Follow the money and the votes

Public money and public votes move in a loop. People pay taxes, the money is held in the Treasury, and it can only be spent when the people we elect pass a law that says so. Agencies then promise and pay that money to contractors, workers and grant receivers. Oversight checks the results, and next year it starts again. Click any box to learn about that step.

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People Money Votes Elected officials, legislature and agencies

The money path

1 People & ZIP codes
Everything starts with people. A ZIP code is a small area where people live. The Census counts how many people live there, how old they are, how many homes there are, and how much they earn. These people pay the taxes and cast the votes that run the whole system.
Who holds it: Nobody holds money yet. The people in each ZIP hold their own money and their own votes.
How often: Census count every 10 years; the American Community Survey (ACS) updates every year (5-year averages for small areas like ZIPs).
Variables: population, households, median_income, age_median, employment_rate, zcta
Federal source: Census ACS 5-year, ZIP Code Tabulation Areas (ZCTA) · State and local: Census ACS by state (same survey, state geography)
Open step 1: People & ZIP codes
2 Taxes paid, by ZIP
People and businesses pay taxes: income tax, payroll tax for Social Security and Medicare, and business taxes. The IRS publishes how many tax returns came from each ZIP code and how much income they reported. It never shows any one person. States and cities collect their own taxes too, like sales tax and property tax.
Who holds it: The IRS (federal), your state revenue or comptroller office (state), and the county tax assessor-collector (property tax).
How often: Taxes are paid all year (paychecks) and filed once a year. IRS ZIP statistics come out about 2 years later.
Variables: tax_returns, tax_agi, tax_wages, tax_income_tax, property_tax_levy, sales_tax_revenue
Federal source: IRS Statistics of Income (SOI) – individual income tax ZIP code data · State and local: State comptroller / department of revenue tax collections (example: the Texas one)
Open step 2: Taxes paid, by ZIP
3 Treasury: where the money is held
Tax money goes into the government's bank account. For the U.S., that is the Treasury's account at the Federal Reserve. The money waits there until a law says it may be spent. Each state has its own treasury too, run by a state treasurer or comptroller.
Who holds it: U.S. Department of the Treasury (federal); state treasurer or comptroller (state); county treasurer; city finance director.
How often: Every day. Treasury reports its cash balance daily and totals monthly; the fiscal year runs October 1 to September 30 (most states: July 1 to June 30).
Variables: treasury_balance, receipts, outlays, deficit, fund_balance
Federal source: Monthly Treasury Statement (MTS) and Daily Treasury Statement (DTS) on FiscalData · State and local: State treasury / comptroller cash and fund reports (example: the Texas one)
Open step 3: Treasury: where the money is held
11 Agencies
Agencies are the parts of government that do the work: for example the Department of Defense, the EPA, or a state environment agency like TCEQ. Each agency plans programs, estimates what they will cost, and gets budget authority from the appropriation.
Who holds it: The agency holds budget authority (permission to spend), but the cash is still in the Treasury.
How often: Fiscal year; agencies report spending every month or quarter.
Variables: agency_id, agency_toptier_code, budget_authority, obligated_total, outlay_total
Federal source: USAspending agency profiles · State and local: State agency budgets and spending (state comptroller transparency) (example: the Texas one)
Open step 11: Agencies
12 Obligations: the promise to pay
When an agency signs a contract, hires someone, or approves a grant, it promises to pay. That promise is an obligation. Later the money actually leaves the Treasury; that payment is an outlay. Obligation first, outlay later.
Who holds it: The money is still in the Treasury, set aside for the obligation until it is paid out.
How often: Every day; reported monthly. Each appropriation can only be obligated for its allowed years.
Variables: obligation_amount, outlay_amount, award_id, action_date, object_class
Federal source: USAspending awards and account data (DATA Act) · State and local: State spending transparency (payments by agency and payee) (example: the Texas one)
Open step 12: Obligations: the promise to pay
13 Contracts to contractors
A contract pays a company (the contractor or vendor) for goods or work: roads, computers, studies, cleanup. The record shows who got paid, how much, for what, and where the work happens. This is where PSI Sci started, with Texas TCEQ contracts.
Who holds it: After payment, the contractor holds the money.
How often: Every day; big contracts run for years.
Variables: contract_award_amount, contract_recipient, recipient_uei, contract_naics, piid, place_of_performance_zip
Federal source: USAspending contracts (FPDS) · State and local: Texas TCEQ contracts and purchase orders (data.texas.gov) (Texas only)
Open step 13: Contracts to contractors
14 Government wages
Part of every appropriation pays the people who work for the government: soldiers, park rangers, inspectors, clerks. Pay scales are public, and totals show up as personnel spending.
Who holds it: After payday, the employees hold the money.
How often: Every two weeks (federal pay periods); budgets yearly.
Variables: gov_wage_outlay, object_class_personnel, employee_count, pay_plan
Federal source: USAspending object class 10 (personnel compensation) by agency · State and local: State payroll / salary databases (example: the Texas one)
Open step 14: Government wages
15 Grants and other payments
Grants send money to states, cities, schools, nonprofits and researchers for a purpose. Other payments include things like loans and direct payments to people. A lot of state and local money starts as a federal grant.
Who holds it: The grant recipient (often your state, county or city) holds and spends it.
How often: Every day; many grants are yearly.
Variables: grant_amount, grant_recipient, assistance_listing, recipient_type, place_of_performance_zip
Federal source: USAspending grants and financial assistance · State and local: State grant programs / single audit (Federal Audit Clearinghouse)
Open step 15: Grants and other payments

