An A to Z directory of help pages, research guides, lists, popular saved searches, and more. Legislative Process Glossary terms are in italics.
For quick results, use Ctrl+F to search this page.
A
- About Congress.gov
- Accounts – create a Congress.gov account to manage alerts and saved searches
- Action on legislation – Browse by date – also called Yesterday in Congress, includes legislation introduced, reported, passed, and considered by the full House of Representatives or Senate each legislative day
- Active legislation – Senate.gov finding aid
- Advanced search – Congress.gov advanced search options
- Advanced search form – legislation only (93rd Congress-, 1973-)
- Command line
- Query builder
- Agencies of the U.S. government – USA.gov
- Alerts on Congress.gov – sign up for email alerts on members, individual bills, nominations, saved searches, and the Congressional Record
- Amendments – see also Legislation, Legislative Process
- Congress.gov resources
- Amendments to the Constitution – Constitution Annotated
- Browse House and Senate amendments (97th Congress-, 1981-)
- Related glossary terms
- amendment
- amendment exchange
- amendment in the nature of a substitute
- Anomalies – legislative data anomalies on Congress.gov
- AOC – Architect of the Capitol
- Plan a visit to the U.S. Capitol – Capitol Visitor Center
- Explore Capitol Hill – AOC.gov
- Appropriations – see also Appropriations and Budget Research Guide
- Amending appropriations bills: a basic guide – House Rules Committee
- Appropriations reports – CRS.gov
- Appropriations status table – CRS.gov
- Expired and expiring authorizations of appropriations – Congressional Budget Office, previously titled Unauthorized appropriations and expiring authorizations
- Archived government websites
- Congressional and federal government web harvests – National Archives
- United States congressional web archive – Library of Congress
B
- Bill – see Legislation
- Bill of Rights
- Bill of Rights – National Archives resource
- Bill of Rights – Library of Congress resource
- Biographical directory of the United States Congress (1774- )
- Books – Library of Congress online catalog
- Borrow books and other resources from the Library of Congress
- Borrow books and other resources from the Senate Library (Senate access only)
- Browse lists – view items filtered by selected criteria and congresses on Congress.gov
- Budget, budget process – see also Appropriations and Budget Research Guide
- Budget of the United States government – Government Publishing Office
- budget resolution [glossary term]
- Bulk data in XML – Congress.gov bill status data
C
- C-SPAN – live TV and radio coverage of proceedings of the U.S. Congress
- Calendars
- calendar [glossary term]
- See Calendars and Schedules Research Guide
- Capitol Police
- Capitol Visitor Center (CVC)
- Caucuses – House (115th Congress) | Senate
- CBO – Congressional Budget Office
- CBO publications
- Cost estimates for bills
- CBO – Congressional Budget Office[glossary term]
- Census Bureau
- Congressional apportionment
- Fast facts for Congress
- Center for Legislative Archives – National Archives repository of congressional records
- Century of Lawmaking (1774-1875) – Library of Congress repository of congressional documents and debates
- CIA World Factbook – Central Intelligence Agency
- Code of Federal Regulations (CFR)
- Annual edition – Government Publishing Office (1996-)
- Code of Federal Regulations historical collection – Library of Congress (1938-1964)
- e-CFR – Government Publishing Office
- Committee reports
- Congress.gov resources
- About committee reports of the U.S. Congress
- Browse House reports | Senate reports | Executive reports
- Search for committee reports
- Related glossary terms
- committee report
- conference report
- congressional report
- executive report
- joint explanatory statement
- Committees
- Congress.gov resources
- About committee hearings of the U.S. Congress
- About committee data – congressional committee profiles
- Committees of the U.S. Congress resource page
- House Committee hearings and meetings video
- Legislation with actions related to committees – House | Senate
- Related glossary terms
- committee chair
- committee-related activity
- committee / subcommittee
- Committee of the Whole
- conferees
- conference committee
- hearing
- jurisdiction
- markup
- Committee websites – may include transcripts of hearings, markups, and reports
- House committees
- Senate committees
- Communications
- Congress.gov resources
- About communications to the House
- About communications to the Senate
- Browse communications to the House (114th Congress-, 2015-) | communications to the Senate (96th Congress-, 1979-)
- Browse communications to the House (101st Congress-, 1989-)
- Search for House communications
- Search for Senate communications
- Related glossary terms
- communications
- executive communication
- memorial
- petition
