Researching the United States Congress

• UNT Sources of Information About Congress
• Online Sources of Information About Congress
• Sources of Congressional Publications
• Indexes to Congressional Publications

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UNT Sources of Information About Congress

The UNT Libraries Government Documents Department has many publications useful for researching members of the U.S. Congress and their activities. Here are a few of the most popular:

Current Congressional Officers

List of officers in the current Congress.

Congressional Quarterly Weekly Report

Weekly, unbiased account of current activities in Congress. Recent print issues are available at the Government Documents Service Desk. Older print issues are shelved in the Government Documents Abstracts and Indexes section.  

Congressional Quarterly Almanac

Annual summary of Congressional activities for a given year. Shelved in the Government Documents Abstracts and Indexes section.

Congress and the Nation

Analyses of major Congressional activities over several years. Shelved in the Government Documents' Reference section, under call number KF49 .C45.

Congressional Directory

Biennial compilation of short official biographies of current members of Congress, along with their committee memberships, terms of service, addresses, and telephone numbers.  Also provides addresses and telephone numbers of U.S. government agencies, state and territorial governors, foreign diplomats, and news media personnel, as well as maps of Congressional districts. 

Congressional Pictorial Directory

List of current members and officers of Congress, accompanied by photographs of each. Includes alphabetical list and location of each member's home post office.  Directories from the 105th Congress forward are available. 

Almanac of American Politics and Politics in America

These two annual publications give biographical information on state governors and members of Congress. The most recent print issue of each is available at the Government Documents Service Desk.

Biographical Directory of the United States Congress 1774–

Brief biographical information for more than 11,000 persons who have served in Congress. Some entries include bibliographical references. 

Online Sources of Information About Congress

AFL-CIO Congressional Voting Record (AFL-CIO)

The Voting Record includes descriptions and records of nine House votes and nine Senate votes in 1999; 10 House and eight Senate votes in 1998; 11 House and seven Senate votes in 1996; and seven House and seven Senate votes in 1997. Interim Voting Records for 2000 are now available. These may correspond with the issues upon which the American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) bases the ratings of its Committee On Political Education (COPE). AFL-CIO ratings are also available in Congressional Quarterly's Politics in America (call number JK1010.P65).

American Conservative Union.

Founded in 1964 "to mobilize resources for responsible conservative thought across the country and to further the general cause of conservatism." Includes Ratings of Congress from 1971 to the present. ACU ratings are also available in Congressional Quarterly's Politics in America (call number JK1010.P65).

Americans for Democratic Action (ADA)

ADA is the nation's oldest independent liberal political organization, dedicated to individual liberty and building economic and social justice at home and abroad. The ADA rates year-by-year (1990-1999) and state-by-state the Lifetime Voting Records for members of the House and Senate based on the 20 issues considered to be the most important to the ADA each year. Ratings prior to 1990 are represented by an average score. ADA ratings are also available in Congressional Quarterly's Politics in America (call number JK1010.P65).

Annenberg Political Fact Check (Annenberg Public Policy Center)

A nonpartisan organization that "monitors the factual accuracy of what is said by major U.S. political players in the form of TV ads, debates, speeches, interviews, and news releases."

Business and Industry Political Action Committee (BIPAC)

BIPAC, an independent, bipartisan organization founded in 1963, works to get pro-business candidates elected to Congress. The BIPAC Web site lists all candidates the group has supported from 1964-2000 and the current list of BIPAC supported candidates. The Chamber of Commerce (COC) Congressional ratings are also included in the Almanac of American Politics (call number JK271.A4) and Congressional Quarterly's Politics in America (call number JK1010.P65).

Center for Responsive Politics (CRP)

Official Homepage of a non-partisan, non-profit research group based in Washington, D.C. that specializes in the study of Congress and particularly the role that money plays in its elections and actions.

