Introduction

Congress considers hundreds of bills each year for passage into law. During this process many documents are published which can be extremely valuable to research in many subject areas. Most recently (1970 to present) these documents can easily be identified with the use of several electronic databases. Full text is available for many but not all documents. This guide describes the indexing and full text content of various databases and also where to find Congressional publications in the Auraria Library in print and microfiche formats. Indexes and online databases for earlier publications are also described.

Congressional Databases

Congressional Database Content Comparison of the indexing and full text content in LexisNexis Congressional, GPO Access, and Thomas (Auraria Library does not subscribe to CQ.COM).

LexisNexis Congressional Comprehensive access to U.S. legislative information. Includes indexing since 1970 and selected full text of proposed legislation and status, legislative histories, congressional committee information, campaign contributions and PAC activities, articles from The Hill, Roll Call, the Washington Post and more. Now also includes Statutes at Large 1789-present and Congressional Indexes to reports, documents, and published and unpublished hearings for 1789-1969.   For Auraria faculty, staff, and students only (off-campus use).

GPO Access "Legislative Resources" .  Full text versions of Congressional bills, Congressional Record, selected committee hearings and reports, House and Senate calendars, public laws, rules and procedures, U.S. Code. Dates of coverage vary.  Unrestricted access.

Thomas: Legislative Information on the Internet Find the status of bills, roll call votes, Congressional Record, committee information and reports, selected hearings, calendars, public laws, treaties, U.S. Code and historical documents.    Dates of coverage vary. Unrestricted access.

U.S. House Of Representatives Bills, committee hearing schedules and oversight plans; roll call votes; current legislation; legislative process, directories of members and contact information. Unrestricted access.

U.S. Senate Committee hearing schedules, roll call votes, member directory, current bills.   Unrestricted access.

Library of Congress American Memory Project, Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation, 1774-1875 U.S. Congressional documents and debates from 1774-1875. Unrestricted access.

Print Indexes

Bills

CCH Congressional Index 
Library owns:  90th Congress (1967) - 105th Congress (1998)
GOVPUB INDEX KF 49 .C6
Subject index; short summary; sponsors; history of bills.

Cumulative Finding Aid, House and Senate Bills. (96th Congress, 1979- 106th Congress, 2000 when fiche distribution ceased) Necessary to find bills in microfiche.  
GOVPUB INDEX GP 3.28:

Digest of Public General Bills and Resolutions (1959 - 1990)
GOVPUB INDEX LC 14.6:

Committee Hearings, Reports and Documents

CIS Index to Publications of the United States Congress (Same as LexisNexis Congressional database)
GOVPUB INDEX  KF 49 .C62   1970-1998.

CIS U.S. Serial Set Index, 1st - 91st Congresses, 1789-1969. (Same as LexisNexis Congressional database)
GOVPUB INDEX J 74 .C6

Document Catalogue, 1893-1940.
GOVPUB INDEX GP 3.6:

Monthly Catalog of U.S. Government Publications, 1885 - 1995 
GOVPUB INDEX GP 3.8: 

Cumulative Subject Index to the Monthly Catalog, 1900-1971 
GOVPUB INDEX GP 3.8:

Numerical Lists and Schedules of Volumes. 92nd - 96th Congresses, 1971-1980.
GOVPUB INDEX GP 3.7/2:

United States Congressional Serial Set Supplement. 97th Congress, 1981-1982.
GOVPUB INDEX GP 3.8/6:

United States Congressional Serial Set Catalog: Numerical Lists and Schedules of Volumes.   98th Congress, 1983 - present 
GOVPUB INDEX GP 3.34:

Congressional Record

Congressional Record Index. 1789-present
Bound and biweekly paper indexes to the various titles of the Congressional Record . 
GOVPUB INDEX X 1.1:

Index/Journals of the Continental Congress 1774-1789.
GOVPUB INDEX GS 4.2:C 76/2/774-89

Laws

Shepard's Acts and Cases by Popular Name.  
REF STACKS KF 80 .S5  
GOVPUB REFERENCE KF 80 .S5

Publications

Bills

Internet

GPO Access, 1993 - present; Thomas, 1989 - present; and LexisNexis Congressional. 1993 - present.

Microfiche. 96th Congress, 1st session, 1977 - 106th Congress, 2nd session, 2000.
Microfiche versions of Bills and Congressional Reports are arranged by Congress number, then call number. Bills also require a microfiche card number. To get the numbers, use:

Cumulative Finding Aid, House and Senate Bills  
GOVPUB INDEX GP 3.28:

Necessary to find the microfiche number for a particular bill.

Calendars

Calendars of the U.S. House of Representatives and History of Legislation.  Cumulative summary of actions on all bills and resolutions.