- presidential message
- Congresses
- Congresses – Congress.gov field values list of congresses and corresponding years (70th Congress-, 1927-)
- congress (i.e. 2-year time frame) [glossary term]
- Congress.gov – About Congress.gov resource page
- Congress.gov Notifications – subscribe to this email alert for news and information on new features and functions, system outages, and other items of interest to the Congress.gov community
- Congressional agencies
- CBO – Congressional Budget Office
- CRS – Congressional Research Service
- GAO – Government Accountability Office
- GPO – Government Publishing Office
- LOC – Library of Congress
- Congressional apportionment
- Congressional apportionment – Census Bureau
- Congressional apportionment census 2010 – Census Bureau
- Congressional apportionment census 2000 – Census Bureau
- Congressional apportionment – House of Representatives
- Congressional directory – Government Publishing Office official directory
- Congressional districts
- Fast facts for Congress – Census Bureau data on US, states, counties, congressional districts
- Maps – National Map Small-Scale Collection, a collaborative effort among the U.S. Geological Survey and federal, state, and local partners (106th-114th Congresses, 1999-2017)
- Congressional documents – Government Publishing Office, selected House of Representatives and Senate documents
- Congressional Gold Medal recipients – House of Representatives
- Congressional Quarterly (subscription required for full access)
- Congressional Record – see also Daily Digest
- About the Congressional Record
- Get the app in iTunes
- Most recent issue | Browse by date | Search
- Congressional Record [glossary term]
- Congressional Record Index – topical access to remarks and activities by Members, individuals, organizations, and legislative business mentioned in the Congressional Record
- Constitution Annotated – Constitution of the United States: Analysis and Interpretation – Legal analysis and interpretation of the U.S. Constitution, based on Supreme Court case law
- Featured topics and cases
- Constitution Day – Library of Congress resources for teachers
- Copyright Office – Copyright Office
- County governments – National Association of Counties
- CRS – Congressional Research Service
- About CRS
- CRS.gov
- CRS – Congressional Research Service [glossary term]
- C-SPAN (Cable Satellite Public Affairs Network)
D
- Daily Digest – see also Congressional Record
- Browse by date
- Most recent issue
- Daily Digest[glossary term]
- Data.gov – machine readable data sets of the executive branch; launched May 2009 by Federal CIO Council
- Days in Session calendars for U.S. House and U.S. Senate – see also Calendars and Schedules Research Guide
- Declaration of Independence – Primary Documents in American History – Library of Congress web guide
E
- Email alerts – subscribe to RSS and email alerts related to congressional activity and legislation
- Embed a search box – For instructions and code, go to How to Embed the Search Box on Your Website
- Ethics
- House ethics manual (PDF) and other documents from the Committee on Ethics
- Senate ethics manual (PDF) and other documents from the Select Committee on Ethics
- Executive business
- Archive of Senate Executive Calendars – See also Calendars and Schedules Research Guide
- Related glossary terms
- executive business
- Executive Calendar
- executive session
- Executive orders
- Codification of presidential proclamations and executive orders – National Archives (1945-1989)
- Executive orders – National Archives (1994-)
- Executive orders disposition tables index – National Archives, disposition tables listing the status of Executive Orders (January 8, 1937-January 20, 2017)
- Presidential actions – White House
- Presidential documents guide – National Archives
- Expired and expiring authorizations of appropriations – Congressional Budget Office, previously titled Unauthorized appropriations and expiring authorizations
F
- FAQ – Frequently asked questions about Congress.gov
- Fast facts for Congress – Census Bureau data on the U.S., states, counties, and congressional districts
- Federal budget – Government Publishing Office
- federal depository library [glossary term]
- Federal judiciary
- Courts – U.S. Courts
- Judges – U.S. Courts
- Federal Register
- About the Federal Register – Government Publishing Office
- Browse the Federal Register – Government Publishing Office
- Most recent issue – Government Publishing Office
- Office of the Federal Register (OFR) – National Archives
- Regulations.gov and its frequently asked questions page – find and comment on Federal Register documents
- Federalist Papers
- About the Federalist Papers
- Feedback – submit a survey to Congress.gov
- FindLaw – case law, forms, find a lawyer
G
- GAO – Government Accountability Office
- Federal Vacancies Act reports. Use the GAO Reports & Testimonies tool to find Federal Vacancies Act reports and more.
