LibGuides: Government Information: Legislative Branch

The Legislative Process

The legislative process is complex, but understanding it is important to your search for government information. The link below can help with your understanding.

The Legislative Process

Congressional Calendars

The Congressional Calendars collection includes the Calendars of the U.S. House of Representatives and History of Legislation and the Senate Calendar of Business.

The Calendars of the U.S. House of Representatives and History of Legislation are prepared under the direction of the Clerk of the House of Representatives by the Office of Legislative Operations. It is published daily by 8:00 a.m. when the House is in session.

Congress

The Legislative Branch makes the laws.

Congressional Documents
The Congressional Documents collection from FDSys consists of House Documents, Senate Documents, and Senate Treaty Documents from 1975 to the present, though there are gaps in coverage.
Congressional Information
Congress.gov is the official website for U.S. federal legislative information. The site provides access to accurate, timely, and complete legislative information for Members of Congress, legislative agencies, and the public. It is presented by the Library of Congress (LOC) using data from the Office of the Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives, the Office of the Secretary of the Senate, the Government Publishing Office, Congressional Budget Office, and the LOC's Congressional Research Service.
Congressional Record
The Congressional Record is the official record of the proceedings and debates of the United States Congress. It is published daily when Congress is in session. FDsys contains Congressional record volumes from 140 (1994) to the present. We also have select volumes available in paper format.
Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports
From the University of North Texas, this site is not affiliated with the Congressional Research Service, but aims to provide integrated, searchable access to many of the full-text CRS reports that have been available at a variety of different web sites since 1990.
House of Representatives
Information about members, functions, and legislative activitiy of the U.S. House of Representatives.
Senate
Information about members, functions, and legislative activitiy of the U.S. Senate.
U.S. Congressional Documents and Debates, 1774-1875
A product of the Library of Congress' American Memory project, this site compiles documents from the nation's first century.
United States Code
The United States Code is the codification by subject matter of the general and permanent laws of the United States. It is divided by broad subjects into 53 titles and published by the Office of the Law Revision Counsel of the U.S. House of Representatives. The U.S. Code was first published in 1926. The next main edition was published in 1934, and subsequent main editions have been published every six years since 1934. In between editions, annual cumulative supplements are published in order to present the most current information.
Vital Statistics on Congress
From the Brookings Institution, Vital Statistics collects useful data on our first branch of government – in 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.

House and Senate Journals

Congressional Committees

House Committee
The House’s committees consider bills and issues and oversee agencies, programs, and activities within their jurisdictions.
Senate Committee
Due to the high volume and complexity of its work, the Senate divides its tasks among 20 permanent committees, 4 joint committees, and occasionally temporary committees.