pp-lda-gov - SKILL.md Agent Skill

name: pp-lda-gov description: "Lobbying disclosure records with local sync, entity resolution, and evidence-grade exports. Trigger phrases: search lobbying filings, resolve an LDA client, audit lobbying spend, check LD-203 contributions, export lobbying graph, use LDA.gov, run lda-gov." author: "Mherzog4" license: "Apache-2.0" argument-hint: " [args] | install cli|mcp" allowed-tools: "Read Bash" metadata: openclaw: requires: bins: - lda-gov-pp-cli install: - kind: go bins: [lda-gov-pp-cli] module: github.com/mvanhorn/printing-press-library/library/other/lda-gov/cmd/lda-gov-pp-cli

LDA.gov — Printing Press CLI

Prerequisites: Install the CLI

This skill drives the lda-gov-pp-cli binary. You must verify the CLI is installed before invoking any command from this skill. If it is missing, install it first:

Install via the Printing Press installer. It defaults binaries to $HOME/.local/bin on macOS/Linux and %LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\PrintingPress\bin on Windows:
```
npx -y @mvanhorn/printing-press-library install lda-gov --cli-only
```
Verify: lda-gov-pp-cli --version
Ensure the reported install directory is on $PATH for the agent/runtime that will invoke this skill.

If the npx install fails (no Node, offline, etc.), fall back to a direct Go install (requires Go 1.26.4 or newer). This installs into $GOPATH/bin (default $HOME/go/bin), so add that directory to $PATH instead:

go install github.com/mvanhorn/printing-press-library/library/other/lda-gov/cmd/lda-gov-pp-cli@latest

If --version reports "command not found" after install, the runtime cannot see the binary directory on $PATH. Do not proceed with skill commands until verification succeeds.

Search the official Lobbying Disclosure Act API, sync public filings into SQLite, and turn nested lobbying records into source-linked audits. The CLI keeps anonymous reads safe by default, supports optional registered API keys, and adds commands for entity resolution, anomaly checks, spend timelines, contribution totals, and graph exports.

When to Use This CLI

Use this CLI when you need official LDA.gov records, local analysis, repeatable watchdog checks, or agent-friendly evidence exports. It is strongest for lobbying filings, contribution reports, registrant/client/lobbyist lookup, source citation, and longitudinal analysis across synced data.

Anti-triggers

Do not use this CLI for:

Do not use this CLI for FEC campaign-finance data; use a dedicated FEC source.
Do not use this CLI for legal advice about LDA filing obligations.
Do not use this CLI for live bill status or congressional vote data; use Congress.gov or another legislative API.
Do not use this CLI to infer missed filing obligations without corroborating records.

Unique Capabilities

These capabilities aren't available in any other tool for this API.

Evidence-grade local audits

audit filings — Flag amendments, terminations, duplicate-risk filings, client/registrant conflicts, and missing source URLs.

Use this when an agent needs reproducible watchdog flags instead of raw filing rows.
```
lda-gov-pp-cli audit filings --agent --limit 25
```
audit spend — Aggregate disclosed lobbying income and expenses by client, registrant, issue, year, and quarter.

Use this when an agent needs analysis-ready spend totals rather than individual filings.
```
lda-gov-pp-cli audit spend --client Boeing --from-year 2020 --to-year 2025 --csv
```
contributions totals — Aggregate LD-203 contribution items by contributor, recipient, payee, item type, year, and report.

Use this when an agent needs contribution totals without writing a custom flattener.
```
lda-gov-pp-cli contributions totals --year 2024 --csv
```

Entity intelligence

entities resolve — Rank matching registrants, clients, and lobbyists with official IDs, counts, last activity, and source URLs.

Use this before citing or joining an ambiguous company, firm, or lobbyist name.
```
lda-gov-pp-cli entities resolve Boeing --agent --limit 10
```
graph export — Export client-registrant-lobbyist-issue-government entity edges for graph analysis.

Use this when an agent needs a relationship graph for downstream NetworkX, Gephi, or SQL work.
```
lda-gov-pp-cli graph export --client Boeing --format csv
```
lobbyists covered-positions — List lobbyists' covered government positions connected to clients, registrants, and filing periods.

