For the geeks following Blogging Blue, there’s a new Android App called Congress from Sunlight Labs, part of the Sunlight Foundation, that according to Bilerico Project is:
“‘Congress’ is an exhaustive open-source resource for all things legislative. The app can use your location to identify who your local representatives are, as well as pull up voting records, sponsored bills, and contact information for any member of Congress.
Interested in seeing what new bills were introduced, voted on, or recently made into law? ‘Congress’ brings everything to your fingertips. If you’re a fan of calling your lawmakers to give them a piece of your constituental mind, you can ditch the rolodex and place a call directly from your Android device. In addition to calling your lawmakers, the app puts you in touch with their latest tweets, videos, and news coverage, helping you become a better informed citizen.”
I’m the proud owner of a Samsung Moment and I’ve downloaded Congress from the App Market and was excited to see that it is a really robust pocket application including voting records, sponsored bills, YouTube videos, Twitter feeds, committees and contact information for those representing us in Congress. For political voyeurs it is a quick and easy way to see what’s happening, and for the more activist among us, it gives you quick and easy access to voice your pleasure or disdain with a given vote or position.
For the geekier folks, you can scan the QR code below to download the app.
If you aren’t sure what a QR code is, you can learn more about it here.
It was interesting to see that the screen shot that Sunlight Labs used in their announcement was one for Madison’s own Representative Tammy Baldwin.
