Inspiration Government affects everyday life, but understanding it often means navigating jargon, scattered sources, and partisan commentary. We wanted to create the welcoming civic guide many people never received.
What it does U.S. Gov tldr explains how government works, which level handles different issues, and what legislation means in plain English. Users can explore civic basics, search bills, review sources, and discover paths into public service.
How we built it We used Astro 6, TypeScript, Netlify Functions, and official data from Congress.gov, GovInfo, and Open States. API keys remain server-side, and AI explanations are grounded in source material with citations and freshness details.
Challenges we ran into Our biggest challenge was simplifying complex civic information without losing accuracy or introducing bias. We also had to normalize inconsistent government data, protect secrets, and handle missing sources honestly.
Accomplishments that we're proud of We built federal and state legislation search, source-grounded explanations, civic education pages, correction tools, and guides for public service and elected office—all within a responsive, nonpartisan experience.
What we learned Plain language requires more than shortening information; it must preserve context, uncertainty, and sources. We also learned that people benefit from a clear journey: learn how government works, understand where they fit, and find a way to serve.
What's next for U.S. Gov tldr Next, we’ll expand bill details and state coverage, improve citation validation, add privacy-conscious representative lookup, deepen local-government guidance, and create more location-specific paths into civic service.
Built With
- and-official-data-from-congress.gov
- codex
- congress.gov
- css3
- cursor
- dyad
- govinfo
- netlify-functions
- typescript
