get_communication_costs

Retrieve corporate and union communication cost data from Federal Election Commission records to analyze campaign finance expenditures.

Instructions

Get corporate/union communication costs

Input Schema

TableJSON Schema

Name	Required	Description
`committee_id`	No	Optional: FEC committee ID
`candidate_id`	No	Optional: FEC candidate ID
`min_date`	No	Optional: Minimum communication date (YYYY-MM-DD)
`max_date`	No	Optional: Maximum communication date (YYYY-MM-DD)
`min_amount`	No	Optional: Minimum cost amount
`max_amount`	No	Optional: Maximum cost amount
`sort`	No	Optional: Sort by cost amount

Implementation Reference

src/server.ts:763-794 (handler)

The core handler function for the 'get_communication_costs' tool. Validates input using Zod schema matching the tool's inputSchema, applies rate limiting, queries the OpenFEC API endpoint '/schedules/schedule_d' for corporate/union communication costs data with optional filters and sorting, and returns the response as a formatted JSON text content block.

private async handleGetCommunicationCosts(args: any) {
  const schema = z.object({
    committee_id: z.string().optional(),
    candidate_id: z.string().optional(),
    min_date: z.string().optional(),
    max_date: z.string().optional(),
    min_amount: z.number().optional(),
    max_amount: z.number().optional(),
    sort: z.enum(['asc', 'desc']).optional()
  });

  const params = schema.parse(args);
  this.rateLimiter.consumeToken();

  const response = await this.axiosInstance.get('/schedules/schedule_d', {
    params: {
      ...params,
      sort_hide_null: true,
      sort: params.sort === 'desc' ? '-cost' : 'cost',
      per_page: 20
    }
  });

  return {
    content: [
      {
        type: 'text',
        text: JSON.stringify(response.data, null, 2),
      },
    ],
  };
}

src/server.ts:354-387 (schema)

The input schema definition for the 'get_communication_costs' tool, used in ListTools response for input validation and documentation. Defines optional parameters for filtering and sorting communication costs data from the FEC API.

inputSchema: {
  type: 'object',
  properties: {
    committee_id: {
      type: 'string',
      description: 'Optional: FEC committee ID'
    },
    candidate_id: {
      type: 'string',
      description: 'Optional: FEC candidate ID'
    },
    min_date: {
      type: 'string',
      description: 'Optional: Minimum communication date (YYYY-MM-DD)'
    },
    max_date: {
      type: 'string',
      description: 'Optional: Maximum communication date (YYYY-MM-DD)'
    },
    min_amount: {
      type: 'number',
      description: 'Optional: Minimum cost amount'
    },
    max_amount: {
      type: 'number',
      description: 'Optional: Maximum cost amount'
    },
    sort: {
      type: 'string',
      enum: ['asc', 'desc'],
      description: 'Optional: Sort by cost amount'
    }
  }
}

src/server.ts:351-388 (registration)

The tool registration object returned by ListToolsRequestHandler, specifying the tool name, description, and input schema for 'get_communication_costs'.

{
  name: 'get_communication_costs',
  description: 'Get corporate/union communication costs',
  inputSchema: {
    type: 'object',
    properties: {
      committee_id: {
        type: 'string',
        description: 'Optional: FEC committee ID'
      },
      candidate_id: {
        type: 'string',
        description: 'Optional: FEC candidate ID'
      },
      min_date: {
        type: 'string',
        description: 'Optional: Minimum communication date (YYYY-MM-DD)'
      },
      max_date: {
        type: 'string',
        description: 'Optional: Maximum communication date (YYYY-MM-DD)'
      },
      min_amount: {
        type: 'number',
        description: 'Optional: Minimum cost amount'
      },
      max_amount: {
        type: 'number',
        description: 'Optional: Maximum cost amount'
      },
      sort: {
        type: 'string',
        enum: ['asc', 'desc'],
        description: 'Optional: Sort by cost amount'
      }
    }
  }
},

src/server.ts:465-466 (registration)
The switch case in the CallToolRequestHandler that routes calls to the 'get_communication_costs' handler function.
```
case 'get_communication_costs':
  return await this.handleGetCommunicationCosts(request.params.arguments);
```

MCP OpenFEC Server