Reddit, I am a former House staffer and just built an iPhone app that hacks into Congress's local voting alert system to notify its users when Congress is actually voting and what they are voting on. Ask me anything!

Would you ever consider a 99 cent upgrade that shows what each Congressman voted for/against on past and current issues? That would be very helpful come voting time.

No. I would be interested in making that a FREE upgrade. Great idea.

Wow that's generous and you're awesome. Just wondering, do you make any revenue from your app if you list it as free?

None, but I need to find a way to raise funds or get grants to keep developing it. Kickstarter maybe? All the most successful Kickstarter campaigns look like they are produced by studios - a luxury I don't have the cash for unfortunately.

[deleted]

That's a great idea. I will consider how to do that - I am open to recommendations. Thanks.

On Android, most devs just have both a free version and a paid donate version on the market. Not sure if you can do the same on Apple's app store.

I don't believe it's an option on iTunes, but you can add an "in-app purchase" feature that could probably be configured for a donation. Any updates you make to an iOS app need to go through the week long review process again to get back on the store though.

I just added one to the site! I am not sure if I can use a regular hyperlink, but I will try it again in a few minutes. Thanks for the tip.

Ah, that kind of sucks. Good luck to you anyway. Just downloaded it. Good job!

Thanks! Let me know what you think.

Thanks to the jobs act you may be able to crowd fund it soon

Ha, very true! For the immediate future, I want to keep focusing on making a better app and making it available to different platforms. Raising capital is a full time job on its own.

So when do we get to buy weed?

When we start keeping better tabs on Congress, so we can ensure they are working for us rather than prison and law enforcement industries.

Edit: Or putting any other industry before the public good for that matter!

I feel like it's not right for them to allow us to smoke it in certain areas, yet limit our ability to purchase it

Better yet, why is it illegal at all while, nationally, alcohol and cigarettes are legal, and opiates are legally obtainable too. What empirical data justifies that legal reasoning? We need the data out in the public, openly discussed, to make our laws betters.

When are you coming out with an Android version? :)

I want to start on it ASAP!

To Java coding it is!!

I want to personally learn mobile app development myself this summer in Java along with my buddy.

Also, have you heard of that uhhhh "Metaiioo" programming language? It's supposed to be cross platform meaning you develop in it, and it's cross platform for Windows, iOS, and Android...

I haven't heard of that, but it sounds like I should learn more about it. Fortunately, my back end is pretty platform agnostic, so it's really just the interfaces that have to be tailored to Android, Windows, etc.

Can you set up a mailing list for when it's released? I'd love to have an app like that on my phone.

Someone else asked for this too. PM your email to me, and I will start the list!

Awesome idea and clean execution- great work! As someone who has spent far too much of their life staring at CSPAN, I look forward to knowing when to tune in.

Thank you. That's really gratifying to hear! Believe me, I know your pain. Frankly, I couldn't believe this didn't already exist when I started on it earlier this year.

Neither can I. Technology has afforded us such a bright future in terms of potential government transparency, and apps like this are the kind of thing that'll take us there. Thanks again!

There's a lot of work to do in bringing Congress into the 21st Century. You wouldn't believe how dysfunction the Congressional Research Service is.

I'm going to be an intern in D.C. this summer, and I will be helping out L.A.s with researching topics. Any tips?

Work hard. Do anything asked of you, and do it to completion. We all go there to do the legislative work, but often you have to help with mundane tasks to help your colleagues that are too busy with more important work to handle them. If you can set your pride aside to be willing to do anything when it's needed (and I mean even things as gross as cleaning the fridge), you will really demonstrate your ability as a team player. That may sounds totally appalling, but keep in mind that every staffer there is an assistant, and everyone does this stuff no matter how senior they are. I have literally seen chiefs of staff cleaning out gnarly fridges on multiple occasions. You see them doing that, offer to help.

That said, whenever you are out of work to do, ask everyone in the office what they need help on. That's how you get the coolest tasks to do too, like researching a new legislative initiative or setting up a staff briefing with the DOE.

Be proactive. Get your hands dirty when necessary. Let people know you are there to help. Never leave an assignment unfinished.

Why would such an app be useful? I guess I'm not familiar with the problem it is fixing.

Currently, the only way for anyone off the Hill (and many on the Hill) to know when Congress is voting in real-time is by staring at C-SPAN. I hope this encourages greater Congressional transparency.

I have always wanted to know how my senators and congressman is doing. Thanks for the app!

They are debating CISPA right now.

For a very loose definition of the term "debate".

Indeed. I would love to see a real debate on the floor this year.

And since I failed to say it in my previous comment, thanks for making this app. I'll be looking forward to the Android version.

