An A to Z directory of help pages, research guides, lists, popular saved searches, and more. Legislative Process Glossary terms are in italics.
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A
Accounts - create a Congress.gov account to manage alerts and saved searches
Action on legislation - Browse by date - also called Yesterday in Congress, includes legislation introduced, reported, passed, and considered by the full House or Senate each legislative day
Active legislation - Senate.gov finding aid
Advanced search - Congress.gov advanced search options
Advanced search form - legislation only, 93rd Congress-present (1973-)
Agencies of the U.S. government - USA.gov
Alerts on Congress.gov - sign up for email alerts on members, individual bills, nominations, and the Congressional Record
Amendments - see also Legislation, Legislative Process
Congress.gov resources
Amendments to the Constitution - Constitution Annotated
Browse House and Senate amendments - 97th Congress-present (1981-)
Related glossary terms
amendment in the nature of a substitute
Anomalies - legislative data anomalies on Congress.gov
AOC - Architect of the Capitol
AOC website
Plan a visit to the U.S. Capitol
Appropriations - see also Appropriations and Budget Research Guide
Amending appropriation bills: a basic guide - House Committee on Rules
Expired and expiring authorizations of appropriations - CBO; previously titled Unauthorized appropriations and expiring authorizations (2000-2016)
Archived government websites
Congressional and federal government web harvests - National Archives
United States congressional web archive - Library of Congress
Audio and Visual Coverage Research Guide
B
Bill - see Legislation
Bill of Rights
Bill of Rights – National Archives resource
Bill of Rights – Library of Congress resource
Biographical directory of the United States Congress (1774- )
Books - Library of Congress online catalog
Browse lists - view items filtered by selected criteria and Congresses on Congress.gov
Budget - see also Appropriations and Budget Research Guide
Budget of the United States government - GPO
Budget process - see also Appropriations and Budget Research Guide
budget resolution [glossary term]
Bulk data in XML - Congress.gov bill status data
C
C-SPAN - live TV and radio coverage of proceedings of the U.S. Congress
Calendars
calendar [glossary term]
See Calendars and Schedules Research Guide
Capitol Visitor Center (CVC) website
CBO - Congressional Budget Office
CBO - Congressional Budget Office [glossary term]
Congressional Budget Office website
Census Bureau website
Center for Legislative Archives - National Archives repository of congressional records
Century of Lawmaking - Library of Congress repository of congressional documents and debates (1774-1875)
Code of Federal Regulations (CFR)
Annual edition - GPO
Committee reports
About committee reports of the U.S. Congress
Browse House reports | Senate reports | Executive reports
Related glossary terms
Committees
About committee hearings of the U.S. Congress
About congressional committee profiles
Committees of the U.S. Congress
House Committee hearings and meetings video
Legislation with actions related to committees - House | Senate
Related glossary terms
Committee websites - may include transcripts of hearings, markups, and reports
House committees
Senate committees
Communications
Executive Communications to the House - browse catalog (2015 -)
Executive Communications to the Senate - browse catalog (1979 -)
Related glossary terms
Congresses
Congresses - corresponding years (1927-)
congress (i.e. 2-year time frame) [glossary term]
Congress.gov - learn about Congress.gov
Congressional agencies
CBO - Congressional Budget Office
CRS - Congressional Research Service
GAO - Government Accountability Office
GPO - Government Publishing Office
LOC - Library of Congress
Congressional apportionment
Congressional apportionment census
Congressional apportionment census 2010
Congressional apportionment census 2000
Congressional apportionment - House of Representatives History, Art & Archives website
Congressional directory - official printed directory from GPO
Congressional district maps - from the National Atlas of the United States
Congressional districts: fast facts for Congress - Census Bureau data on US, states, counties, congressional districts
Congressional documents - selected House documents and Senate documents from GPO
Congressional Gold Medal recipients - House of Representatives History, Art & Archives website
Congressional Quarterly (subscription required for full access)
Congressional Record - see also Daily Digest
About the Congressional Record
Congressional Record [glossary term]
Most recent issue | Browse by date | Search
Congressional Record Index - topical access to remarks and activities by Members, individuals, organizations, and legislative business mentioned in the Congressional Record
