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U.S. Government

Congressional documents

Indexes

Texts

Video

House and Senate Reports and Documents are issued separately for each congress and are then bound into The United States Congressional Serial Set (precurser: The American State Papers). The American State Papers and early volumes of the Serial Set include much more than committee reports. Many executive branch documents, including exploration reports and annual reports of federally charted organizations (e.g. Boy Scouts) are included until around 1906-08. An important primary source for U.S. history.

Indexes

  • ProQuest Congressional
    Use the Numerical Lists of Documents and Reports to identify Serial Set volumes from 1970-present.
  • Popular Names of U.S. Government Reports Case Documents Reference LC 6.2:G 74/1984
    Many government reports are known by the popular or common name, but have official titles also: e.g. the Warren Commission Report is officially The Report of the President's Commission on the Assassination of President John F. Kennedy. This bibliography lists reports by their common names and provides the official title. Makes it easier to look things up in the libraries' catalog! Subject and corporate name index.
  • Library catalog: from 1976-2017 are cataloged

American State Papers
U.S. Congressional Serial Set
Call number: Y 1.1/2:

Slip Reports and Documents (later bound into the Serial Set).

  • GovInfo.gov 104th congress 104th congress (1995)-present Documents and Reports
  • Congress.gov   104th congress (1995)-present (reports only)
  • Case Documents (until bound into Serial Set), call numbers Y 1.1/3: - Y 1.1/8:

Environmental Impact Statements are available online and through the Northwestern University collection.

The Congressional Record and precursors Congressional Globe (1933-1873), Register of Debates in Congress (1824-1837), Annals of Congress (1789-1824)

The Congressional Record is the official record of the proceedings and debates of the United States Congress. Until 1851, proceedings were summarized, then they became "approaching verbatium" - i.e. senators and congressmen may edit their remarks, and include materials for the record without reading them.

Indexes (including History of Bills & Resolutions and Daily Digest)

Daily edition
At the end of each session of Congress, all of the daily editions are collected, re-paginated, and re-indexed into a permanent, bound edition (below). Includes Daily Digest, History of Bills, and Resume of Congressional Activities &Status of Executive nominations.

Permanent edition
Does not include the Daily Digest, History of Bills, or Resume of Congressional Activities and Status of Executive nominations. See Daily ed., above

Subject search the online catalog: United States Congress Voting

These are the ony ongoing titles specifically required by law to be published. Summary of what happens in each house.

House Journal
Call number: XJH:

Senate Journal
Call number: XJS:

Journals of the Executive Proceedings of the Senate
Call number: Y 1.3/4:

Lists of laws by popular name

Statutes at Large
Call number: AE 2.111:
Contains law arranged chronologically. Each volume has it's own index. Also indexed by ProQuest Congressional (1988-present)


Slip laws (until bound into Statutes at Large)

  • NexisUni:  100th congress, 2nd session (1988)-present. In U.S. Legal, Federal Statutes, Codes & Regualtions. Select Public Laws
  • GovInfo.gov:  104th congress (1995)-present
  • Congress.gov:  104th congress (1995)-present

United States Code

 

Found in GovInfo.gov, ProQuest Congressional and Congress.gov (current congress only). Years of coverage vary

Diplomatic Correspondence of the United States 1783-1789
Case Ref Document Z 2.3/1:

Revolutionary Diplomatic Correspondence 1775-1785
Case Ref Document Z 2.4:

Journals of the Continental Congress1774-1789
Case Ref Document Z 2.7/4:

Secret Journals of the Continental Congress 1774-1788

Papers of the Continental Congress 1774-1789
LASR Microfilm Research J10.A1 U65 1958
Index to the set is the Kindler Listening/Viewing Area on level 3 of Case-Geyer

Debates in the Several State Conventions on the Adoption of the Federal Constitution
LASR Main 342.73 El4
Request from LASR

Records of the Federal Convention of 1787 (Farrand's Records)
Case Main KF4510.U547

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