Explainers

Evergreen, human-written, human-reviewed. These do not change when a bill moves.

How a bill becomes law
The actual path, including the four places most bills stop.
How to read a roll call vote
What the tally does and does not tell you.
What is budget reconciliation?
The procedure that lets a bill pass the Senate with 51 votes — and its limits.
What is cloture?
The Senate procedure that turns a majority into 60 votes.
What the DW-NOMINATE ideology score measures
A description of voting patterns, not a rating of a legislator.