The voting path

4 Campaign donations
People, companies' political committees (PACs), unions and parties give money to candidates. Big gifts must be reported: who gave, how much, their ZIP code, and their employer. Companies cannot give straight to federal candidates, but their PACs and employees can. This is where you can see who helps pay for a campaign.
Who holds it: The candidate's campaign committee holds the money; PACs and parties hold their own.
How often: All the time, reported to the FEC monthly or quarterly, with extra reports before each election.
Variables: donation_amount, donor_name, donor_zip, donor_employer, donor_type, recipient_candidate_id, recipient_committee_id, cash_on_hand
Federal source: FEC: candidate totals (OpenFEC API) · State and local: State ethics / campaign finance office (example: the Texas one)
Open step 4: Campaign donations
5 Citizen votes
Citizens choose who makes the rules. House members face voters every 2 years, the President every 4 years, and Senators every 6 years (about one third of the Senate each time). Federal Election Day is the Tuesday after the first Monday in November of even years. States set their own primary dates, and many state and local races are on the same ballot.
Who holds it: The voters. Election results are counted and certified by county election offices and the Secretary of State.
How often: Every 2 years (House), 4 years (President), 6 years (Senate); state and local terms vary; special elections when a seat opens.
Variables: election_year, election_date, citizen_vote_share, votes_cast, turnout, winner_member_id
Federal source: Clerk of the House: election statistics; FEC federal election results · State and local: Secretary of State election results (example: the Texas one)
Open step 5: Citizen votes
6 Elected officials
The winners take office. In Congress there are 435 House members (more for bigger states) and 100 Senators (2 per state). The President leads the agencies. Your state has its own legislature and governor, and your county and city have commissioners, council members and mayors.
Who holds it: Elected officials hold the public's trust and their votes on bills.
How often: New Congress starts January 3 after each federal election; state and local terms vary.
Variables: member_id, bioguide_id, fec_candidate_id, office, party, district, term_start, term_end
Federal source: congress-legislators (public domain, from official sources) · State and local: Open States people data (state legislators, all states)
Open step 6: Elected officials
7 Bill introduced
A bill is a written idea for a new law or a change to an old one. Only a member of Congress can introduce it. It gets a number: H.R. for the House, S. for the Senate. Most bills never become law. State legislatures work the same way with their own bill numbers.
Who holds it: The sponsor (the member who introduced it) and co-sponsors.
How often: Any day Congress is in session. A Congress lasts 2 years; unfinished bills die when it ends.
Variables: bill_id, bill_number, congress, sponsor_member_id, introduced_date, latest_action
Federal source: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (every bill, every action) · State and local: Open States bills API / state legislature website (example: the Texas one)
Open step 7: Bill introduced
8 Committee review
A committee is a small group of members who study one topic, like money, farms, or the military. They hold hearings, ask experts questions, change the bill's words (this is called markup), and vote on whether to send it to the full chamber. Most of the real work happens here.
Who holds it: The committee chair decides what gets a hearing; committee members vote.
How often: Whenever the committee meets during session.
Variables: committee_id, committee_vote, hearing_date, markup_date, reported_date
Federal source: Congress.gov committees; House and Senate committee websites · State and local: State legislature committee pages (Open States)
Open step 8: Committee review
9 Floor debate and vote
The whole House or Senate debates the bill and votes. Each member's yes or no is written down in a roll call. Both chambers must pass the exact same words. Then the President signs it, or vetoes it. Congress can override a veto with two thirds of both chambers.
Who holds it: Each member holds one vote. Leaders decide when votes happen.
How often: Continuous while Congress is in session (usually Monday or Tuesday to Thursday or Friday, with recesses around holidays and in August).
Variables: roll_call_number, floor_vote_yea, floor_vote_nay, member_vote, vote_date, vote_result
Federal source: Clerk of the House roll call votes (XML) · State and local: State legislature journals / Open States votes
Open step 9: Floor debate and vote
10 Appropriations: the money decision
An appropriation is a law that lets an agency spend a set amount of money for a purpose. The Constitution says no money may leave the Treasury unless Congress passes one. This is called the power of the purse. There are 12 regular appropriations bills each year. If they are late, Congress passes a stopgap (continuing resolution) or the government partly shuts down. Government wages are paid from these appropriations too.
Who holds it: Congress decides; the money stays in the Treasury until an agency uses it.
How often: Once a year for the fiscal year starting October 1 (states: usually yearly or every 2 years; Texas every 2 years).
Variables: appropriation_amount, budget_authority, account_id, fiscal_year, bill_id, continuing_resolution
Federal source: USAspending federal accounts: budget authority by agency and account · State and local: State budget / general appropriations act (example: the Texas one)
Open step 10: Appropriations: the money decision
16 Oversight and hearings
After money is spent, Congress checks how it went. Committees hold hearings, ask agencies questions, and read audits. Inspectors general and the GAO look for waste. What they find shapes next year's money decision, and that closes the loop. You can take part: write to your officials with a sourced question.
Who holds it: Committees, inspectors general, GAO, state auditors, and you.
How often: All year; most budget oversight happens before the next appropriations.
Variables: hearing_id, report_id, gao_report_id, ig_report_id, recommendation_status
Federal source: GAO reports; Oversight.gov (inspectors general) · State and local: State auditor reports (example: the Texas one)
Open step 16: Oversight and hearings

