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In the Library
| Congressional Record. The Record is published
daily, is classified X 1.1: and is shelved chronologically. It includes
verbatim transcripts of debates and speeches delivered on the floor of Congress,
as well as any supplementary material Senators or Representatives choose
to publish. The daily issues, received in paper format, are eventually cumulated
into "bound" volumes, which we currently (since 1977) receive in microfiche.
Indexes to the daily issues include two sections: subjects and names, and bill numbers. They are published bi-weekly, and all indexes for a particular year are kept until the "bound" index for that year is received. Keep in mind that before the daily issues are published in "bound," final form, members of Congress can edit their remarks substantially, as well as include or delete supplementary material. Congressional Record and related publications (it has changed names over the years) for earlier years are available as follows:
Two electronic publications from the Law Librarians' Society of Washington, DC. can be helpful in researching Congressional debates: |
Journals. These records
of the proceedings of the House and Senate are the only publications expressly
required of them by the Constitution. They are published at the end of each
Congressional Session and give daily summaries of motions, action taken, and
roll call votes. They are received in microfiche and classified "XJ," so
they are filed immediately following the Congressional Record. Each volume
includes a summary legislative history of all bills introduced in the Session,
and an index of subjects and names.
Since the Journals are published at the end of a Session, there may be a long gap between the last Journal received and the current Congressional Session. The Library has Journals from 1979 to the present. Individual Committee Calendars. Each Committee publishes several Calendars during each Session which give the status of Bills that have been referred to them. Each new Calendar supersedes the previous one, except for a final edition at the end of each Congress. They are usually considered Committee Prints and are shelved (or filed) with the Committee's other publications in the Y 4. section. Memorial Addresses. Classed Y 7.1:, these documents contain the addresses delivered in Congress to eulogize members who died while in office. Congressional Budget Office Publications. These analytical publications on many diverse topics are classified Y 10. and are usually received in paper format.
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(For historical research into Congressional actions, the Library of Congress' "A Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation" is invaluable, providing access to laws, debates, journals, and more for the years 1774-1873.)
Congressional Universe. This database is available for use AT THE LAW LIBRARY ONLY.
In addition to Congressional Universe, there are freely available internet sources of the Congressional Record and other miscellaneous Congressional publications:
| GPO Access
Congressional Record. This database contains full text of the daily Congressional Record from 1994 to the present, and an electronic index to the Record back to 1983. Either use the link above, or, from the GPO Access main page, select "Congressional Record" under "Legislative Resources," in the center of the page. You can search one or more years of the Record at once (the default setting is the current year) and you can search only a particular section (House, Senate, Daily Digest or Extension of Remarks) or the entire publication. You may also limit your search to a particular date range or you may choose "On...," "Before...," or "After..." a certain date. GPO is also beginning to offer the "bound" version of the Record online as well. Limited coverage is currently available, but they will be adding more years. House Journal. GPO Access provides keyword searching of their full-text database of Journal issues beginning with 1991 (remember the Journal is intended to be a permanent record, not a current awareness tool). You may search one or more years of the Journal, or retrieve an entire section of a particular year. To access this database from the main GPO Access page, choose "A-Z Resource List" at the left of the page, then choose "H" for House Journal. House and Senate Calendars. GPO Access provides keyword searching of Calendars (summaries of legislation considered and its disposition) from the 104th Congress (1995) to the present. The current Congress' Calendar is updated frequently; for past Congresses, the Calendar in the database is the final edition. To access the Calendars, choose the "View All" option from the "Legislative Resources" section in the center of the page. Then look under "Congressional Materials." |
Thomas
Congressional Record. Thomas offers full-text searching of the Record from the 101st Congress (1989) to the present. In addition to specifying keywords, you can choose to search the remarks of a particular member of Congress and/or limit your search by various date options. You may only search one Congress at a time, however (the current Congress is the default setting). Thomas also provides an electronic index to the Record for 1995 to the present. Again, you must search each Congress separately. A convenient feature of Thomas' Record coverage, if you know the recent date that you want, is their "Browse Daily Issues" option. A table of contents is provided for each section of each daily issue, with links to the full text. You can also take a look at the "Latest Daily Digest." Committee Schedules. Thomas provides quick links to upcoming Committee hearing schedules. Look under "Current Activity." Congressional Budget Office. The reports, cost estimates, and other studies produced by this office are available on their web site. You can browse by subjects (under "Documents") or perform a full-text search. The reports are available in HTML, PDF, PostScript or WordPerfect formats.
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