congressgov-mcp-server

Congress.gov CRS Reports

congressgov_crs_reports

Read-onlyIdempotent

Browse and retrieve CRS (Congressional Research Service) reports — nonpartisan policy analyses by subject-matter experts at the Library of Congress, covering policy areas, legislative proposals, and legal questions. Report IDs use letter-number codes (e.g., R40097, RL33612, IF12345). Use 'list' to browse available reports or 'get' for full detail (authors, topics, summary, download formats).

Input Schema

TableJSON Schema

Name	Required	Description
`limit`	No	Results per page (1-250).
`offset`	No	Pagination offset.
`operation`	Yes	Which data to retrieve.
`reportNumber`	No	CRS report ID (e.g., 'R40097'). Required for 'get'.

Output Schema

TableJSON Schema

Name	Required	Description
`data`	No	Result rows. Per-tool item shape is rendered in the markdown body.
`error`	No	Present when the call failed. Absent on success.
`notice`	No	Guidance when results are empty, a page is past the end, or a caveat applies.
`report`	No	Dynamic upstream JSON record.
`pagination`	No	Pagination metadata: total count and next offset.
`totalCount`	No	Total results across all pages.
`effectiveQuery`	No	The browse scope and applied filters.

Schema Changelog

Changes observed during successful MCP inspections.

Changed1 schema field changedAug 30, 2026

addedOutput schema / properties / report

Added value: +{
+  "additionalProperties": {},
+  "description": "Dynamic upstream JSON record.",
+  "properties": {},
+  "type": "object"
+}

Changed6 schema fields changedAug 25, 2026

changedInput schema / $schema

Previous value: -"http://json-schema.org/draft-07/schema#"New value: +"https://json-schema.org/draft/2020-12/schema"

addedInput schema / additionalProperties
```
Added value: +false
```

changedOutput schema / $schema

Previous value: -"http://json-schema.org/draft-07/schema#"New value: +"https://json-schema.org/draft/2020-12/schema"

addedOutput schema / anyOf

Added value: +[
+  {
+    "not": {
+      "required": [
+        "error"
+      ]
+    },
+    "required": [
+      "effectiveQuery",
+      "totalCount"
+    ]
+  },
+  {
+    "required": [
+      "error"
+    ]
+  }
+]

addedOutput schema / properties / error

Added value: +{
+  "additionalProperties": {},
+  "description": "Present when the call failed. Absent on success.",
+  "properties": {
+    "code": {
+      "description": "JSON-RPC error code for this failure.",
+      "maximum": 9007199254740991,
+      "minimum": -9007199254740991,
+      "type": "integer"
+    },
+    "data": {
+      "additionalProperties": {},
+      "properties": {
+        "reason": {
+          "description": "Machine-readable failure mode. Declared by this tool: `not_found`: A requested bill, member, committee, report, vote, or nomination does not exist in Congress.gov. `rate_limited`: The Congress.gov API rate limit (5,000 requests/hour per key) was exceeded. `invalid_request`: Congress.gov rejected the request as malformed — a bad date range or an identifier with an unexpected shape. `upstream_error`: Congress.gov returned an unexpected error (5xx or another non-2xx status). Other values are possible when a failure originates below the handler.",
+          "examples": [
+            "not_found",
+            "rate_limited",
+            "invalid_request",
+            "upstream_error"
+          ],
+          "type": "string"
+        },
+        "recovery": {
+          "additionalProperties": {},
+          "description": "Actionable next step for the caller.",
+          "properties": {
+            "hint": {
+              "type": "string"
+            }
+          },
+          "required": [
+            "hint"
+          ],
+          "type": "object"
+        },
+        "retryable": {
+          "description": "Whether retrying may succeed.",
+          "type": "boolean"
+        }
+      },
+      "type": "object"
+    },
+    "message": {
+      "description": "Human-readable description of what went wrong.",
+      "type": "string"
+    }
+  },
+  "required": [
+    "code",
+    "message"
+  ],
+  "type": "object"
+}

removedOutput schema / required

Removed value: -[
-  "effectiveQuery",
-  "totalCount"
-]

Changed6 schema fields changedMay 30, 2026

removedOutput schema / description

Removed value: -"Detail-mode key 'report' carries: CRS report record for `get` (authors, topics, summary, formats, related materials); absent for `list`."