- Today’s reports (and previous reports)
- Global Legal Monitor – Law Library of Congress
- Glossary of legislative process terms
- Government Manual – official handbook of the federal government jointly published by the Office of the Federal Register, National Archives, and Government Publishing Office
- Government Research Guide – links to legislative, executive, judicial, state, local, and international government resources
- GPO – Government Publishing Office
- Authenticated digital publishing
- govinfo – access to official publications of the federal government
- GPO – Government Publishing Office [glossary term]
H
- Hearings – committee/subcommittee hearings
- Browse and search
- Browse select congressional hearings – Government Publishing Office (87th Congress-, 1961-)
- Browse select congressional hearings – Law Library of Congress (60th-109th Congresses, 1908-2006)
- Resources
- House committee hearings and meetings video – Congress.gov resource
- Quick links to committee hearings , transcripts, etc. – Law Librarians’ Society
- Text of select House transcripts , listed by committee – House of Representatives
- hearing [glossary term]
- Help pages – Congress.gov
- About Congress.gov
- Congress.gov Enhancements
- Coverage dates for legislative information
- Frequently asked questions
- Legislative documents that predate authenticated digital publishing
- Linking to Congress.gov
- The Hill
- History of Bills – Government Publishing Office (98th Congress-, 1983-)
- Browse History of Bills – updated day after Congressional Record published
- Advanced search
- House manual – Constitution, Jefferson’s Manual, and Rules of the House of Representatives
- Latest PDF | Archive – Government Publishing Office (104th Congress-, 1995-)
- House manual in XML – usgpo/house-manual – GitHub – United States Legislative Markup (USLM) project
- XML bulk data – Government Publishing Office
- House of Representatives – see House of Representatives Research Guide
- House precedents
- Cannon | Deschler | Hinds – Government Publishing Office
- House Practice: A Guide to the Rules, Precedents and Procedures of the House (Latest PDF)
- House Practice archive – Government Publishing Office (104th Congress, 1995-1996), (108th Congress, 2003-2004), (112th Congress, 2011-2012), (115th Congress, 2017-)
- Precedents of the U.S. House of Representatives – Government Publishing Office
- House Rules Committee
- House standing rules Latest PDF Office of the Clerk-prepared version (116th Congress) | Archive
- Rules committee resources – House of Representatives rules, House manuals, rules of the committees, and surveys of activities of the House Rules Committee
- House Rules committee [glossary term]
- How Our Laws Are Made – Learn About the Legislative Process – Congress.gov resource
I
- International
- CIA World Factbook – Central Intelligence Agency
- Foreign government websites – Northwestern University Library
- Intergovernmental Organizations (IGOs) – Northwestern University Library
- International law – United Nations
- International organizations – Library of Congress guide
- international agreement [glossary term]
- Issues in Focus – browse reports and analysis – CRS
J
- Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) publications – official estimates for tax legislation considered by Congress
- Joint meetings and sessions of Congress – House of Representatives
- Judicial vacancies – U.S. Courts
L
- Law Library of Congress
- About the Law Library
- Browse Law Library Reports – The Law Library of Congress produces reports primarily for Members of Congress
- Guide to law online
- Legal topics
- Laws
- Public laws
- Private laws
- Leadership
- House leadership – Speaker, majority and minority leaders, whips, etc.
