How it works

From the floor of Congress to a vote in your feed

Pass or Trash runs a simple daily loop. No server, no agenda — just the official record, translated and put to a vote.

1. We watch what's actually moving

Every day we pull the bills most recently acted on in the U.S. House and Senate from the Congress.gov API. That's the official legislative record — so what you see is what's genuinely advancing through committees and onto the floor, not whatever happened to trend.

2. We translate it into plain English

Bill text is written to be precise, not readable. We distill each one to a single clear sentence: what it would do, and why it matters to ordinary people. No legalese, no spin, no hashtags.

3. We attach the real cost

If the Congressional Budget Office has scored the bill, we show its effect on the federal deficit over ten years — and translate that into a per-household figure so the number means something. If there's no official score yet, we say so rather than guess.

4. You pass or trash it

Each bill posts to X as a poll. You read it in about ten seconds and vote: ✓ Pass or ✕ Trash. That's the entire habit — a daily, ten-second act of paying attention to your government.

Frequently asked

Where does the bill data come from?

Directly from the official Congress.gov API — the same record Congress keeps. We scan the bills most recently acted on in the House and Senate.

Where do the cost figures come from?

From the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the non-partisan agency that scores legislation. When a bill has been scored, we attach its standard 10-year deficit estimate.

Why do some posts say 'no CBO estimate yet'?

The CBO usually scores a bill only after it clears committee — often weeks after introduction. Rather than guess, we say plainly when no official number exists yet.

Is it partisan?

No. We describe what a bill does in neutral language and show the official cost. The vote is yours.

How often does it post?

Once a day: the single most debate-worthy bill, picked from what's currently moving.

Want the deeper background? Start with the guides — short explainers on how a bill becomes law, what the deficit really is, and how to track Congress yourself.