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The United States Congress:
A Resource Guide for Political Science 303
Spring 2007 - Professor Kris Miler

Legislative Information

LexisNexis Congressional  FT  UIUC
Helps users identify laws, explore the history of legislation, access related full-text documents, find information on senators and representatives.

1.  Ways to access the full text of a statute on the LexisNexis Laws page:

• By subject:  Go to Legislative Histories and use the Subject List.
  (No other search will identify all laws on a topic and eliminate false hits).
• By title keyword:  Go to Legislative Histories and enter terms in the second box.
• By popular name:  Go to Statutes at Large and use the Popular Names index.  (This search may only work when you enter the first word of the statute's popular name.)
• By public law number (e.g., P.L. 106-38).
• By full text:  Go to Public Laws and enter terms found in the text of the statute.

2.  Finding the legislative history of a statute.

• Enter the public law number, using the two spaces provided in Legislative Histories by Number.

3.  Finding the congressional documents identified in a statute's history.

• In LexisNexis legislative histories, associated documents appear by type and in reverse chronological order.  Get more information on particular documents by clicking on the red accession codes.  If you already have the legislative history in hand, access the documents it identifies through the Publications Page.  Bills and committee reports can also be found in Thomas.
• Complete committee hearings, which have SuDocs numbers beginning with "Y4," are not always available via the LexisNexis Testimony page.  When they are available, they often lack the appendix, which for some purposes is the most important part. 
• Complete hearings can be found on the GPO Access Congressional Hearings page and on some House and Senate committee web sites.  These documents are often very long, and you may want to use the print versions found in the Main Library's Main Stacks (i.e., the Circulation Desk, 2nd floor).  If you see "SUDOC: Y4.SCI2:107-20" in LexisNexis, the call number of the Library's physical document will probably be "DOC.Y4.SCI2:107-20."

4.  Retrieving bill tracking reports for bills listed in legislative histories.

• Link to the full-text bills.  A link having the text, Retrieve Bill Tracking Report, will always appear near the top of each full-text bill in LexisNexis.

U.S. House of Representatives

• Committee Offices
• Office of the Speaker
• Office of the Majority Leader
• Minority Leader
• Majority Whip
• House Republican Conference
• Democratic Whip
• Democratic Caucus
• House Policy Committee

U.S. Senate
Includes links to the web sites of committees and individual senators.

POLICY ANALYSIS

Governmental Sources:

General Accounting/Government Accountability Office
Audits and evaluates government programs and activities.  Most GAO reviews are undertaken at the request of congressional committees.

• Subject search of CRS documents
• National Library for the Environment
  Contains 1,300 CRS reports on the environment and natural resources.
• Mirror Hole
  Includes about 300 reports deleted from congressional sites.
• ZFacts
  Facilitates searches for CRS reports using Google.
• Congressional Research Services Index on CD-ROM with the accompanying microfiche collection, Major Studies & Issue Briefs of the Congressional Research Service – GDL

Private Sources: 

CQ Electronic Library  FT    UIUC 
Includes the CQ Weekly, CQ Encyclopedia of American Government, and other public affairs sources.

CQ Weekly. Washington, D.C.: Congressional Quarterly, 1998-
328.7305 COQA1 – most recent vol. in GDL Reference, previous vols. – Main Stacks
Continues the Congressional Quarterly Weekly Report.

CQ Almanac Plus. Washington, D.C.: Congressional Quarterly, 2001-
328.7305 COQ1 –  GDL Reference
Continues the Congressional Quarterly Almanac.

Project Vote-Smart
Contains information on thousands of candidates' and officials' backgrounds, positions on issues, voting records, campaign funds, and performance evaluations.

Private Parties in the Policy Process

Politics1
Identifies and categorizes interest groups, and provides information on political issues (see Political Issues & Debates).

Congressional News

National Journal  FT  UIUC
Focuses on current public policy issues. You can also access the Almanac of American Politics through this site.
 

Statistics

Federal Elections Commission
The Disclosure Data Search identifies the source and amount of all contributions to the campaigns of members of Congress.  Click on "Candidate Search" and enter the candidates name.  Other useful information can be found via the Individual Search.

FedStats
Find statistics available on U.S. government web sites, either by topic or by agency.

LexisNexis Statistical   FT  UIUC
Limit your search by subject, title, geographic area, demographic characteristics, and economic characteristics.

Lobbyists Database
Provides data on funds devoted to lobbying by particular companies, lobbying firms, individual lobbyists, or industries.

Statistical Abstract of the U.S.: Washington, DC: Bureau of the Census, 1978-
DOC.C3.134: – GDL Reference
Use the index to find data on congressional elections and many aspects of the House and Senate, such as their racial composition.

Miscellaneous Sources

Almanac of American Politics. Washington, DC: National Journal, 1972-  FT  UIUC
328.73 Al62 – ESSL Reference
Excellent, concise coverage of current elected US officials. Covers the presidency, senators, representatives, and governors. Cites election results, individuals’ records, and committee memberships. Organized by state, indexed by topic and personal name.

