Methodology
How this was built
This map was built on an extensive base of research: a wide review of existing literature on Congress and its capacity, alongside more than sixty candid interviews with people who know the institution well.
The people we spoke with span the community that shapes how Congress works: current and former congressional staff across personal offices and committees; legislative-branch support offices; good-governance organizations; academic researchers; civic-technologists; and government-relations professionals.
Because the volume of material was large, AI was used as a research and synthesis aid — to search across sources, research, and interview notes; to summarize long documents; and to consolidate overlapping or redundant ideas so the map does not double-count proposals. Every classification, and every decision about what to include or leave out, remains a human editorial judgment. The website itself was generated with the assistance of Claude Code.
This is a living project. We will continue to gather and refine ideas for some time to come.
About
POPVOX Foundation
This project is a product of POPVOX Foundation, a nonpartisan nonprofit passionate about supporting the U.S. Congress as it tackles the pacing problem.
The Foundation works with legislative bodies — the U.S. Congress, state legislatures, and parliaments around the world — on responsible AI adoption, tech literacy, and software prototyping, helping democratic institutions strengthen their ability to govern in a fast-changing world.
About
Recoding America
Recoding America is a cross-ideological initiative working to transform how American government operates at a fundamental level — moving from an industrial-era operating model to one suited for modern challenges, so that government can reliably deliver outcomes to the American public.
Acting as a field catalyst, it convenes diverse stakeholders across political lines and supports reforms in how government hires talent, procures goods and services, builds systems, and learns from experience, at both the federal and state levels.
Acknowledgments
With thanks
Our sincere thanks to everyone who gave their time to be interviewed. This work would not exist without your candor and insight. We are also grateful to Recoding America for their support of this project.
Ashley would like to especially thank and acknowledge her colleagues, Caitlin McNally, Aubrey Wilson, and Marci Harris, for their contributions and encouragement.
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