US Legislative Documentation and History - POLT 505 - American Congress (UNH Durham)

Congress's Own Documentation of Its Actions

Congress.gov
The official website for U.S. federal legislative information.

Search results can be filtered by Congress session, bill type, status of legislation, chamber of origin, committee, and more.
In the entry for a specific bill, you can view all actions under Actions, all summaries, bill-text versions, related bills, committees/subcommittees that were involved, and more
Actions page will provide links to any committee reports, relevant pages in the Congressional Record, and roll call results within the session.
Actions page will indicate whether Senate hearings were held and printed.

U.S. House of Representatives - Committees
Sites vary by committee but generally include information about the membership and activities of the committee and its subcommittees, and news/media. Some sites have links to issues and/or resources.
U.S. Senate - Committees
Sites vary by committee but generally include information about the committee, its subcommittees, hearings, legislation, nominations, etc. Often committee-related news is distinguished whether it's coming from the majority or minority.
Congressional Record
Daily Congressional proceedings may include legislative activity by the chambers and their committees, Member remarks, communications from the president, and more.

Congressional Publications This link opens in a new window
Provides comprehensive indexing for US legislative information, with much full text from mid-1990s. Added in 2017 is full text for Congressional hearings (1824-1979), committee prints and Congressional Research Service reports (1830-2003), and unpublished hearings (House: 1973-1982; Senate: 1985-1992). UNH subscription. Dates of coverage: 1789-current

General Resources

C-SPAN Video Library
C-SPAN programs by frequently searched categories, a selection of most popular searches, some well-received "fast finds", and more.
To customize your search, type a keyword, a name, the organization or congressional bill you're seeking, into the search box near the top of any page on C-SPAN.org.
Commonly Searched for Legislation (118th Congress, 2023-2024)
Commonly Searched For Legislation (117th Congress, 2021-2022)
GovTrack.us: Bills & Resolutions
Information on trending bills and top bills tracked by GovTrack.us, find a bill by subject, and more.
How a Bill Becomes a Law - Documentation
Graphic of the federal lawmaking process that shows various official publications that are produced by the process.
Key to Legislative Citations
Chart of what various abbreviations signify; for example, H.R. or S. Con Res.
Glossary
Brief explanations of legislative terms used throughout Congress.gov.
Congressional Procedures, Rules and Norms
A selection of Congressional Research Service guides on procedures, rules and norms by legislative step, and where appropriate, chamber. Provided by GovTrack.us

govinfo This link opens in a new window
Access full text federal government publications from all three branches. Offers a user-friendly, modernized site that provides easy-to-use navigation with multiple ways to search or browse. Replaces FDsys. Dates of coverage: 1793-current

Three Types of Resources

In general, there are three types of resources or sources of information: primary, secondary, and tertiary. It is useful to understand these types and to know what type is appropriate for your coursework when searching for information.

It's sometimes difficult to distinguish among these three types and they do vary by discipline and subject.

Primary sources are original materials on which other research is based; for example,
- original works (written, spoken, recorded, visual) – poems, diaries, court records, interviews, surveys, polls, newsreel footage, newspaper articles about events, art works, statistical information, and original research/fieldwork
- original research published in scholarly/academic journals
- For this class, primary sources include publications that record the official actions of the committees and the members of Congress
Secondary sources are those that describe, critique, or analyze primary sources; for example:
- books and articles that interpret, review, or synthesize original research/fieldwork
- review articles in the sciences and social sciences
- For this class, secondary sources will provide accounts and analyses of the actions or actors in Congress; for example, news articles
Tertiary sources are those used to organize and locate secondary and primary sources. Can also be compilations or highly distilled summaries that offer factual representation rather than viewpoints or critiques. Examples include indexes, abstracts, databases, and some reference materials.