Congress.gov API

Base URL

https://api.congress.gov/v3

Authentication

A free key from api.data.gov is required. DEMO_KEY works for a handful of test calls but is shared globally and capped at roughly 30 requests per hour per IP — register your own key before building anything.

Rate limit

5,000 requests per hour with a registered key. DEMO_KEY is capped far lower and shared with every other anonymous caller from your IP.

Pricing

Free. US government works are in the public domain.

CORS

Enabled — callable directly from browser JavaScript

Official docs

Read the docs

Every request below was executed against the live API on 2026-08-21, and the response shown is the real body it returned — not an illustration.

curl 'https://api.congress.gov/v3/bill?api_key=DEMO_KEY&limit=1'

const res = await fetch("https://api.congress.gov/v3/bill?api_key=DEMO_KEY&limit=1");
if (!res.ok) throw new Error(`Request failed: ${res.status}`);
const data = await res.json();
console.log(data);

import requests

res = requests.get("https://api.congress.gov/v3/bill?api_key=DEMO_KEY&limit=1", timeout=20)
res.raise_for_status()
print(res.json())

{
  "bills": [
    {
      "congress": 110,
      "introducedDate": "2007-01-04",
      "latestAction": {
        "actionDate": "2007-04-26",
        "text": "Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR H4200)"
      },
      "number": "10",
      "originChamber": "House",
      "originChamberCode": "H",
      "title": "Expressing the sense of the Congress that the tax give away since 2001 to the wealthiest 5 percent of Americans should be repealed and those monies instead invested in vital programs to relieve the growing burden on the working poor and to alleviate poverty in America.",
      "type": "HCONRES",
      "updateDate": "2024-02-07",
      "updateDateIncludingText": "2024-02-07",
      "url": "https://api.congress.gov/v3/bill/110/hconres/10?format=json"
    }
  ],
  "pagination": {
    "count": 429666,
    "next": "https://api.congress.gov/v3/bill?offset=1&limit=1&format=json"
  },
  "request": {
    "contentType": "application/json",
    "format": "json"
  }
}

billsarray

The bills. Other endpoints return their own top-level key, such as `members` or `amendments`.

bills[].congressinteger

Congress number — 110 is 2007-2008. Part of the bill's identity, not metadata.

bills[].type / numberstring

Bill type such as `HCONRES` or `HR`, plus its number. Together with `congress` these form the citation.

bills[].titlestring

Official title, which for resolutions can run to a full paragraph.

bills[].originChamber / originChamberCodestring

`House` or `Senate`, with a single-letter code alongside.

bills[].introducedDatestring

When the bill was introduced.

bills[].latestActionobject

Most recent action with `actionDate` and `text` — the fastest way to see where a bill stands.

bills[].updateDate / updateDateIncludingTextstring

Two update stamps; the second also moves when the bill text changes.

bills[].urlstring

Absolute link to that bill's own detail resource.

pagination.count / pagination.nextinteger and string

Total matches and a ready-made next-page URL.

• Track a bill's progress through Congress
• Monitor newly introduced legislation on a topic
• Build a legislative alerting service
• Cross-reference bills with sponsors and committee reports
• Archive the official text and actions for a bill