Serious Congressional research is neither easy to plot nor straightforward to carry out.  This guide shows several useful paths for research on the U.S. Congress here at Princeton in all formats, including paper, microform, and electronic.  Also included are references to some of the special resources of the Library at Rutgers University. 
 
 

1. Bills
The work of Congress is initiated by the introduction of a proposal in one of four forms: the bill, the joint resolution, the concurrent resolution, and the simple resolution. A bill is the form customarily used in both houses for most legislation, whether permanent or temporary, general or special, public or private.

• 1st-70th Congress (1789-1928):  CIS microfiche collection, Alexander Library at Rutgers University
• 71st-95th Congress (1929-1978):  not held by Princeton or Rutgers. The text of some bills may be found in the Congressional Record or at beginning of a hearing
• 96th-103rd Congress:  on microfiche, located in the Social Science Reference Center. To obtain the fiche number on which a bill appears, consult the Cumulative Finding Aid, House and Senate Bills shelved in the U.S. Documents Collection (in the Social Science Reference Center) at GP3.28.
• 103rd Congress to date:  GPO Access
• Full text of bills from the 101st Congress to date (1989- ) can be searched and obtained via Lexis-Nexis Congressional and  THOMAS. Basic information on bills from earlier Congresses can also be found here.
• Full text of bills from the 100th Congress to date (1987- ) can be searched and obtained via CQ.com On Congress.

2. Laws
A bill can become a law in several ways: (1) if the President approves the bill, (2) if the President does not return the bill with objections within 10 days (excluding Sundays) after it has been presented, or (3) if the bill is passed by both Houses over the objections of the President. It is then assigned a public or private law number, and published in the form known as a "slip law." If it is a public law it is also paginated for the Statutes at Large volume covering that session of Congress. The Statutes at Large are a chronological arrangement of the laws exactly as they have been enacted including their legislative history. 

• Public slip laws from the current Congress are located in the U.S. Documents collection
• Statutes At Large, 1st Congress to present (1789- ):  in paper, located in the Social Science Reference Center, Public Administration Collection. Also available via Lexis-Nexis Congressional.
• U.S. Code Congressional and Administrative News (1952- ):  in paper, located in the Social Science Reference Center, Public Administration Collection
• U.S. Code (1940 ed.- ):  in paper, located in the Social Science Reference Center, Public Administration Collection
• U.S. Code (1994 ed.- ):  available via GPO Access.
• U.S. Code (current ed.):  searchable via Lexis-Nexis Congressional.
• U.S. Code Annotated (1927- ):  in paper, located on the Social Science Reference Center, Public Administration Collection
• U.S. Code Annotated (current ed.):  searchable via Westlaw Campus.

3. Hearings
An important phase of the legislative process is the action by committees. The committees provide intensive consideration to a proposed measure as well as the forum where the public is given their opportunity to be heard. When a public hearing is set in a committee or subcommittee, an official reporter is present to record the testimony on the bill or relevant subject matter.

Paper holdings

• 1st to 95th Congress (1789-1978):  located primarily in Firestone stacks, arranged by Library of Congress or Richardson call number (these call numbers can be found by searching the Main and Supplementary catalogs)
• 96th - 100th Congress. (1979-1988):  located in Annex A, arranged by Congress and Superintendent of Documents number (request retrieval at the reference desk in the Social Science Reference Center)
• 101st Congress to date (1989- ):  located in the U.S. Documents Collection (Social Science Reference Center), arranged by Congress and SuDoc number

• 89th-90th Congress (1965-1969):  located in Microforms (C Floor, Firestone Library), arranged by year and CIS number
• 91st Congress (1970- ):  located in the Social Science Reference Center, arranged by year and CIS number

Unpublished Hearings (search using CIS Index to Unpublished Committee Hearings located in the Social Science Reference Center)

• 18th-91st Congress (1824-1971) Senate Hearings:  CIS microfiche collection, Alexander Library at Rutgers University
• 23rd-74th Congress (1834-1936) House hearings: CIS microfiche collection, Alexander Library at Rutgers University

4. Serial Set
The Serial Set is a composite of nearly all House and Senate reports and documents published since 1817. Its content has changed somewhat over the years but generally includes committee reports related to bills and other matters, presidential communications to Congress, treaty materials, certain executive department publications, and certain non-governmental publications. The precursor to the Serial Set is a privately published collection called the American State Papers.

Paper holdings

• American State Papers 1st-14th Congress (1789-1817):  located in Firestone stacks, arranged by Richardson call number (these call numbers can be found by searching the Main Catalog)
• Serial Set 15th-103rd Congress (1817-1994):  located in Annex A, arranged by Congress and document number (request retrieval at the reference desk in the SSRC)
• Serial Set 104th to date (1995- ):  located in the U.S. Documents Collection (Social Science Reference Center), arranged by Congress and document number

• Serial Set and American State Papers (1789-1969):  located in Microforms (C Floor, Firestone Library), arranged by Congress and document number
• Serial Set 91st Congress to date (1970- ):  located in the Social Science Reference Center, arranged by year and CIS number

Note: Senate Executive Documents and Reports were not included in Serial Set until 96th Congress (1979). They are indexed in CIS Index to U.S. Senate Executive Documents and Reports (located in the SSRC).

• 15th-90th Congress (1817- 1969):  microfiche collection 2069, located in Microforms (C Floor, Firestone Library), arranged by Congress, session, and CIS number
• 91st-95th Congress (1970-1978):  on microfiche, located in the Social Science Reference Center, arranged by year and CIS number

5. Committee Prints
Congressional committees often require background information to aid their deliberations. They also need to keep informed about developments in their areas of concern. Some committees have their own research staff; others make use of the Congressional Research Service of the Library of Congress. The results of these research activities are published as Committee prints. These publications often contain valuable statistical and historical information and legislative analysis.