Earmarks (U.S. Office of Management and Budget) 

Earmarks are funds provided by the Congress for projects or programs where the congressional direction (in bill or report language) circumvents the merit-based or competitive allocation process, or specifies the location or recipient, or otherwise curtails the ability of the Executive Branch to properly allocate funds. Congress includes earmarks in appropriation bills - the annual spending bills that Congress enacts to allocate discretionary spending - and also in authorization bills. 

Federal Election Commission (FEC)

Official Homepage of the independent regulatory agency that discloses campaign finance information; enforces the limits, prohibitions and other provisions of the election law; and administers the public funding of presidential elections.

Historical Highlights (Office of the Clerk, House of Representatives)

Online site containing biographies of current and past members of Congress, election statistics, and information on the history of Congress.

League of Conservation Voters (LCV)

A bipartisan political arm of the national environmental movement, the LVC works to elect a pro-environment majority to Congress and publishes a National Score Card rating Congressional members on environmental issues from 1993-2002.  The LCV Congressional ratings are also included in Almanac of American Politics (call number JK271.A4).

LegiStorm: Transparency’s Sidekick

LegiStorm helps bring transparency to the U.S. Congress by disseminating public documents and non-partisan information over the Web. Information includes information on congressional and staff salaries; personal financial disclosures of members of Congress and their staff; data on privately financed trips taken by members of Congress and their staff; and information on what gifts and travel are provided to legislators and their staff when traveling abroad.

Political Money Line

Detailed FEC data on federal campaign contributions for elections held in 1993 to the present. Access to some information is only available to subscribers.

Project Vote Smart (Project Vote Smart)

Tracks the performance of over 13,000 political leaders. Gives issue positions, voting records, performance evaluations, campaign finances, and biographies.

Sources of Congressional Publications

United States Senate

Official site. Includes directories of senators and committees, information on learning about the Senate and tracking legislative activities, and other resources.

United States House of Representatives

Official site. Includes directories of representatives and committees, as well as information on tracking legislative activities.

GPO Access

Provides online access to the Congressional Directory, the Congressional Record, the Congressional Record Index, the full text of all published versions of bills introduced in Congress, the history of bills, a list of lobbyists, House and Senate executive reports, and House and Senate treaty documents.

THOMAS: Legislative Information on the Internet (Library of Congress)

Offers full-text of bills from recent (i.e., since 1989) sessions of Congress, searchable by bill number or by keywords and browsable by bill type.  Bill summaries and status are available from 1973. Also provides full text of recent issues of Congressional Record, searchable by keyword or speaker and browsable by date and part; and Congressional Record Index, with links from bill numbers to the text of the bills, and links from a Congressional Record page number to the full text of that page.

Government Resources (Library of Congress)

Includes information about Congress with links to both Congressional Committees and the publications necessary to trace the actions of Congress and legislative histories, e.g. committees, e-mail,  calendars, schedules, journals, floor proceedings, rules, bills, votes, etc.

Congressional Materials (Government Printing Office)

Official, searchable publication databases authorized for dissemination to the public via GPO Access. The origin of these databases begins with the Legislative process in both the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate.

Indexes to Congressional Publications

The following sources, all located in the Abstracts and Indexes section on the Third Floor of Willis Library, are useful for identifying hearings, prints, and reports issued by Congress:

CIS Serial Set Index

Indexes committee reports and other miscellaneous documents issued from 1789-1969. (Does not cover hearings, debates, or committee prints.) This can also be searched in LexisNexis Congressional.

CIS U.S. Congressional Committee Hearings Index

Indexes Congressional hearings issued from 1822-1969. This can also be searched in LexisNexis Congressional.

CIS U.S. Congressional Committee Prints Index

Indexes committee prints issued from 1830-1969. This can also be searched in LexisNexis Congressional.

CIS Index to Publications of the U.S. Congress

Indexes and abstracts the working papers of Congress issued since 1970, including committee reports, committee hearings, committee prints, House documents, and Senate documents. Includes a comprehensive legislative history for every act passed by Congress since 1970. This can also be searched in LexisNexis Congressional.