Federal Government: Legislative Branch

The Constitution of the United States

(as amended, 2003)


U.S. Senate	U.S. House of Representatives

The Senate and House Web sites can help you find senators, representatives, biographical information, committees, information about current and past legislative bills and laws, voting records, and much more.

Reference sources

Dates/Sessions of Congress since 1789
via LexisNexis (UM only) via Senate website

Library of Congress Virtual Reference A comprehensive array of general reference websites.

Senate Virtual Reference Desk: Good starting point for information on the Senate, Congress, the federal government. Research guides on the legislative process and finding votes are especially useful.

Directories

Biographical Directory of the American Congress

Congressional Directory

Congressional Pictorial Directory

Black Americans in Congress

Women in Congress

Major publications

Legislative Branch Resources on GPO Access (full text of recent publications)

A Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation: U.S. Congressional Documents and Debates (Library of Congress) (includes the following records of debates from 1789-1873:)

Debates of Congress:

Annals of Congress 1789-1824 [catalog record]
Register of Debates 1824-1837 [catalog record]
Congressional Globe 1837-1873 [catalog record]
Congressional Record: full text from 1983-date
print: 1873-date [catalog record]

Congressional Bills:

Congressional Bills & Resolutions (1823-1873) available via American Memory for selected sessions of Congress, beginning with the 6th Congress in the House of Representatives, the 16th Congress in the Senate, and the 18th Congress for Senate Joint Resolutions

Full text from 101st congress (1989-date) from Thomas (Library of Congress)

Bill summaries available from 93rd congress (1973-date)
(More about THOMAS)

Microfiche of bills from 90th congress-106th congress (1967-2000)
are filed under Y 1.4/ in fed docs microfiche.

Congressional Committee Prints:

Termed the “homework of Congress,” committee prints are a valuable source for research. The library’s collection of prints is comprehensive, with a microfiche collection (CIS Committee Prints) through 1969, and print copies for 1970-date. They are fully indexed in LexisNexis Congressional, and in the catalog for 1976-date. Recent prints are also available full text via the library catalog or LexisNexis Congressional.

Congressional Documents and Reports (the “serial set”)

Considered the core of federal depository collections, the serial set is a rich primary source for researchers. A comprehensive print collection is located in the Annex (1789-1969) and in the GIS stacks (1970-date). [catalog record] The library’s subscription to the LexisNexis U.S. Digital Serial Set Collection provides full text access for 1789-1969. Recent publications (1995-date) are full text on GPO Access and linked from library catalog records. View an online exhibit on the serial set from the University of Michigan.

Congressional Hearings:

Classed in Y 4. by committee name, the library’s collection of hearings is comprehensive for the years 1950-date, with scattered holdings before 1950. Most have library catalog records, while LexisNexis Congressional affords comprehensive access. Most recent hearings (1995+) have links to full text through the catalog and via LexisNexis.

Bound Compilations of Laws:

US Code [catalog record]
Search current edition and 1988-date revisions via House of Representatives Website

US Statutes at Large

Print volumes: 1789-1920 Fed Gov Archives S 7.9:

1921-date Fed Gov Stacks AE 2.111:

Full Text: 1789-1875 via Century of Lawmaking

1994-date via GPO Access

1988-date via LexisNexis Congressional [UM only]

Legislative Branch Agencies

Architect of the Capitol Responsible for the maintenance, development and preservation of the U.S. Capitol complex, including the Library of Congress and the Supreme Court. The website offers interesting historic details about the buildings' history and current projects.

Congressional Budget Office (CBO) The CBO serves Congress by conducting nonpartisan analyses and estimates required for the Congressional budget process.

Governmental Accounting Office (GAO) An independent and nonpartisan “watchdog” agency reporting to Congress, the GAO investigates how federal agencies spend taxpayer dollars.

Government Printing Office (GPO) The official printer for the government and administers the Federal Depository Library Program.

Library of Congress Our national library as well as a library for Congress.

Main Reading Room The Library's principal service point for the general collections.

Federal Research Centers The Library's major research divisions.

Congressional Research Service (CRS)
Serves as the public policy research arm of Congress & works "exclusively and directly for Members of Congress, their Committees and staff on a confidential, nonpartisan basis."
Thus, CRS reports are not issued directly for public release. They can be requested directly from your Representative. Many are now in the public domain and are available at these sites:
Open CRS Network  (comprehensive site)

University of North Texas Libraries (large archive)

Federation of American Scientists (reports on national security, foreign policy)

National Council for Science and the Environment (reports on environmental issues)

     U.S. House Rules Committee (reports related to the legislative & budget process)

     U. S. Department of State: Foreign Press Centers (reports on defense, trade, foreign affairs, human rights, etc.)

Law Library of Congress The world's largest law library with more than 3 million volumes.

Library of Congress Web Archives (by subject) Part of a digital preservation effort by the Library.