Terms of Service for
Lobbying Disclosure Act (LDA)
Document Downloads via REST API

Authentication

There are two ways to authenticate through the REST API:

• API Key (Registered)
• Unauthenticated (Anonymous)

For clients without an API Key, no special authentication is required, however anonymous clients are subject to more strict request throttling to prevent abuse and to ensure stability. Our API is rate limited depending on the type of authentication option you choose:

• API Key (Registered): 120/minute
• Unauthenticated (Anonymous): 15/minute

Secondary Use

Data accessed through LDA.SENATE.GOV do not, and should not, include controls over its end use. However, as the data owners or authoritative sources, the U.S. Senate Office of Public Records retains version control. Once the data have been downloaded from LDA.SENATE.GOV, the U.S. Senate cannot vouch for the quality and timeliness of any analyses conducted with retrieved data.

Citing Data

Users of the public API should cite the date that data were accessed or retrieved using the API. Users must clearly state that “Senate Office of Public Records cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from LDA.SENATE.GOV.” The U.S. Senate Seal is protected by 18 U.S.C. § 713 and may not be used by persons who are not U.S. Senate employees or on products (including web pages) that are not U.S. Senate sponsored.

Modification or False Representation of Content

Users may not modify or falsely represent content accessed through LDA.SENATE.GOV and still cite the source as LDA.SENATE.GOV.

Right to Limit

Use of the APIs may be subject to certain limitations on access, calls, or use as set forth within this Agreement or otherwise provided by the U.S. Senate. If the U.S. Senate reasonably believes that a user has attempted to exceed or circumvent these limits, that user's access to the API may be permanently or temporarily blocked.

The U.S. Senate may monitor your use of its services to improve the service or to ensure compliance with this Agreement.

Service Termination

If a user wishes to terminate this Agreement, he/she may do so by refraining from further use of the services. The U.S. Senate reserves the right (though not the obligation) to (1) refuse to provide the services to a user, if it is the U.S. Senate's opinion that use violates any U.S. Senate policy, or (2) terminate or deny a user's access to and use of all or part of the services at any time for any other reason in its sole discretion. Any hosted applications may also be shut down or removed. All provisions of this Agreement, which by their nature should survive termination, shall survive termination including, without limitation, warranty disclaimers, indemnity, and limitations of liability.

Changes

The U.S. Senate reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to modify or replace this Agreement, in whole or in part. Continued use of or access to the LDA.SENATE.GOV services following posting of any changes to this Agreement constitutes acceptance of those modified terms. The U.S. Senate may, in the future, offer new services and/or features. Such new features and/or services shall be subject to the terms and conditions of this Agreement.

Disclaimer of Warranties

LDA.SENATE.GOV services are provided "as is" and on an "as-available" basis. The U.S. Senate hereby disclaims all warranties of any kind, express or implied, including without limitation the warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement. The U.S. Senate makes no warranty that the services will be error free or that access thereto will be continuous or uninterrupted.

Limitations on Liability

In no event will the U.S. Senate be liable with to respect to any subject matter of this Agreement under any contract, negligence, strict liability or other legal or equitable theory for: (1) any special, incidental, or consequential damages; (2) the cost of procurement of substitute products or services; or (3) interruption of use or loss or corruption of data.

General Representations

The user hereby warrant that (1) his/her use of the services will be in strict accordance with the US Senate privacy policy, this Agreement, and all applicable laws and regulations, and (2) his/her use of the services will not infringe or misappropriate the intellectual property rights of any third party.

Indemnification

The user agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the U.S. Senate, its contractors, employees, agents, and the like from and against any and all claims and expenses including attorney's fees, arising out of your use of the APIs, including but not limited to violation of this Agreement. This Indemnification clause shall not apply to government entities.

Miscellaneous

This Agreement constitutes the entire Agreement between the U.S. Senate and the user concerning the subject matter hereof, and may only be modified by the posting of a revised version on this page by the U.S. Senate.

Disputes

Any disputes arising out of this Agreement and access to or use of the services shall be governed by federal law.

No Waiver of Rights

The U.S. Senate's failure to exercise or enforce any right or provision of this Agreement shall not constitute waiver of such right or provision.

Last Modified Date

August 22nd, 2019