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 of Representatives or Senate each legislative day
- Senate.gov finding aid
Advanced search - Congress.gov advanced search options
Advanced search form - legislation only (93rd Congress-, 1973-)
- 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-, 1981-)
Related glossary terms
amendment in the nature of a substitute
Anomalies - legislative data anomalies on Congress.gov
to the U.S. Capitol - Capitol Visitor Center
- AOC.gov
Appropriations - see also Appropriations and Budget Research Guide
- Congressional Budget Office, previously titled Unauthorized appropriations and expiring authorizations
Archived government websites
Audio and Visual Coverage Research Guide
B
Bill - see Legislation
Bill of Rights
- National Archives resource
- Library of Congress resource
(1774- )
- Library of Congress online catalog
Browse lists - view items filtered by selected criteria and congresses on Congress.gov
Budget, budget process - see also Appropriations and Budget Research Guide
- Government Publishing Office
budget resolution [glossary term]
- Congress.gov bill status data
C
- live TV and radio coverage of proceedings of the U.S. Congress
Calendars
calendar [glossary term]
See Calendars and Schedules Research Guide
(CVC)
Caucuses - (115th Congress) |
CBO - Congressional Budget Office [glossary term]
- National Archives repository of congressional records
(1774-1875) - Library of Congress repository of congressional documents and debates
- Central Intelligence Agency
Code of Federal Regulations (CFR)
- Government Publishing Office
- Government Publishing Office
Committee reports
Congress.gov resources
About committee reports of the U.S. Congress
Browse House reports | Senate reports | Executive reports
Related glossary terms
Committees
Congress.gov resources
About committee hearings of the U.S. Congress
About congressional committee profiles
Committees of the U.S. Congress resource page
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
committees
committees
Communications
Congress.gov resources
About communications to the House
About communications to the Senate
Browse communications to the House (114th Congress-, 2015-) | communications to the Senate (96th Congress-, 1979-)
Search for House communications
Search for Senate communications
Related glossary terms
Congresses
Congresses - Congress.gov field values list of congresses and corresponding years (70th Congress-, 1927-)
congress (i.e. 2-year time frame) [glossary term]
Congress.gov - About Congress.gov resource page
Congress.gov Notifications - subscribe to this email alert for news and information on new features and functions, system outages, and other items of interest to the Congress.gov community
Congressional agencies
- Congressional Budget Office
- Congressional Research Service
- Government Accountability Office
- Government Publishing Office
Congressional apportionment
- Census Bureau
- Census Bureau
- Census Bureau
- House of Representatives
- Government Publishing Office official directory
Congressional districts
- Census Bureau data on US, states, counties, congressional districts
- National Map Small-Scale Collection, a collaborative effort among the U.S. Geological Survey and federal, state, and local partners (106th-114th Congresses, 1999-2017)
- Government Publishing Office, selected House of Representatives and Senate documents
- House of Representatives
(subscription required for full access)
Congressional Record - see also Daily Digest
About the Congressional Record
Most recent issue | Browse by date | Search
Congressional Record [glossary term]
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 U.S. Constitution, based on Supreme Court case law
- Library of Congress resources for teachers
- National Association of Counties
CRS - Congressional Research Service
CRS - Congressional Research Service [glossary term]
D
Daily Digest - see also Congressional Record
Daily Digest [glossary term]
- machine readable data sets of the executive branch; launched May 2009 by Federal CIO Council
Days in Session calendars for U.S. House and U.S. Senate - see also Calendars and Schedules Research Guide
Declaration of Independence - Primary Documents in American History - Library of Congress web guide
E
Email alerts - subscribe to RSS and email alerts related to congressional activity and legislation
Embed a search box - For instructions and code, go to How to Embed the Search Box on Your Website
Ethics
(PDF) and other documents from the
Senate ethics manual (PDF) and other documents from the
Executive business
- See also Calendars and Schedules Research Guide
Related glossary terms
Executive orders
- National Archives (1945-1989)
- National Archives (1994-)
- National Archives, disposition tables listing the status of Executive Orders (January 8, 1937-January 20, 2017)
- White House
- National Archives
- Congressional Budget Office, previously titled Unauthorized appropriations and expiring authorizations
F
FAQ - Frequently asked questions about Congress.gov
- Census Bureau data on the U.S., states, counties, and congressional districts
- Government Publishing Office
