Congressional
Information
Resources


The Constitution of the United States:
We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.
Article. I.
Section. 1.
All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives.

RETROSPECTIVE RESOURCES
     Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation: U. S. Congressional Documents and Debates, 1774-1875
          Includes 16 important series in four major groups:
               Continental Congress and the Constitutional Convention
               Statutes and Documents
               Journals of Congress
               Debates of Congress
     American State Papers, 1789-1838
           Legislative and executive documents, many originating from the important period between 1789 and the beginning of the U.S. Congressional Serial Set in 1817.
          Example: Report of the Lewis and Clarke Expedition, 1804-06.
     U. S. Congressional Serial Set, 1817-1980     (go/usss)
          Contains almost 350,000 publications. Includes publications from the Executive branch that are submitted to Congress.
          Example: Narrative of the Expedition of an American Squadron to the China Seas and Japan [Serial Set 770]     ==>    Plate of fish
     U. S. Congressional Serial Set Maps
          Example: Map of Lake Dunmore and Silver Lake, Vermont [Serial Set 5013]
     Numerical Lists of Documents and Reports 1957 - to date
           Lists numerically, with a brief title, all of the Senate and House Documents and Reports issued during a Session of Congress and provides the equivalent Serial Set number.
     Numerical Lists and Schedules of Volumes of the Reports and Documents of the...Congress, 1933 - 1980
          Govt. Docs Ref. Z1223 A16
     Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1774 to Present

CONTEMPORARY RESOURCES
     Congressional Directory
     Congressional Pictorial Directory
     Congressional District Atlas
          Congressional district boundaries can change after each decennial census of population.
     FDSys (formerly known as GPO Access)
          Major source of Congressional bills, documents, hearings, laws and reports and the Congressional Record.
     THOMAS: Congressional Information from the Library of Congress
          Comprehensive site for legislative information. Includes bills, Presidential nominations, treaties, and committee reports.
     Proquest Congressional (formerly LexisNexis Congressional Universe)
          Index and with some full-text for Congressional hearings, committee prints, reports and documents.
          Documents -- Reports from non-Congressional sources on many topics.
          Prints -- Prepared for the use of committees and their staffs; frequently written by the Congressional Research Service.
               Example: Country Reports on Human Rights Practices
          Reports -- Describe the purpose and scope and purpose of a bill and reasons for recommending approval.
          Hearings -- Provide public testimony by witnesses
               Example: Pearl Harbor Attack
               Example: Investigation of the Assassination of President John F. Kennedy
               Example: Investigation of the Assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.
               Example: Watergate Investigation
     U. S. Congress Votes Database
          Documents every vote and member of the House and Senate since 1991.
     Congressional Pig Book -- Citizens Against Government Waste
          Annual compilation of the pork-barrel projects in the federal budget.
     Power Trips -- The Center for Public Integrity
          Information about privately funded trips taken by members of Congress.
     U. S. House of Representatives Home Page
     U. S. Senate Home Page
     U. S. Statutes at Large 1951 - to date.
     U. S. Statutes at Large, v. 1 - date     Stacks KF50 U5
          Slip laws are published first and then cumulated in bound volumes.
     Congressional Budget Office
          Provides Congress with nonpartisan analyses for economic and budget decisions.
     Capitol Hearings -- A Service of C-SPAN
          Daily Congressional hearings, live on the Web.
     Open CRS
          Reports by the Congressional Research Service to members of Congress on a variety of topics relevant to current political events. Some reports are also included in Academic OneFile.
     Tracking the United States Congress
          Track the status of current federal legislation and legislative records from 1993 forward.
     CQ Guide to Congress
          Provides extensive background on the history, powers, and procedures of the institution.
     CQ Weekly
          Expert coverage of main points of major bills and their status.
     How Federal Laws are Made
     Rep. Peter Welch Home Page
     Sen. Patrick Leahy Home Page
     Sen. Bernie Sanders Home Page
     House and Senate Campaign Finance

Additional information:
     Introduction to United States Government Information Sources, by Joe Morehead. Ref. ZA5055 U6 M67

The Moodle version of this guide is available at:
     Congressional Information Resources