Congressional Hearings, Select hearings back to the 85th Congress
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About Congressional Hearings
What is a Congressional Hearing?
A hearing is a meeting or session of a Senate, House, joint, or special committee of Congress, usually open to the public, to obtain information and opinions on proposed legislation, conduct an investigation, or evaluate/oversee the activities of a government department or the implementation of a Federal law. In addition, hearings may also be purely exploratory in nature, providing testimony and data about topics of current interest.
What is Available?
- govinfo contains contain select House and Senate hearings for the 104th Congress (1995-96) forward. Select hearings for previous congresses, including House and Senate appropriations hearings, are also available.
- Documents are available as text and PDF files. Graphics, including scanned images of camera ready copy are omitted from the text version but are contained in the PDF files.
- To find hearings not available on govinfo, try visiting the committee’s website.
When are Hearings Available?
Most congressional hearings are published two months to two years after they are held. Hearings are available on govinfo as they become available during each session of Congress.
Not all congressional hearings are available on govinfo. Whether or not a hearing is disseminated on govinfo depends on the committee.
Searching Congressional Hearings
You can find and search Congressional Hearings by:
- Using Basic Search for keyword and metadata fielded searches,
- Using Advanced Search ; fields specific to the Hearings will display after you select Congressional Hearings in the Refine by Collection column,
- Refining search results by clicking on links in the Refine Your Search panel on the left hand side of the page (the sections under Refine Your Search correspond to the metadata available for the documents), and
- Browsing the Congressional Hearings browse page.
Search Examples
Search Congressional Hearings by Subcommittee - These examples will search for Congressional hearings from the Subcommittee on Consumer Affairs, Insurance, and Automotive Safety.
- Using Basic Search, enter: collection:chrg and subcommittee:Subcommittee on Consumer Affairs, Insurance, and Automotive Safety
- Using Advanced Search, select Congressional Hearings under Refine by Collection, then under Search In select Sub Committee in the first box and enter Subcommittee on Consumer Affairs, Insurance, and Automotive Safety in second box
Search Congressional Hearings by Committee - These examples will search for Congressional hearings with the word budget in the committee name.
- Using Basic Search, enter: collection:chrg and committee:budget
- Using Advanced Search, select Congressional Hearings under Refine by Collection, then under Search In select Committee in the first box and enter budget in the second box
Search Congressional Hearings by Congress Number and Chamber - These examples will search for Congressional hearings from the Senate of the 110th Congress.
- Using Basic Search, enter: collection:chrg and congress:110 and chamber:senate then click search and Refine Your Results by Congressional Hearings under the Collection section
- Using Advanced Search:
- Select Congressional Hearings under Refine by Collection, then under Search In select Congress Number in the first box and select 110 in the second box
- Click + Additional Criteria and select Chamber of Congress then select Senate in the next box
Search Congressional Hearings for Appropriation Hearings - These examples will search for appropriation hearings.
- Using Basic Search, enter: collection:chrg and isappropriation:true
- Using Advanced Search, select Congressional Hearings under Refine by Collection then under Search In select Appropriation Hearing in the first box and select yes in the second box
Search Congressional Hearings by Hearing Number - These examples will search for Congressional hearings with 20 as the hearing number.
- Using Basic Search, enter: collection:chrg and hearingnum:20
- Using Advanced Search, select Congressional Hearings under Refine by Collection then under Search In select Hearing Number in the first box and enter 20 in the second box
Search Congressional Hearings by Congress Member - These examples will search for Congressional hearings with Senator Clinton.
- Using Basic Search, enter: collection:chrg and member:clinton
- Using Advanced Search, select Congressional Hearings under Refine by Collection then under Search In select Congress Member in the first box and enter clinton in the second box
Search Congressional Hearings by Nominee - These examples will search for Congressional hearings with Johnson as the nominee.