Constitution Annotated - Constitution of the United States: Analysis and Interpretation. Legal analysis and interpretation of the United States Constitution, based on Supreme Court case law
Constitution Day - resources for teachers
CRS - Congressional Research Service
CRS - Congressional Research Service [glossary term]
C-SPAN (Cable Satellite Public Affairs Network)
D
Daily Digest - see also Congressional Record
Daily Digest [glossary term]
Data.gov - machine readable data sets of the Executive branch; launched May 2009 by Federal CIO Council
Days in Session calendars for House and Senate - see also Calendars and Schedules Research Guide
Declaration of Independence - Primary Documents in American History; Library of Congress web guide
E
Embed a search box - For instructions and code, go to How to Embed the Search Box on Your Website
Ethics
House ethics manual (PDF) and other documents from the Committee on Ethics
Senate ethics manual (PDF) and other documents from the
Select Committee on Ethics
Executive business
Archive of Senate Executive Calendars - See also Calendars and Schedules Research Guide
Related glossary terms
Executive orders
Codification of presidential proclamations and executive orders - National Archives (1945-1989)
Executive orders disposition tables index - National Archives (1953-present)
Presidential actions - White House
Presidential documents guide - National Archives
Expired and expiring authorizations of appropriations - previously Unauthorized appropriations and expiring authorizations (2000-2016) - CBO
F
FAQ - Frequently asked questions about Congress.gov
Fast facts for Congress - Census Bureau data on the U.S., states, counties, and congressional districts
federal depository library [glossary term]
Federal judiciary
Federal Register
About the Federal Register - GPO
Browse the Federal Register - GPO
Most recent issue - GPO
Reginfo.gov - OMB/GSA status of agency documents undergoing review
Regulations.gov and its frequently asked questions - find and comment on Federal Register documents
Feedback - submit a survey to Congress.gov
FindLaw - case law, forms, find a lawyer
G
GAO - Government Accountability Office
Today's reports (and previous reports)
Global Legal Monitor - Law Library of Congress
Glossary of legislative process terms
Government Research Guide - links to legislative, executive, judicial, state, local, and international government resources
GPO - Government Publishing Office
Authenticated digital publishing
Federal Digital System (FDsys)
govinfo - Beta website that will eventually replace FDsys
GPO - Government Publishing Office [glossary term]
H
Hearings - committee/subcommittee hearings
Browse selected congressional hearings, 105th Congress-present - GPO
hearing [glossary term]
House committee hearings - current hearings in the House
House committee hearings and meetings video - Congress.gov resource
Law Librarians Society of Washington DC - quick links to committee hearings , transcripts, etc.
Law Library of Congress - selected Congressional hearings (1908-2006)
Live audio and video of floor and committee proceedings - see Audio and Visual Coverage Research Guide
Text of House transcripts , listed by committee (selected)
Help pages - Congress.gov
Coverage dates for legislative information
Legislative documents that predate authenticated digital publishing
History of Bills and Resolutions - GPO
Browse lists by bill type on GPO - updated day after Congressional Record published
Search page on GPO (1983-present)
House manual - Constitution, Jefferson's Manual, and Rules of the House of Representatives
Latest PDF | Archive - GPO (1995-present)
House manual in XML - United States Legislative Markup (USLM) Project, GitHub
XML bulk data - GPO
House of Representatives - see House of Representatives Research Guide
House precedents
House Practice | Archive - GPO
Cannon | Deschler | Hind - GPO
House Rules Committee
House Rules committee [glossary term]
Website | Jump to: Resources tab for archived House rules, House manuals, rules of the committees, and surveys of activities of the Rules Committee
House standing rules
Latest PDF | Archive - Rules Committee, 112th Congress-present
I
International
International law - United Nations
International organizations - Library of Congress guide
Intergovernmental Organizations (IGOs) - Northwestern University Library
National government websites - list from Northwestern University Library
international agreement [glossary term]
J
Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) publications - official estimates for all tax legislation considered by the Congress
Joint sessions of Congress - House of Representatives History, Art & Archives website
Judicial vacancies - US Courts
jurisdiction [glossary term]
L
Leadership
House leadership - Speaker, majority and minority leaders, whips, etc.
House leadership and officers (1789-present)
Senate leadership - President of the Senate, President Pro Tempore, majority and minority leaders, whips,etc.