federal depository library [glossary term]
Federal judiciary
- U.S. Courts
- U.S. Courts
Federal Register
- Government Publishing Office
- Government Publishing Office
- Government Publishing Office
- National Archives
and its page - find and comment on Federal Register documents
Feedback - submit a survey to Congress.gov
- case law, forms, find a lawyer
G
(and previous reports)
- Law Library of Congress
Glossary of legislative process terms
- official handbook of the federal government jointly published by the Office of the Federal Register, National Archives, and Government Publishing Office
Government Research Guide - links to legislative, executive, judicial, state, local, and international government resources
- FDsys website will be retired and replaced by govinfo.gov on December 14, 2018
- access to official publications of the federal government
GPO - Government Publishing Office [glossary term]
H
Hearings - committee/subcommittee hearings
Browse and search
- Government Publishing Office (87th Congress-, 1961-)
- Law Library of Congress (60th-109th Congresses, 1908-2006)
- House of Representatives Library (110th Congress-, 2007-)
Resources
House committee hearings and meetings video - Congress.gov resource
Live audio and video of floor and committee proceedings - see Audio and Visual Coverage Research Guide
, transcripts, etc. - Law Librarians' Society
, listed by committee - House of Representatives
hearing [glossary term]
Help pages - Congress.gov
Coverage dates for legislative information
Legislative documents that predate authenticated digital publishing
History of Bills - Government Publishing Office (98th Congress-, 1983-)
- updated day after Congressional Record published
House manual - Constitution, Jefferson's Manual, and Rules of the House of Representatives
| - Government Publishing Office (104th Congress-, 1995-)
- usgpo/house-manual - GitHub - United States Legislative Markup (USLM) project
- Government Publishing Office
House of Representatives - see House of Representatives Research Guide
House precedents
| | - Government Publishing Office
House Practice - Government Publishing Office (104th Congress, 1995-1996), (108th Congress, 2003-2004), (112th Congress, 2011-2012), (115th Congress, 2017-)
- Government Publishing Office
House standing rules Office of the Clerk-prepared version (116th Congress) | (112th Congress-, 2011-2012)
- House of Representatives rules, House manuals, rules of the committees, and surveys of activities of the House Rules Committee
House Rules committee [glossary term]
How Our Laws Are Made - Learn About the Legislative Process - Congress.gov resource
I
International
- Central Intelligence Agency
- Northwestern University Library
- Northwestern University Library
- United Nations
international agreement [glossary term]
J
- official estimates for tax legislation considered by Congress
- House of Representatives
- U.S. Courts
K
L
Leadership
- Speaker, majority and minority leaders, whips, etc.
- House of Representatives History, Art & Archives
- President of the Senate, President Pro Tempore, majority and minority leaders, whips, etc.
- Democratic Conference, Republican Conference, party policy committees, historical lists
Legislation - see also Amendments, Legislative Process
Browse reports on Congress.gov (93rd Congress-, 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-, 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-, 2014-)
Sponsors and cosponsors - House | Senate - browse legislation by sponsor or cosponsor
Resources
- Law and Technology Resources for Legal Professionals (LLRX) guide
- see Common Versions of Bills table - Government Publishing Office
Related glossary terms (jump past glossary terms)
amendment in the nature of a substitute
continuing resolution (continuing appropriation)
proposed/offered Senate amendment
Legislative histories
- National Archives repository of congressional records
- Law Librarians' Society guide to producing legislative histories
- Law Librarians' Society resource
Legislative process - see also Amendments, Appropriations, Committees, Legislation, Vetoes
Enactment of a Law - by U.S. Senate Parliamentarian - Congress.gov resource
Legislative process videos - Congress.gov videos that explain common legislative phases
Related glossary terms (jump past glossary terms)
legislative subject term [glossary term]
LIV - Legislative Indexing Vocabulary [glossary term]
Lobbying disclosure - |
M
Markups
- some provide the text of selected markups
- some provide the text of selected markups
markup [glossary term]
Media galleries - |
Members of Congress - find members and see sponsored and cosponsored legislation on Congress.gov
About congressional member profiles - Congress.gov
- Government Publishing Office, official directory of the U.S. Congress
- House of Representatives finding aid
- Government Publishing Office
N
NARA (National Archives and Records Administration) [glossary term]
News services
(subscription required for full access)
Nominations
Congress.gov resources
Supreme Court nominations (97th Congress -, 1981-)
Related glossary terms
Nominations resources
- Senate
