The Democratic whip made an app Alyssa

Steny Hoyer with his iPhone. (AP Photo/Molly Riley).

In a world where we’ll soon be able to order a pie by tweeting an emoji at Pizza Hut, House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer saw a problem. Some of the most basic necessities could be summoned with a few taps on a smartphone, but the details of the government’s daily activity were buried in PDF calendars and email listservs. So the 75-year-old Maryland representative, who “loves” his iPhone, uses its weather and map apps and “Googles things throughout the day,” commissioned an app.

Named Whip Watch, the iOS app premieres today and generates push notifications for new jobs, calendar updates and votes cast on the House floor. Free to the public, it informs you in real time what segments of a bill are up for discussion and how many people have voted for it. It also displays transcribed speeches from representatives and allows you to share them directly on social media. At its essence, it’s a tool to track exactly what the House is up to at any time of the day.

As his communications director, Katie Grant, puts it, Hoyer’s position gave him the opportunity to share that information with lobbyists, the press and out-of-state activists.

“In that unique role,” she says, “we can offer the American people an immediate view into what’s happening on the House floor then and there.”