Internet: GPO Access, 104th Congress, 1995 - present.
GOVPUB U.S. Y 1.2/2: 96th Congress (1979) - 109th Congress, 1st session (2005).

Calendar of Business (Senate).  Status of bills.

Internet: GPO Access, 104th Congress, 1995 - present.

Hearings and Committee Prints

Committee hearings and prints provide expert testimony and factual information for and against the passage of bills in Congress. Except for Appropriations Committee hearings, which are on microfiche, publications from nearly all of the House and Senate Committees published after 1978 are available in the Auraria Library in paper copy. The Library owns only some hearings and committee prints from 1978 and earlier. Complete historical collections may be found at Denver Public Library and the University of Colorado at Boulder. The University of Denver also has a good collection. Government publications at DPL may not be checked out; they may be checked out at CU-B and DU. Increasing numbers of hearings are also online; look for the Internet link in the catalog record.

Search Skyline , Auraria Library's catalog, to identify call numbers for particular hearings. Use Prospector to identify call numbers for hearings in other large Colorado libraries, such as CU-Boulder. LexisNexis Congressional is particularly good for identifying information found within hearings. The call numbers appear in the database. Call numbers for hearings generally begin with "Y 4." The rest of the call number groups the hearings by committee, then refers to the specific title. The "Testimony" found in LexisNexis Congressional is not the complete text of hearings, but prepared statements and selected question and answer transcripts 1988 to the present.

U.S. Congressional Bibliographies, compiled by the North Carolina State University Libraries, enumerate and describe meetings held by Congressional committees since 1985, those for which printed transcripts are issued, and those that remain unprinted.  Its sources are the Congressional Record's "Daily Digest" and bibliographic information supplied by the U.S. Senate Library.  Its primary goal is to be an authoritative, exhaustive reference source of meetings held and documents released by House and Senate committees.

Reports and Documents

House and Senate committee reports and documents give a committee's oversight and recommendations (including amendments) regarding the passage of a bill. A report also contains estimated expenditures and a statement of inflationary impact. 

Search Skyline, Auraria Library's catalog, to identify call numbers for particular reports. Use Prospector to identify call numbers for reports in other large Colorado libraries, such as CU-Boulder. Links to the Internet appear in some records. LexisNexis Congressional is particularly good for identifying information found within reports. The call numbers appear in the database.

Full text of these reports are found:

Internet: LexisNexis Congressional, 1990 - present; GPO Access (under Congressional reports, 1995 - present; and Thomas 1995 - present.

Microfiche: 96th Congress (1979) - 106th Congress (2000).

SERIAL SET

Congressional committee reports and documents are eventually bound into Serial Set volumes containing many reports per volume. The Auraria Library owns some volumes back to 1920, but there are gaps. From 1960 to the volumes for 1996 (104th Congress, 2nd session) when the Serial Set ceased to be distributed to selective depository libraries (See online reports after 1996), the set is mostly complete. The call numbers are numerical, eg.: 14165. The volumes are shelved at the end of the U.S. collection except for older volumes which are in the PASCAL offsite storage facility. The volumes may be checked out. Volumes in PASCAL may be requested by placing a hold on the volume.

Selected historical Serial Set reports from 1817-1861 may be found in The New American State Papers series, some of which are in the Auraria Library.

The number of the Serial Set volume for a specific report can be found using:

LexisNexis Congressional -- Historical Indexes: Congressional Indexes 1789-1969 and Indexes to Published and Unpublished Hearings

U.S. Serial Set Index.  1st - 91st Congresses, 1789 - 1969. Also indexes content of reports and documents by subject. Same as LexisNexis Congressional database.
GOVPUB INDEX J 74 .C6 (shelved with other Congressional Indexes)

Numerical Lists and Schedules of Volumes. 92nd - 96th Congresses, 1971-1980.   GOVPUB INDEX GP 3.7/2: (shelved with other Congressional Indexes)

United States Congressional Serial Set Supplement. 97th Congress, 1981-1982.
GOVPUB INDEX GP 3.8/6:

United States Congressional Serial Set Catalog: Numerical Lists and Schedules of Volumes.   98th Congress, 1983 - present 
GOVPUB INDEX GP 3.34: (shelved with other Congressional Indexes)

Congressional Record

The Congressional Record is the verbatim transcript of the debates on the floors of the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate. 

INTERNET

Century of Lawmaking, U.S. Library of Congress, 1789-1875.

LexisNexis Congressional  , 1985 (99th Congress) - present

Thomas, 1989 (101st Congress) - present

GPO Access, 1994 (103rd Congress, 2nd session) - present.