Use this when an agent needs exact official covered-position evidence tied to active lobbying records.
```
lda-gov-pp-cli lobbyists covered-positions --client Boeing --csv
```

Period monitoring

reports quarter — Produce quarter stats for filings, amendments, terminations, top issues, top entities, spend, and LD-203 totals.

Use this after quarterly deadlines when an agent needs a compact, source-linked snapshot.
```
lda-gov-pp-cli reports quarter --year 2024 --period year_end --agent --select top_issue,top_government_entity,filings
```

Command Reference

clients — Access Client information.

lda-gov-pp-cli clients list — Returns all clients matching the provided filters.
lda-gov-pp-cli clients retrieve — Returns all clients matching the provided filters.

constants — An assorted list of constants found in the LDA REST API.

lda-gov-pp-cli constants list-contribution-item-types — Returns all ContributionItemTypes.
lda-gov-pp-cli constants list-countries — Returns all Countries.
lda-gov-pp-cli constants list-filing-types — Returns all FilingTypes.
lda-gov-pp-cli constants list-government-entities — Returns all GovernmentEntities.
lda-gov-pp-cli constants list-lobbying-activity-general-issues — Returns all LobbyingActivityGeneralIssues.
lda-gov-pp-cli constants list-lobbyist-prefixes — Returns all LobbyistPrefixes.
lda-gov-pp-cli constants list-lobbyist-suffixes — Returns all LobbyistSuffixes.
lda-gov-pp-cli constants list-states — Returns all States.

contributions — Manage contributions

lda-gov-pp-cli contributions list-reports — List reports
lda-gov-pp-cli contributions retrieve-report — Returns all contributions matching the provided filters.

filings — Access LD1 / LD2 filings.

lda-gov-pp-cli filings list — List
lda-gov-pp-cli filings retrieve — Returns all filings matching the provided filters.

lobbyists — Access Lobbyist information.

lda-gov-pp-cli lobbyists list — Returns all lobbyists matching the provided filters.
lda-gov-pp-cli lobbyists retrieve — Returns all lobbyists matching the provided filters.

registrants — Access Registrant information.

lda-gov-pp-cli registrants list — Returns all registrants matching the provided filters.
lda-gov-pp-cli registrants retrieve — Returns all registrants matching the provided filters.

Finding the right command

When you know what you want to do but not which command does it, ask the CLI directly:

lda-gov-pp-cli which "<capability in your own words>"

which resolves a natural-language capability query to the best matching command from this CLI's curated feature index. Exit code 0 means at least one match; exit code 2 means no confident match — fall back to --help or use a narrower query.

Recipes

Resolve a company before joining records

lda-gov-pp-cli entities resolve Boeing --agent --limit 10 --db ./lda.db

Ranks official registrant, client, and lobbyist matches so an agent can pick the right ID.

Build a source-linked quarter snapshot

lda-gov-pp-cli reports quarter --year 2024 --period year_end --agent --select top_issue,top_government_entity,filings --db ./lda.db

Narrows a potentially large report to the fields an agent needs in context.

Audit filings for cleanup flags

lda-gov-pp-cli audit filings --agent --limit 25 --db ./lda.db

Flags amendments, terminations, duplicate risks, and client/registrant conflicts.

Export a lobbying relationship graph

lda-gov-pp-cli graph export --client Boeing --format csv --db ./lda.db

Creates edge rows connecting clients, registrants, lobbyists, issues, and government entities.

Summarize LD-203 contribution counterparties

lda-gov-pp-cli contributions totals --year 2024 --csv --db ./lda.db

Flattens contribution items and aggregates them by counterparty and item type.

Auth Setup

LDA.gov works anonymously at a lower rate limit. For higher throughput, register for an API key at https://lda.gov/api/register/ and set LDA_API_KEY to the key value; the CLI sends it as Authorization: Token . Legacy scripts may use SENATE_LDA_API_KEY or USSLDA_KEY, but new usage should prefer LDA_API_KEY.

