search_policies
Search U.S. federal policies and legislation by keyword, topic, or bill name. Returns a list of matching policies with summaries.
This record as markdown: /tools/com-govbase-govbase/search-policies.md
What search_policies does on Govbase
AI agents call search_policies to retrieve information from Govbase without modifying anything. It is typically the context-gathering step in research, monitoring, and reporting workflows, before the agent takes action elsewhere.
| Parameter | Type | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
sort | string | — | Sort order |
limit | number | — | Number of results (max 25) |
query | string | Yes | Search query (bill name, topic, keyword) |
Parameters from the server's own tool schema.
Why search_policies is rated Low
This is a query/search function that retrieves publicly available federal policy data. It has no side effects, does not modify state, and poses minimal risk if misused by an AI agent—worst case being irrelevant or exhaustive search results. It belongs in the Read category with low severity.
From the tool's definition Tool description states it "Search[es] U.S. federal policies and legislation" and "Returns a list of matching policies with summaries." The verb "search" combined with "returns" indicates data retrieval only.
Attacks that exploit this kind of access
The rule that runs search_policies safely
PolicyLayer is an MCP gateway: it sits between your AI agents and Govbase, and checks every tool call against a rule you set before the call runs. Nothing changes on the server itself. For search_policies, this is the rule to start with:
search_policies is read-only, so it stays allowed. Everything else on the server is denied unless you say otherwise.
The button opens the PolicyLayer dashboard: create your workspace, connect Govbase, apply this rule, and every search_policies call is checked against it from then on.
Questions about search_policies
Search U.S. federal policies and legislation by keyword, topic, or bill name. Returns a list of matching policies with summaries. It is categorised as a Read tool in the Govbase MCP Server, which means it retrieves data without modifying state.
search_policies accepts 3 parameters: sort, limit, query. Required: query. The full parameter table on this page comes from the server's own tool schema.
Register the Govbase MCP server in PolicyLayer and add a rule for search_policies: allow, deny, rate-limit, or require approval. Point your MCP client at the PolicyLayer proxy URL and the rule is enforced on every call, before it reaches Govbase. Nothing to install.
search_policies is a Read tool with low risk. Read-only tools are generally safe to allow by default.
Yes. Add a rate_limit block to the search_policies rule in your PolicyLayer policy. For example, setting max: 10 and window: 60 limits the tool to 10 calls per minute. Rate limits are tracked per agent session and reset automatically.
Set action: deny in the PolicyLayer policy for search_policies. The AI agent will receive a policy violation error and cannot call the tool. You can also include a reason field to explain why the tool is blocked.
search_policies is provided by the Govbase MCP server (https://api.govbase.com/mcp). PolicyLayer sits as a proxy in front of this server to enforce policies before tool calls reach the server.
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