congress_search_members
Search members of Congress, optionally filtered by Congress number, two-letter state, and district. Returns name, party, chamber, and bioguide ID (use that ID with congress_member_details).
This record as markdown: /tools/io-github-blackboxfoundry-livedatalink/congress-search-members.md
What congress_search_members does on Livedatalink
AI agents call congress_search_members to retrieve information from Livedatalink 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
limit | number | — | Max results (default 20). |
state | string | — | Two-letter state code, e.g. 'TX'. |
congress | number | — | Congress number. |
district | number | — | House district number. |
current_member | boolean | — | Limit to currently-serving members. |
Parameters from the server's own tool schema.
Why congress_search_members is rated Low
Even though congress_search_members only reads data, uncontrolled read access leaks sensitive information and racks up API costs: an agent caught in a retry loop can make thousands of calls a minute without anyone noticing.
Attacks that exploit this kind of access
The rule that runs congress_search_members safely
PolicyLayer is an MCP gateway: it sits between your AI agents and Livedatalink, and checks every tool call against a rule you set before the call runs. Nothing changes on the server itself. For congress_search_members, this is the rule to start with:
congress_search_members 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 Livedatalink, apply this rule, and every congress_search_members call is checked against it from then on.
Questions about congress_search_members
Search members of Congress, optionally filtered by Congress number, two-letter state, and district. Returns name, party, chamber, and bioguide ID (use that ID with congress_member_details). It is categorised as a Read tool in the Livedatalink MCP Server, which means it retrieves data without modifying state.
congress_search_members accepts 5 parameters: limit, state, congress, district, current_member. The full parameter table on this page comes from the server's own tool schema.
Register the Livedatalink MCP server in PolicyLayer and add a rule for congress_search_members: 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 Livedatalink. Nothing to install.
congress_search_members 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 congress_search_members 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 congress_search_members. 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.
congress_search_members is provided by the Livedatalink MCP server (https://livedatalink.ai/mcp). PolicyLayer sits as a proxy in front of this server to enforce policies before tool calls reach the server.
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