Thanks for the encouragement!

Thanks for your effort! I just downloaded this app, but I'm wondering, is there a section for the Senate? Or am I using the app incorrectly? If not, I'm sure you're hard at work on adding new things. I would suggest incorporating the activities of committees and subcommittees as well. Great job overall, I'll be sure to tell friends.

Please do tell your friends! It's really helpful getting feedback like that.

You aren't the first person to notice the absence of the Senate alerts. Since I am bootstrapping this, my priority has been to get the House features up and running. Senate support will come soon though.

Can you give a description of how this works for the technically competant? You need to be very, very sure this is llegal.

Did they forget to check authentication and put private data on a publicly accessible website? I know it's the common sense equivalent of putting a reading poster on a public building, but people have been portraied in the media and court as "leet cyber-hackers" for that kind of thing. The current computer crime laws are very, very general/broad/vague. In theory everytime you visit a website you break them. You could end up like Aaron Swartz or Andrew Auernheimer link

Judges and Juries may well listen, with fear, to a prosecutor say "hacks into Congress" and snooze though the technical description.

Also I can easily read your phone and fax number from the photo verification picture that you posted.

Ha, well, 1) as a FORMER House staffer, you won't find me there 2) That phone number no longer belongs to the same office. Still, I think it's best to leave whoever's at that number alone.

As for legality, the data source (spectrum-based) is completely public and I have run it by a former general counsel of the House, the Office of the Clerk, and a few more third parties to be safe. I feel confident that Capitol Bells is operating within the law.

Awesome!

It was a big concern of mine too! And when it comes to Capitol Hill, you never know when the body politic is going to rear its ugly head.

Then you didn't "hack" a damn thing and using the term to draw attention is misleading and pathetic.

The best hacks aren't illegal, and can do some good.

I didn't say anything about legality.

Learn what the word means, and you'll see how it doesn't apply to your app.

I prefer the top definition. However, I can see how you might get the wrong impression.

My sources seem to differ.

BOOM! Headshot.

Motherfucker, did you just link URBAN DICTIONARY at me?

Back up. Back waaaaayy up, and get offa my lawn.

edit: Use whatever word you want. Don't be surprised if people get the wrong impression if you use the wrong terms.

You do it, then tell me it isn't a hack.

[deleted]

=\ Tough proposition. I'd need more help/resources to tackle Windows.

Android?

And thank you!

Soon (Hopefully!).

Thank you for your work!

"Who watches the Watchmen?"- CapitolBells, that's who!

Regarding transparency: I understand that Senator Coburn was forced by the "ethics committee" to remove a debt clock outside his office. What are your views on this?

I can't find a link on this particular story, do you have one?

Out of context, I think the debt clocks (popular on GOP websites) are just political gimmicks. That said, any time Congress censors data it is doing an injustice to the people. I have seen it happen too often. How can we make sensible policy without starting from the facts?

Here is the original story I reference. It's about midway through the article.

I must add the disclaimer that I am a libertarian, not an Elephant or a Donkey.

Ah, they had him move it because it was in the hallway, which is public space, rather than in his office or on his door.

This sounds really cool, and I'm downloading it as I type. Good for you.

A few things. I love supporting people who make things I enjoy, but since you're listing it for free, I can't really do that. I hate to be the one to suggest it, but have you thought about ads? You said it hacks into Congress's systems. Does it do this illegally? Could you get in trouble for it?

It is completely legal. I use the word 'hack' loosely.

I don't currently have the bandwidth to implement ads, but another redditor recommended a donate button. Maybe there's an easy way I can add that to the site or into the app itself.

Thanks for the feedback.

PayPal has an easy system for setting up a donate button.

https://www.paypal.com/us/cgi-bin/?cmd=_donate-intro-outside

Brilliant! I am going to set that up on my site tonight. Thank you!

Also, if you're not already working on it, maybe think about an android version. It's a big chunk of the marketshare.

Definitely. In fact, I think more people are on Android now than on iPhone. iOS seems to be more popular in DC, so I went with that first.

You think? Android has 53% market share in the US.

Sounds like I got some more work to do!

I added the donate button to the website! www.capitolbells.com

I'm trying to figure out if I can just use it as a hyperlink too.

I absolutely cannot wait to download this when I get home. It has always baffled me why this kinda information is not as easy to find as it should be.

Prepare to get another 5 star rating pronto.

Ha! That's awesome. Thank you. I'm going to do everything I can to make even more of it accessible on the fly like this.

Has Congress tried to slip any bills through while the news is focusing most if not all of their attention on Boston?

