CongressMCP
91+ congressional data tools — bills, votes, members, committees, hearings — via the Congress.gov API.
Add to your client
Copy the config for your MCP client and paste it into its config file.
uvx congressmcpPaste into ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
{
"mcpServers": {
"congressmcp": {
"command": "uvx",
"args": [
"congressmcp"
],
"env": {
"CONGRESS_API_KEY": "your-api-key-here"
}
}
}
}Requires `uv` (the Python package runner). Install it from https://docs.astral.sh/uv/ if `uvx` is not found.
Step-by-step guides: Add to Claude Desktop · Add to Cursor · Add to Windsurf
Before you start
- A free Congress.gov API key (sign up at api.congress.gov/sign-up)
- uv / uvx (or pip) to install and run the congressmcp package
- An MCP client such as Claude Desktop, Cursor, or VS Code
About CongressMCP
An MCP server allowing AI agents and MCP clients to interface with the Congress.gov API. It bundles 91+ operations across 6 toolsets (Bills, Amendments, Treaties & Summaries, Members & Committees, Voting & Nominations, Records & Hearings) so you can query live U.S. legislative data in natural language. Runs over stdio by default for MCP clients, or streamable-HTTP for self-hosting.
Tools & capabilities (6)
Bills (16 operations)Search bills, fetch details, text, actions, amendments, cosponsors, and subjects.
Amendments (7 operations)Search amendments and retrieve details, actions, sponsors, and text.
Treaties & Summaries (5 operations)Treaty search, actions, committees, and text; plus bill summaries.
Members & Committees (13 operations)Search members by name, state, or district; sponsored legislation; committee bills and reports.
Voting & Nominations (13 operations)House and Senate votes, nominations, and roll calls.
Records & Hearings (10+ operations)Access the Congressional Record, hearings, CRS reports, and committee prints.
When to use it
- Find recent bills on a topic (e.g. climate change) in a given Congress
- Check how members from a specific state voted on a bill
- List the members of a Congressional committee
- Track the latest action on a specific bill by number
- Look up CRS reports, hearings, and Congressional Record entries
Security notes
Requires a free Congress.gov API key (CONGRESS_API_KEY), set via the env block in your MCP client config. Sign up at api.congress.gov/sign-up.
CongressMCP FAQ
Is the Congress.gov API key free?
Yes. Sign up at api.congress.gov/sign-up — it takes about 30 seconds and is completely free.
Which MCP clients are supported?
Claude Desktop, Cursor, VS Code, and any other MCP client. The README provides config for Claude Desktop (claude_desktop_config.json), VS Code (.vscode/mcp.json), and Cursor (~/.cursor/mcp.json).
Can I self-host it over HTTP?
Yes. Run from source with `congressmcp --transport streamable-http --port 8000`, or set MCP_TRANSPORT=streamable-http. The default transport is stdio for local MCP clients.
Does it support caching?
Optionally. Set ENABLE_CACHING=true to cache API responses in memory, with CACHE_TIMEOUT controlling the TTL in seconds (default 300).
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