Up Front -- Background
CQ Researcher:
Start at Library web page, then click DATABASES tab. Reports on topics of current interest give background, define issues. Reports include chronologies, statistical information and bibliographies. Many reports feature discussions of both sides of a topic.
CQ Weekly: Start at Library web page, then click DATABASES tab. In-depth reports on legislative issues, including those looming on the congressional horizon, a complete wrap up the previous week's news, reports on the status of bills in play, committee and floor activity, debates and all roll-call votes.
Columbia International Affairs Online: This database provides theory, research, and teaching materials for international affairs. CIAO contains a wide range of scholarship from 1991 onward that includes working papers from university research institutes, occasional papers series from NGOs, foundation-funded research projects, proceedings from conferences, books, journals and policy briefs.
PAIS International Index and Archive: journal articles, books, government documents, statistical directories, grey literature, research reports, conference reports, publications of international agencies. Newspapers and newsletters are not indexed. Publications from more than 120 countries and in a variety of languages are included. 1972 -- current
Legislation/Legislative Histories
Thomas
Provides full text legislative information on the web beginning with the 104th Congress (1995/96). It includes congressional bills, public laws, roll call votes, the Congressional Record, committee reports and information on the legislative process. Searching is by word or phrase, bill number, stage of legislative process, or public law number.
LexisNexis Congressional: Library’s home page to DATABASES tab, then navigate alphabetically to Lexis-Nexis Congressional.
It includes the full text of congressional bills, testimony, reports, documents, selected prints, and the Congressional Record, the U.S. Code, the Federal Register, and the Code of Federal Regulations. Biographies, committee assignments, voting records and financial data are provided for current members of Congress.
Lexis-Nexis Legislative Histories: Library’s home page to DATABASES tab, then navigate alphabetically to Lexis-Nexis Congressional. See “Legislative Histories” on left sidebar.
Guides:
Popular Names of Acts
http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/topn/ also:
http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/casecode/uscodes/popularnames/
LLSDC Legislative Source Book: Federal Legislative History Research: (choose the PDF version)
This guide to doing research is produced by the Law Librarians’ Society of Washington, DC, Inc. In-depth and step-by-step.
University of Michigan Documents Center: Legislative Histories: United States Congress:
Subtitled “A Guide for Class Assignments Beginning 1993,” this website leads users through the process of conducting legislative history research, and links out to a variety of resources.
University of Miami School of Law: Federal Legislative History Research Guide:
This research guide details practical aspects of conducting research, from a clearly written overview to paths for obtaining legislative histories already compiled or finding key documents to compile a new one.
In Depth:
Congressional Record:
Official record of the proceedings and debates of the United States Congress.Published daily when Congress is in session. Website coverage begins in 1995; we have microfilm and print (J11 .R5) coverage prior to 1995.
GPO Access’s Legislative Branch Resources:
Particularly helpful are these sections: History of Bills, Congressional Record Index, US Code, and the US Congressional Serial Set.
OpenCRS:
A project of the Center for Democracy & Technology, Open CRS provides citizens access to CRS Reports that are already in the public domain, that is, once they have been released by a member of Congress. These PDF files are arranged in collections and by topic.
Helpful Hints:
Rev. January 2007 b. coonin Joyner Reference
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