Both houses have shot down the background checks for gun purchases bill while we weren't looking.

This guy is awesome

Ha, thanks. After working in our "do-nothing congress" for the last couple years, it feels good to be doing something relevant.

Great app! And I second the suggestions above. Let me add another one. I have always wished there was a politics section in the news like a sports section. It talks about key issues of the day, does interviews, and shows all the voting scores- yea, nay, abstained. And then if the congress person took money from lobbyists etc on that issue, and then what their district polls at on that issue- if possible. I also think if people realized how much junk is voted on and how little time is actually spent on Capitol Hill they might be more open to change. I think your app is a step towards those scores. I'd like to be able to see the votes by elected official and sort them.

I love the analogy to a sports section! With the scores and everything. That's really clever. I am working on another feature that is similar - more real time numbers, eventually integrated with individual stats. That's a big part of my dream for this.

is this dangerous for you to post dude?

It's an entirely legal hack!

oh right! sorry I am not computer person

It's not just you. I had to ask some lawyers about it too. Luckily there are no shortage of them in DC.

No questions, just a big seal of approval from a fellow politicscarerabouter.

Thanks. Hopefully, this makes it easier to care about at relevant times: when Congress is voting on laws.

How many corndogs can you fit in your mouth?

I'm a vegetarian.

Out of curiosity, will you ever accept Bitcoin donations? I can't help but suggest a little anarcho-capitalist technotarianism.

I have been wanting to get into bitcoin... How do I begin?

Are you originally from Michigan

No. I was just in the right place at the right time.

that helps!

Funny story, the office I was interning in was catering a big meeting for Members of Congress, and someone spilled coffee all over the floor. (In full suit and tie) I basically dove to the ground to clean it up because I saw some old-timers were on their way in, who would be sure to slip and break a hip. Turned out the next Member who arrived needed a new aide, and appreciated my work ethic.

Amazing. Just in time to monitor CISPA also!

And the House seems to think CISPA should be full steam ahead.

I'm English so this might sound kind of stupid but don't you have like a tv/radio channel or something that shows and tells you exactly that?

Over here BBC shows the votes live from inside the House of Commons. Is congress really secretive about what they're doing? If that's the case that seems incredibly wrong and unfair to the voting public.

We do; we have C-SPAN. With Capitol Bells you don't need to be watching C-SPAN to know when they are voting. You will get the alert when the vote starts as a push notification, and can get the details of the bill without even being near a tv.

Was everyone in the White House a pretentious asshole?

I've only been to the White House a couple times, but everyone was really friendly on each occasion. I suppose most people don't make it there without expressing a certain level of courtesy and charisma - it is politics after all.

Is this legal?..

So I've been told.

coolest representative? most down to earth? most gigantic douche?

I can really only attest to dems.

Coolest: Jared Polis Down to Earth: Peter DeFazio Douche: Brad Sherman -- guess I won't ever work for him now!

Sherman really? Hes got such sweet organizational ratings (aclu etc etc) is he just a dick or what?

Most recently you have this amazing example of douche-baggery: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9p3F_vm5B5Q

He is a jerk to his staff - they have horror stories.

And there's my favorite snippet about him. He decided to support scientology because he wanted his constituents to know that he was pro science.....

Can this be done for state general assemblies? I really enjoy the open congress website, I wish my state (Illinois) were more open about votes and such.

State houses have been on my mind since I started. Once Capitol Bells is complete, I would love to continue by bringing states and even other parliaments into the 21st century too.

I was bewildered by your site until I realized it was optimized for mobile.

The site was pretty quick and dirty - it needs some work.

just a UX suggestion, I'd change the big X button to a back-arrow sort of character.

edit: I do like what you've done though.

I think I am going to give it a total overhaul over the weekend. I really appreciate the feedback.

This is a phenomenal app idea. Have you considered expanding to do similar apps in other countries, like Canada for example? ;)

I would love to. I would need to get funded somehow first.

I think you could probably charge 99 cents for a Canadian version of the app. We are used to paying more for everything.

One of the things that excites me the most about this project is that it might just as easily be implemented in statehouses across the country, and parliaments in other countries. It could be one step toward greater accountability in our democracies.

Are you giving this app away, or are you doing this AMA to advertise your commercial venture?

It's completely free and I plan to keep it that way.

Very nice. Keep up the good work.

Thanks. This is public information, and it wouldn't be right to charge for it. That said, I am hoping this is just the start of my work opening up Congress to the public and making it easier for us to keep politicians accountable.

It's completely free

Does that smack of socialism?

Eh, I hope it just smacks of democracy.

Please optimize for the iPad, thank you.

