How to Use Countable to Keep Track of What Congress Is Working On
Connecting with your representatives in Congress is one of the best ways to make a name for yourself in politics between elections. But because they decide so many issues and vote on so many bills, it can be difficult to know when something big is happening. Countable gives you a roadmap.
Countable is a free iOS and Android app and you can use it on the web as well. You will need to create an account (or sign in with Facebook) to personalize it according to your location and your interests.
Find your legislators
If you live in a US state, you have three people to represent you in Washington: two senators who represent your state and one member of the House of Representatives who represents a specific region, called a constituency , in your state.
This is why the first step in setting up Countable is to enter your zip code. If your zip code includes more than one county, it will ask you for your full address to determine where you are.
You can check your three legislators anytime through the app. Countable tells you when their terms of office expire (if it’s 2019, that means they’ll be re-elected in 2018) and provides contact information for their Washington DC office: phone, fax, and email. This information is easy enough to google, but it is convenient to place it here. You can even call or email by simply clicking a button in the app. There is also a video button allowing you to record a short message and send it by email; Countable says they keep track of whether they are actually watching the video.
Best of all, you can keep track of how your members of Congress vote and what bills they sponsored. I see, for example, Senator Casey (D-PA) voted against repealing the EPA’s flow protection rule , but Senator Toomey (R-PA) voted in favor.
Sponsoring a bill is a legislator’s way of showing support for it. It is also a hint that this topic is of concern to the legislator (or wants to be concerned). For example, Senator Toomey is sponsoring a City of Refuge bill that has yet to be voted on.
Indicate your interests
Another step in setting up a Countable account is to select your interests from a (long) list. For example, I checked the boxes for women’s health, voice, science and technology, and more. Then, when you use the app, you can click the Issues button to see the latest invoices for that topic. For example, under Women’s Health, there is a law to fund abortion providers and to expedite the FDA’s review of over-the-counter birth control .
This is where Countable beats other sites like govtrack.us that simply track legislation. This will help you find bills that may interest you so that you can contact members of Congress before the law will be voted on. At the same time, many bills are never put to a vote; Here are some tips on how to determine which ones are worth spending your time on .
Read about outstanding invoices
Countable always gives a short description of each bill and then asks “yes” or “no” – but that’s not all.
You can read the opinions of other Countable users on why they “voted” this way. This is a surprisingly good way to understand why people might support or oppose a bill. This is especially useful when you see a bill that looks like it’s good. Are you wondering what’s the catch? And someone immediately helpfully shows how they see it.
Obviously, a few comments are not all. So the Countable has a rundown of the bill under “What’s this?” this not only explains what the bill says, but also gives some context of where it came from and why it is put to the vote. For example, the page on repealing the flow protection rule notes that the rule was finalized under the Obama administration and that such rules could be lifted within 60 days under the Congressional Revision Act.
The Billing Account page also contains other useful information that can help you understand the bill:
- Its cost is subject to an estimate.
- Links to press releases and news about it
- Who sponsored it
- The official title and number of the bill, as well as (on the web) a link to the full text of the bill.
You can also see where the bill is in the legislative process. Remember, a bill must be passed by committees and then by a full house or by the Senate before it is passed to another house and then to the president. So if a bill is passed by the House of Representatives and is on its way to the Senate, this is your signal to report it to your senators.
Use Countable as a roadmap, but don’t stop there
Countable is great for keeping track of bills and legislators at the federal level, but does not include what is happening at the state or local level .
To follow the laws of your state, you need to dig deeper. Votespotter (web / iOS / Android) can tell you how the representatives of your state voted, but this information comes after the fact; he will not inform you of upcoming bills.
Your state legislature should have a website that publishes information about upcoming bills, but we don’t know of a single app that does an excellent job of sorting and personalizing that information at the state level. This is where it helps you find the right groups and publications locally. For example, a newspaper in your city can help. Many advocacy groups follow federal and state law well on their topic, so joining a group or following their social media can keep you updated.