Software Reviews : Congressional DatabasePublisher: National Planning and Consulting Corporation,POB 140489,Coral Gables,FL 33114-0489;305-442-1133 Year of Publication: 1991 Version Reviewed: i.o Materials: 9-page manual and diskettes (2 5.25" 360K disks,containing the program and data,or i 3.5" 720K disk,containing both the program and the data);the program is written in Microsoft BASIC Price: $90 plus shipping and handling;biennial updates of the data $40 each;volume (but not educational) discounts available for purchases of 10 or more packages;no site licenses currently available Machine Specificity: An IBM-compatible machine;the publisher is considering an Apple-based version System Requirements: 640K RAM;hard disk is highly recommended;DOS 3.1 or higher Effectiveness: Good User-Friendliness: Excellent;exceptionally easy to install and use Documentation: Excellent

Abstract

As its name suggests, Congressional Database provides biographical information on all members of Congress, including the five nonvoting members of the House of Representatives. With 13 categories of information (e.g., party, state, religion, home city, education, birthdate, profession, committee memberships, and the "Liberal Quotient" of the Americans for Democratic Action), it is possible to search the database using a wide variety of simultaneous selection criteria. For example, an easily understood menu allows one to search rapidly for all senators who are Catholics and who also graduated from Harvard University, for all representatives who are former educators from California, or for all Republican members of the House and Senate Armed Services Committees who are liberals.