vice president - Under the Constitution, the vice president serves as president of the Senate. He may vote in the Senate in the case of a tie, but is not required to. The president pro tempore (and others designated by him) usually perform these duties during the vice president's frequent absences from the Senate.
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.
For information on the Senate, Congress, the legislative process and the federal government, the Virtual Reference Desk is a good place to begin.