An interactive data visualization that allows anyone to explore actual patterns of lawmaking in Congress.
Developed in collaboration with the University of Washington's Center for Public Policy, the visualization allows students and the public to uncover the intricate process of lawmaking in the United States.
The visualization allows users to explore the complete legislative journey – from the sheer volume of bills introduced within a two-year Congress to the individual path each takes towards becoming law. In addition to seeing the big picture, users can delve deeper by filtering thousands of bills by topic, party, or sponsor, tracking the fate of each bill through the chambers.
This project is a great example of exploratory data interfaces that describe a highly complex domain by showing it in action. Representing all the objects (bills, sponsors, committees, chambers, etc.) individually makes it very easy to simply see the process unfold. This directness in representation makes it possible to show both the "bird's-eye view" and the highly specific details simultaneously, making it an effective way to convey the information without oversimplification.
