Welcome, Citizen Journalist

Volunteers from across the country have already investigated 18 congressional web sites. The Sunlight Foundation needs you to help research the remaining 518!

Though no law requires them to do so, members of Congress maintain official Web sites at taxpayer expense to provide their constituents and the general public with relevant information about their work in Washington on our behalf.

Do these Web sites cut through the bewildering array of information available online about the Legislative Branch, making it easier for you to find relevant information about a member’s official acts and publicly required disclosures? Do they contribute to government transparency?

The Sunlight Foundation asks you to exercise citizen oversight and find out if we are getting our money’s worth from these congressional Web sites.

We’re asking you to answer three broad questions:

Does the Web site provide or link to official sources with thorough information about the member’s legislative and committee activities?

Does the Web site provide or link to any of the information that, by law, a member of Congress must disclose to the public (though not necessarily online)?

Does the Web site, in any way, provide transparency or disclosure that goes beyond what is officially available or required by law?


To answer these questions, you will have to search through a member’s Web site and determine whether the member provides or links to specific kinds of information. From start to finish, it shouldn't take more than 10 minutes!

To get started, select a state: