October was a big month for Congress.gov with the addition of House Communications. November continues our frequent update release schedule that we started back in July.
Search Tip
Adrienne recently posted a great search tip, Sort Legislation by Number of Cosponsors:
Want to sort legislation by number of cosponsors using Congress.gov? Follow these steps to accomplish the task.
- Start with a search to find legislation with a certain number of cosponsors or more. The example below shows a search for legislation with at least 200 cosponsors, but you can change the number easily. Use the billCosponsorCount: field label along with the number of cosponsors to create a search expression like billCosponsorCount:[200 TO *], and enter it in the Homepage Main search box. Select the magnifying glass icon or press enter to execute the search. Note - For more information on searching with field labels, see Congress.gov Help.
- From the search results page, select the blue Download Results link next to the Save this Search link above the filters on the upper left side of the page. This will provide you with a spreadsheet of your search results (up to 500 items), including the number of cosponsors for each item. Note that spreadsheets download in CSV format, so you may want to add some formatting to suit your preferences.
- Sort your spreadsheet by the Number of Cosponsors column to view measures in Ascending or Descending order according to the number of cosponsors.
New Enhancements for November 2017
There were a few updates to the Congressional Record in this release. One improvement was to make it more searchable from Global, Quick, and Query Builder searches. Another was to update the language in the Congressional Record email alert to include a link to browse the Congressional Record.
We also added House Communications to the Search Tools page (also known as the Accordion of Knowledge).
In addition, here is the enhancement for November listed on Congress.gov:
Enhancement – Query Builder
- Improved search functionality for words in nomination actions or Nominations Action picklist searches on specific dates or date ranges. Example searches:
Top 10
Robert continues to update the Most-Viewed Bills (have you subscribed by RSS or email?). Legislation from the 102nd Congress made it into the list this week. Here is the top 10 for the week of October 29, 2017:
| 1. | H.R.861 [115th] | To terminate the Environmental Protection Agency. |
| 2. | H.Con.Res.71 [115th] | Establishing the congressional budget for the United States Government for fiscal year 2018 and setting forth the appropriate budgetary levels for fiscal years 2019 through 2027. |
| 3. | H.R.392 [115th] | Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act of 2017 |
| 4. | H.R.3999 [115th] | To amend title 18, United States Code, to prohibit the manufacture, possession, or transfer of any part or combination of parts that is designed and functions to increase the rate of fire of a semiautomatic rifle but does not convert the semiautomatic rifle into a machinegun, and for other purposes. |
| 5. | H.R.899 [115th] | To terminate the Department of Education. |
| 6. | H.J.Res.111 [115th] | Providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection relating to “Arbitration Agreements”. |
| 7. | H.R.2810 [115th] | National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2018 |
| 8. | H.R.2266 [115th] | Additional Supplemental Appropriations for Disaster Relief Requirements Act, 2017 |
| 9. | H.R.38 [115th] | Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2017 |
| 10. | S.3006 [102nd] | President John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act of 1992 |
Our current release schedule provides more frequent Enhancements to Congress.gov. In addition to the House Communications update in October, we had updates in early September, late September, and one in August.