- House leadership and officers (1789-) – House of Representatives History, Art & Archives
- Senate leadership – President of the Senate, President Pro Tempore, majority and minority leaders, whips, etc.
- Senate party leadership – Democratic Conference, Republican Conference, party policy committees, historical lists
- Legislation – see also Amendments, Legislative Process
- Browse reports on Congress.gov (93rd Congress-, 1973- unless otherwise noted)
- Action on legislation – Browse by date – also called Yesterday in Congress, includes legislation introduced, reported, passed, and considered by the full House or Senate each legislative day
- Bill and law texts received today
- Bills by policy area term
- Bills introduced as private legislation
- Bills introduced by request
- House and Senate amendments (97th Congress-, 1981-)
- Legislation with actions related to committees – House | Senate
- Legislative actions – reports of legislative actions taken per Congress and related bills
- Most-viewed bills on Congress.gov (113th Congress-, 2014-)
- Sponsors and cosponsors – House | Senate – browse legislation by sponsor or cosponsor
- Resources
- Active legislation – Senate finding aid
- Finding congressional documents from the past – Law and Technology Resources for Legal Professionals (LLRX) guide
- Finding U.S. government documents – Library of Congress guide
- Types of legislation – see Common Versions of Bills table – Government Publishing Office
- Related glossary terms (jump past glossary terms)
- amendment
- amendment in the nature of a substitute
- bill
- bill summary
- budget resolution
- companion measure
- concurrent resolution
- continuing resolution (continuing appropriation)
- engrossed measure
- enrolled measure
- identical bill
- joint resolution
- measure
- notes
- official title
- original bill
- policy area term
- popular title
- private bill
- procedurally-related measure
- proposed/offered Senate amendment
- related bill
- reserved bill number
- short title
- simple resolution
- slip law
- special rule
- subject
- submitted Senate amendment
- title
- Legislative histories
- Center for Legislative Archives – search and browse National Archives repository of congressional records
- Federal legislative history research guide – Law Librarians’ Society guide to producing legislative histories
- Legislative histories of selected US laws on the internet – Law Librarians’ Society resource
- Legislative process – see also Amendments, Appropriations, Committees, Legislation, Vetoes
- Enactment of a Law – by U.S. Senate Parliamentarian – Congress.gov resource
- Legislative process videos – Congress.gov videos that explain common legislative phases
- Related glossary terms (jump past glossary terms)
- adjourn
- adjournment sine die
- amendment exchange
- bicameral
- by request
- cloture
- cosponsor
- enacted
- en bloc
- filibuster
- germaneness
- hearing
- hold
- hopper
- journal
- legislative action steps
- legislative interest
- markup
- motion to proceed to consider
- motion to recommit
- motion to table
- ordered reported
- parliamentarian
- party caucus / conference
- ping-pong
- point of order
- previous question
- pro forma session
- quorum
- quorum call
- referral
- reported
- sponsor
- supermajority
- suspension of the rules
- unanimous consent agreement
- unanimous consent request
- veto
- legislative subject term [glossary term]
- Library of Congress (LOC)
- Finding U.S. government documents at the Library of Congress
- LIV – Legislative Indexing Vocabulary [glossary term]
- Lobbying disclosure – House | Senate
M
- Markups
- House committee websites – some provide the text of selected markups
- Senate committee websites – some provide the text of selected markups
- markup [glossary term]
- Media galleries – House | Senate
- Members of Congress – find members and see sponsored and cosponsored legislation on Congress.gov
- About congressional member profiles – Congress.gov
- Biographical directory of the United States Congress (1774-)
- Congressional directory – Government Publishing Office, official directory of the U.S. Congress
- Find your representative by zip code – House of Representatives finding aid
- Guide to House and Senate members – Government Publishing Office
N
- NARA – National Archives and Records Administration
- Center for Legislative Archives
- Congressional and federal government web harvests
- Presidential documents guide
- Public laws: current session of Congress
