We're tremendously excited to announce the next version of Congress for iOS! Download and update for free right now to get push notifications on the bills, votes and politicians you care about.
Continue readingTag Archive: Technology
If Sunlight Foundation Then That
Sunlight Foundation + IFTTT lets you connect the services and devices you use to the actions of the government.
Continue readingThe Sunlight Foundation’s Data Visualization Style Guidelines
A look at our Data Viz Guide, why we created it and how well it's working.
Continue readingSunlight’s Dodd-Frank Tracker is being decommissioned
Today we are turning off our Dodd-Frank tracker. It will still be online but it will be frozen in time, no longer reflecting new meetings.
Continue readingMaking JSON as simple as a spreadsheet
Recently, I gave a workshop at Open Data Day whose goal was to demystify JSON. I searched, but couldn't find any tools to do this that worked inside the browser. The only solution was to make a new one!
Continue readingUser interface pro tips with Senator McCaskill
Yesterday morning the Subcommittee on Contracting Oversight held a hearing on contractor performance information and its ease of use for oversight purposes.
Continue readingUpdate: Ad Hawk for iOS 7
Ad Hawk, Sunlight's free app to identify and learn more about political ads as they air, is now in the App Store with new iOS 7 optimization and other fixes.
Continue readingChile passes lobbying law, a first in Latin America
Due to the efforts of civil society and the near unanimous support of both houses of the country's parliament, Chile has become the first country in Latin America with legislation on lobbying disclosure.
Continue readingCongress in photos, a civic hacking success story
For the last 5 years or more, we've maintained a dataset of photos of members of Congress, mostly manually, and published them as zip files. It worked, but wasn't a great process for us or for people using the photos. We also weren't 100% certain about the copyright status of the photos, or whether a contractor's copyright might be involved. But thanks to an enthusiastic contributor, and an ensuing burst of discussion and work, all of that's been fixed up!
Continue readingOpen Data Day 2014, D.C.’s biggest ever
At Open Data Day, our focus was on getting people together and building momentum — rather than finishing "apps." There was no judging or prizes, no pizza or soda, and a clear welcome to anyone without a technical background.
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