Tweeting About Congress
Twitter is a great platform for mobilizing around bills in Congress, and it gives us an opportunity to see what people are saying around the web. We're tracking the conversations around legislation. You can find the tweets of congressmen over at TweetCongress or Legistalker.
Use These HashtagsHashtags are little words or mnemonics starting with a #-sign that people use to tie their tweets to a larger topic. GovTrack recommends the hashtag #usbill when discussing legislation in the U.S. Congress. Combine #usbill with a hashtag for a particular bill, like #hr2737 if you're talking about H.R. 2737: Child Protection Compact Act. You don't have to worry about the details. Just find the bill on GovTrack and grab the hashtags we list in the blue box in the sidebar. Forming Bill HashtagsThere are six types of bills in Congress. Each has a different abbreviation. Use these abbreviations in your hashtags:
But again you don't have to worry about this. Just find the bill on GovTrack and grab the hashtags we list. Bills In Past YearsCongress works in two-year sessions and the numbering of bills and resolutions restarts every two years. That means there actually have been more than one hundred "H.R. 1" bills going back to the start of the nation. Let's assume that if you're refering to a current bill, you don't need to be more specific than the simple hashtag described above. If you're referring back to legislation from a previous session of Congress, tack on a forward slash and then the Congress number. Here's an example: #hr1/105 for H.R. 1: Working Families Flexibility Act of 1997. | incoming #usbill tweets |
