On October 1st, the U.S. government shut down after Republicans and Democrats failed to agree on a plan for the new fiscal year. Want to go to a national park? Now you know who to blame when you can’t.
…Or do you? Americans are sometimes reluctant to admit how little we know about our representatives and their positions. But now, thanks to the Sunlight Foundation we have Congress, an iPhone and Android app that lets you find your representatives in government and learn a wealth of information about them as well as their committees and bills.
Take Oregon Democratic Rep. Kurt Schrader, for example. With Congress, you can learn where his office is, what bills he’s voted for and against, what committees he sits on, and how to contact him.
Not to mention that he had the guts to introduce a bill called, “To reduce the annual rate of pay of Members of Congress if a Government shutdown occurs.” Maybe you want to give him some feedback on that?
After all, it’s a shutdown, not a shut up.