America History and Life and Historical Abstracts
America: History and Life is a complete bibliographic reference to the history of the United States and Canada from prehistory to the present. Published since 1964, the database comprises almost 400,000 bibliographic entries.  Historical Abstracts is your complete reference guide to the history of the world from 1450 to the present, excluding the United States and Canada.

American Congressional Dictionary. Washington, DC: Congressional Quarterly, 2001.
328.73003 K869c 2001 – ESSL Reference
Source of definitions and brief explanations of many of the terms and expression in current use in the Congress. Focuses on the legislative process with many cross-references.

Congress A to Z: A Ready Reference Encyclopedia. Washington, D.C.: CQ Press, 2003 (4th ed).
328.73003 C76 2003 – ESSL Reference
Provides an overview of the history and operation of Congress by broad subject area, as well as non-technical explanations of congressional procedures.

Congress of the United States: Powers, Structure, and Procedures. Huntington, NY: Nova Science Publishers, 2001.
328.73 C765 – ESSL Reference
Essays on legislative powers, conference committee and related procedures, committees of the Senate and House, amending process of the Senate and House, filibusters and more, include documentary text and analysis with lots of references.

Congressional Districts in the 2000s: A Portrait of America, Washington, DC: CQ Press, 2003.
Q.328.7307345 C7621 – ESSL Reference
This provides a state-by-state, district-by-district listing of information on population, history, industry, and more, as well as appendices for census tables, measuring congressional districts, high and low Congressional District rankings, redistricting court cases, and the District of Columbia.

Congressional Procedures and the Policy Process
328.73 OL2c 1989 –  GDL Reference
Explains matters such as the congressional budget process, the scheduling of legislative activities, legislative oversight, House-Senate differences, and House and Senate floor procedures.

Congressional Quarterly's Guide to Congress. Washington, D.C.: CQ Press, 2000 (5th ed.).
Q.328.73 C7611g 2000 – GDL Reference; Undergrad Reference
This 2-volume set includes sections on the origins and development of Congress, congressional powers, congressional procedures, pressures on Congress, the housing and support of House and Senate members, pay and perquisites, Congress and the electorate, and qualifications and conduct.

Congressional Quarterly's Guide to U.S. Elections. , 2001.
329.023 C761 1994 – ESSL Reference
Contains election data for all major political offices since 1824. Data covers presidential, Senate, House, and gubernatorial elections. Includes a detailed table of contents, a candidate index, and a general index for easy access.

Congressional Quarterly's Politics in America 1996: The 104th Congress. Phillip D. Duncan and Christine C. Lawrence. 1995.
328.73 P759 1996 – ESSL Reference
A source for detailed biographical information about U.S. senators and representatives. Editorial biographies include photos, election data, campaign finance reports, and analyses of legislative influence and political alliances. Also includes special interest group ratings and synopses of key votes.

CQ Voting and Elections
CQ Voting and Elections Collection integrates a wealth of data, authoritative analyses, concise explanations, and historical material to provide a powerful research and reference tool on the American voter, major and minor political parties, etc.  An associated database on election results is also part of this resource.

Directory of Congressional Voting Scores and Interest Group Ratings. Washington, DC: Congressional Quarterly, 2000, (3rd ed), 2 volumes.
Q328.730775 Sh23d 2000 – ESSL Reference
Listing of voting scores and group ratings by individual for members from the 80th to the 105th Congress. Includes information on date of birth, religion, education, occupation, military service, political background and election record with voting scores on four aspects and ratings from ten organizations

Elections A to Z, Washington, D.C.: CQ Press, 2003 (2nd ed).
324.6097303 M784e – ESSL Reference
Basic information on the many aspects of U.S. elections in one volume. No bibliography, but a large amount of factual and statistical information. ESSL Reference – 324

Encyclopedia of the American Legislative System: Studies of the Principal Structures, Processes, and Policies of Congress and the State Legislatures Since the Colonial Era. Joel Silbey. 1994.
Q.328.73003 En19 – ESSL Reference
This 3-volume encyclopedia is divided into six topical areas: the historical context of the legislative system; recruitment and elections; structures and processes; behavior; legislatures and public policy; and legislatures within the political system. Each section is composed of essays written by noted authors.

Encyclopedia of the United States Congress, New York: Simon & Schuster, 1995
Q.328.73003 En192 – ESSL Reference
Medium to long essays concerning the work of the Congress with very rich bibliographies for further research.

Facts about the Congress. New York : Wilson, 1996 -
328.7309 C462f – ESSL Reference
Facts about the U.S. Congresses from the 1st to the 104th includes information about important legislation, committee members, and much more. Includes bibliographical references and an extensive index.

United States Government Manual. Washington, D.C.: Office of the Federal Register, 1974-
DOC.AE1.208/2: – GDL Reference  |  353 Un343u1 –  ESSL Reference
Provides complete information on agencies in all three branches of the U.S. government as well as semi-official agencies and international organizations in which the U.S. participates. The most recent volume is available in the Reference Library; the Education & Social Science Library holds the year prior to the current volume.

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