Hill Snack Exchange

Hill Snack Exchange (“HSE,” “the exchange,” “we,” “us”) is an independent, unofficial, non-commercial hobby project that lets congressional office staff list snacks their office has on hand and trade them with other offices.

The name “Hill Snack Exchange” refers informally to Capitol Hill — common shorthand for the area in Washington, D.C. where congressional offices are located. It is not, and is not intended to be understood as, the name or a division of any legislative, congressional, or other governmental body, committee, or office.

It exists for fun and to build a small sense of camaraderie among congressional staff. It is not a real financial exchange, brokerage, marketplace, or commercial service, and nothing on it should be treated as one.

HSE is not affiliated with, endorsed by, sponsored by, reviewed by, or operated on behalf of the United States Congress, the U.S. House of Representatives, the U.S. Senate, any Member's office, any committee, or any other federal, state, or local government entity.

No name, seal, mark, or design used on this site is intended to resemble, imitate, or be mistaken for any official government seal, insignia, or trademark. The Seal shown on this site is an original mark created for this project, not a reproduction of any government emblem. If any element of this site is ever mistaken for official government branding, please tell us — see “Questions” below — and we will correct it promptly.

Office names, Member names, room numbers, and committee assignments shown on this site are public information used solely for identification. Their presence here does not imply any government office's participation, review, sponsorship, or approval of this project, and we do not claim any trademark or other proprietary right in the terms “Congress,” “Capitol Hill,” “the Hill,” or the name of any Member, office, or committee — they are used only in their ordinary, descriptive sense.

This distinction matters, so we say it plainly: if you work in a congressional office and want your office's profile to reflect real activity, you're welcome to claim it — but claiming an office here is a statement to this website, not to Congress, and carries no official or legal effect whatsoever.

Use of this site is entirely voluntary. No one is required to participate, list snacks, trade, claim an office, or provide any information here, and no Member's office, committee, or supervisor requires or endorses participation.

This is a hobby project, not a business, employer, or official program, and it creates no employment, agency, partnership, or fiduciary relationship between you and us.

We offer the exchange at will: we may modify, suspend, restrict, or discontinue the exchange (in whole or in part), or any individual account, office claim, or temporary staff status, at any time, for any reason or no reason, with or without notice, and without liability to you.

“SnackCoin,” listed quantities, and any prices or values shown anywhere on this site (including on the Hill Market once it opens) have no monetary value. They cannot be bought, sold, redeemed, or exchanged for real currency, goods, or services outside this website.

Nothing on HSE constitutes a security, commodity, currency, gift card, or financial instrument of any kind, and nothing here should be relied on for any financial decision.

An office profile may be claimed by someone who actually works for that office, in a role that lets them speak to what's in that office's break room.

Every permanent claim is reviewed by an admin before it's marked verified. A temporary claim gets immediate access but must be handed off to an admin-approved permanent staffer within the posted window, or it (and any other temporary staff on that office) automatically loses access.

We reserve the right to decline, suspend, or revoke any claim or account at any time, for any reason, including a good-faith belief that the information provided is inaccurate or that these terms have been violated.

By using HSE, you agree not to:

• Impersonate a person, office, or staffer you are not, or submit false information when claiming an office or requesting staff access.
• State, suggest, or imply that this site, an office's listing, or any content on it is official, sponsored, endorsed, reviewed, or required by Congress, a Member's office, or any government entity.
• Use the exchange to harass, threaten, or disparage any individual or office.
• Attempt to bypass, automate, or abuse the claim-review, approval, or login process.
• Use the site to advertise, solicit, or conduct any transaction involving real money or anything of real-world monetary value.
• Interfere with the normal operation of the site, or attempt to access another office's account or another person's account without authorization.

If you believe someone has broken these rules — including impersonation, harassment, misuse of the claim process, or anything else covered above — please report it to csexchange.admin@gmail.com with as much detail as you can provide.

We review reports at our discretion and may take any action we consider appropriate, including warning, suspending, or permanently revoking an account, office claim, or temporary staff status; removing content; or, where warranted, reporting conduct to appropriate authorities. We are not obligated to take any particular action in response to a report, and we may act on suspected violations we notice ourselves, whether or not anyone reports them.

When you claim an office or request temporary staff access, we collect the name, email address, role or title, and password you submit. Your password is stored only as a one-way cryptographic hash — we cannot see or recover your actual password, and we do not store it in plain text.

We use this information solely to operate the exchange: to review and verify claims and staff requests, to let you sign in, to show you notifications about your own claim or requests, and to enforce these terms.

We do not sell, rent, trade, or share your personal information with any third party for their marketing or advertising purposes, and we do not use it for advertising ourselves. We are not in the business of monetizing user data, and this exchange has no revenue model built around your information.

We use only the small number of cookies strictly necessary to keep you signed in as an office or temporary staffer and to verify CAPTCHA submissions. We do not use advertising or third-party tracking cookies.

We may disclose information if required to do so by law, subpoena, court order, or other legal process, or if we believe in good faith that disclosure is reasonably necessary to protect the rights, property, or safety of this exchange, its users, or the public.

We retain information only as long as reasonably necessary to operate the exchange or as required by law. If you're signed in, you can permanently delete your own account and data yourself at any time from the Home page's “Danger Zone,” which immediately vacates your office's profile (or removes your temporary staff access) back to unclaimed. You can also ask us to correct or delete your information, or ask what information we hold about you, at any time by emailing csexchange.admin@gmail.com — see “Questions” below.

No method of electronic storage or transmission is completely secure. We take reasonable steps to protect your information, but we cannot guarantee absolute security, and we are not liable for unauthorized access that occurs despite those reasonable steps.

THE EXCHANGE IS PROVIDED “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE,” FOR FUN, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS, IMPLIED, OR STATUTORY, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, OR NON-INFRINGEMENT.

We do not warrant that the exchange will be uninterrupted, timely, secure, or error-free, or that any information on it (including office, listing, or pricing information) is accurate, complete, or current. Features — including the Hill Market — may change, be added to, or be discontinued at any time without notice.

To the fullest extent permitted by law, the operators of this exchange will not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, exemplary, or punitive damages, or any loss of data, goodwill, or other intangible losses, arising out of or relating to your use of, or inability to use, the exchange — even if we have been advised of the possibility of such damages.

To the fullest extent permitted by law, our total liability to you for any claim arising out of or relating to these terms or the exchange is limited to fifty U.S. dollars ($50), reflecting that the exchange is provided free of charge, for fun, and has no monetary value.

You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless the operators of this exchange from and against any claim, demand, loss, liability, or expense (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising out of or relating to your use of the exchange, your violation of these terms, or your violation of any right of another person or entity.

These terms are governed by applicable United States federal law and the law of the state in which the exchange's operators reside, without regard to conflict-of-law principles.

If any provision of these terms is found unenforceable or invalid, that provision will be limited or eliminated to the minimum extent necessary, and the remaining provisions will remain in full force and effect.

These terms may be updated as the exchange evolves. Continued use of the site after a change means you accept the updated terms. We encourage you to check back here periodically.