Senate party leadership - Democratic Conference, Republican Conference, party policy committees, historical lists
Legislation - see also Amendments, Legislative Process
Browse reports on Congress.gov, 93rd Congress-present (1973-) unless otherwise noted
Action on legislation - Browse by date - also called Yesterday in Congress, includes legislation introduced, reported, passed, and considered by the full House or Senate each legislative day
Bill and law texts received today
Bills introduced as private legislation
House and Senate amendments - 97th Congress-present (1981-)
Legislation with actions related to committees - House | Senate
Legislative actions - reports of legislative actions taken per Congress and related bills
Most-viewed bills on Congress.gov - 113th Congress-present (2014-)
Sponsors and cosponsors - House | Senate - browse legislation by sponsor or cosponsor
Resources
Active legislation - Senate.gov finding aid
Finding Congressional Documents from the Past - Law and Technology Resources for Legal Professionals (LLRX)
Finding U.S. Government Documents at the Library of Congress - LOC
Versions of bill texts, see Definitions of common versions of bills table - GPO
Related glossary terms (jump past glossary terms)
amendment in the nature of a substitute
continuing resolution (continuing appropriation)
proposed/offered Senate amendment
Legislative histories
Center for Legislative Archives - National Archives repository of Congressional records
Legislative histories - guide to producing legislative histories from the Law Librarians' Society
Legislative histories of selected US laws on the internet - Law Librarians' Society
Legislative process - see also Amendments, Appropriations, Committees, Legislation, Vetoes
Enactment of a Law - by the Senate Parliamentarian
Legislative process videos on Congress.gov - nine videos that explain common legislative phases
Related glossary terms (jump past glossary terms)
legislative subject term [glossary term]
Library of Congress (LOC)
Finding U.S. Government Documents at the Library of Congress
LIV - Legislative Indexing Vocabulary [glossary term]
Lobbying disclosure - House | Senate
M
Maps - congressional district maps from the National Atlas of the United States
Markups
House committee websites - some provide the text of selected markups
Senate committee websites - some provide the text of selected markups
markup [glossary term]
Media galleries - House | Senate
Members of Congress - find members and see sponsored and cosponsored legislation on Congress.gov
About congressional member profiles - Congress.gov
Biographical directory of the United States Congress (1774-Present)
Congressional directory - GPO
Find your representative by zip code - House.gov finding aid
Guide to House and Senate members - GPO
N
NARA - National Archives and Records Administration
Center for Legislative Archives
Congressional and federal government web harvest
NARA (National Archives and Records Administration) [glossary term]
Public laws: current session of Congress
Stay updated about public laws
National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL)
News services
C-SPAN (Cable Satellite Public Affairs Network)
The Congressional Quarterly (subscription required for full access)
FedNet (Federal Network, Inc.)
Nominations
Cabinet and Supreme Court nominees - U.S. Senate
nomination [glossary term]
Supreme Court nominations - Congress.gov records dating from 1981
Supreme Court nominations - Law Library of Congress resources
Nongovernmental organizations (NGO)
World Association of Non-Governmental Organizations (WANGO)
notes [glossary term]
O
Office of the Clerk - U.S. House of Representatives
P
parliamentarian [glossary term]
party caucus / conference [glossary term]
Party divisions of the House of Representatives House of Representatives History, Art & Archives website (1789-present)
phrase searching - see Search Overview
Policy area term
Browse bills by policy area term
policy area term [glossary term]
Policy area terms [field value list]
President
The American Presidency Project - Public papers of the U.S. Presidents, hosted by the University of California, Santa Barbara
Codification of presidential proclamations and executive orders - National Archives (1945-1989)
Compilation of presidential documents - daily and weekly updates including statements, messages, remarks, GPO (1993-)
Presidential documents guide - National Archives
Presidential libraries - National Archives list of all presidential libraries
Presidential nominations - see About Nominations
Presidents, Vice Presidents and coinciding sessions of Congress - Clerk of the House resource (1789-)
Private legislation
private bill [glossary term]
privileged nomination [glossary term]
Project Vote Smart - voting data for members of Congress
Public laws
Public laws list on Congress.gov
Public laws: current session of Congress - National Archives list of current public law numbers
Public laws update service recording - (202) 741-6043
Q
R
ranking member [glossary term]
recess appointment [glossary term]
Refine a search using facets (also called filters) - Congress.gov search guide
Regulations - Code of Federal Regulations | Federal Register