Are you selling any data to special interest groups or other sources?

PM me your email address and I'll add you to the ipad list.

Other than the e-mail address you are about to send me (I won't give it to anyone seriously), I'm not collecting any data. The app isn't even set up to collect anything other than the number of API requests being made which ultimately cost money.

I have lost faith in the two party system, would is the best road map to follow to create new political parties that will be recognized?

My own crazy idea is to roll back the changes that were made to the Constitution over a hundred year ago regarding the size of the House of Representatives. The Constitution declared that every state would be represented by 2 Senators regardless of the state's population, but 1 congressman for every 30,000 citizens. In one of the most obtuse power grabs of history, Congress chipped away at that number, and ultimately got rid of it entirely claiming that not more than 435 members fit in the House chamber of the Capitol building. That 30,000 people per representative is now over 750,000 per representative and rising - they are all mini-senators now, beholden to big money interested and national parties.

I'm not constitutional scholar, but no where in the constitution was anything ever written about out representation being limited to the size of a room. If we stuck to the Constitution in this case, the Members we elected to Congress would actually be representative of our communities. 30,000 people is a small town, or a neighborhood in a large city. These crooks wouldn't be able to get away with what they get away with now, and we would have a diverse party system representing far more than two single sides of the Corporate party like we have now.

It "hacks" into Congress' voting system? Don't you think it's a mistake to acknowledge that you're illegally accessing Congressional computer systems on the Internet? Or are you just exaggerating to try and sell product?

The information is all public, but before Capitol Bells, no one had figured out how to jail break it from Congress in an automated manner based on the current infrastructure. However, while it might have been more challenging than cracking passwords, there is always something deliciously satisfying about successful brute forcing hashes.

Selling product? No, the app is free and I intend to keep it that way.

Great app! Have you seen the Sunlight foundation apps? Similar

I have seen their iPhone and their Android apps. The Android app is good, but it doesn't do what Capitol Bells does (real-time alerts). The iPhone app is badly in need of an update.

What's your favorite bar in Adams Morgan?

Smoke and Barrel.

Nice, I like Madams Organ

I think someone died there on New Years.

Oh shit really? I haven't been in a while, that place gets packed

Yeah, I think he fell off the roof between the neighboring building. Wasn't found until the next day.

Why didn't you go into the lucrative world of lobbying, like most former staffers?

Impact. There's a huge void between government accountability and technology currently. My background is in engineering, and I think I can make a bigger impact on public policy by connecting Congress to the public than as another mid-level lobbyist.

So I downloaded the app but still a little lost in it, is there like a guide or a walk through?

Unfortunately, there isn't. I don't have a big team behind me or thousands in funding to add anything but the bare essentials at this point.

However, reply or PM me and I will walk you through any questions you have myself.

I just am curious as to what the 5 little circles are on the top right and why they are red or blue sometimes

They reflect the patterns displayed on the legislative clocks in the Capitol complex: http://www.popvox.com/blog/2011/the-hill-101-what-do-the-buzzers-mean/

The clocks buzz and light up in specific patterns based on what the floor proceeding is. The little circles at the top of the app light up in sync with those clocks on the Hill.

Were you a committee or personal staffer?

Personal plus a stint in leadership.

Just wanted to say thanks! I just downloaded the app because of this AMA.

Awesome! I'm actually pretty excited most of the questions and comments were about the app. I thought people might be more focused on hearing some of the shady back room dealings of Capitol Hill, so it's cool that the app is more exciting and that you actually downloaded it! Thanks!

Two questions:

1) While I think it's dandy to increase awareness, how do you think this will increase awareness? From my perspective, this doesn't do much to add to the dialogue about politics. People will say "oh great, those jerks are voting" but doesn't do anything to inform their opinion. Plus, you are preaching to people who would already be interested in this. How will you reach the uninterested consumer?

2) After being on the hill, this alert system would just get annoying after a while. Especially during peak times. Beep. Beep. BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP. That's what I imagine the app doing. How are you ensuring that people don't drop the app because of too many updates?

PS: You may want to drop the area codes from your verification.

1) Good point. This alone won't increase awareness, but it does increase transparency. You are also right on your next point: this is targeted to people who are interested in actively following Congress. That said, I am very interested in developing a spin-off aimed at general citizen activists.

2) Download the app! One of the best parts of Capitol Bells is that there are NO annoying beeeeps like the clocks on the Hill, and you can customize exactly which alerts you want to receive. The default is set only for 15 minute votes, which typically include only the first of a series of votes, and happen at most a couple times a day.

No-one yet? Really?

Duck size horse, horse sized duck?

What's the horse-sized duck's final form?