Where the two paths meet: the appropriations law (voting path) is what lets money leave the Treasury (money path). And oversight feeds back into next year's decisions (the dashed line on the drawing).

The whole flow in order (text version)

People & ZIP codes: Everything starts with people.
Taxes paid, by ZIP: People and businesses pay taxes: income tax, payroll tax for Social Security and Medicare, and business taxes.
Treasury: where the money is held: Tax money goes into the government's bank account.
Campaign donations: People, companies' political committees (PACs), unions and parties give money to candidates.
Citizen votes: Citizens choose who makes the rules.
Elected officials: The winners take office.
Bill introduced: A bill is a written idea for a new law or a change to an old one.
Committee review: A committee is a small group of members who study one topic, like money, farms, or the military.
Floor debate and vote: The whole House or Senate debates the bill and votes.
Appropriations: the money decision: An appropriation is a law that lets an agency spend a set amount of money for a purpose.
Agencies: Agencies are the parts of government that do the work: for example the Department of Defense, the EPA, or a state environment agency like TCEQ.
Obligations: the promise to pay: When an agency signs a contract, hires someone, or approves a grant, it promises to pay.
Contracts to contractors: A contract pays a company (the contractor or vendor) for goods or work: roads, computers, studies, cleanup.
Government wages: Part of every appropriation pays the people who work for the government: soldiers, park rangers, inspectors, clerks.
Grants and other payments: Grants send money to states, cities, schools, nonprofits and researchers for a purpose.
Oversight and hearings: After money is spent, Congress checks how it went.

How a bill becomes a law

Introduced. A member of the House or Senate introduces a bill (money bills must start in the House).
Committee. A committee studies it, holds hearings, changes it (markup), and votes to send it on.
Floor vote. The whole chamber debates and votes; each vote is a roll call you can look up.
Other chamber. The other chamber passes the exact same words (or they work out differences).
President. The President signs it into law or vetoes it. Congress can override a veto with a two-thirds vote of both chambers.

Two cycles running at different speeds

The election cycle and the government cycle
Cycle	Timing	What moves
Citizen / election cycle	Every 2 years (House), 4 years (President), 6 years (Senate, about one third each time). Federal Election Day is the Tuesday after the first Monday in November of even years. State primaries are set by each state.	Votes and campaign donations decide who holds office.
Government / spending cycle	Continuous while Congress is in session, plus the fiscal year (October 1 to September 30).	Bills, roll call votes, appropriations, Treasury, agency obligations, payments.

House vs Senate

The two chambers of Congress
	House of Representatives	Senate
Seats	435 voting members, by state population	100, two per state
Term	2 years, all seats every election	6 years, about one third every 2 years
Special power	Money (revenue) bills must start here	Confirms judges and officials; approves treaties
How debate works	Strict time limits set by the Rules Committee	Long debate allowed; most bills need 60 votes to end a filibuster (cloture)
Your state's version	Most states also have two chambers (Nebraska has one). Your state's legislature works in a similar way; see your state page.

Site map: every PSI Sci page, by step

Drawing based on the PSI Sci flow chart. Sources: IRS SOI, FEC, Treasury, Congress.gov, USAspending, Census. Every number on PSI Sci links back to its public source.