Run lda-gov-pp-cli doctor to verify setup.

Agent Mode

Add --agent to any command. Expands to: --json --compact --no-input --no-color --yes.

Pipeable — JSON on stdout, errors on stderr
Filterable — --select keeps a subset of fields. Dotted paths descend into nested structures; arrays traverse element-wise. Critical for keeping context small on verbose APIs:
```
lda-gov-pp-cli clients list --agent --select id,name,status
```
Previewable — --dry-run shows the request without sending
Offline-friendly — sync/search commands can use the local SQLite store when available
Non-interactive — never prompts, every input is a flag
Read-only — do not use this CLI for create, update, delete, publish, comment, upvote, invite, order, send, or other mutating requests

Response envelope

Commands that read from the local store or the API wrap output in a provenance envelope:

{
  "meta": {"source": "live" | "local", "synced_at": "...", "reason": "..."},
  "results": <data>
}

Parse .results for data and .meta.source to know whether it's live or local. A human-readable N results (live) summary is printed to stderr only when stdout is a terminal AND no machine-format flag (--json, --csv, --compact, --quiet, --plain, --select) is set — piped/agent consumers and explicit-format runs get pure JSON on stdout.

Agent Feedback

When you (or the agent) notice something off about this CLI, record it:

lda-gov-pp-cli feedback "the --since flag is inclusive but docs say exclusive"
lda-gov-pp-cli feedback --stdin < notes.txt
lda-gov-pp-cli feedback list --json --limit 10

Entries are stored locally at ~/.local/share/lda-gov-pp-cli/feedback.jsonl. They are never POSTed unless LDA_GOV_FEEDBACK_ENDPOINT is set AND either --send is passed or LDA_GOV_FEEDBACK_AUTO_SEND=true. Default behavior is local-only.

Write what surprised you, not a bug report. Short, specific, one line: that is the part that compounds.

Output Delivery

Every command accepts --deliver <sink>. The output goes to the named sink in addition to (or instead of) stdout, so agents can route command results without hand-piping. Three sinks are supported:

Sink	Effect
`stdout`	Default; write to stdout only
`file:<path>`	Atomically write output to `<path>` (tmp + rename)
`webhook:<url>`	POST the output body to the URL (`application/json` or `application/x-ndjson` when `--compact`)

Unknown schemes are refused with a structured error naming the supported set. Webhook failures return non-zero and log the URL + HTTP status on stderr.

Named Profiles

A profile is a saved set of flag values, reused across invocations. Use it when a scheduled agent calls the same command every run with the same configuration - HeyGen's "Beacon" pattern.

lda-gov-pp-cli profile save briefing --json
lda-gov-pp-cli --profile briefing clients list
lda-gov-pp-cli profile list --json
lda-gov-pp-cli profile show briefing
lda-gov-pp-cli profile delete briefing --yes

Explicit flags always win over profile values; profile values win over defaults. agent-context lists all available profiles under available_profiles so introspecting agents discover them at runtime.

Exit Codes

Code	Meaning
0	Success
2	Usage error (wrong arguments)
3	Resource not found
5	API error (upstream issue)
7	Rate limited (wait and retry)
10	Config error

Argument Parsing

Parse $ARGUMENTS:

Empty, help, or --help → show lda-gov-pp-cli --help output
Starts with install → ends with mcp → MCP installation; otherwise → see Prerequisites above
Anything else → Direct Use (execute as CLI command with --agent)

MCP Server Installation

Install the MCP server:

go install github.com/mvanhorn/printing-press-library/library/other/lda-gov/cmd/lda-gov-pp-mcp@latest

claude mcp add lda-gov-pp-mcp -- lda-gov-pp-mcp

Verify: claude mcp list

Direct Use

Check if installed: which lda-gov-pp-cli If not found, offer to install (see Prerequisites at the top of this skill).
Match the user query to the best command from the Unique Capabilities and Command Reference above.

Execute with the --agent flag:

lda-gov-pp-cli <command> [subcommand] [args] --agent

If ambiguous, drill into subcommand help: lda-gov-pp-cli <command> --help.