LibGuides: Legislative History: Congressional Websites

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Congressional Websites

Formerly THOMAS, Congress.gov was created by the Library of Congress in 1995 to make legislative information freely available. It is a great source for legislation enacted since 1973. You can use Congress.gov to find documents related to a particular act, as well as legislative history summaries.

About legislation of the U.S. Congress
The legislation collection includes records for every bill and resolution introduced in the U.S. Congress since 1973 (93rd Congress), and every amendment introduced or submitted since 1981 (97th Congress). Congress.gov provides various methods for accessing bill records and their associated documents, and for tracking a bill's progress through the legislative process.
This page provides information on how to use this site.
Search legislation
Quick search for legislation in Congress.gov website. Enter a legislation number or keywords, then select a Congressional year and choose from several options: Legislation, Legislation Text, Committee Reports, Congressional Record, Nominations, Treaty Documents, and Executive Communications. There is also an Advanced search with more detailed options.
Browse bills & resolutions
The Congress.gov Browse directory features frequently-requested lists and prepared search results.

The Government Publishing Office (GPO) website provides many valuable legislative links.

Congressional hearings
A hearing is a meeting or session of a Senate, House, Joint, or Special Committee of Congress to obtain information and opinions on proposed legislation, conduct an investigation, etc.
Congressional bills
GPO provides all published versions of bills from the 103rd (1993-1994) Congress forward, and is updated daily.
Congressional reports
Congressional reports originate from congressional committees and deal with proposed legislation and issues under investigation. There are two types of reports: House and Senate Reports and Senate Executive Reports
Congressional Record
The Congressional Record is the official record of the proceedings and debates of the United States Congress. It is published daily when Congress is in session. GPO Access contains Congressional Record volumes from 140 (1994) to the present.
Public and private laws
GPO provides the text of public and private laws enacted from the 104th Congress to the present. The database for the current session of Congress is updated when the publication of a slip law is authorized by OFR.

Congress.gov and GPO are the most comprehensive websites for congressional information, but both the House and Senate maintain their own websites, which are also good sources of legislative information.

United States Senate
Click on "Committees" to link to the homepage of the various committees. From there, you can get information on hearings and legislation specific to that committee.
United States House of Representatives
In the navigation bar, click on "Committees" to link to the homepage of the individual committees. From there, you can link to subcommittees, hearlings, and legislative specific to that committee.

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Legislative History: Congressional Websites

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Congressional Websites

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