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Congressional Research Resources: Congressional Proceedings

Committee Membership:

  • LEXIS-NEXIS Congressional  [CSU users only]
    Current Congress only.
  • Thomas  (Library of Congress)
    Path: House/Senate Committees.  Current Congress only.
  • National Journal Group's Policy Central   [CSU users only]
    Path: Almanac of American Politics/Committees.  Current Congress only.
  • Congressional Directory  (GPOAccess)
    From the 105th Congress (1997-1998) forward. 
  • Congressional Directory   Y4.P93/1:1/
    Latest at Information Desk; other years in documents stacks.
  • CQ Almanac   JK1 .C66 Ref
    Committee memberships appear in volumes for odd numbered years from 1957 through 1997.  Listings ceased as of 1997.
  • Committees in the U.S. Congress, 1947-1992.   JK1029 .N45 1993 Ref
    A two-volume set with complete listings.
  • Committees in the U.S. Congress, 1789-1946.   JK1029 .C64 2002 Ref
    A four-volume set with complete listings.

Floor Debates:

Debates on the floor of the two chambers can be found in the Congressional Record and its predecessors, although the written record for the 18th and 19th centuries is less complete than for the 20th and 21st centuries.  For additional information on the Congressional Record and earlier publications, see
An Overview of the Congressional Record and Its Predecessor Publications (LLSDC).

  • LEXIS-NEXIS Congressional  [CSU users only]
    Fulltext from 1985 to the present. 
  • Thomas  (Library of Congress)
    Path: Congressional Record.  Fulltext, 1989 to the present.
  • GPOAccess 
    Path: Legislative Resources/Congressional Record.  Fulltext, 1994 to the present; indexing from 1983 to the present.
  • Bound Congressional Record  (GPO Access)
    Replicates the bound volume from 1999 forward.
  • Congressional Record Index.   X1.1: Doc
    Provides indexing from 1875 through 1996.  Actual text is on microfiche for March 3, 1977 through November 3, 1999 (X...Microtext).   Otherwise, the volumes with the debates are in storage and must be retrieved using a manual request form.  The request should include as much of the following as possible: Congress number, session number, date (if known), date range (if known), and page(s).  Page number is especially important.
  • Century of Lawmaking  (Library of Congress)
    Select from among the following:
    Annals of Congress, 1789-1824
    Register of Debates, 1824-1837
    Congressional Globe, 1833-1873
    Congressional Record, 1873-1875

Roll Call Votes:

  • LEXIS-NEXIS Congressional   [CSU users only]
    Voting records from 1987 to the present.  Two possible pathways:
    Members/Votes.  Searches by bill number or subject.
    Members/Key Votes.  Searches by member name.
  • Thomas  (Library of Congress)
    Select "Roll Call Votes."  From 1989 to the present.
  • United States Senate
    Path: Legislation & Records/Votes.  From 1989 to the present.
  • U.S. House of Representatives
    Select "Roll Call Votes."  From 1990 to the present.
  • Votes Database
    Includes votes by members of Congress since 1991.
  • Project Vote Smart
    Provides voting records and interest group ratings for current members of Congress.
  • CQ Weekly  [online through Sage journal title search]
    floor votes from 1991 to the present are searchable here.  Also available are full text articles from 1983 to the present pertaining to Congressional bills, laws, and actions.
  • Congressional Quarterly Almanac.   JK1 .C66 Ref
    Iincludes voting tabulations annually since 1959.
  • Congress and the Nation.   KF49 .C653 Ref
    Tabulates key votes since 1945.
  • Congressional Record.   X1....Doc
    This publication and its predecessors are a resource for voting records from 1789 to the present.  Earlier information is sometimes sketchy or unavailable.  For further details, see "Floor Debates" description above.

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Content: Doug Ernest