Datasets
BICAM provides access to 12 comprehensive congressional and legislative datasets. Each dataset is carefully curated and includes metadata, text content, and related records.
Dataset Overview
Dataset |
Size |
Congress Range |
Description |
|---|---|---|---|
bills |
~2.5GB |
93-118 |
Complete bills |
amendments |
~800MB |
93-118 |
All amendments |
members |
~150MB |
1-118 |
Member info |
nominations |
~400MB |
93-118 |
Nominations |
committees |
~200MB |
93-118 |
Committee info |
committeereports |
~1.2GB |
104-118 |
Committee reports |
committeemeetings |
~600MB |
110-118 |
Meeting records |
committeeprints |
~900MB |
105-118 |
Committee prints |
hearings |
~3.5GB |
105-118 |
Hearing records |
treaties |
~300MB |
93-118 |
Treaty documents |
congresses |
~100MB |
1-119 |
Session metadata |
complete |
~12GB |
1-119 |
All datasets |
Bills Dataset
Description: Complete bills data including text, summaries, and related records
Files:
File |
Description |
|---|---|
bills_metadata.csv |
Bill metadata (sponsor, dates, status, etc.) |
bills_texts.csv |
Full text of bills |
bills_sponsors.csv |
Sponsor information |
Key Fields:
Field |
Description |
|---|---|
bill_id |
Unique bill identifier |
congress |
Congress number (93-118) |
bill_type |
Type of bill (HR, S, etc.) |
title |
Bill title |
sponsor_id |
Sponsor’s member ID |
introduced_date |
Date introduced |
status |
Current status |
Amendments Dataset
Description: All amendments with amended items
Files:
File |
Description |
|---|---|
amendments_metadata.csv |
Amendment metadata |
amendments_texts.csv |
Amendment text |
Key Fields:
Field |
Description |
|---|---|
amendment_id |
Unique amendment identifier |
bill_id |
Associated bill |
congress |
Congress number |
amendment_type |
Type of amendment |
sponsor_id |
Amendment sponsor |
text |
Amendment text |
Members Dataset
Description: Historical and current member information
Files:
File |
Description |
|---|---|
members_current.csv |
Current members |
members_historical.csv |
Historical members |
members_committees.csv |
Committee memberships |
Key Fields:
Nominations Dataset
Description: Presidential nominations data
Files:
Key Fields:
Field |
Description |
|---|---|
nomination_id |
Unique nomination identifier |
nominee_name |
Nominee name |
position |
Position nominated for |
president |
Nominating president |
status |
Nomination status |
action_date |
Action date |
Committees Dataset
Description: Committee information, including history of committee names
Files:
File |
Description |
|---|---|
committees_metadata.csv |
Committee metadata |
committees_membership.csv |
Committee memberships |
Key Fields:
Field |
Description |
|---|---|
committee_id |
Unique committee identifier |
name |
Committee name |
chamber |
House or Senate |
type |
Committee type |
member_id |
Member ID |
role |
Member role in committee |
Committee Reports Dataset
Description: Committee reports, with full text and related information
Files:
File |
Description |
|---|---|
reports_metadata.csv |
Report metadata |
reports_text.json |
Report text (JSON format) |
Key Fields:
Field |
Description |
|---|---|
report_id |
Unique report identifier |
committee_id |
Committee ID |
congress |
Congress number |
report_number |
Report number |
title |
Report title |
text |
Full report text |
Committee Meetings Dataset
Description: Committee meeting records
Files:
File |
Description |
|---|---|
meetings_metadata.csv |
Meeting metadata |
meetings_attendance.csv |
Meeting attendance |
Key Fields:
Field |
Description |
|---|---|
meeting_id |
Unique meeting identifier |
committee_id |
Committee ID |
date |
Meeting date |
title |
Meeting title |
member_id |
Member ID |
attendance_status |
Attendance status |
Committee Prints Dataset
Description: Committee prints, including full text and topics
Files:
File |
Description |
|---|---|
committeeprints_metadata.csv |
Print metadata |
committeeprints_texts.csv |
Print text |
Key Fields:
Field |
Description |
|---|---|
print_id |
Unique print identifier |
committee_id |
Committee ID |
congress |
Congress number |
title |
Print title |
text |
Print text |
topics |
Associated topics |
Hearings Dataset
Description: Hearing information, such as address and transcripts
Files:
File |
Description |
|---|---|
hearings_metadata.csv |
Hearing metadata |
hearings_texts.csv |
Hearing transcripts |
Key Fields:
Field |
Description |
|---|---|
hearing_id |
Unique hearing identifier |
committee_id |
Committee ID |
congress |
Congress number |
title |
Hearing title |
date |
Hearing date |
text |
Hearing transcript |
Treaties Dataset
Description: Treaty documents with actions, titles, and more
Files:
File |
Description |
|---|---|
treaties_metadata.csv |
Treaty metadata |
treaties_actions.csv |
Treaty actions |
Key Fields:
Field |
Description |
|---|---|
treaty_id |
Unique treaty identifier |
title |
Treaty title |
congress |
Congress number |
action_type |
Action type |
action_date |
Action date |
status |
Treaty status |
Congresses Dataset
Description: Congressional session metadata, like directories and session dates
Files:
Key Fields:
Field |
Description |
|---|---|
congress |
Congress number |
start_date |
Session start date |
end_date |
Session end date |
session |
Session number |
member_id |
Member ID |
name |
Member name |
Complete Dataset
Description: Complete BICAM dataset with all data types
Files: All files from individual datasets
Size: ~12GB
Data Formats
All datasets are provided in CSV format for easy analysis with pandas, R, or other data analysis tools.
CSV Files: - UTF-8 encoded - Comma-separated values - Header row included - Consistent field naming
Data Quality
Completeness: Data covers the full specified congress range
Accuracy: Data sourced from official government sources
Consistency: Consistent field names and formats across datasets
Timeliness: Updated regularly with new congressional sessions
Data Updates
Datasets are updated as new congressional data becomes available. Check the dataset information for the latest update dates:
bicam info bills