.See: Fiscally Liberal, Socially Liberal
Notes: SHOULD NOT be used for Speeches or Votes unless explicitly approved by the Project Manager.
Common Tags:
Low Priority
Relating to an official's or candidate's stated priorities.Notes: SHOULD ONLY be selected in collaboration between departments with explicit approval of the directors and the project manager.
Common Tags:
Marijuana Legalization
Relating to the legalization or decriminalization of Marijuana, including for medical use.Notes:
Common Tags: "industrial-hemp", "medical-marijuana"
Marriage
Includes issues such as the definition of marriage, civil unions, and domestic partnerships.Notes:
Common Tags: "same-sex-marriage", "traditional-marriage"
Marriage, Family and Children
Includes issues directly affecting families, such as children's health care, childcare, and rights of minors. This category also includes definitions of marriage, civil unions, and domestic partnerships.See: Marriage, Children
Notes:
Common Tags: "child-tax-credits", "Child-Tax-Credit-Improvement-Act", "Child-Care-and-Development-Block-Grant", "same-sex-marriage", "child-support"
Military Personnel
Relating to active enlisted personnel of the US military and their families, such as military salaries, healthcare, and education benefits. This also includes the the funding of projects for the military.See: Defense, for issues relating to defense policy, war issues, and the actions of the military; or Veterans, for issues relating to retired or former military personnel
Notes:
Common Tags: "United-States-Army", "United-States-Air-Force", "United-States-Navy", "United-States-Coast-Guard", "United-States-Marine-Corp", "National-Guard-and-Reserves", "Navy-SEALs", "military-health-care"
Minors and Children
Includes issues directly affecting children under the age of 18.Notes:
Common Tags: "pre-school-education", "Boy-Scouts-of-America", "Girl-Scouts-of-America", "Big-Brothers-Big-Sisters", "youth-programs", "youth-sports", "Kiwanis-Club", "child-labor", "immigrant-children", "child-trafficking"
Monetary Policy
Relating to currency and the supply of money. Includes interest rate manipulations, quantitative easing, currency manipulations, and issues of legal tender. Often involves actions of the Federal Reserve and Treasury Department.Notes:
Common Tags: "Federal-Reserve", "Ben-Bernanke", "Janet-Yellen", "IMF" and "International-Monetary-Fund", "currency-manipulation"
National Security
Includes issues relating to the "Department-of-Homeland-Security" and customs regulations. This category excludes issues such as immigration unless national security is explicitly addressed.Notes:
Common Tags: "cybersecurity", "drone-policy", "natural-disasters" (also generally gets Environment), "TSA" and "Transportation-Security-Administration", "PATRIOT-Act", "terrorism", "terrorists", "al-Qaeda", "anthrax-attacks", "Terrorism-Risk-Insurance-Act", "ISIL/ISIS/Islamic-State/Daesh"
Natural Resources and Energy
Relating to the production, acquisition, distribution, or consumption of natural resources and energy.See: Agriculture and Food, Animals and Wildlife, Energy, Environment
Notes:
Common Tags: "timber-industry", "coal-mining", "mineral-resource-management", "mining-industry"
Oil and Gas
Relating specifically to the production, acquisition, distribution, and consumption of oil and natural gas.Notes:
Common Tags: "natural-gas", "Keystone-XL-pipeline", "BP-oil-spill", "offshore-oil-and-gas", "liquefied-natural-gas", "petroleum", "hydraulic-fracturing", "natural-gas-pipelines", "BP-oil-spill", "Deepwater-Horizon", "Dakota-Access-Pipeline"
Populations
Relating to groups of individualsSee: Business, Consumers and Employees, Executive Branch, Judicial Branch, Legislative Branch, Immigration, Indigenous Peoples, Marriage, Family and Children, Military Personnel, Senior Citizens, Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity, Unemployed and Low-Income, Veterans, Women
Notes: This is a broad organizational category - NEVER SELECT IT
Common Tags:
Priorities
Relating to priorities indicated by an individual candidate or official.See: High-Priority, Low-Priority
Notes: This is a combo category - never select it.
Common Tags:
Religion
Relating directly to the practice of religion or a religious group. Includes instances of religion affecting public policy if explicitly mentioned.Notes: Use "ism"s. If someone is talking about celebrating Hannukah, do "Judaism" not "Jew" or "Jewish". Avoid more specific branches of major relgions, particularly if they have political connotations, such as "Evangelical" or "Fundamentalist" but even "Baptist" should be avoided in favor of just "Christianity"
Common Tags: "Christianity", "Judaism", "Islam" (not "Muslim" but you can do "Muslim-American"), "Buddhism", "Sikhism", "Christmas", "Hanukkah", "Ramadan", "Bible", "Quran", "Torah", "Knights-of-Columbus"
Any religious-based degrees also get this Cat.
