get_independent_expenditures

Retrieve independent expenditures supporting or opposing political candidates from Federal Election Commission data. Filter by candidate, committee, support/oppose status, date range, and amount.

Instructions

Get independent expenditures supporting or opposing candidates

Input Schema

TableJSON Schema

Name	Required	Description
`candidate_id`	No	Optional: FEC candidate ID
`committee_id`	No	Optional: FEC committee ID
`support_oppose_indicator`	No	Optional: S for supporting or O for opposing
`min_date`	No	Optional: Minimum expenditure date (YYYY-MM-DD)
`max_date`	No	Optional: Maximum expenditure date (YYYY-MM-DD)
`min_amount`	No	Optional: Minimum expenditure amount
`max_amount`	No	Optional: Maximum expenditure amount
`sort`	No	Optional: Sort by expenditure amount

Implementation Reference

src/server.ts:663-695 (handler)

The handler function that executes the tool logic: validates input parameters using Zod, queries the OpenFEC API at /schedules/schedule_e for independent expenditures data, and returns the JSON response as text content.

private async handleGetIndependentExpenditures(args: any) {
  const schema = z.object({
    candidate_id: z.string().optional(),
    committee_id: z.string().optional(),
    support_oppose_indicator: z.enum(['S', 'O']).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_e', {
    params: {
      ...params,
      sort_hide_null: true,
      sort: params.sort === 'desc' ? '-expenditure_amount' : 'expenditure_amount',
      per_page: 20
    }
  });

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

src/server.ts:233-274 (registration)

Tool registration in the MCP server's tools list, defining the tool name, description, and input schema for validation.

  name: 'get_independent_expenditures',
  description: 'Get independent expenditures supporting or opposing candidates',
  inputSchema: {
    type: 'object',
    properties: {
      candidate_id: {
        type: 'string',
        description: 'Optional: FEC candidate ID'
      },
      committee_id: {
        type: 'string',
        description: 'Optional: FEC committee ID'
      },
      support_oppose_indicator: {
        type: 'string',
        enum: ['S', 'O'],
        description: 'Optional: S for supporting or O for opposing'
      },
      min_date: {
        type: 'string',
        description: 'Optional: Minimum expenditure date (YYYY-MM-DD)'
      },
      max_date: {
        type: 'string',
        description: 'Optional: Maximum expenditure date (YYYY-MM-DD)'
      },
      min_amount: {
        type: 'number',
        description: 'Optional: Minimum expenditure amount'
      },
      max_amount: {
        type: 'number',
        description: 'Optional: Maximum expenditure amount'
      },
      sort: {
        type: 'string',
        enum: ['asc', 'desc'],
        description: 'Optional: Sort by expenditure amount'
      }
    }
  }
},

src/server.ts:459-460 (registration)
Dispatcher case in the request handler that routes calls to the specific handler function.
```
case 'get_independent_expenditures':
  return await this.handleGetIndependentExpenditures(request.params.arguments);
```

src/server.ts:664-673 (schema)

Runtime input validation schema inside the handler, matching the registered inputSchema.

const schema = z.object({
  candidate_id: z.string().optional(),
  committee_id: z.string().optional(),
  support_oppose_indicator: z.enum(['S', 'O']).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()
});

MCP OpenFEC Server