Illuminating the Nexus of Money, Lawmaking, and Corporate Influence
Capitol Ledger is an independent, open data transparency initiative and knowledge graph pipeline. We connect official public records across congressional stock transactions, campaign finances, lobbying disclosures, and federal procurement contracts into an auditable, interactive intelligence engine.
Deterministic Linking
We break through government data silos. Instead of fragmented PDF disclosures, we unify records with cross-verified CIK identifiers, LEI codes, and congressional Bioguide keys.
100% Nonpartisan
Every statistic, score, and network edge is calculated purely via objective, reproducible algorithms. We do not editorialize, endorse candidates, or take partisan stances.
Public Record Fidelity
Every node links directly to its primary source filing: SEC Form 4 submissions, House Clerk disclosures, Senate LDA reports, and USAspending prime award identifiers.
The Transparency Problem We Solve
In 2012, the United States Congress passed the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act to affirm that lawmakers are bound by insider trading laws and required to disclose securities transactions within 30 to 45 days.
However, public access remains severely compromised by fragmented government systems:
- Scattered Data Silos: House disclosures are held on the House Clerk portal, Senate filings on the Senate Office of Public Records, corporate insider filings on SEC EDGAR, campaign donations on the FEC, and federal contracts on USAspending.gov.
- Lack of Unified Entity Keys: A single defense contractor or tech conglomerate may appear under a dozen subsidiary legal names across federal award contracts, while lobbying filings register under another variation, making cross-source audits nearly impossible for the average citizen.
- Disclosure Delays: Periodic Transaction Reports (PTRs) are frequently submitted weeks after the transaction, clouding proximity analysis with committee hearings, votes, and contract awards.
Capitol Ledger bridges this divide with an automated, continuously running entity-resolution pipeline that aggregates, normalizes, and connects these disparate public streams into a cohesive, searchable graph.
Our Primary Government Data Sources
Directly parses Periodic Transaction Reports (PTRs) and Annual Financial Disclosures filed by Representatives and senior congressional staff through the Office of the Clerk.
Ingests official electronic stock, bond, and options disclosures filed through the Senate Office of Public Records under the STOCK Act compliance protocol.
Monitors Form 4 insider transactions, beneficial ownership filings, and quarterly/annual 10-K disclosures, resolving company CIK numbers to publicly traded ticker symbols.
Processes master campaign finance files, corporate Political Action Committee (PAC) contributions, candidate receipts, and independent expenditure filings.
Tracks quarterly lobbying expenditure reports, registered lobbying firms, specific legislative bills lobbied, and revolving door staff transitions.
Ingests federal prime contract awards, sub-tier transactions, and agency award obligations, calculating taxpayer ROI relative to reported corporate lobbying budgets.
Platform Analytics & Metrics
# Risk Index Scoring (0-100)
An algorithmic scoring system assessing potential conflict indicators based on: (1) committee assignment jurisdiction over traded company sectors; (2) timing proximity between trades and committee votes; (3) disclosure lateness past the statutory 45-day window; and (4) size and volatility of transactions.
# Alpha Tracker vs. S&P 500
Empirical benchmark comparing politician trading disclosures against standard broad-market indices like the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY), evaluating capital performance over 30, 90, and 365-day holding windows.
# Contractor Taxpayer ROI
Direct financial ratio quantifying federal prime contract dollars awarded per dollar of disclosed legislative lobbying and PAC campaign expenditures.
# Proximity Timeline Correlation
Temporal analysis mapping stock buys and sells onto a synchronized timeline of committee roll-call votes, floor markups, regulatory executive actions, and prime award announcements.
Capitol Ledger is an open-source project dedicated to public transparency and civic journalism. We do not provide investment, financial, or legal advice.