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CongressMCP-full

by amurshak

Get Committee Reports - Reports published by a specific committee

get_committee_reports

Retrieve official reports issued by a U.S. congressional committee using its committee code. Filter by chamber, paginate results, and sort newest first for targeted legislative research.

Instructions

Get reports issued by a specific committee.

Args:
    ctx: Context for API requests
    committee_code: Official committee code (e.g., 'hsju', 'ssju')
    chamber: Chamber of Congress ("house", "senate", or "joint").
             If omitted, inferred automatically from the committee code prefix.
    limit: Maximum number of reports to return
    offset: Starting record (0-based) for explicit paging.
    most_recent: When True (default), return the newest reports first.

Returns:
    List of reports issued by the committee

Input Schema

TableJSON Schema
NameRequiredDescriptionDefault
limitNo
offsetNo
chamberNo
most_recentNo
committee_codeYes

Output Schema

TableJSON Schema
NameRequiredDescriptionDefault
errorNoPresent when success is false: the section-9 error envelope
itemsNoResults of other kinds (bills, reports, communications, nominations), as returned by Congress.gov
contextYesContext about the search or operation performed
membersNoMember results
successYesWhether the operation was successful
summaryYesHuman-readable summary of the results
item_kindNoWhat `items` contains (bill, committee_report, communication, nomination, ...)
operationYesThe operation that was performed
committeesNoCommittee results
results_countYesNumber of items returned (equals the populated list's length)

Schema Changelog

Changes observed during successful MCP inspections.

  1. Changed34 schema fields changedv2.2.0
    • addedOutput schema / $defs / CommitteeSummary / properties / chamber / anyOf
      Added value: +[
      +  {
      +    "type": "string"
      +  },
      +  {
      +    "type": "null"
      +  }
      +]
    • addedOutput schema / $defs / CommitteeSummary / properties / chamber / default
      Added value: +null
    • removedOutput schema / $defs / CommitteeSummary / properties / chamber / type
      Removed value: -"string"
    • changedOutput schema / $defs / CommitteeSummary / properties / committee_code / description
      Previous value: -"Official committee code"New value: +"Official committee system code (e.g. hsju00)"
    • addedOutput schema / $defs / CommitteeSummary / properties / committee_type / anyOf
      Added value: +[
      +  {
      +    "type": "string"
      +  },
      +  {
      +    "type": "null"
      +  }
      +]
    • addedOutput schema / $defs / CommitteeSummary / properties / committee_type / default
      Added value: +null
    • changedOutput schema / $defs / CommitteeSummary / properties / committee_type / description
      Previous value: -"Type of committee (Standing, Select, etc.)"New value: +"Type of committee (Standing, Select, ...)"
    • removedOutput schema / $defs / CommitteeSummary / properties / committee_type / type
      Removed value: -"string"
    • addedOutput schema / $defs / CommitteeSummary / properties / url / default
      Added value: +null
    • changedOutput schema / $defs / CommitteeSummary / properties / url / description
      Previous value: -"Congress.gov URL for committee details"New value: +"Congress.gov API URL for committee details"
    • changedOutput schema / $defs / CommitteeSummary / required
      Previous value: -[
      -  "committee_code",
      -  "name",
      -  "chamber",
      -  "committee_type",
      -  "url"
      -]New value: +[
      +  "committee_code",
      +  "name"
      +]
    • addedOutput schema / $defs / ErrorInfo
      Added value: +{
      +  "description": "Section-9 error payload: stable code, human message, secret-safe\ndetail, actionable remediation. Mirrors the bill-text tools' envelope\n(documentation/fulltext/04-tools-responses.md section 9).",
      +  "properties": {
      +    "code": {
      +      "description": "Stable machine-readable error code (lowercase)",
      +      "title": "Code",
      +      "type": "string"
      +    },
      +    "detail": {
      +      "anyOf": [
      +        {
      +          "additionalProperties": true,
      +          "type": "object"
      +        },
      +        {
      +          "type": "null"
      +        }
      +      ],
      +      "default": null,
      +      "description": "Structured context; never carries secrets",
      +      "title": "Detail"
      +    },
      +    "message": {
      +      "description": "What went wrong",
      +      "title": "Message",
      +      "type": "string"
      +    },
      +    "remediation": {
      +      "anyOf": [
      +        {
      +          "type": "string"
      +        },
      +        {
      +          "type": "null"
      +        }
      +      ],
      +      "default": null,
      +      "description": "What the caller should do about it",
      +      "title": "Remediation"
      +    }
      +  },
      +  "required": [
      +    "code",
      +    "message"
      +  ],
      +  "title": "ErrorInfo",
      +  "type": "object"
      +}
    • changedOutput schema / $defs / MemberSummary / description
      Previous value: -"Summary information about a member of Congress."New value: +"Summary information about a member of Congress (list-level fields)."
    • addedOutput schema / $defs / MemberSummary / properties / chamber / anyOf
      Added value: +[
      +  {
      +    "type": "string"
      +  },
      +  {
      +    "type": "null"
      +  }
      +]
    • addedOutput schema / $defs / MemberSummary / properties / chamber / default
      Added value: +null
    • changedOutput schema / $defs / MemberSummary / properties / chamber / description
      Previous value: -"Chamber (House or Senate)"New value: +"Chamber of the member's most recent term"
    • removedOutput schema / $defs / MemberSummary / properties / chamber / type
      Removed value: -"string"
    • addedOutput schema / $defs / MemberSummary / properties / current_member / anyOf
      Added value: +[
      +  {
      +    "type": "boolean"
      +  },
      +  {
      +    "type": "null"
      +  }
      +]
    • addedOutput schema / $defs / MemberSummary / properties / current_member / default
      Added value: +null
    • changedOutput schema / $defs / MemberSummary / properties / current_member / description
      Previous value: -"Whether this person is currently serving"New value: +"Whether currently serving (None if unknown)"
    • removedOutput schema / $defs / MemberSummary / properties / current_member / type
      Removed value: -"boolean"
    • addedOutput schema / $defs / MemberSummary / properties / district / default
      Added value: +null
    • changedOutput schema / $defs / MemberSummary / properties / district / description
      Previous value: -"District number (for House members)"New value: +"District number (House members)"
    • addedOutput schema / $defs / MemberSummary / properties / party / default
      Added value: +null
    • changedOutput schema / $defs / MemberSummary / properties / party / description
      Previous value: -"Political party (D, R, I)"New value: +"Political party"
    • addedOutput schema / $defs / MemberSummary / properties / state / default
      Added value: +null
    • addedOutput schema / $defs / MemberSummary / properties / url / default
      Added value: +null
    • changedOutput schema / $defs / MemberSummary / properties / url / description
      Previous value: -"Congress.gov URL for member details"New value: +"Congress.gov API URL for member details"
    • changedOutput schema / $defs / MemberSummary / required
      Previous value: -[
      -  "bioguide_id",
      -  "name",
      -  "party",
      -  "state",
      -  "district",
      -  "chamber",
      -  "current_member",
      -  "url"
      -]New value: +[
      +  "bioguide_id",
      +  "name"
      +]
    • changedOutput schema / description
      Previous value: -"Response from the members and committees tool."New value: +"Response from the members and committees tools.\n\nSome operations return items that are neither members nor committees\n(a member's sponsored bills, a committee's reports/communications/\nnominations); those arrive in `items` as the API's own dicts, labeled\nby `item_kind`."
    • addedOutput schema / properties / error
      Added value: +{
      +  "anyOf": [
      +    {
      +      "$ref": "#/$defs/ErrorInfo"
      +    },
      +    {
      +      "type": "null"
      +    }
      +  ],
      +  "default": null,
      +  "description": "Present when success is false: the section-9 error envelope"
      +}
    • addedOutput schema / properties / item_kind
      Added value: +{
      +  "anyOf": [
      +    {
      +      "type": "string"
      +    },
      +    {
      +      "type": "null"
      +    }
      +  ],
      +  "default": null,
      +  "description": "What `items` contains (bill, committee_report, communication, nomination, ...)",
      +  "title": "Item Kind"
      +}
    • addedOutput schema / properties / items
      Added value: +{
      +  "default": [],
      +  "description": "Results of other kinds (bills, reports, communications, nominations), as returned by Congress.gov",
      +  "items": {
      +    "additionalProperties": true,
      +    "type": "object"
      +  },
      +  "title": "Items",
      +  "type": "array"
      +}
    • changedOutput schema / properties / results_count / description
      Previous value: -"Number of results returned"New value: +"Number of items returned (equals the populated list's length)"
  2. Changed3 schema fields changedv2.1.0
    • addedInput schema / properties / chamber
      Added value: +{
      +  "anyOf": [
      +    {
      +      "type": "string"
      +    },
      +    {
      +      "type": "null"
      +    }
      +  ],
      +  "default": null,
      +  "title": "Chamber"
      +}
    • addedInput schema / properties / most_recent
      Added value: +{
      +  "default": true,
      +  "title": "Most Recent",
      +  "type": "boolean"
      +}
    • addedInput schema / properties / offset
      Added value: +{
      +  "anyOf": [
      +    {
      +      "type": "integer"
      +    },
      +    {
      +      "type": "null"
      +    }
      +  ],
      +  "default": null,
      +  "title": "Offset"
      +}
  3. First observedv2.0.0

