Here’s a compact, developer-friendly map of the Congress.gov homepage you pasted (focus: IA & query mechanics).

Top-level navigation

  • Legislation /legislation?q={"congress":119}
  • Congressional Record /congressional-record
  • Committees /committees
  • Members /members?q={"congress":119}
  • Advanced Searches /advanced-search/legislation • Browse /browse
  • Search Tools / Help / Glossary / Contact under “Support”

Global search (header)

  • Form: GET /search
  • Key params:
    • search-source (dropdown): current-congress|all-congresses|legislation|committee-materials|congrecord|members|nominations
    • q (free text; typeahead hints vary by source)
  • UI behavior configured by $('#search-wrapper').congress_searchBar({...})
    • Injects suggested query scopes that encode filters into the q JSON (see below)

JSON query pattern (used all over)

Many links/forms use a JSON blob in q= (URL-encoded). Common keys:

{
  "source": "legislation|congrecord|committee-materials|members|nominations|treaties",
  "congress": 119 | "all" | [93, ..., 119],
  "search": "lucene-or-fielded-query",
  "member-is-current": "Y",
  "member-state": "Virginia"
}

Examples:

  • Current Congress, legislation:
    /search?q={"source":"legislation","congress":119,"search":"congressId:119"}
  • All Congresses, CR Daily Edition only:
    /search?q={"source":"congrecord","congress":[104,105,...,119]}

“Quick Search” (More Options) tabs

All are jQuery widgets with per-tab defaults & validators; each POSTs/GETs to a tab-specific endpoint that returns results.

  • Legislation → POST /quick-search/legislation
    Fields include: words/phrases, include full text, word variants, search-only (titles/summaries/actions), congress group (93-119 modern; 6-92 historical), numbers (hr5, sjres8, pl116-21, 86Stat1326), Legislative Actions enum (Introduced, Passed, Laws…), sponsor/cosponsor pickers (House/Senate lists), committee multiselects.
  • Legislation Text → POST /quick-search/legislation-text
    Text-specific filters: chamber of origin, bill text versions (e.g., IH, IS, RH, ENR, PL, STAT), congress ranges (101-119 modern + historical).
  • Committee Reports → POST /quick-search/committee-reports
    Words/phrases (full text or titles), congresses (104-119), report numbers, types (Executive/House/Senate), conference reports only, legislation numbers, committee multiselects (House/Senate/Joint).
  • Congressional Record → POST /quick-search/congressional-record
    Words/phrases; sections (Daily Digest, Senate, House, Extensions); Member remarks (House/Senate pickers); date operators (“is equal to / between / after / before / is” with presets like “yesterday/last 7/30 days”); congress groups: Daily (104-119) vs Bound (43-103).
  • Nominations → POST /quick-search/nominations
    Words/phrases; types (Civilian | Military/FS/NOAA/USPHS); PN numbers (pn1633-2, 118PN345), nominee names, positions, organizations, Senate committee multiselect, state/territory filter, Nomination Actions enum (Referred, Reported, Confirmed, etc.), date of action.
  • House Communications → POST /quick-search/house-communications
    Record type (Communication / Requirement), communication types PM|EC|PT|ML, numbers (EC6228, 118pm47, 116ML160), legal authority (e.g., 5 U.S.C. 801), committees multiselect, state/territory, CR date filters.
  • Senate Communications → POST /quick-search/senate-communications
    Types EC|POM|PM, numbers (EC2, POM43, …), Senate committee multiselect, CR date filters, congresses (96-119).
  • Treaty Documents → POST /quick-search/treaty-documents
    Congresses (81-119), treaty document numbers (115-3, 114-13(A)), executive report numbers, Treaty Topic multiselect (Taxation, Extradition, Environment, etc.).
  • CRS Products → POST /quick-search/crs-products
    Words/phrases (supports displayCitation:R42843), product number (IN/IF/R/IG/LSB…), related leg/law/report numbers, date filters, product type (Reports, In Focus, Insight, Legal Sidebar, Infographics, Testimony), topic, author, status (Active/Archived).
    Browse: /crs-products • API docs link present: /api.congress.gov/

Current content blocks (from this snapshot)

  • Most-Viewed Bills | Top 10:
    • H.R.1 (119th) “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” – /bill/119th-congress/house-bill/1
    • H.R.8445 (118th), H.R.2548 (119th) “Sanctioning Russia Act of 2025”
  • Bill lists (119th): Introduced (w/ by-sponsor links), Public Laws/Statutes, Appropriations status table & FY26 search.
  • Current Legislative Activities (119th):
    • House: Not in session; Next meeting Aug 26, 2025 11:00 AM EDT; previous Aug 19 (/on-house-floor/2025/08/19). Key links: floor activities, hearings video, House communications, bills to be considered.
    • Senate: Not in session; Next meeting Aug 26, 2025 12:00 PM EDT; previous Aug 19.
    • Committee schedule: Next listed event Sep 5, 2025 (Natural Resources); daily/weekly views available.
  • Members: state filter (/search?q={"member-is-current":"Y","source":"members","congress":119,"member-state":"Virginia"}), “Find a Representative/Senator” dropdowns, leadership carousels for House & Senate.
  • “Contact Your Member” address lookup widget (ArcGIS geocode), plus direct links to House/Senate contact directories.

URL patterns (handy)

  • Bill: /bill/{congress}th-congress/{chamber-bill}/{number}
    e.g., /bill/119th-congress/house-bill/2548
  • Member: /member/{slug}/{bioguideId}
  • Floor day: /on-house-floor/YYYY/MM/DD or /on-senate-floor/YYYY/MM/DD
  • JSON-encoded search: /search?q=<urlencoded JSON>

Tech notes

  • jQuery (+ jQuery UI dialogs), Slick carousels, bootstrap-multiselect
  • ArcGIS JS & geocoder for member finder; ReadSpeaker; Adobe Launch
  • Many components initialized via congress_QuickSearch* plugins
  • Accessibility: skip links, ARIA attributes throughout

Need a JSON cheatsheet of the most useful q queries, or ready-to-paste example links for your workflow? Tell me what you want to filter (source, congress range, fields), and I’ll generate them.