- U.S. Courts
- Law Library of Congress resources
Nongovernmental organizations (NGO)
O
- House of Representatives
P
- House of Representatives History, Art & Archives (1st Congress-, 1789-)
phrase searching - see Search Overview
Policy area term
Browse bills by policy area term
Policy area terms - Congress.gov field value list
policy area term [glossary term]
President
- Public papers of the U.S. Presidents, hosted by the University of California, Santa Barbara
- National Archives (1945-1989)
- Government Publishing Office, daily and weekly updates including statements, messages, remarks (1993-)
- National Archives
- National Archives list of all presidential libraries
Presidential nominations - see About Nominations
- Clerk of the House resource (1st Congress-, 1789-)
Private legislation
private bill [glossary term]
- voting data for members of Congress
Public laws
Public laws list - Congress.gov resource
- National Archives list of current public law numbers
Q
Quick Start Guide (PDF) - Congress.gov user guide
R
ranking member [glossary term]
Refine a search using facets (also called filters) - Congress.gov search guide
Regulations - - Government Publishing Office | - National Archives
resolution of ratification [glossary term]
- Senate (80th Congress-, 1947-)
Roll Call votes by the U.S. Congress - Congress.gov browse list (101st Congress-, 1989-)
Rules, precedents, and procedures
Committee websites: , |
Constitution, Jefferson's Manual, and Rules of the House of Representatives - Government Publishing Office
House precedents - House practice (PDF), , , and - Government Publishing Office
House procedures - , , and - House Rules Committee
- House Rules Committee
(PDF) - House Rules Committee
Senate procedures - - Government Publishing Office | - Senate resource
- Government Publishing Office
S
Schedules for Congress - see Calendars and Schedules Research Guide
Search help
Action search scope notes - Congress.gov help page on legislative actions searches
Search tips by category - browse Congress.gov search tips
Search tools overview - Congress.gov help page on search basics
- Senate resource
Senate - see Senate Research Guide
Senate standing rules - Government Publishing Office
Sergeant at Arms - |
Sessions of Congress
Days in session calendars - see also the Calendars and Schedules Research Guide
- House of Representatives (1st Congress-, 1789-)
- House of Representatives (1st Congress-, 1789-)
- House of Representatives (1st Congress-, 1789-)
Sessions of Congress (1st Congress-, 1789-) and | See also (1st -108th Congresses, 1789-2004)
- Law Librarians' Society (1st Congress-, 1789-)
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 and local government on the net
State legislature websites - Congress.gov resource
memorial [glossary term]
Statistics
- Census Bureau
- Census Bureau data on U.S., states, counties, and congressional districts
- Senate resource (80th Congress-, 1947-)
Statutes at Large
- Law Library of Congress (1st-81st Congresses, 1789-1950)
- U.S. Government Publishing Office (82nd-112th Congresses, 1951-2011)
- Law Librarians' Society research guide
Subcommittees - see Committees
T
- Library of Congress lesson plans about government, law, and politics
text similarities [glossary term]
Think tanks and advocacy groups
- Senate office of public records
- House of Representatives office of the clerk
- University of Michigan documents center, list of political science resources
Tips - see Search Tips Overview
- Department of Commerce trade compliance center, text of trade agreements
Treaties
Treaty document resources on Congress.gov
Browse treaty documents by topic
Treaty resources
- Senate Rules and Administration Committee
- State Department
(PDF) - Senate Foreign Relations Committee print
- State Department
- State Department
Related glossary terms
Twitter - The Law Library of Congress tweets about legislation and Congress.gov enhancements via @Congressdotgov.
U
- Congressional Budget Office (2000-2016); as of 2017, collection is titled Expired and expiring authorizations of appropriations
United Nations
- official handbook of the federal government
and the - House of Representatives office of the law revision counsel (OLRC)
U.S. founding documents resources
U.S. founding documents gallery - Congress.gov
Library of Congress online exhibit
V
Vacancies
- U.S. Courts
- Government Accountability Office search tool
Vetoes - see also Legislation, Legislative Process
Browse vetoed legislation - Congress.gov resource
- Secretary of the Senate indexes (1st Congress, 1789-)
- Government Publishing Office
- House of Representatives (1st Congress-, 1789-)
veto [glossary term]
Vice Presidents
- House of Representatives (1st Congress-, 1789-)
- Senate Library, complete list (1st Congress-, 1789-)
Video - see Audio and Visual Coverage Research Guide
Votes - see Votes in the House and Senate Research Guide
W
Website archives - National Archives, Clinton, Bush, and Obama administration websites (1994-)
White House Executive Clerk's office recording - (202) 456-2226
X
XML bulk data - Congress.gov bill status data
Y
Z
Zip code - - U.S. House of Representatives finding aid