Guides: Government Information Resources: Congress

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These are the most widely-used resources for finding information about the U. S. Congress:

Congress.gov
Full-text ('89 to present) and summaries ('73 to present) of Bills; the Congressional Record (back to 1989); Committee reports & info; Roll call votes; House floor now & this week (shows what's currently before congress), and more. It replaces the THOMAS.gov site.

ProQuest Congressional This link opens in a new window
Index with some full-text for Congressional hearings, committee prints, reports and documents. For dates of coverage, see contents coverage chart.

CQ Guide to Congress
Provides extensive background on the history, powers, and procedures of the institution. Includes related subjects such as pressures on Congress; pay, housing, qualifications, and ethics of members; and how Congress is elected.
U.S. House of Representatives
Information on members, leadership, committees, legislative activity and pages on the "House Explained"
U.S. Senate
Information on Senators, Committees, Legislation & Records, Statistics & Lists, and a virtual reference desk

Historical Collections

U.S. Congressional Serial Set, 1817-1980 This link opens in a new window
Contains reports, documents and journals of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives from the 15th to 96th Congresses, originally published in bound volumes. Also includeskey Executive Branch documents and thousands of browsable/searchable Serial Set Maps. Now through 1980 (almost complete). For the 1st - 14th congresses, see American State Papers. Go shortcut = go/usss

American State Papers, 1789-1838
This digital collection contains legislative and executive documents of the first fourteen U.S. Congresses and more. It is an essential complement to the U.S. Congressional Serial Set, which begins with the 15th U.S. Congress.
Century of Lawmaking...U.S. Congressional Documents and Debates 1774 - 1875
Includes early congressional debates (Annals of Congress, Register of Debates, Congressional Globe, House and Senate Journals; Bills; Resolutions; Statutes at Large, and more. Includes a lot of content not in the Serial Set. (From Library of Congress American Memory Project). See Also Citation examples.
First Federal Congress Project
Documenting the history of the First Federal Congress, 1789-1791.

Biographies

Biographical Directory of the United States Congress: 1774-present
Also available in print - Davis Family Library Reference JK1010 U5.
Black Americans in Congress, 1870-2007
Congressional Directory
The official directory of the U.S. Congress. Online 1997 - present. Includes short biographies, committee assignments, contact information, etc. Also includes other federal officials and agencies, DC government, independent agencies, statistics, and much more.
Hispanic Americans in Congress, 1822-2012
Women in Congress
Biographical profiles of former and current female members of Congress.
Women in the Senate
Biographical information about all women who have served as Senators.
CQ Politics in America
Searchable directory of information on members of Congress and their districts. Includes biographical data, committee assignments, election results and key votes. Also in Print: Main Library Reference JK1012 P64. For CQ Electronic Library, Go shortcut = go/cq.

Congressional Record

The Congressional Record is, according to Chapter 9 of Title 44 of the United States Code, "substantially a verbatim report of [the] proceedings" of Congress. It is the official record of Congress, and is published daily while Congress is in session. Indexes are published approximately every two weeks, and at the end of a session of Congress, the daily editions are compiled and bound into the official permanent edition.

Congressional Record
Published daily when Congress is in session. Contains proceedings of the House and Senate, including text of debates; Extensions of Remarks; and the Daily Digest. The 101st (1989/90) - present are available online through Thomas: Legislative Information on the Internet. Also available 1985-present on Lexis Nexis Congressional Universe. All years are available in print in Govt Docs, X1.1/a:
Sources for the Congressional Record
A compilation of all sources for the Congressional Record, both free and commercial. From Law Librarians' Society of Washington, DC.

Bills

House Bills and Resolutions, 1799-1873
How Our Laws Are Made
Legislative Process
From ProQuest Congressional help. Each step is explained

ProQuest Congressional This link opens in a new window
Index with some full-text for Congressional hearings, committee prints, reports and documents. For dates of coverage, see contents coverage chart.

Laws

United States Code
Official compilation by subject of the general and permanent laws of the United States that are currently in force.
United States Statutes at Large
Covers from 1789 to 2011
How Our Laws Are Made
Legal Information Library Subject Guide
US and international court cases, laws, and treaty resources can be found on this Middlebury library subject guide.

Votes

Roll Call Votes
1789 - current
Summary of Bills Vetoed, 1789 - present
Includes links to brief information on the bills that were vetoed by many presidents.

Multimedia

C-Span Video Library
'Every C-SPAN program aired since 1987, now totaling over 160,000 hours, is contained in the C-SPAN Archives.'
Congressional District Atlas
Earlier editions for 89th - 103rd Congress are shelved in Govt Docs C3.62/5: and C56.213/2: and editions for 105th - 109th Congress are shelved in Govt Docs. CD-ROM C3.282/5:
MappingCongress

State-level mapping of women, Blacks and Hispanics in Congress from the first Congress to the latest
YouTube House Hub
YouTube Senate Hub

Related Websites

Century of Lawmaking...U.S. Congressional Documents and Debates 1774 - 1875
Includes early congressional debates (Annals of Congress, Register of Debates, Congressional Globe, House and Senate Journals; Bills; Resolutions; Statutes at Large, and more. Includes a lot of content not in the Serial Set. (From Library of Congress American Memory Project). See Also Citation examples.
Congressional Pig Book 2014
Annual compilation of the pork-barrel projects in the federal budget. Compiled by Citizens Against Government Waste
Congressional Research Service [CRS] Reports
Reports written by experts at the Congressional Research Service for members of Congress on a variety of topics relevant to current political events.
Every CRS Report
Website run by DemandProgress, with ~8,400 reports and more coming each week. Reports are obtained from Congress, no charge for access, reports are available for bulk download. There is a Twitter account, @everycrsreport, to follow for new reports.

CQ Press This link opens in a new window
Online access to Congressional Quarterly pubications: Congress and the Nation; Historic Documents; Politics in America; and five CQ Guides: Guide to Congress; Guide to the Presidency; Guide to the U.S. Supreme Court; Guide to U.S. Elections; Guide to Political Campaigns in America.

CQ Guide to Congress
Provides extensive background on the history, powers, and procedures of the institution. Includes related subjects such as pressures on Congress; pay, housing, qualifications, and ethics of members; and how Congress is elected.

CQ Weekly This link opens in a new window
Full-text of Congressional Quarterly Weekly Reports which follow congressional actions. Includes floor votes. 1983 to current. Part of CQ Electronic Library. Search alone or with other CQ databases such as CQ Almanac, CQ Researcher, etc. Go shortcut = go/cq

Encyclopedia of the United States Congress
Davis Family Library Reference JK1067 .E63 1995 (4 volumes)
GovTrack.us
Track bills in Congress, voting and sponsorship records, committee activities, links to biographical information on legislators, bill statistics, and more. GovTrack.us, a project of Civic Impulse, LLC.
LegiStorm
Information on financial disclosures, foreign gifts, earmarks sponsored, privately funded trips, and Congressional staff salaries.
MapLight
Combines bill texts and legislative voting records, supporting and opposing interests for each bill, and campaign contribution data.
OpenSecrets.org
Sponsored by The Center for Responsive Politics, a non-partisan, non-profit research group that tracks money in politics, and its effect on elections and public policy. Provides financial info on politicians, PAC's, 527's, industries, lobbyists, etc. as well as info on private travel, the 'revolving door' and more.