- Using Basic Search, enter: collection:chrg and nominee:johnson
- Using Advanced Search, select Congressional Hearings under Refine by Collection then under Search In select Nominee in the first box and enter johnson in the second box
Search Congressional Hearings by Witness - These examples will search for Congressional hearings with Johnson as the witness.
- Using Basic Search, enter: collection:chrg and witness:johnson
- Using Advanced Search, select Congressional Hearings under Refine by Collection then under Search In select Witness in the first box and enter johnson in the second box
Search Congressional Hearings by keyword and witness - These examples will search for Congressional hearings with Johnson as the witness and economy in the full text or metadata.
- Using Basic Search, enter: economy and collection:chrg and witness:johnson
- Using Advanced Search,
- Select Congressional Hearings under Refine by Collection then under Search In select Witness in the first box and enter Johnson in the second box
- Click + Additional Criteria and enter economy in the next box
Search Congressional Hearings by Member and Keyword - These examples will search for Congressional hearings with McConnell as the member and energy in the full text or metadata.
- Using Basic Search, enter: energy and collection:chrg and member:mcconnell
- Using Advanced Search,
- Select Congressional Hearings under Refine by Collection then under Search In select Congress Member in the first box and enter McConnell in the second box
- Click + Additional Criteria and enter energy in the next box
Search Congressional Hearings by Committee and Keyword - These examples will search for Congressional hearings with the word budget in the committee name and defense in the full text or metadata.
- Using Basic Search, enter: defense and collection:chrg and committee:budget
- Using Advanced Search,
- Select Congressional Hearings under Refine by Collection then under Search In select Committee in the first box and enter budget in the second box
- Click + Additional Criteria and enter defense in the next box
Search Congressional Hearings by Nominee and Keyword - These examples will search for Congressional hearings with Steven as the nominee and energy in the full text or metadata.
- Using Basic Search, enter: energy and collection:chrg and nominee:steven
- Using Advanced Search,
- Select Congressional Hearings under Refine by Collection then under Search In select Nominee in the first box and enter steven in the second box
- Click + Additional Criteria and enter energy in the next box
Sample Congressional Hearings URLs
Govinfo uses two key pieces of information to construct predictable URLs to documents and Details pages. The Package ID is used to identify an individual hearing. The Granule ID is used to identify volumes, parts or errata that may exist for a single hearing.
Identifier |
Structure/Metadata Field |
Example |
---|---|---|
Package ID |
CHRG-{Congress Number}{Hearing Type}{Jacket ID} Note: Hearing Type is hhrg (House Hearing), shrg (Senate Hearing), or jhrg (Joint Hearing). |
CHRG-111hhrg62619 |
Granule ID |
Multiple Parts: Multiple Volumes: Errata: Volumes, Parts and Errata: Note: The first granule will only use the Package ID. Note: Errata Number is only used when there are multiple errata. |
Multiple Parts: Multiple Volumes: Errata: Volumes, Parts and Errata: |
Tip: You can also use the link service and API to construct predictable links.
Details Page for a Congressional Document (Single Part or Volume)
Structure: https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/{Package ID}/{Granule ID}
Example: https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/CHRG-111hhrg62619/CHRG-111hhrg62619
PDF File for a Congressional Document (Single Part or Volume)
Structure: https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/{Package ID}/pdf/{Package ID}.pdf
Example: https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CHRG-111hhrg62619/pdf/CHRG-111hhrg62619.pdf
HTML File for a Congressional Document (Single Part or Volume)
Structure: https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/{Package ID}/html/{Package ID}.htm
Example: https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CHRG-111hhrg62619/html/CHRG-111hhrg62619.htm
Details Page for a Part, Volume or Errata of a Congressional Document
Structure: https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/{Package ID}/{Granule ID}
Example: https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/CHRG-107shrg87708/CHRG-107shrg87708-vol3
PDF File for a Part, Volume or Errata of a Congressional Document
Structure: https://www.govinfo.gov/pkg/{Package ID}/pdf/{Granule ID}.pdf
Example: https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CHRG-107shrg87708/pdf/CHRG-107shrg87708-vol3.pdf
HTML File for a Part, Volume or Errata of a Congressional Document
Structure: https://www.govinfo.gov/pkg/{Package ID}/html/{Granule ID}.htm
Example: https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CHRG-107shrg87708/html/CHRG-107shrg87708-vol3.htm
Congressional Hearings Metadata Fields and Values
Metadata fields and values can be used to increase the relevancy of your searches. The metadata fields available for Congressional Hearings are listed in the table below. Metadata fields and values are used throughout govinfo for
- Refining Your Search,
- Browsing,
- Field Operators,
- Advanced Search, and
- Display on Details Pages.