addedOutput schema / properties / effectiveQuery

Added value: +{
+  "description": "The browse scope and applied filters.",
+  "type": "string"
+}

addedOutput schema / properties / notice

Added value: +{
+  "description": "Guidance when results are empty, a page is past the end, or a caveat applies.",
+  "type": "string"
+}

removedOutput schema / properties / query

Removed value: -{
-  "description": "Echo of the applied filters for list-mode queries. Rendered as the first line of the response.",
-  "type": "string"
-}

addedOutput schema / properties / totalCount

Added value: +{
+  "description": "Total results across all pages.",
+  "type": "number"
+}

addedOutput schema / required

Added value: +[
+  "effectiveQuery",
+  "totalCount"
+]

Changed4 schema fields changedMay 21, 2026

changedOutput schema / description

Previous value: -"CRS report data from Congress.gov API."New value: +"Detail-mode key 'report' carries: CRS report record for `get` (authors, topics, summary, formats, related materials); absent for `list`."

addedOutput schema / properties / data

Added value: +{
+  "description": "Result rows. Per-tool item shape is rendered in the markdown body.",
+  "items": {
+    "additionalProperties": {},
+    "description": "Upstream JSON record. Per-tool item shape is rendered in the markdown body.",
+    "properties": {},
+    "type": "object"
+  },
+  "type": "array"
+}

addedOutput schema / properties / pagination

Added value: +{
+  "additionalProperties": false,
+  "description": "Pagination metadata: total count and next offset.",
+  "properties": {
+    "count": {
+      "description": "Total result count across all pages.",
+      "maximum": 9007199254740991,
+      "minimum": 0,
+      "type": "integer"
+    },
+    "nextOffset": {
+      "anyOf": [
+        {
+          "maximum": 9007199254740991,
+          "minimum": 0,
+          "type": "integer"
+        },
+        {
+          "type": "null"
+        }
+      ],
+      "description": "Offset to pass for the next page, or null when there are no more pages."
+    }
+  },
+  "required": [
+    "count"
+  ],
+  "type": "object"
+}

addedOutput schema / properties / query

Added value: +{
+  "description": "Echo of the applied filters for list-mode queries. Rendered as the first line of the response.",
+  "type": "string"
+}

Changed3 schema fields changedApr 21, 2026

removedOutput schema / properties / data

Removed value: -{
-  "description": "CRS report list results when operation=\"list\". Preserves upstream item shapes instead of narrowing them.",
-  "items": {},
-  "type": "array"
-}

removedOutput schema / properties / pagination

Removed value: -{
-  "additionalProperties": false,
-  "description": "Pagination metadata for list results.",
-  "properties": {
-    "count": {
-      "description": "Total number of matching CRS reports.",
-      "maximum": 9007199254740991,
-      "minimum": 0,
-      "type": "integer"
-    },
-    "nextOffset": {
-      "anyOf": [
-        {
-          "maximum": 9007199254740991,
-          "minimum": 0,
-          "type": "integer"
-        },
-        {
-          "type": "null"
-        }
-      ],
-      "description": "Offset to request the next page, or null when there is no next page."
-    }
-  },
-  "required": [
-    "count",
-    "nextOffset"
-  ],
-  "type": "object"
-}

removedOutput schema / properties / report

Removed value: -{
-  "additionalProperties": {},
-  "description": "CRS report detail when operation=\"get\".",
-  "properties": {
-    "reportNumber": {
-      "description": "CRS report identifier when provided by Congress.gov.",
-      "type": "string"
-    },
-    "summary": {
-      "description": "CRS report summary when provided by Congress.gov. Omitted when unknown.",
-      "type": "string"
-    },
-    "title": {
-      "description": "CRS report title when provided by Congress.gov. Omitted when unknown.",
-      "type": "string"
-    },
-    "updateDate": {
-      "description": "Last update timestamp when provided by Congress.gov.",
-      "type": "string"
-    }
-  },
-  "type": "object"
-}

