Keep the measure’s identity intact

A bill number needs its Congress or legislative session and measure type to identify it correctly. The same number can appear again in another session. Titles can also change. Use the official identifier and the linked publication to establish which text and stage of the measure the record concerns.

Read the question on the roll call

A recorded vote may concern passage, an amendment, a procedural motion or another question. The description of that question matters. A member’s choice on a procedural vote should not automatically be rewritten as support for or opposition to every provision in the underlying legislation.