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U.S. Congress: Subject Guide: Intro - Membership, Structure, & Legislation

This research guide will help you find information and resources on the U.S. Congress. Click on the various links to access library resources plus reliable, relevant websites.

Research Help

Roll Call

Online newspaper covering Congress, "inside and out."

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CQ Almanac

    

CQ Press publishes products that focus on American Government and politics. CQ Almanac is an important annual reference for studying the U.S. Congress.  Articles are written, primarily, by journalists. The articles are not scholarly research but rather excellent reporting.

Additional Websites

Introduction

Welcome to the U.S. Congress Research Guide. Additional resources are available by clicking on the tabs above.

If you continue to have questions please don't hesitate to contact me. I am very happy to meet with you to discuss resources for your projects or using the Library.

You may also want to consult the following related Research Guides:

Constitutional Authority

                                                                              Painting by Howard Chandler Christy

The powers of the U.S. Congress are granted through the U.S. Constitution. Congress is mentioned in several sections of the Consitution however much is in Article I, Section 8.

See also:

Congress, Membership & Structure

Online Sources:

Books:

Legislative Histories

A legislative history is a compilation of the materials generated during the course of creating legislation. Legislative history is used for discovering the legislative intent. Use the information in the attached documents for locating resouces used in compiling Federal or state of Georgia legislative histories.

Statutes-At-Large

The acts and resolutions of each session of Congress are collected in the series Statutes At Large.

Remember, each Congress has 2 sessions, each session is (very roughly) one calendar year.

For example: 111th Congress:

  • Session 1:  January 6, 2009 - December 24, 2009
  • Session 2:  January 5, 2010 - December 29, 2010

Complete collection of the United States Statutes At Large (through 2010)