Using the Search Function of the Guide to House and Senate Members.

The Search Function has three sets of filters that make it easy to get just the results you want. Here is a list of those filters and what choices you have for them.

"Select Member Type"—Choose to filter for Senators only or Representatives only. If you don’t want to filter for either of these, then choose "All."

"Select Party"—Choose to filter for party affiliation: Republican, Democrat, Independent, Independent Democrat. If you don’t know the party, choose "All."

"Select Category"—Choose from the following filters: Name, Home Town, State, District, Term Count, Bio Data*, Birth Date*, Place of Birth*, Website*, Zipcodes*, Counties* (*denotes data added from the Congressional Directory which was current as of August 9, 2007). If you don’t want to filter for any of these, choose "All." Only the first five filters will be displayed if you choose "All". Note that choosing the State filter will give you a drop down listing all the states.

"Containing"—Two choices here: "Containing" meaning the search result will at least include the word(s) in the text search box, if not more OR "Equal" meaning the search result will be exactly the same as the text in the search box.

"Enter Text Here"—enter specific text of search.

When viewing the search results, you can expand the Member entry by clicking on the "+" sign. The Washington DC and District office information for that Member will appear (including phone and fax numbers, addresses, and staff listing).

Sorting Results

Search results can be sorted by any of the categories returned in the search. Click on the particular column head you want to sort by and the results will be sorted alphabetically. For example, to sort search results by state, click on the column head "State" and all results will be sorted by state alphabetically in ascending order (a, b, c, etc.). Click once again on the column head "State" and the results will be sorted in descending alphabetical order (z, y, x, etc.). For columns containing numbers, the sort will be in ascending or descending numerical order.

Sample Searches:

• Search for all Senators:
  Select Member Type: "Senators"; Select Party Type: "All"; Select Category: "All." Leave Text Box blank. Click on Search.
  
  
• Search for all Senators and Representatives for California:
  Select Member Type: "All"; Select Party Type: "All"; Select Category: "State"; Select: "California" from drop down menu; leave Text Box blank. Click on Search.
  
  
• Search for all Democrats from Pennsylvania:
  Select Member Type: "All"; Select Party Type "Democrats"; Select Category ‘State"; Select "Pennsylvania" from the drop down menu; leave Text Box blank. Click on Search.
  
  
• Search for all first term Representatives:
  Select Member Type: "Representatives"; Select Party Type: "All"; Select Category: "Term Count"; Select "Equal"; Type in the number "1" in the Text Box. Click on Search.
  
• Search for all Representatives who list "Harvard" in their bios:
  Select Member Type: "Representatives"; Select Party Type: "All"; Select Category: "Bio Data"; Select "Containing"; Type in the word "Harvard" in the Text Box. Click on Search.
  
• Search for the birth dates of all Senators:
  Select Member Type: "Senators"; Select Party Type: "All"; Select Category: "Birth date"; Select "Containing" or "Equal"; Leave Text Box blank. Click on Search. [Birth dates sort on year]
  
• Search for all Members who list "Chicago" as their place of birth:
  Select Member Type: "All"; Select Party Type: "All"; Select Category: "Place of Birth"; Select "Containing"; Type in the word "Chicago" in the Text Box. Click on Search.
  
• Search for the websites of all House Democrats:
  Select Member Type: "Representatives"; Select Party Type: "Democrat"; Select Category: "Website"; Select "Containing" or "Equal"; Leave Text Box blank. Click on Search.
  
• Search for the House Member representing a particular zip code:
  Select Member Type: "Representatives"; Select Party Type: "All"; Select Category: "ZipCodes"; Select "Containing"; Type in the zip code you are searching for. Click on Search. [Note that some zip codes may be represented by two different Members depending on the congressional district]
  
• Search for the House Member representing a particular county:
  Select Member Type: "Representatives"; Select Party Type: "All"; Select Category: "Counties"; Select "Containing"; Type in the county you are searching for. Click on Search. [Note that some counties may be represented by two or more Members depending on the congressional district. Some states with at large Members do not list counties: e.g., Alaska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont, and Wyoming]
  
• Search for all Members with offices in the Hart Senate Office Building:
  Select Member Type: "Senators"; Select Party Type: "All"; Select Category: "Office Buildings"; Select "Containing"; Type in the word "Hart". Click on Search. [House office buildings include: Rayburn, Longworth, and Cannon; Senate office buildings include Hart, Dirksen, and Russell]

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