Joshua Finnell
Legislative Information
Days in Session of the U.S. Congress
Congressional Calendars
U.S. Senate
The official web site with links to members' pages, committees, roll call votes, and recent legislative activities.
U.S. House of Representatives
The official web site with links to members' pages, committees, roll call votes, and recent legislative activities.
Guide to Congress
Washington, D.C,: CQ Press, 2008
Case Reference JK1021.C565 2008
CQ Weekly 1988- online
Congressional Quarterly Weekly Report v.24 (1966) - v.56 (1998): LASR Journals
Vital statistics on Congress
Washington, D.C.: American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, 2008
Case Main JK1041 .V57 1980-2008
Online zipped Excel file (from Brookings Institute & AEI)
A joint effort undertaken by Norm Ornstein of the American Enterprise Institute and Tom Mann of Brookings, in collaboration with Michael Malbin of the Campaign Finance Institute.
Contains useful data on congress, including the election and composition of its membership as well as its formal procedure, such as the use of the filibuster, informal norms, party structure and staff. This dataset also documents the increasing polarization of Congress and the demographics of those who serve in the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives.
- Vital Statistics on American PoliticsFree book from Archive.org (create an account). This 2012 volume has historical statistics on voting, statehood, constitution, and other aspects of American Government. Very useful for an overview.
Many government titles have their own indexes (e.g. Congressional Record), not listed below. Ask a research librarian for help.
- ProQuest Congressional This link opens in a new window
This link opens in a new window
Coverage: varies. Indexes the United States Congressional Serial Set and other publications of the U.S. Congress, including committee prints and hearings and the Congressional Record. The Serial Set—which Colgate also owns in paper—is a treasure trove of historical materials about the country, including foreign relations. Also includes stories from the Washington Post, Roll Call, and The Hill and links to hot bills/topics and other websites.
Terms of use
- GovInfo.govOfficial site for the GPO Federal Documents Search. Contains the official, authorized versions of documents.
- Congress.govCoverage: 93rd congress (1973)-present.
First place to go to track legislation: bill summaries, sponsors, roll call votes, full text, committee reports and hearings, CBO cost estimates, related bills, and amendments. - Congress.govFull text of public laws from 1973-
- ProQuest Congressional Research Service ReportsAll searchable, full text available: 1916-present. In the search, uncheck everything but the CRS reports.
- ProQuest Congressional This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
Coverage: varies. Indexes the United States Congressional Serial Set and other publications of the U.S. Congress, including committee prints and hearings and the Congressional Record. The Serial Set—which Colgate also owns in paper—is a treasure trove of historical materials about the country, including foreign relations. Also includes stories from the Washington Post, Roll Call, and The Hill and links to hot bills/topics and other websites.
Terms of use - U.S. Federal Legislative History Library This link opens in a new windowIn addition to the inclusion of actual federal legislative histories published by the U.S. GPO (with some full text) and private publishers, HeinOnline's U.S. Federal Legislative History Library also includes a unique finding aid based on Nancy Johnson's award-winning work, Sources of Compiled Legislative Histories. Researchers should begin their U.S. federal legislative history research with this finding aid, which often includes references to law review articles on-point to a particular legislative history.
Terms of use
Digest of Public General Bills & Resolutions
Case Ref Documents LC 14.6: 90th Congress- 101st
History of Bills and Resolutions
A section of the Congressional Record that lists actions taken on a bill with references to Congessional Record page numbers
- Case Ref Documents X 1.1: 43rd congress (1874)-present
- GovInfo.gov 1983-present
- ProQuest Congressional Record Permanent Digital Collection
40th-105th congress (1867-1997)
Search GPO Indexes, History of Bills and Resolutions
Search the Colgate Libraries catalog by popular name of the law or by topic. Subject heading often includes the phrase legislative history.
House Calendar
GovInfo.gov 104th congress (1995)-present
Officially: Calendars of the U.S. House of Representatives and history of legislation. Useful for tracking the process of legislation. Covers both House and Senate.
United States Statutes at Large
Each law has an abbreviated legislative history printed at the end of the law.
- LASR Gov't Document: 1st congress (1789)-present
- Century of Lawmaking 1st-42nd congresses (1789-1873)
- GovInfo.gov: 82nd-111th congress (1951-2011)
The Legislative Process.
A video with transcript from Congress.gov
The Legislative Process
From House.gov
How our Laws are Made
House Document 110-49