# How can I know what Senators and Representatives are voting on? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [January 3, 2017, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-know-what-senators-and-representatives-are-voting-on/776277 "2017-01-03T22:09:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Sam\_Lowry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Sam\_Lowry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Lowry)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2017, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-know-what-senators-and-representatives-are-voting-on/776277/1 "2017-01-03T22:09:34Z")
There was a vote today about the House Ethics committee, and I called my congressman about it, but I suspect in the upcoming years there will be plenty of other times I’ll want to make my opinion known. What is the best way to keep up with what Congress is voting on? Just keep up with the news and hope that no important votes are overshadowed by something crazy Trump said? Or is there something else? I don’t want to just wait until Facebook is upset by something to make a call, because Facebook could easily be distracted by something else. I’d appreciate any advice on how best to keep up with things, or any advice on how best to make a difference. I know a call isn’t much, but it’s better than an angry tweet, and a lot of calls can make a Congress person at least consider the issue. Maybe not in their core values like abortion or something, but maybe with something like today’s Ethics committee vote. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2017, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-know-what-senators-and-representatives-are-voting-on/776277/2 "2017-01-03T22:50:12Z")
[https://www.congress.gov/](https://www.congress.gov/) > **[U.S. Senate: Commonly Searched for Legislation (118th Congress)](https://www.senate.gov/legislative/active_leg_page.htm)** > > \_Commonly Searched for Legislation (118th Congress) [http://clerk.house.gov/floorsummary/floor.aspx](http://clerk.house.gov/floorsummary/floor.aspx) > **[GovTrack.us](https://www.govtrack.us/)** > > Tracking legislation and votes in the United States Congress. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Lowry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Sam\_Lowry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Lowry)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2017, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-know-what-senators-and-representatives-are-voting-on/776277/3 "2017-01-05T01:49:49Z")
Thanks Little Nemo, those are definitely comprehensive, maybe a bit too much for me. I guess I’ll look for some blogs or political junkie Twitter feeds that will be informative but not have every single bill. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2017, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-know-what-senators-and-representatives-are-voting-on/776277/4 "2017-01-06T01:17:43Z")
Just spend some time scanning [politicalwire](https://politicalwire.com/) You will get a good idea of what’s going on in politics. ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2017, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-know-what-senators-and-representatives-are-voting-on/776277/6 "2017-01-08T18:21:30Z")
Sam, much of what Congres votes on is mundane and uninteresting, and unlikely to inspire a lot of passion from you or most Americans. Just watching [lists like this](https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/browse?status=6,7,8&sort=-current_status_date) gets boring quickly. If there are particular subjects that are important / interesting to you, I’d suggest paying attention to groups that focus on that particular area. Perhaps even donating to or volunteering with those groups to help get the word out when Congress does actually do something significant on an issue that matters to you. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2017, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-know-what-senators-and-representatives-are-voting-on/776277/7 "2017-01-08T22:09:02Z")
This is actually a General Question, but I am going to leave it here, for a bit, on the grounds that many **Elections** denizens will find it useful. [/Moderating] ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Lowry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Sam\_Lowry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Lowry)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2017, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-know-what-senators-and-representatives-are-voting-on/776277/8 "2017-01-10T02:56:55Z")
> [@dalej42](#): > > Just spend some time scanning [politicalwire](https://politicalwire.com/) You will get a good idea of what’s going on in politics. Thanks, that’s a good link. > [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > Sam, much of what Congres votes on is mundane and uninteresting, and unlikely to inspire a lot of passion from you or most Americans. Just watching [lists like this](https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/browse?status=6,7,8&sort=-current_status_date) gets boring quickly. > > If there are particular subjects that are important / interesting to you, I’d suggest paying attention to groups that focus on that particular area. Perhaps even donating to or volunteering with those groups to help get the word out when Congress does actually do something significant on an issue that matters to you. I do donate to various groups and am on their mailing lists, I guess I should work on cleaning out my inbox a bit so I notice more quickly when something actually important comes in and don’t miss it among all the various emails about online sales.