U.S. Congress

Pardon Our Noise

We wish to apologize for construction noise on the north side of the building. Our Large Group Study Rooms and study tables near the first floor Loan collection may be affected. This construction will start Monday, 10/14/24, and be ongoing through November. Please see our staff at the Access Desk for assistance reserving an appropriate study room.

Biographical Information

Directory of Representatives U.S. House of Representatives: Directory with links to Representatives' official websites. Also includes committee assignments.
Senators: Click on link to Contact for directory information. Or scroll down for alphabetical list of senators with links to official websites.
Congressional Directory (1997-1998 to present): PDF edition of 104th Congress (1995-1996) is also available online from govinfo.gov.; Y 4.P 93/1:1/CONG. (Print editions shelved in Government Documents; latest edition is in Documents/Reference; historic editions in print back to 1906); Short biographical entries with office addresses and a list of counties and zip codes included in each district. Includes a great deal of other directory information -- Congressional staff, Executive offices, international organizations, members of the press galleries, etc.

Congressional Districts

Almanac of American Politics: JK8.A4 (Reference); Organized by state, each section provides an overview of the state, and then details on the governor, senators, and representatives and their districts. Entries include demographics, ratings, key votes, election results, and campaign finance information. Published every two years.
Reference Maps: Congressional Districts: Scroll the list of Geography Reference Maps for the various "Congressional District Wall Map." Each link goes to user-friendly national, state-based, and individual district maps depicting U.S. congressional district boundaries for the 108th to current Congresses. Results of the Decennial Census determine the apportionment of the members of the House of Representatives among the 50 states. Includes maps such as the Congressional Districts of the 116th Congress of the U.S. Wall Map PDF document, the 116th Congress of the U.S.: Texas PDF document, and the 116th Congress of the U.S.: Texas - Congressional District 13 PDF document.
Congressional District Atlas: C 3.62/5: (US Docs); Historical maps showing the boundaries for all Congressional districts, from 1964-1985 (with gaps). Tables at the end of each state section give the district for all places, counties, and American Indian reservations.
Census Redistricting Data Program: Public Law 94-171, enacted by Congress in December 1975, requires the Census Bureau to provide state legislatures with the small area census population tabulations necessary for legislative redistricting. Has link to Redistricting Data Datasets.

Congressional/Campaign News

Campaign Filings and Reports (Federal Election Commission): View disclosure reports or search the database by individual contributor's names, party or political action committee names, or candidates. More information about campaign finance in general can be found at the main website of the FEC.
Roll Call: The newspaper of Capitol Hill, Roll Call Online delivers much of the same Capitol Hill news as the print version and more. CQ Roll Call "delivers breaking congressional news and behind-the-scenes intelligence on the people, politics and personalities of Capitol Hill. To browse the entire newspaper, click on More > Roll Call e-Edition. Can then click menu to access archived issues.
The Hill -- The Capitol Newspaper ®: "Focusing on politics, policy, business and international relations, The Hill coverage includes Congress, the White House and federal campaigns."

Congressional Publications

Congress.gov: Official website for U.S. federal legislative information. Includes bills (from 1973), roll call votes (from 1989), public laws (from 1973), the Congressional Record (from 1995), Resume of Congressional Activity (in the Congressional Record, from 1995), and committee reports (from 1995). Searchable by subject and bill number. Individual databases searchable by other categories.
govinfo.gov: Access to official federal publications via the GPO (Government Publishing Office). Includes Bills (from 1993), Documents (from 1995), a select number of Hearings (from 1995), the Congressional Record (Bound from 1873; Daily from 1994), Public Laws (from 1995), the United States Code (1994 to present), and the Constitution of the USA: Analysis and Interpretation (1992 Edition to present).
Congressional Record: X 1.1:vol/no (Documents - historical editions available in print or microfilm beginning with 1873); The official transcript of the public proceedings (e.g., floor debates) of the houses of Congress. Issued daily when Congress is in session. Includes a section of "Extensions of Remarks" for additional comments by members, whether read on the floor or not. The "Daily Digest" at the end each issue summarizes the actions that day. The Congressional Record (Daily) is available online from 1994 to the present. The Congressional Record (Bound) is available online from 1873. Digital versions of the predecessors of the Congressional Record at LOC are available from the Library of Congress: Annals of Congress (1789-1824); Register of Debates (1824-1837); and the Congressional Globe (1833-1873). The Congressional Globe is also available in microfilm in the Government Documents Unit. See Cornette Library's Congressional Record guide for more information.
Cornette Library: Federal Bills: A guide to finding federal bills with either Congress.gov or govinfo.gov. Also includes information on finding older bills using the print resources in the Cornette Library.

Other General Guides

The Legislative Process (Congress.gov): Short videos with transcripts created by the Library of Congress for Congress.gov, the official website for U.S. federal legislative information. Cover the U.S. Congress and the federal legislative process.
United States House of Representatives: Links to member offices, recent votes, committee information, schedules, and information on the legislative process.
United States Senate: Links to member offices, legislative activities, committee resources, and Senate history. Searchable.
Congressional Chronicle (C-SPAN): C-SPAN's guide to Congress. Has House and Senate floor proceedings, legislative schedule, a directory of committees and members, bills, votes and statistics about each session of Congress. Also C-SPAN's schedule.
Branches of the U.S. Government: Legislative Branch (USA.gov): Links to Senate and House web sites and agencies that support Congress, including the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center. Its link to "drafts proposed laws" goes to page with "How Federal Laws are Made."
Zimmerman's Research Guide: Congress: Part of an online encyclopedia for legal researchers by law librarian Andrew Zimmerman.