Changed3 schema fields changedApr 19, 2026

addedOutput schema / properties / data

Added value: +{
+  "description": "CRS report list results when operation=\"list\". Preserves upstream item shapes instead of narrowing them.",
+  "items": {},
+  "type": "array"
+}

addedOutput schema / properties / pagination

Added value: +{
+  "additionalProperties": false,
+  "description": "Pagination metadata for list results.",
+  "properties": {
+    "count": {
+      "description": "Total number of matching CRS reports.",
+      "maximum": 9007199254740991,
+      "minimum": 0,
+      "type": "integer"
+    },
+    "nextOffset": {
+      "anyOf": [
+        {
+          "maximum": 9007199254740991,
+          "minimum": 0,
+          "type": "integer"
+        },
+        {
+          "type": "null"
+        }
+      ],
+      "description": "Offset to request the next page, or null when there is no next page."
+    }
+  },
+  "required": [
+    "count",
+    "nextOffset"
+  ],
+  "type": "object"
+}

addedOutput schema / properties / report

Added value: +{
+  "additionalProperties": {},
+  "description": "CRS report detail when operation=\"get\".",
+  "properties": {
+    "reportNumber": {
+      "description": "CRS report identifier when provided by Congress.gov.",
+      "type": "string"
+    },
+    "summary": {
+      "description": "CRS report summary when provided by Congress.gov. Omitted when unknown.",
+      "type": "string"
+    },
+    "title": {
+      "description": "CRS report title when provided by Congress.gov. Omitted when unknown.",
+      "type": "string"
+    },
+    "updateDate": {
+      "description": "Last update timestamp when provided by Congress.gov.",
+      "type": "string"
+    }
+  },
+  "type": "object"
+}

First observedMar 28, 2026

TDQS

A4.4/5.0

Behavior4/5

Does the description disclose side effects, auth requirements, rate limits, or destructive behavior?

Annotations already declare readOnlyHint, openWorldHint, and idempotentHint, establishing safe read-only behavior. The description adds behavioral context by noting that 'get' provides authors, topics, summary, and download formats, and that report IDs follow a letter-number pattern (e.g., R40097). This enhances the agent's understanding of what to expect without contradicting the annotations.

Agents need to know what a tool does to the world before calling it. Descriptions should go beyond structured annotations to explain consequences.

Conciseness5/5

Is the description appropriately sized, front-loaded, and free of redundancy?

The description is two compact sentences with no redundancy. The first sentence establishes what CRS reports are, and the second explains the operations and ID format. The key actionable information (list vs get, ID format) is front-loaded, making it efficient for an agent to parse.

Shorter descriptions cost fewer tokens and are easier for agents to parse. Every sentence should earn its place.

Completeness4/5

Given the tool's complexity, does the description cover enough for an agent to succeed on first attempt?

For a read-only tool with an output schema and well-documented parameters, the description adequately covers the essential usage details: the operations, the report ID format, and what 'get' returns. It doesn't mention pagination or error handling, but those are covered by the schema and the tool's read-only nature. Minor omission of how 'list' results are returned is tolerable given the output schema exists.

Complex tools with many parameters or behaviors need more documentation. Simple tools need less. This dimension scales expectations accordingly.

Parameters4/5

Does the description clarify parameter syntax, constraints, interactions, or defaults beyond what the schema provides?

The schema already documents all parameters with 100% coverage, including descriptions and defaults. The description adds value by specifying the concrete report number format ('R40097', 'RL33612', 'IF12345') and clarifying that reportNumber is required for 'get', which reinforces the schema's conditional requirement. This goes beyond the schema's generic wording.

Input schemas describe structure but not intent. Descriptions should explain non-obvious parameter relationships and valid value ranges.

Purpose5/5

Does the description clearly state what the tool does and how it differs from similar tools?

The description clearly states the tool browses and retrieves CRS reports, explicitly describing them as nonpartisan policy analyses covering policy areas, legislative proposals, and legal questions. This distinguishes it from sibling tools for bills, committee reports, and other congressional documents, making the purpose unambiguous.

Agents choose between tools based on descriptions. A clear purpose with a specific verb and resource helps agents select the right tool.

Usage Guidelines4/5

Does the description explain when to use this tool, when not to, or what alternatives exist?

The description provides explicit guidance on how to use the two operations: 'Use 'list' to browse available reports or 'get' for full detail'. It also clarifies the report ID format required for 'get'. While it doesn't explicitly contrast with sibling tools or state when not to use this tool, the topic distinction (CRS reports vs. other congressional documents) is implied through the description's content.

Agents often have multiple tools that could apply. Explicit usage guidance like "use X instead of Y when Z" prevents misuse.

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