Techpolitics uses computer assisted research to disclose votes by Members of the House of Representatives that fail to align with the interests of large numbers of their constituents.  Those constituencies often include minorities, less affluent persons, Social Security recipients, veterans, rural residents and students.  Information on political contributions and other factors that may also influence House decisions are also presented.

We begin with extensive census data and figures taken from other government databases, with links found in the left column below this introduction.  The right column links to tables matching the appropriate socio-economic characteristics of congressional districts to individual House votes.  In many of the tables, the House caucuses that Members belong to are identified.  

For example, the House vote on permanently eliminating the estate tax is shown in a table that permits sorting by caucus: for example, by members of the Congressional Black Caucus.

While negotiating the tables requires concentrated effort, the information gleaned through persistence is often novel and striking..  For example, the estate tax vote table sorted for income shows many Members representing districts with very low incomes supporting a tax policy benefiting the very wealthy,   Congressman Harold Rogers (R-KY), for example, represents the congressional district with the second lowest median income in the nation and he voted to permanently eliminate the estate tax.  Congressman Rogers’ district also includes the highest number of Social Security disability recipients in the country and is the most rural congressional district as well -- all made plain in the tables.

Sorting for voting by members of the Congressional Black Caucus shows clearly 

which CBC members favored permanently elimination of the estate tax.  The estate tax issue became even more controversial after Hurricane Katrina disclosed the need for even greater government resources.  The vote on the bankruptcy bill also shows differing positions within the CBC and within other caucuses.

Links from the middle column provide other related political information, including political contributions data by caucus.  Extensive information published during the 108^th Congress may also be found here.

Persons intimately involved with government relations may find the tables useful for determining which Representatives most likely will be responsive to the lobbying process on a given issue.  In addition, the computer assisted research has repeatedly turned up novel findings that should be addressed by those involved with the political process.  For example, the vast disparity in costs to acquire digital copies of voter registration rolls – e.g. $26,600 in Alabama and free in Florida – appears not to have been resolved.  And Techpolitics has shown that members of minority caucuses receive less in political contributions on average than members of the Republican Study Committee or the Democratic Leadership Council. 

Techpolitics persuaded the Social Security Administration to publish recipient statistics by congressional district and subsequently to publish the same data by zip code.  We pointed out patterns where House Republicans represent many Social Security recipients and  Appalachian and southern members having the highest number of Social Security disability recipients.  A 108^th Congress table shows county unemployment rates grouped by congressional district.  A 107^th Congress table shows that some members of the House

Financial Services Committee  failed to vote on a substantial number of the committee votes during that two-year period.

Techpolitics documented the unwillingness of the House Financial Services Committee to provide copies of committee votes prior to publication of the committee report.  This appears to be the policy of all House committees other than Education and the Workforce.  We have also published data on contributions to House Members by alumni of Majority Leader Tom DeLay's staff and have used Internal Revenue Service data to show income by zip code in a congressional district.

Finally, Techpolitics has worked closely with FairData to map congressional and electoral data.  Prior to the 2004 elections, FairData published maps showing voter registration levels and percentages for major contested states.  Maps are linked from the middle column below.