Science
Relating to science, including medical research and the teaching of alternative scientific theories.See: Stem Cell Research
Notes:
Common Tags: "NASA" and "National-Aeronautics-and-Space-Administration", "biology", "physics", "chemistry", "science-technology-engineering-and-mathematics-education", "STEM-education"
Any science-based degrees get this Cat.
Science, Technology and Communication
Relating to science, including research and education, new technology and its uses, and communications.See: Science; Technology and Communication
Notes: This is a combo category - never select it.
Common Tags:
Senior Citizens
Includes issues such as pensions and amending social security.Notes:
Common Tags: "Medicare", "pensions", "Social-Security", "AARP" and "American-Association-of-Retired-Persons"
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity
Includes issues such as civil unions and Constitutional amendments defining marriage.Notes: We use the full 5 letter acronym "LGBTQ"
Common Tags: "LGBTQ", "LGBTQ-discrimination", "LGBTQ-employment", "ENDA" and "Employment-Non-Discrimination-Act", "DOMA" and "Defense-of-Marriage-Act", "DADT" and "Don't-Ask-Don't-Tell", "Stonewall-Democrats"
Social
Relating to the interaction between society as a whole and people's personal lives.See: Socially Conservative, Socially Liberal, Reproduction, Animals and Wildlife, Arts, Entertainment and History, Criminal Justice, National Security, Gambling and Gaming, Immigration, Marriage, Family and Children, Religion, Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity, Stem Cell Research.
Notes: This is a broad organizational category - NEVER SELECT IT
Common Tags:
Socially Conservative
Relating to what a person or a group of people believe is the preservation of traditional values.Notes: SHOULD NOT be used for Speeches or Votes unless explicitly approved by the Project Manager.
Common Tags:
Socially Liberal
Relating to the expansion or protection of personal freedoms.Notes: SHOULD NOT be used for Speeches or Votes unless explicitly approved by the Project Manager.
Common Tags:
Stem Cell Research
Includes issues such as the funding, restriction, or prohibition of stem cell research. This category also includes human cloning if stem cells are specifically mentioned.Notes: very rare
Common Tags: "human-cloning"
Taxes
Relating to tax changes. This applies to both the implementation or amending of taxes as well as the payment of taxes by individuals.Notes: do not use "cut" "hike" "raise" "slash" etc. - "property-taxes" not "property-tax-hike". Specific taxes don't have to be plural. A class of tax should - "payroll-tax" is good, "the income tax" isn't a thing, so do "income-taxes".
Common Tags: "estate-tax" (not death-tax), "tax-loopholes", "IRS-targeting-controversy", "payroll-tax", "Bush-tax-cuts" (as long as they use that phrase), "Earned-Income-Tax-Credit", "corporate-inversions", "fair-tax", "IRS" and "Internal-Revenue-Service", "PILT-program"
Technology and Communication
Includes issues such as regulations of new types of technology and their uses, as well as regulations of communication.Notes:
Common Tags: "cybersecurity", "Federal-Communications-Commission", "cell-phone-unlocking", "drone-policy", "Internet", "Internet-policy", "Internet-freedom", "Internet-privacy", "e-cigarettes", "STEM-education", "science-technology-engineering-and-mathematics-education", civil-engineering", "engineering", "chemical-engineering", "radio-broadcasting", "television-broadcasting", "cyberbullying"
Trade
Relating to interstate trade or trade between the United States and other nations.Notes:
Common Tags: "sanctions-on-[country]", "free-trade", "TPP" and "Trans-Pacific-Partnership", "NAFTA" and "North-American-Free-Trade-Agreement", "fair-trade"
Transportation
Relating to transportation policy, including highways, shipping, vehicle standards, aviation, parking authorities, and fuel issues.Notes:
Common Tags: "Transportation-Security-Administration", "Highway-Trust-Fund", "travel-bans", "airports", "pilots", "taxis", "drunk-driving", "roads-bridges-freeways-and-highways"
Unemployed and Low-Income
Relating to domestic poverty or unemployment issues, including financial hardship and government assistance such as Welfare, Medicaid, and affordable housing.Notes:
Common Tags: "minimum-wages", "Medicaid", "unemployment-benefits", "Earned-Income-Tax-Credit", "welfare-fraud", "LIHEAP" / "Low-Income-Home-Energy-Assistance-Program", "Habitat-for-Humanity"
Veterans
Relating to veterans' healthcare and benefits.Notes:
Common Tags: "VA-claims-backlog","veteran-homelessness", "VA-waiting-lists","VA-scandal", "VA-hospitals", "veterans-health-care"
If a candidate has formerly served in one of the nation's armed forces, Cat Veterans and tag whatever branch it is.
Women
Includes issues such as workplace discrimination, sexual assault, and women's health issues such as requiring human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccinationsSee: Reproduction
Notes:
Common Tags: "sexual-assault", "domestic-violence", "VAWA" and "Violence-Against-Women-Act", "gender-wage-gap"