resolution of ratification [glossary term]
Résumé of Congressional Activity (1947-)
Roll Call votes by the U.S. Congress browse list (1989-)
Rules, precedents, and procedures
Committee websites: House, Resources tab - Rules Committee | Senate - Rules and Administration Committee
House manual [PDF] Constitution, Jefferson's Manual, and Rules of the House of Representatives and search the manual and rules - GPO
House precedents - House practice [PDF], Deschler's precedents, Cannon's precedents and Hinds' precedents - GPO
House procedures - general parliamentary, 115th legislative protocols, and committee - Rules Committee
House special rules reported - Rules Committee
House standing rules [PDF] - Rules Committee
Senate procedures - Riddick's Senate procedure , Senate legislative process
S
Schedules for Congress - see Calendars and Schedules Research Guide
Search help
Search tools overview - Congress.gov help page on search basics
Senate - see Senate Research Guide
Sergeant at Arms - House | Senate
Sessions of Congress
Days in session calendars - see also the Calendars and Schedules Research Guide
Joint sessions of Congress - House of Representatives History, Art & Archives website
Presidents, Vice Presidents and coinciding sessions of Congress - House of Representatives History, Art & Archives website
Saturday and Sunday legislative days of Congress - House of Representatives History, Art & Archives website
Sessions of Congress (1789-) - House Clerk's list and Secretary of the Senate's list [PDF]
Table of congressional publication volumes and presidential issuances [PDF] - Law Librarians' Society (1789-)
slip law [glossary term]
Speaker of the House - see Leadership
Sponsors and cosponsors
Browse legislation by sponsor/cosponsor - House | Senate | Search
cosponsor [glossary term]
sponsor [glossary term]
State and local government
State, county and city government websites
memorial [glossary term]
Statistics
Congressional apportionment census
Congressional districts: fast facts for Congress - Census Bureau data on U.S., states, counties, and congressional districts
Résumé of congressional activity (1947-)
Statutes at Large
Volumes 1-64 (1789-1950 – Law Library of Congress)
Volumes 65-125 (1951-2011 – GPO)
Statutes at Large and the U.S. Code (research guide from the Law Librarians' Society)
Subcommittees - see Committees
subject [glossary term]
T
Teacher resources - lesson plans about government, law, and politics
text similarities [glossary term]
Think tanks and advocacy groups
Public disclosure - Senate Office of Public Records
Lobbying disclosure - Clerk of the House
Think tanks and public interest organizations - list of political science resources from University of Michigan Documents Center
Tips - see Search Tips Overview
Trade agreements - text of trade agreements from the Department of Commerce Trade Compliance Center
Treaties
Treaty document resources on Congress.gov
Browse treaty documents by topic
Treaty resources
Senate Rule XXX: Executive sessions - proceedings on treaties
Treaties and other international acts series (TIAS) - State Department
Treaties and other international agreements: the role of the Senate [PDF] - committee print
Treaties pending in the Senate - State Department
Treaty Affairs Office - State Department
U.S. treaties: a beginner’s guide - Law Library of Congress
Related glossary terms
Twitter - The Law Library of Congress tweets about legislation and Congress.gov enhancements via @Congressdotgov.
U
Unauthorized appropriations and expiring authorizations (2000-2016) - collection is titled Expired and expiring authorizations of appropriations as of 2017, CBO
United Nations - international law
United States government manual - official handbook of the Federal Government
Virtual tour of the U.S. Capitol
Visitor center at the U.S. Capitol
U.S. Code and the classification tables - House of Representatives Office of the Law Revision Counsel
U.S. founding documents resources
U.S. founding documents gallery - Congress.gov
Creating the United States online exhibit - Library of Congress
V
Vacancies
Federal judicial vacancies - United States Courts
Federal Vacancies Reform Act - GAO search tool
Vetoes - see also Legislation, Legislative Process
Browse vetoed legislation - Congress.gov
Historical lists of regular and pocket vetoes - Secretary of the Senate indexes (1789-)
History of line-item veto notices - GPO
Number of vetoes per President - House of Representatives History, Art & Archives website
veto [glossary term]
Vice Presidents
Presidents, Vice Presidents, and coinciding sessions of Congress - House of Representatives History, Art & Archives website
Vice Presidential tie-breaking votes in the Senate - Senate Library, complete list (1789-)
Video - see Audio and Visual Coverage Research Guide
Votes - see Votes in the House and Senate Research Guide
W
White House
Website archives - Clinton, Bush, and Obama administration websites, National Archives (1994-present)
White House Executive Clerk's office recording - (202) 456-2226
X
XML bulk data - Congress.gov bill status data
Z
Zip code - Find your representative by zip code - House of Representatives finding aid