Lists of Citations-Sources
The most comprehensive resource is Congressional Publications, which includes Legislative Histories from 1969 to the present. The citation lists include bills, prints, hearings, reports, debates, signing statements, and many of these documents can be accessed online directly from the citation.
- Congressional Publications (ProQuest)Select Legislative Histories from the facets on the left and search by keyword or act name.
To search by public law number, bill number, etc., go here
If a piece of legislation has taken multiple Congresses to pass, citations from prior sessions will also be listed.
If there is not a link to fulltext for reports and/or hearings listed, try using the resources listed on the Hearings and Report tabs. - CIS Index and Abstracts (1970+)Located on DOCREF Table 1 provides a print version of the legislative histories above.
Other Lists of Citations Sources
These sources are not comprehensive!
- Congress.govCongress.gov is the official source for federal legislative information, replacing Thomas. On the main page, the default search is for current legislation. You can change the pull-down menu on the left to "All Legislation." Enter your keywords, topic, e.g., "mental health," "child nutrition," etc. On the results page, use the facets on the left to limit your search to specific Congresses and legislation type, e.g., "Status of Legislation."
- govinfo: Public Laws/Statutes at Large104th Congress (1995/96) to present. Can drill down to the public law. The last page of the law has a very brief legislative history.
Available in print, GovDocs, stack 26, historical to present. - govinfo: History of Bills98th Congress (1983/84) to present.
- govinfo: Congressional Collections Advanced SearchSelect your collection and enter your keywords.
Searching for Bills
- Congressional Publications (ProQuest)Select Bills & Laws, from the facets on the left, and search by keyword.
To search by bill number go here - Congress.govOn the main page, the default search is for current legislation. You can change the pull-down menu on the left to "All Legislation." Enter your keywords, topic, e.g., "clean air," "mental health," cybersecurity, etc. On the results page, use the facets on the left to limit your search to specific Congresses and legislation type.
- GovTrack.usModern and easy-to-use interface, if lacking detail
- govinfo: Congressional Bills Advanced SearchSelect your collection (in this case, Congressional bills) and enter your keywords, or bill number, etc.-see the pulldown menu.
- govinfo: Congressional BillsThis page allows you to drill down by Congress number. Good to use if you have the bill number.
Hearings-Sources
- Congressional Publications (ProQuest)Select Hearings, 1824-present, from the facets on the left, and search by keyword.
Links are provided for the fulltext of hearings up to 2003. Hearings after 2003, note the title and use the links below. - govinfo: Hearings Advanced SearchSelect your collection (in this case, hearings) and enter your keywords.
- govinfo: HearingsYou will need to drill down in this database, and it helps if you know which committee had the hearing and the Congress.
- Senate CommitteesThe committee websites may have links to selected hearings (both published and unpublished), and date coverage varies.
- House CommitteesThe committee websites may have links to selected hearings (both published and unpublished), and date coverage varies.
- HeinOnline-U.S. Congressional DocumentsSelect "Congressional Hearings"
Committee Reports-Sources
- Congressional Publications (ProQuest)Enter your search terms and make sure you select only House & Senate Reports, 1970-present from the facets on the left.
Or you can go here and search by public law, statute at large, or bill number, and then narrow your results to House & Senate Reports.
USE the LINKS below to find a PDF version of the ACTUAL REPORT. For Congresses earlier than 1993/1994, you will need to use the print version in Alexander Government Documents.
- Congress.govOn the main page, change the pull-down menu on the left to "Committee Reports."
You can enter keywords from the report title,e.g., "children's safety act," or enter the report number, e.g., 109-218. - govinfo:Congressional Reports, Advanced SearchSelect your collection (in this case, reports) and enter your keywords.
- govinfo: Congressional ReportsYou can only browse on this site, and you will need to drill down.
Congressional Floor Debates-Sources
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 (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 (Bound Edition). There are four sections in the daily edition and the page numbers start with the letter from each section, i.e., H=House, S=Senate, E=Extension of Remarks, and D=Daily Digest. Pagination in the bound edition runs from the beginning to the end of each session. The Congressional Record is also available in print, Alexander DOCLAW-US, stacks 32-36.
- Congressional Publications (ProQuest)Enter your search terms and make sure you select only Congressional Record Daily Edition 1985-Present from the facets on the left.
To search by citation number or date go here and then select the Congressional Record Daily Citations link at the top.
Again, remember if you find a legislative history the CR citations are within that document. - govinfo: Congressional Record, Daily Edition1994-present
- govinfo: Congressional Record Advanced SearchSelect your collection (in this case, congressional record) and add your keywords, e.g., climate change, etc.
- govinfo: Congressional Record, Bound Edition105th Congress (1998) +
Presidential Signing Statements and other Documents
- govinfo: Compilation of Presidental documents Advanced SearchSelect your collection (in this case, compilation of presidential documents) and enter your keywords, e.g. signing statement or campaign remarks at a rally, etc.
- govinfo: Compilation of Presidential DocumentsThe official publication of presidential statements, messages, remarks, and other materials released by the White House Press Secretary.
Note: "Acts Approved by the President" provides a straightforward listing of Public Laws. - HeinOnlineSee U.S. Presidential Library database under browse, select Public Papers, and then select the second link, various presidents; covers 1931-2019
- The American Presidency ProjectSee the Documents link.
Print: Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States-Alexander DOCUS -- GS 4.113