- Stay updated about public laws
- NARA (National Archives and Records Administration) [glossary term]
- National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL)
- News services
- C-SPAN (Cable Satellite Public Affairs Network)
- The Congressional Quarterly (subscription required for full access)
- The Hill
- Politico
- Represent (ProPublica)
- Roll Call
- Nominations
- Congress.gov resources
- About nominations
- Search nominations
- Supreme Court nominations (97th Congress -, 1981-)
- Related glossary terms
- nomination
- privileged nomination
- recess appointment
- Nominations resources
- Cabinet and Supreme Court nominees – Senate
- Federal judicial vacancies – U.S. Courts
- Supreme Court nominations – Law Library of Congress resources
- Nongovernmental organizations (NGO)
- NGO relations – United Nations
- World Association of Non-governmental Organizations (WANGO)
O
- Office of the Clerk – House of Representatives
P
- Party divisions of the House of Representatives – House of Representatives History, Art & Archives (1st Congress-, 1789-)
- phrase searching – see Search Overview
- Policy area term
- Browse bills by policy area term
- Policy area terms – Congress.gov field value list
- policy area term [glossary term]
- President
- The American Presidency Project – Public papers of the U.S. Presidents, hosted by the University of California, Santa Barbara
- Codification of presidential proclamations and executive orders – National Archives (1945-1989)
- Compilation of presidential documents – Government Publishing Office, daily and weekly updates including statements, messages, remarks (1993-)
- Presidential documents guide – National Archives
- Presidential libraries – National Archives list of all presidential libraries
- Presidential nominations – see About Nominations
- Presidents, Vice Presidents and coinciding sessions of Congress – Clerk of the House resource (1st Congress-, 1789-)
- Private legislation
- Browse private legislation
- private bill [glossary term]
- Project Vote Smart – voting data for members of Congress
- Public laws
- Public laws list – Congress.gov resource
- Public laws: current session of Congress – National Archives list of current public law numbers
Q
- Quick Start Guide (PDF) – Congress.gov user guide
R
- ranking member [glossary term]
- Refine a search using facets (also called filters) – Congress.gov search guide
- Regulations – Code of Federal Regulations – Government Publishing Office | Federal Register – National Archives
- resolution of ratification [glossary term]
- Resume of Congressional Activity – Senate (80th Congress-, 1947-)
- Roll Call votes by the U.S. Congress – Congress.gov browse list (101st Congress-, 1989-)
- Rules, precedents, and procedures
- Committee websites: House Rules Committee , Resources tab | Senate Rules and Administration Committee
- House manual Constitution, Jefferson’s Manual, and Rules of the House of Representatives – Government Publishing Office
- House precedents – House practice (PDF), Deschler’s precedents , Cannon’s precedents , and Hinds’ precedents – Government Publishing Office
- House special rules – House Rules Committee
- House standing rules (PDF) – House Rules Committee
- Senate manual
- Senate procedures – Riddick’s Senate procedure – Government Publishing Office | Senate legislative process – Senate resource
- Senate standing rules – Government Publishing Office
S
- Schedules for Congress – see Calendars and Schedules Research Guide
- Search help
- Action search scope notes – Congress.gov help page on legislative actions searches
- Search tips by category – browse Congress.gov search tips
- Search tools overview – Congress.gov help page on search basics
- Senate floor webcast – Senate resource
- Senate – see Senate Research Guide
- Senate manual
- Senate Rules and Administration Committee
- Senate standing rules Latest PDF – Government Publishing Office
- Rules and Administration Committee purpose and jurisdiction
- Rules and Administration Committee history
- Sergeant at Arms – House | Senate
- Sessions of Congress
- Days in session calendars – see also the Calendars and Schedules Research Guide
- Joint sessions and meetings of Congress – House of Representatives (1st Congress-, 1789-)
- Presidents, Vice Presidents and coinciding sessions of Congress – House of Representatives (1st Congress-, 1789-)
- Saturday and Sunday legislative days of Congress – House of Representatives (1st Congress-, 1789-)
