Congressional schedules indicate what the House and Senate intend to discuss or bring to the floor on a particular day. Schedules differ from calendars, which consist of lists of measures that are eligible for floor consideration. Calendars do not indicate when or if a measure will be considered.
These terms are used to describe periods of time when the Senate, House, or both chambers are not in session. Each has varying meaning, depending on the context.
For information on the Senate, Congress, the legislative process and the federal government, the Virtual Reference Desk is a good place to begin.
Congressional Sessions lists all Congresses and corresponding years - from 1789, when the 1st Congress met, through the current Congress.
You can access legislative information, by bill number or key words, from the THOMAS Web site. Information from the present back to the 93rd Congress (1973) is available on THOMAS.