Your Librarian
Your Librarian
Major Sources
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ProQuest Congressional(Searches through citations and the full text)
The record of Congressional activities, current and past. Includes legislation, hearings, research reports, and more. -
ProQuest Legislative Insight(Searches through citations and the full text)
Maps out the Congressional debates and documents that go into enactment of all U.S. Public Laws 1789-2021, in full text, and including all hearings and reports. -
Congress.gov(Searches through citations and the full text)
Search by keyword, member, Congress, or bill number. The default searches only the current Congress -- use the advanced search to search across multiple Congresses. It's easy to browse the Daily Digest from this site. 1989-forward. -
HeinOnlineTraditional legal materials (reported cases, statutes, government regulations, academic law reviews, commercially produced law journals and magazines, and classic treatises), historical, governmental, and political documents, legislative debates, legislative and executive branch reports, world constitutions, international treaties, and reports and other documents of international organizations.
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U.S. Congressional Serial Set, 1817-1994(Searches through citations and the full text)
One of the core U.S. government publications, with Congressional records from 1817-1994. Also *the* primary source for executive branch reports, treaties, statements, maps and more from the 1800s.
Congressional Activity and News
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Senate WebsiteFind information about current and past senators, committees, and recorded floor proceedings.
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House of Representatives WebsiteFind information about current and past representatives, committees, and recorded floor proceedings.
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Roll Call Votes1989 - present. Also available via Proquest Congressional.
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CQ AlmanacAn almanac of issues covered by Congress each year. Organized by topic area. Lists major bills.
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CQ MagazineA weekly magazine covering what is happening in Congress. Excellent resource for helping to track legislation by topic or member.
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Open SecretsFrom the Center for Responsive Politics, this site allows you to track campaign contributions from many different angles.
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voxgov(Searches through citations and the full text)
A repository of US government information gleaned from official websites, legislation, congressional and regulatory documents, social media, press releases, and more.
Sources for Election Results
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CQ Politics in America(Searches through citations and the full text)
A guide to politics with information on each member of Congress and the district he or she represents. Note: You can also search across all of the CQ Press reference resources here. -
CQ Voting and Elections CollectionExtensive data on elections at the national and state level. In database format.
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Almanac of American PoliticsCall Number: REF JK1010 .B26Availability and more information from Catalyst...
Published every two years. District information by state. Includes brief demographic information for the state and the districts. Most recent editions are temporarily on the cart in reference.
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Library Guide to U.S. Elections StatisticsComprehensive guide to sources for finding U.S. elections statistics and related information.
Congressional Record
The Congressional Record is a transcript of proceedings in the House and Senate, including all bills that have been introduced and debated, committee reports, and presidential actions or communications. It is published each day that Congress is in session.
The complete Congressional Record can be accessed through Proquest Congressional. Current editions and those back to 1995 are available directly from www.congress.gov.
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ProQuest Congressional(Searches through citations and the full text)
The record of Congressional activities, current and past. Includes legislation, hearings, research reports, and more. -
Congress.gov(Searches through citations and the full text)
Search by keyword, member, Congress, or bill number. The default searches only the current Congress -- use the advanced search to search across multiple Congresses. It's easy to browse the Daily Digest from this site. 1989-forward.
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An Overview of the Congressional Record and Its Predecessor Publications: A Research Guideby Richard J. McKinney, Assistant Law Librarian, Federal Reserve Board Law Library, Last revised in October, 2011
Earlier printed records of Congressional debate have been published under multiple names, including Annals of Congress (1789-1824), Register of Debates (1824-1837), and Congressional Globe (1833-1873). Digitized records can be found on the Library of Congress website, A Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation: U.S. Congressional Documents and Debates, 1774-1875.
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1789-1824: Annals of Congress(aka Debates & Proceedings of Congress): 1st - 18th (1789 - 1824)
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1824-1837: Register of Debates18th - 25th (1824 - 1837)
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1833-1873: Congressional Globe23rd - 42nd (1833 - 1873)
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1873-1875: Congressional Record43rd - 44th (1873 - 1877)
Research Help
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How to Trace Federal Legislation - A Research GuideHelp from the Library of Congress in tracing a code back to legislation.
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CRS Report - Legislative HistoryA report from the Congressional Research Service about tracing legislation and how a bill becomes a law.
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CRS Report - Legislative History Research: A Basic GuideAnother more recent report from CRS on tracing legislation and the legislative process in general.
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Every CRS ReportCongressional Research Service reports are prepared by researchers and experts on a variety of topics as a service to Congress.
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Finding or Compiling Federal Legislative Histories Electronicallyby Richard J. McKinney, Assistant Law Librarian, Federal Reserve Board, 2013