Metadata fields and values can be entered into the Basic Search box using field operators. The field operators available for Congressional Hearings are listed in the table below, along with examples for each metadata field. Using Field Operators
Some of these metadata fields are made available for use in Advanced Search. Using Advanced Search
Metadata Field Display Name | Metadata Field Definition | Field Operator | Field Operator Example |
---|---|---|---|
Collection |
The collection to which the document belongs. Typically the same as the publication or series. |
collection: |
collection:chrg "chrg" is used for Congressional Hearings |
Government Author |
The names of the Government organizations responsible for authoring or assembling the document. |
governmentauthor: |
governmentauthor:house |
Publication Date |
The date the document was first made available to the public. |
publishdate: |
publishdate:2006-09-30 Date format is YYYY, YYYY-MM, or YYYY-MM-DD |
Language |
The language code of the original document, from the ISO639-2b standard. |
language: |
language:eng |
SuDoc Class Number |
The SuDoc class number from the U.S. Superintendent of Documents which classifies government publications by publishing agency. |
sudocclass: |
sudocclass:"y 4.c 73/8:" The SuDoc Class Numbers in govinfo are at the class stem level, not the book number level. |
Ingestion Date |
The date the document was ingested into the preservation repository. |
ingestdate: |
ingestdate:2009-12-29 Date format is YYYY-MM-DD |
Electronic Location (URL) |
The URL where the document or the document in context (the Details page) is located. |
url: |
url:"/pkg/CHRG-109hhrg30415/pdf/CHRG-109hhrg30415.pdf" |
Publisher |
The government organization who publishes the document or publication. Not typically the Government Publishing Office (who serves as the printer and distributor), except in the case of Congressional publications. |
publisher: |
publisher:"u.s. government printing office" |
Branch |
The branch of Government responsible for the document's contents. |
branch: |
branch:legislative Possible Values: executive, legislative, judicial |
Type of Resource |
The media type for the document, typically "text". Defined as part of the Library of Congress MODS standard. |
typeofresource: |
typeofresource:text |
WAIS Database Name |
The name of the WAIS database to which the document belonged in the former GPO Access system. |
waisdbname: |
waisdbname:109_senate_hearings |
Record Origin |
How the record was originally generated. Typically "machine generated." |
recordorigin: |
recordorigin:"machine generated" |
Title |
The title of the publication. |
title: |
title:(railroad safety) |
Congress Number |
The number of the Congress responsible for the document. Congresses last for two years, so for example, the 110th Congress was in session from 2007 through 2008. |
congress: |
congress:110 |
Congress Session |
The session of congress which produced the report. |
session: |
session:2 Values: 1, 2 |
Congress Chamber |
The chamber of Congress who produced the hearing. Congressional hearings can be House hearings, Senate hearings, or joint hearings. |
chamber: |
chamber:house Possible Values: house, senate |
Hearing Number |
The number used to identify the hearing within the senate hearings. In the case of the House of Representative, it is the number that identifies a hearing within a committee or subcommittee. |
hearingnum: |
hearingnum:20 |
Hearing Type |
The type of hearing which provides information about the activity of the hearing. Hearing types include field, markup, oversight, authorization, appropriation, nomination, treaty, or general. |
doctype: |
doctype:hhrg Possible Values: hhrg, shrg |
Hearing Sub Type |
The type of hearing; which provides information of the activity of the hearing. |
hearingsubtype: |