TDQS

A4.1/5.0
Behavior4/5

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

With no annotations provided, the description carries the burden of behavioral disclosure and does so well: it explains that chamber is inferred from the committee_code prefix when omitted, that most_recent defaults to True and returns newest reports first, and that offset is zero-based for paging. These details go beyond simply saying 'get reports'.

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

Conciseness4/5

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

The description is well structured into Args and Returns, with each parameter on its own line and no unnecessary prose. The inclusion of 'ctx' is slightly extraneous, but overall the description is economical and easy to scan.

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 tool with no annotations and zero schema description coverage, the description covers all parameters, defaults, and paging behavior, while the output schema handles return expectations. The main gap is the lack of explicit guidance on when to choose this tool over the committee-related siblings, and how to discover an official committee_code if unknown.

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?

Schema description coverage is 0%, and the description compensates strongly by explaining every input-schema parameter: committee_code with examples, chamber values and inference, limit, offset, and most_recent's default sorting behavior. However, the description also includes a 'ctx' argument that is not present in the input schema, which is a minor inconsistency.

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 opens with 'Get reports issued by a specific committee,' a specific verb and resource, and the title reinforces that these are reports published by a committee. This clearly differentiates it from sibling tools like get_committee_bills, get_committee_communications, and get_committee_nominations by naming the distinct resource type.

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

Usage Guidelines3/5

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

The description gives a clear use case but does not explicitly mention when to prefer this tool over alternatives or when not to use it. With siblings like get_committee_bills and get_committee_communications nearby, the absence of any exclusion or alternative routing leaves the usage guidance implied rather than explicit.

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