# Pocket Congress — Making Congress Accessible

> Accessible information on congressional actions, representatives, and bills. (iPhone/iPad app by Siddharth Bhatia.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pocket-congress/id6444019265 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [Siddharth Bhatia](https://appshunter.io/developer/1775268961)
- Category: News, Reference
- Price: Free
- Rating: 4.40/5 from 70 App Store ratings · 29 written reviews indexed
- Age rating: 4+
- Requires: iOS 26.0 · 21 MB
- Languages: American English
- Released: 2022-10-26
- Data updated: 2026-08-23
- Monetization: free
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pocket-congress/id6444019265/reviews.md

## What is Pocket Congress?

Congressional App Challenge Winner (CA-13, 2022)

Nothing's stopping you from reading through the Congressional Record or watching C-SPAN all day, but Pocket Congress makes information on the actions of your representatives and Congress as a whole much more accessible and searchable. 

With the app, you can:
• See recent bills in Congress
• Find your Representative using your zip code 
• See Congress members’ votes on recent bills. 
• Read a brief description about them and view trends about how they vote
• Call their office, straight from the app!
• Follow bills & receive updates on their progress

You can also search for recent bills or through 30 years of historical data.
• Search by category, such as 'healthcare' or 'environmental'
• Search by bill name
• For advanced users: search by bill number and create advanced filters
For all bills, you can see their stage in the legislative process and a summary of the bill text authored by the Congressional Research Service.

Share links to specific bills and congressmembers (perfect for educating your friends or spreading the word on social media)!

“Very cool.” –Congressman Jeff Jackson

Created by Siddharth M. Bhatia, a senior at Piedmont High School.
www.sidmb.com
Contact me: siddharth@sidmb.com

## Key features

- View recent bills
- Find your Representative by zip code
- See Congress members' votes
- Read bill descriptions and vote trends
- Call representative offices
- Follow bills for updates
- Search 30 years of historical bill data

## Recent user reviews (10 of 29)

All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pocket-congress/id6444019265/reviews.md

### 5/5 — So glad it’s back!

*2026-06-24, version 2.0.0*

Thank you for bringing this back! It’s working so smoothly.

### 5/5 — It’s back!

*2026-06-23, version 2.0.0*

Fully functional! Thanks Sid for building a whole new back end.

### 3/5 — Sid, are u still there? 👋

*2026-04-05, version 1.8.4*

Such a great concept of an app for those of us would love the updates from congress. Just downloaded but it still has 2024 as the last update. Please dont give up! Hell, charge of u have to. 

Best regards.

### 5/5 — Sid, you still working on this??

*2026-02-20, version 1.8.4*

I just discovered this app, today, and it seemed that it updated just fine.  But then I saw a note saying it would no longer be developed.  But, it was just updated 2 weeks ago!

Im not complaining, and I get college is a thing (kinda), but this is a really useful app, worthy of existing!  It would be pretty great if you could get bipartisan support to keep it going!

### 3/5 — Needs to be updated

*2026-01-10, version 1.8.3*

Looks like the representatives haven’t been updated in a while.

### 1/5 — Not kept current

*2025-07-17, version 1.8.3*

I stumbled upon this app today and thought it would be helpful.  Sadly, I did some lookups and all I saw were bills worked on in the last Congressional session. This would be handy if it could be maintained. I cannot imagine how to do this to continually mirror Congress.gov, but that is what is needed.  Until then, I will keep using the gov’t site. It’s pretty good except maybe for latency times.

### 3/5 — Could be useful

*2025-04-20, version 1.8.3*

Could be useful but it’s outdated. It doesn’t list my current representative, and the listings are from last year.

### 2/5 — Do NOT download

*2025-04-01, version 1.8.3*

Hasn’t bbeen updated since July of 2024 and will have no more update

### 5/5 — Travesty that this is no longer updated

*2025-03-06, version 1.8.3*

This app is beautifully made and so user friendly. I’m only sorry that it’s no longer updating because we need it now more than ever. Thank you for caring about the people of this country so much to build something we are so woefully ignorant of.

### 5/5 — Amazing resource!

*2025-03-05, version 1.8.3*

I discovered this app while searching for apps to inform me about what's happening in DC. It's straightforward and easy to use. I love being able to see bills by day and also seeing voting records by rep/senator. The app does a phenomenal job reporting out your rep/senator's voting record, sponsored bills and campaign financiers. Sadly, I discovered it after the API had been sunset. I would happily pay to get a real-time version of this app if the developer is able to resurrect it - this is a vital tool for good democracy and for being an informed citizen!!

## Frequently asked questions about Pocket Congress

### What does Pocket Congress do?

Pocket Congress makes information about your representatives and Congress more accessible and searchable. You can view recent bills, find your representative using your zip code, see their voting records on recent bills, and read summaries of bill text.

### What are the key features of Pocket Congress?

Key features include finding your representative by zip code, viewing Congress members' votes on recent bills, reading descriptions and vote trends for members, calling their offices directly, following bills for progress updates, and searching through 30 years of historical bill data by category, name, or number.

### Is Pocket Congress free to use?

Yes, Pocket Congress is a free application. There are no in-app purchases or advertisements mentioned, indicating it is entirely free for users.

### How can I use Pocket Congress to stay informed about legislation?

You can use Pocket Congress to search for recent bills or through 30 years of historical data by category, bill name, or bill number. For each bill, you can see its stage in the legislative process and a summary of its text. You can also follow specific bills to receive updates on their progress.

### Can I find my elected officials using this app?

Yes, you can easily find your Representative using your zip code within the app. Once found, you can view their voting records on recent bills, read a brief description about them, and even call their office directly from the app.

## Version history (last 5 releases)

### 2.0.3 — 2026-08-06

Networking and display improvements.

### 2.0.2 — 2026-06-29

Version 2.0.0 brings a new, rewritten backend for live congressional data. This update brings performance improvements when loading data.

### 2.0.1 — 2026-06-25

Version 2.0.0 brings a new, rewritten backend for live congressional data. This update has minor fixes and tweaks.

### 2.0.0 — 2026-06-23

Developed new congressional data source for real-time information; completely rebuilt app backend.

### 1.8.4 — 2026-02-04

New look and feel to align with iOS 26.

## Apps similar to Pocket Congress

| App | Rating | Price | Category |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [C-SPAN RADIO](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/c-span-radio/id322447301) | 3.7 (166) | Free | News |
| [Resistbot](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/resistbot/id1564775862) | 4.6 (95) | Free | News |
| [FastDemocracy - Bill Tracker](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/fastdemocracy-bill-tracker/id1540660396) | 4.7 (29) | Free | News |
| [Congress Vote Tracker](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/congress-vote-tracker/id6445804489) | 4.4 (110) | Free | News |
| [ReleVote](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/relevote/id1461723373) | 4.1 (65) | Free | News |
| [Dome Watch](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/dome-watch/id995281189) | 4.8 (72) | Free | News |

## More apps by Siddharth Bhatia

- [Degrees — Comparable Weather](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/degrees-comparable-weather/id6464330232)

All apps by Siddharth Bhatia: https://appshunter.io/developer/1775268961

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*Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-08-23.*