hearingsubtype:f Possible Values: Field (f), Markup (m), Oversight (o), Authorization (au), Appropriation (ap), Nomination (n), Treaty (t), General (g) |
Appropriation Hearing |
If true, search over all hearings where the purpose was to discuss a government appropriation. |
isappropriation: |
isappropriation:true Possible Values: true, false |
Nomination Hearing |
If true, search over all nomination hearings. |
isnomination: |
isnomination:false Possible Values: true, false |
Heading |
Search for the hearing part heading. |
heading: |
heading:"part 2" heading:"volume 1" heading:errata |
Held Date |
The date or dates on which the hearing occurred. |
dateheld: |
dateheld:2005-05-26 Date format is YYYY-MM-DD |
Committee and Subcommittee |
The name of the committee or subcommittee listed on the hearing. |
committee: subcommittee: |
committee:transportation subcommittee:aviation |
Members |
Members of the committee or subcommittee listed on the hearing. |
member: |
member:clinton |
Agency |
The organization to which the appropriation hearing refers. |
hearingagency: |
hearingagency:agriculture |
Nominee |
Individuals who were nominated on the hearing. |
nominee: |
nominee:portman |
Positions being Nominated |
The position of the individual being nominated. |
mods:nominee:position:_______ |
mods:nominee:position:"general counsel" mods:nominee:position:"Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System" |
Witnesses |
Witnesses that participated in and are listed on the hearing. |
witness: |
witness:baldwin |
Serial Numbers |
Serial number listed on the hearing. |
serialnum: |
serialnum:108 |
Jacket ID |
The Jacket ID of the document. This is usually a five digit number, such as "86-484" that is printed on the front page of the document. |
jacketid: |
jacketid:30-496 |
H.A.S.C. Numbers |
House Armed Services Committee number. |
hascnum: |
hascnum:114-143 |
Citation |
The GPO standard method for searching citation references from the selected publication. |
citation: |
citation:"S. Hrg. 115" |
Public and Private Law References |
A referenced public or private law. |
plawcitation: |
plawcitation:"public law 108-330" |
United States Code Citation |
Reference to a United States Code citation within the text of the document. This citation may only include the United States Code Title and Section, chapter, or appendix numbers. |
uscodecitation: |
uscodecitation:"5 u.s.c. 706" uscodecitation:"2 U.S.C. 621et seq." uscodecitation:"5 U.S.C. App. 3" |
Statutes at Large Citation |
Reference to a Statutes at Large citation within the text of the document. |
statutecitation: |
statutecitation:"72 stat. 69" |
Bill Number Citations |
Reference to a bill number within the text of the document. |
billscitation: |
billscitation:"s. 1" |
Congressional Report Citations |
Reference to a congressional report within the text of the document. |
crptcitation: |
crptcitation:"S. Rept. 100-446" |
Congressional Document Citation |
A reference to a congressional document in the body of the document. |
cdoccitation: |
cdoccitation:"H. Doc. 103-316" |
Congressional Hearing Citations |
Reference to a Senate Hearing within the text of the document. |
chrgcitation: |
chrgcitation:"S. Hrg. 108-359" |
Code of Federal Regulations Citation |
Referenced title and part number from the Code of Federal Regulations, in standard citation format. |
cfrcitation: |
cfrcitation:"2 CFR Part 2001" cfrcitation:"1 CFR Chapter CIX-43.304-1.50" |
Reference Citation |
Reference to another document within the text of a document. |
refcitation: |
refcitation:"H.R. 1" |
Congressional Hearings Related Resources
- Browse by Congressional Committee - Browse documents issued by individual committees, including Bills, Documents, and Hearings.
- Contact your local Federal Depository Library - To access a physical copy of Congressional Hearings.
- Supreme Court Nomination Hearings - Transcripts from the Senate Committee on the Judiciary: Supreme Court Nomination Hearings (1971-forward)