Congress – Review
By App Type: Uncategorized
Our rating: 
By: Congress
Version #: 1.11
Date Released: 2008-10-21
Developer: Cohen Research Group
Price: 0.99
User Rating:
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Regardless of where you fall on the political spectrum, the 2008 US election was a remarkable event. Among the most amazing aspects of it was the fact that, after years of apathy, involvement in the electoral process spread like wildfire throughout the nation. People who have never before been involved in politics suddenly found themselves watching political news programs, debating political positions, and thinking constantly about what the outcome of the election might be.
It was truly inspiring to see young and old alike actually care about what might happen politically.
Well, the election is over and the result means a tremendous amount of change might well be coming. Sure, the country will likely see some shift in policy, but perhaps the biggest change comes with regard to the individuals involved at the various levels of politics. New faces, new names, and new ideas will all be part of the coming months.
Most importantly, the hope is that the enthusiasm, commitment and interest shown throughout the electoral process will continue now that the election is over. That’s where this application comes in.
The application provides you with the current contact information, biographical information, and even most recent campaign information. It offers everything you might need to know about where an individual official stands on the political spectrum, how he or she has voted previously, and how you can contact them in order to make your voice heard.
The application was just updated to version 2 so that it now will contain all the information on the 111th Congress. In addition to new individuals, the application now also includes an explanation of how new members of Congress vote.
The application comes in two "flavors". The first is currently $.99, while the second, more advanced version, is $9.99. The more expensive version includes staff and committee information, legislation that has been sponsored by the official, and yearly updates for the next two years.
An upcoming update will include the congressional district maps and at some point in the near future the application will also provide advocacy group ratings and far enhance search functionality.
I purchased the more basic application for $.99 and have to say that I’m very impressed by it. It offers a wealth of information, allows you to search for individuals based upon their name or their state, allows you to search only the House or the Senate or both at the same time, and much more. The application provides information on each elected official’s phone number, their website, and even the address of their office. With a tap of the screen you can initiate a phone call to the office, jump to their website, or even pull up the location of their office on a map. I find it odd that with so much information being offered there isn’t a direct link to their e-mail.
Under the "more" tab you are invited to take a survey on the application itself, read the opinion blog kept by the application’s developer, jump directly to a number of websitses to check everything from the degree of factual information being shared, to opensecrets.org, a website that monitors the donations received by various officials and a website that provides information on pending legislation. Finally, there is a tab to jump directly to the website "the Hill" to get the latest news coming out of Washington DC.
At $9.99 more expensive version of this application is probably best suited to those who are "political junkies". The $.99 version, however, is something that every citizen of the United States should have on their eye for iPod touch since a democracy is only as good as the degree to which the population is involved
Quick Take
Value: High.
Would I Buy Again: Absolutely
Learning Curve: Low
Who Is It For: It is "for" political junkies. It should be "for" every citizen of the United States of America.
What I Like: Provides tons of information whether you have a data connection or not. ice pass to at him the at
What I Don’t: I’m not fully sure why the application can include e-mail information when some of the other contact information is provided.
Final Statement: This is a terrific application and I’m glad that I bought it.
The Apple Web App“Staff Pick” (formerly U.S. Congressional Directory) is now for your iPhone or iPod Touch for use without an Internet connection. Now you can have current contact, biographical, campaign, and opponent information for all members of the United States Congress. View by the full Congress or by the House or Senate, sorted by last name or state. You can also search directly for your Representatives and Senators.
IDENTIFICATION- Full name- State- House: District; Senate: Senior/Junior- Party affiliation- Photo- Official bio
CONTACT INFO- Capitol Hill office address and Google Map link- Capitol Hill office telephone number- Official website link
CAMPAIGN INFO- Campaign news - Google- Campaign finance - OpenSecrets.org- Campaign website - Incumbent- Donation page - Incumbent- 2008 opponent name and website
MORE- FactCheck.org link- OpenSecrets.org main website link- THOMAS legislative database link- News from The Hill newspaper- Frequently-asked Questions- Survey to give feedback on the application- Participate on our Blog
We appreciate your constructive feedback both in the App Store and with our survey and blog inside Congress In Your Pocket. We received an Editor's Pick award at AppCraver.com on our 1.0 Congress+ release and are encouraged by the comments on several respected blogs. We removed the need to exit the application to open a link with the 1.1 update.
IN DEVELOPMENT- Improved search beyond name, state, district, and party- Advocacy group ratings
O U R T A K E . . .
