House Majority Leader Unveils Updated Dome Directory App

WASHINGTON — House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., has long been an advocate for using technology to help Congress work better and with more transparency for its members’ constituents.

In 2015, for instance, it was Hoyer, with help from his staff, who released the Dome Watch app, which enables users to closely follow activity on the House floor in real-time.

He soon followed that with a Dome Directory app intended to help members of Congress, staff, the press, and the public learn about members of Congress and their roles.

On Friday Hoyer’s office released Dome Directory 2.0, with enhancements developed based on extensive feedback from members, staff, the Capitol Police and others.

Said Hoyer, in an email, “I’m proud to announce a major update to my app that I know is a useful tool for many members and staff, as well as the press and the public.

“Utilizing technology like my Dome Watch and Dome Directory apps is part of House Democrats’ commitment to making Congress more modern, open, and transparent to the American people,” he said.

Like the original iteration of the app, the directory features a system of badges that when pressed reveal committee assignments, major caucus memberships, leadership and whip team memberships, and freshman and sophomore classes. 

The new version of the app also includes biographies and defining key votes of the current Congress for every member.

The app, which was designed and built in-house by the majority leader’s office, allows users to select a “deck” of members based on chamber, party, committee, major caucus, or freshman or sophomore class. 

Within each deck, users can click green or red as they memorize members, with red clicks coming back through the deck. 

 New features in Dome Directory 2.0 include: 

• Detailed contact information.
• Biographies from three different sources including member websites, the Library of Congress and Wikipedia.
• Defining votes from the 117th Congress.
• The ability to search for any specific member in order to find/study them immediately, instead of having to find them by cycling through a deck. 
• New decks for users to quiz themselves within specific committees, major caucuses and the sophomore class. 
• The bipartisan Problem Solvers as a major caucus. 

The app also includes major updates to the app’s underlying data using the latest official and non-official congressional bulk data repositories, which have been improved as a result of direct use and feedback from the Hoyer’s office.

The Dome Directory 2.0 is available for free on iOS, Android and the web. 

Dome Watch is also available for free on iOS, Android and the web.

Dan can be reached at [email protected] and at https://twitter.com/DanMcCue