Annals of Congress. 1st Congress - 18th Congress, 1st session (1789-1824)    
GOVPUB FILM X 1.1:Congress no./Session

Register of Debates. 18th Congress, 2nd session - 25th Congress, 2nd session (1824-1837)  
GOVPUB FILM X 1.1:Congress no./Session 

Congressional Globe. 23rd Congress, 1st session - 42nd Congress, 2nd session (1833-1873)
GOVPUB FILM X 1.1: Congress no./Session

Congressional Record. 43rd Congress, 1st session - 96th Congress, 1st session  (1873-1979)
GOVPUB FILM X 1.1/A:Congress no./Session 

Congressional Record. Permanent edition. Published by U.S. Government Printing Office. 95th Congress, 1st session, -  present.
Paging changes with the permanent edition. Must use the bound index to the permanent edition.  
GOVPUB FICHE X 1.1/A:.Congress no./Session 

Congressional Record. Permanent edition. Published by University Microfilms, Inc. (UMI). 97th Congress, 2nd session - 101st Congress, 1st session (cancelled).  
GOVPUB FICHE X 1.1/A:.Congress no./Session (No call number on fiche; filed in drawers after official GPO edition)

Congressional Record, Daily Digest of the ... Congress. 100th Congress (1987) - present
GOVPUB U.S. X 1.1:vol/pt. INTERNET GPO Access, 2005 - present.

Congressional Record. Daily edition in paper. From latest full year of fiche permanent edition to present. Must use biweekly index to daily edition.
GOVPUB U.S. X 1.1/A:.Congress no./Session/vol./issue no . 

House and Senate Journals

Published at the end of a session, the journals of Congress are the only publications required by the Constitution and as such are the official documents for the proceedings of Congress. They both contain a History of Bills and Resolutions and a name/subject/title index. Presidential communications to Congress, e.g. Addresses, messages, and vetoes, are included.

Journal of the House of Representatives

INTERNET on GPO Access, 1991-1998
95th Congress, 1st session (1979)- 97th Congress, 1st session (1981); 98th Congress, 2nd session (1977-1984)
GOVPUB U.S. XJH  

97th Congress, 2nd session (1982) - 98th Congress, 1st session (1983); 99th Congress, 1st session (1985)- 100th Congress, 2nd session (1990); 106th Congress, 1st session (1999).
GOVPUB FICHE XJH 

106th Congress, 2nd session(2000) - 107th Congress, 2nd session(2002).
GOVPUB CD-ROM XJH

Journal of the Senate

95th Congress, 1st session, 96th Congress, 1st session, 97th Congress, 1st Session (1977-1981)
GOVPUB U.S. XJS 

96th Congress, 1st session (1979) - 108th Congress, 1st session (2003).
GOVPUB FICHE XJS

Laws

Public Law numbers consist of the letters PL followed by the number of the Congress, then a hyphen and the law number, eg. PL 99-197.

Slip Laws. This is the first print published form of a public laws. They are unbound and are replaced by the bound Statutes at Large.
INTERNET on LexisNexis Congressional since 1988; GPO Access since 1995; Thomas since 1973.  

GOVPUB U.S. AE 2.110: Kept until bound Statutes at Large received.

United States Statutes at Large. 1907 (vol. 35) - present. (Missing some volumes). Subject index in back.  
INTERNET on LexisNexis Congressional, 1789 - present, and Century of Lawmaking, Library of Congress, 1789-1875.

GOVPUB U.S. AE 2.111: 

United States Code Congressional and Administrative News. West Publishing. 1954 - present. Index in last volume of the year.
REF STACKS KF 48 .U53

U.S. Code

The U.S. Code arranges all laws currently in effect by subject, divided into 50 broad titles, eg. Education.

INTERNET on LexisNexis Congressional, GPO Access and Thomas.

United States Code Annotated. West Publishing. Updated annually with pocket parts.
REF STACKS KF 62 1926 .U53

United States Code Service. Lawyers Co-operative Pub. Co.; Bancroft Whitney. Updated annually with pocket parts.
REF STACKS KF 62 1972 .L38

Citing Congressional Publications

LexisNexis Congressional --  "Creating Citations" See"Site Map," "Help."

Arizona State University Libraries, Government Documents Service, DocsCite

Chicago Manual of Style (To search the manual online, complete the free registration process.)

Citing Government Information Sources Using the MLA Style

General Guidelines for Citing Government Publications (University of North Texas Libraries)

University of Nevada, Reno, Citing Government Information Sources Using MLA

GOVPUB REF & REF DESK Z 7164 .G7 G37 2002
Cheney, Debora. The Complete Guide to Citing Government Information Resources: A Manual for Social Science and Business Research. Bethesda, MD: LexisNexis; Congressional Information Service, 2002.