(cross posted from OHP)

OpenCongress has just released a votes comparison tool.

This strikes me as a big step forward. Several elements of well-coordinated data have been combined to produce something much more useful than the sum of its parts.

A well structured database of bills, votes, Members of Congress, and notable bills (see the “Hot” icon?) allows for a quick and dirty comparison of voting records on bills that are easier to evaluate. The comparison also highlights the differences between selected Members’ votes, allowing for a quick evaluation of differences.

While legislative intent is still hard to boil down to individual votes, tools like this one from OpenCongress go a long way toward turning a jumble of legislative information (and mis-information) into something comprehensible.