LibGuides: Government Information: Congress & the Legislative Branch

Resources about Congress and the Legislative Branch

Representatives & Senators
Congressional Bills & Laws
Historical Congressional Research

U.S. House of Representatives & U.S. Senators

Information about the U.S. House of Representatives & the U.S. Senate

Congressional Directory
The official directory of the U.S. Congress. It includes biographies, committee memberships, terms of service, administrative assistants and/or secretaries, room and telephone numbers, and more for each member of the Senate and House, from 1997 to the present.
U.S. House of Representatives
The official website of the U.S. House of Representatives. This site provides access to current legislative activity, the ability to find your representative (by zip code), background information about the U.S. House of Representatives, and general information about currently serving representatives.
U.S. Senate
The public website for the U.S. Senate.
GovTrack
Provides information about representatives and senators in Congress including bill sponsorship, voting record, and committee assignment; the status of federal legislation; and original research on legislation and congressional oversight & investigations. This site is maintained by Civic Impulse, LLC, an independent, non-profit organization.
Project Vote Smart
Provides access to elected officials' biographies, issue positions, voting record, campaign finances, and more.

Congressional Bills & Laws

Information about Congressional Bills & Laws

Congress.gov (Formerly THOMAS)
The official website for U.S. federal legislative information. This site includes the full text of bills from the 101st Congress (1989) to the present.
Congressional Record (Daily)
Provides access to the daily official record of the proceedings and debates of the United States Congress.
Congressional Commitee Reports
Provides reports of committee activities for over 200 congressional committees. Full text of committee reports is available from the 104th (1995/1996) Congress to the current Congress. Background information about Committee reports is available from Congress.gov.
Congressional Budget Office (CBO)
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) provides independent analyses of budgetary and economic issues to support the Congressional budget process. Each year, the agency’s economists and budget analysts produce dozens of reports and hundreds of cost estimates for proposed legislation.
U.S. Code
Provides access to the permanent and general laws of the United States, divided by broad subjects into fifty-one titles.
Note: See also U.S. Statutes at Large (chronological arrangement of all laws enacted by Congress). The U.S. Code is a subject arrangement of all general and permanent U.S. law so enacted.
U.S. Statutes at Large
Contains the permanent laws – public and private – that were enacted during each session of Congress.
Note: See also U.S. Code (subject arrangement of all laws enacted by Congress). The U.S. Statutes at Large is a chronological arrangement of all laws enacted by Congress.
U.S. Government Accountability Office
An independent, nonpartisan agency that works for Congress which investigates how the federal government spends taxpayer dollars. Their website provides access to reports published by the GAO.
Legislative Sourcebook
Created and updated by the Law Librarians' Society of Washington, D.C., this resource provides links to information about congressional and legislative history and guides to researching laws and legislation.

Congressional Historical Research

A Century of Lawmaking
Provides access to the records and acts of Congress from the Continental Congress (1774-1781) and Constitutional Convention (1787) through the 43rd Congress (1873–1875).

Hein Online This link opens in a new window
Provides access to several congressional and legislative collections including GAO Reports and Comptroller General Decisions, editions of the U.S. Code (from 1925/1926); the U.S. Congressional Serial Set (from 1978-date); U.S. Statutes at Large (from 1789/1799-date); and other congressional documents.
Note: This resource is available to IU Southeast students, faculty, and staff on and off-campus; and community borrowers who are physically present in the library.
Online written guides to using HeinOnline are available: http://help.heinonline.org/guides/.

Video tutorials are also available:"https://www.youtube.com/user/HeinOnline08/featured.
In Response to the AIDS Crisis: Records of the National Commission on Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, 1983-1994 This link opens in a new window
Provides access to briefing books, hearing and meeting transcripts, reports, and press clippings that document the activities of the National Commission on Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (NCAIDS). Topics concerning AIDS covered in this collection include: healthcare, treatment, and international aspects of the HIV epidemic; the Southern California epidemic; social and human issues; executive and legislative branch issues; research and clinical trials; women and HIV disease and civil rights; religious communities response; risks of transmission in healthcare settings; and more.

Government Information

Ask a Librarian

Congress Voting Info from Project Vote Smart

Resources about Congress and the Legislative Branch

U.S. House of Representatives & U.S. Senators

Information about the U.S. House of Representatives & the U.S. Senate

Congressional Bills & Laws

Information about Congressional Bills & Laws

Congressional Historical Research

Congressional Historical Research