It was only from the mid-1970’s that committee prints became depository publications and distributed more  widely. Committee prints are still selectively distributed. Those few committee prints available in paper copy are mainly filed after the Hearings in each Congress. The best source is the CIS index (or Lexis-Nexis Congressional) and microfiche collection (located in the SSRC). Full text of committee prints from the 103rd Congress to date (1993- ) is searchable via Lexis-Nexis Congressional. Committee prints are also available in the U.S. Serial Set, the Congressional Record, the Major Studies and Issue Briefs of the Congressional Research Service, and the Supplementary Catalog (some are cataloged under "U.S. Congress, Senate/House, Committee Name, Miscellaneous Committee Prints"). Committee Prints from the 105th Congress to date are available GPO Access.

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6. Congressional Record
The United States Congressional Record and its predecessor titles comprise the published account of the debates, proceedings, and activities of the United States Congress. Since 1947 each day's Record also contains the Daily Digest, which recounts by chamber the day's activities, including the number of bills introduced, the floor actions taken that day, a summary of meetings held that day by committees and for what purpose, and a list of committee meetings scheduled for the next day and on what topics (at the end of each week a list of committee meetings scheduled for the following week, and their topics, is printed).

• Annals of Congress, 1st-18th Congress, 1st Session (1789-1824):  in paper, located in Firestone stacks
• Register of Debates, 18th Congress, 2nd Session 25th Congress (1824-1837):  paper, located in Firestone stacks
• Congressional Globe, 23rd-42nd Congress (1833-1873):  in paper, located in Firestone stacks and Annex A (request retrieval at the reference desk in the Social Science Reference Center)
• Congressional Record, 43rd Congress to present (1873- ):  in paper, unbound issues located in U.S. Documents Collection (Social Science Reference Center), bound volumes located in Firestone stacks
• Congressional Record, 76th Congress, 3rd session (1940) v. 86, 78th-90th Congress, 1st session (1943-1967) v. 89-113, 93rd- 96th Congress, 1st session (1973-1979), v. 119-125:  on microfilm, located in Microforms (C Floor, Firestone Library)
• A Century of Lawmaking from the Library of Congress provides browseable access to the Annals of Congress, the Register of Debates, and the Congressional Globe.
• Full text of the Congressional Record from the 99th Congress to date (1985- ) is searchable via  Lexis-Nexis Congressional.

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7. Journals
The Journal of the Senate and the Journal of the House of Representatives contain a record of the minutes of floor actions in the Senate and House as mandated by the U.S. Constitution. These publications note the matters considered by the Senate and House and the votes and other actions taken. For a record of the actual debates see the Congressional Record (explained above). The Journal of the Executive Proceedings of the Senate (Senate Executive Journal) contains a record of the Senate proceedings relating to its functions of confirming presidential nominees and consenting to the making of treaties.

Paper holdings

• Journal of House/Senate, 1st-90th Congress (1789-1968): located in Annex A, each cataloged separately by Congress and session (request retrieval at the reference desk in the Social Science Reference Center)
• Journal of the House/Senate, 91st Congress to date (1969- ):  located in Firestone stacks, current volumes located in U.S. Documents Collection (Social Science Reference Center)
• Journal of the Executive Proceedings of the Senate, v. 1 to date (1828- ): located in Firestone stacks
• Journal of the Senate (National State papers of the United States series), including Journal of the Executive Proceedings 1st-14th Congress (1789-1816/1817):  located in Firestone stacks
• Journal of the House of Representatives (National State papers of the United States series), 1st-14th Congress (1789-1816/1817):  located in Firestone stacks

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8. The Internet

The following selected Internet sources provide access to a wide range of legislative information.

GPO Access (from the Government Printing Office):  includes bills (full-text 1993 forward), history of bills, calendars, documents & reports (full-text 1995 forward), Congressional Record and its Index, public laws (full-text 1995 forward), the U.S. Code, Congressional Directory, and a history of line item veto notices

THOMAS (Library of Congress):  includes bill text (full-text 1989 forward), bill summaries and legislative status, public laws (full-text 1973 forward), vetoed bills, Congressional Record text and Index, resumes of congressional activity, committee reports (full-text 1995 forward), House and Senate roll call votes, explanations of the legislative process, and historic documents

Lexis-Nexis offers two levels of access to Congressional information:

Lexis-Nexis Academic:  covers many subjects and news sources, such as Government and Political News, Legislative News and Political Transcripts and Testimony

Lexis-Nexis Congressional:  includes the Congressional Record, bills and bill tracking (full-text 1989 forward), legislative histories, public laws (full-text 1988 forward), hearings (full-text of 30-40% from 1988 forward), documents (full-text 1995 forward), reports (full-text 1990 forward), committee prints (selective full-text 1995 forward), biographical, financial and voting information for members of Congress.

CQ.com On Congress:  includes bill text (full-text 1995 forward), floor votes, bill comparison, and various customizable bill and vote reports

Senate Home Page:  includes legislative activity, roll call votes, calendars, schedules, committees, the Congressional Record, and status information on treaties

House of Representatives Home Page :  includes legislative activity, roll call votes, calendars, schedules, committees, and the U.S. Code

Project Vote Smart: includes a wealth of facts on candidates and elected officials, voting records, campaign finances, major bills, voting records and the text of bills

Federal Documents Center (University of Michigan):  a comprehensive listing of Internet sources for federal documents including free sources of Congressional testimony by Congressional Committee and Agency

Legislative Sourcebook (Law Librarians' Society of Washington, D.C.):  includes a weekly list of newly released hearings, newly enacted public laws, a table of Congressional publication volumes and Presidential issuances, and a guide to the U.S. Serial Set

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