- Sessions of Congress (1st Congress-, 1789-) House Clerk’s list and Secretary of the Senate’s list | See also Secretary of the Senate PDF (1st -108th Congresses, 1789-2004)
- Table of congressional publication volumes and presidential issuances (PDF) – Law Librarians’ Society (1st Congress-, 1789-)
- Speaker of the House – see Leadership
- Sponsors and cosponsors
- Browse legislation by sponsor/cosponsor – House | Senate | Search
- cosponsor [glossary term]
- sponsor [glossary term]
- State and local government
- State, county and city government websites – State and local government on the Internet
- State legislature websites – Congress.gov resource
- memorial [glossary term]
- Statistics
- Congressional apportionment – Census Bureau
- Congressional districts: fast facts for Congress – Census Bureau data on U.S., states, counties, and congressional districts
- Resume of congressional activity – Senate resource (80th Congress-, 1947-)
- Statutes at Large
- Volumes 1-64 – Law Library of Congress (1st-81st Congresses, 1789-1950)
- Volumes 65-125 – U.S. Government Publishing Office (82nd-112th Congresses, 1951-2011)
- Statutes at Large and the U.S. Code – Law Librarians’ Society research guide
- Statute Compilations
- Subcommittees – see Committees
- Supreme Court
T
- Teacher resources – Library of Congress lesson plans about government, law, and politics
- text similarities[glossary term]
- Think tanks and advocacy groups
- Public disclosure – Senate office of public records
- Lobbying disclosure – House of Representatives office of the clerk
- Think tanks and public interest organizations – University of Michigan documents center, list of political science resources
- Tips – see Search Tips Overview
- Trade agreements – Department of Commerce trade compliance center
, text of trade agreements - Treaties
- Treaty document resources on Congress.gov
- About treaty documents
- Browse treaty documents by topic
- Search treaty documents
- Treaty resources
- Senate Rule XXX: Executive sessions – proceedings on treaties – Senate Rules and Administration Committee
- Treaties and other international acts series (TIAS) – State Department
- Treaties and other international agreements: the role of the Senate (PDF) – Senate Foreign Relations Committee print
- Treaties pending in the Senate – State Department
- Treaty Affairs Office – State Department
- U.S. treaties: a beginner’s guide – Law Library of Congress
- Related glossary terms
- treaty
- treaty document
- Twitter – The Law Library of Congress tweets about legislation and Congress.gov enhancements via @Congressdotgov.
U
- Unauthorized appropriations and expiring authorizations – Congressional Budget Office (2000-2016); as of 2017, collection is titled Expired and expiring authorizations of appropriations
- Uniform Law Commission
- United Nations international law
- United States government manual – official handbook of the federal government
- U.S. Capitol
- U.S. Capitol – Senate guide
- Visitor center at the U.S. Capitol
- U.S. Capitol Police
- U.S. Code and the classification tables – House of Representatives office of the law revision counsel (OLRC)
- U.S. founding documents resources
- U.S. founding documents gallery – Congress.gov
- Creating the United States Library of Congress online exhibit
- USA.gov
V
- Vacancies
- Federal judicial vacancies – U.S. Courts
- Federal Vacancies Reform Act – Government Accountability Office search tool
- Vetoes – see also Legislation, Legislative Process
- Browse vetoed legislation – Congress.gov resource
- Historical lists of regular and pocket vetoes – Secretary of the Senate indexes (1st Congress, 1789-)
- History of line-item veto notices – Government Publishing Office
- Number of vetoes per President – House of Representatives (1st Congress-, 1789-)
- veto [glossary term]
- Vice Presidents
- Presidents, Vice Presidents, and coinciding sessions of Congress – House of Representatives (1st Congress-, 1789-)
- Vice Presidential tie-breaking votes in the Senate – Senate Library, complete list (1st Congress-, 1789-)
- Votes – see Votes in the House and Senate Research Guide
W
- White House
- Website archives – National Archives, Clinton, Bush, and Obama administration websites (1994-)
- White House Executive Clerk’s office recording – (202) 456-2226
X
- XML bulk data – Congress.gov bill status data
Z
- Zip code – Find your representative by zip code – U.S. House of Representatives finding aid
- Last updated 17 Oct 2016