U.S. Congress: Information Sources

INFORMATION ON MEMBERS

1. Almanac of American Politics (DOCS REF. JK 1012 .A44) and Politics in America ( DOCS REF. JK 1010 .P64). Similar in approach, each work provides a short biography, constituency profile, ratings by major groups, and representative voting records for each Member.

2. Congressional Directory (DOCS REF. JK 1011 .A31) The official biennial directory containing a great deal of information, including brief biographical sketches of Members.

3. Congressional Districts in the 1990s (DOCS REF. JK1341 .C64 1993) Demographic, social, and economic descriptions of each Congressional district. The U.S. Census Bureau has also issued a CD-ROM disk with 1990 census data for Congressional districts. Ask staff.

4. Financial Disclosure Reports of Members of the U.S. House of Representatives. Annual volumes reproduce Representatives' personal financial disclosure forms, which list sources of income including honoraria, securities held, income properties owned, etc. The report is always issued as a multi-volume House Document. Recent editions can be found at DOC-US Y 1.1/7:[Huse Doc #]. Older editions are in the Congressional Serial Set (DOCS UNCAT SERIAL SET).

[To obtain copies of Senators' financial disclosure forms, call the Senate Office of Public Records--(202) 224-0762--and ask how many pages your Senator's report runs. Then send a written request for the report, along with a check for 10c per page, made out to the Senate Office of Public Records. Some Senators voluntarily publish their reports each year in the Congressional Record.]

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MEMBERS' STAFFS AND COMMITTEES

5.Congressional Staff Directory (DOCS REF. JK 1012 .C65) Source for information about key office staff of Members and Committees, giving. names and phone numbers.

6. Statement of Disbursements of the House and Report of the Secretary of the Senate. Issued quarterly and semi-annually, respectively, these report in detail salary payments to staff and reimbursements to Members' and Committee offices for such expenses as travel, clipping services, magazine subscriptions and incidentals. Recent editions can be found at DOC-US Y 1.1/7 (House) and DOC-US Y 1.1/3 (Senate). Older editions are in the Congressional Serial Set(DOCS UNCAT SERIAL SET).

7. Standing Rules of the Senate and Constitution, Jefferson's Manual and Rules of the House of Representatives. Recent editions can be found at DOC-US Y 1.1/7 (House) and DOC-US Y 1.1/3 (Senate). Older editions are in the Congressional Serial Set(DOCS UNCAT SERIAL SET). See especially the descriptions of committee jurisdictions. (Senate Rules are also in Senate Manual.)

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MEMBERS' POLITICAL POSITIONS

In addition to the Almanac of American Politics and Politics in America, consult the following sources:

8. Congressional Quarterly Weekly Report. (DOCS REF. JK 1 .C15) This weekly journal reports the activities of Congress, and includes reports of action on significant bills, background articles, and special features such as voting records of Members. Includes a cumulative index for the year to date (yellow pages) with entries by subject and Members' names. The information is cumulated each year in the Congressional Quarterly Almanac, (DOCS REF. JK 1 .C68).

9. Congressional Record. DOCS REF Range 7a. Published daily while Congress is in session, the Record compiles the debates and actions of Congress while in plenary session (thus, committee meetings are not included). Members also use the Record to publish statements, articles and other material not actually spoken on the floor of their chamber. An index is published approximately weekly, containing entries by subject and Members' names.

10. Committee hearings and reports. Hearings volumes contain the transcripts of testimony given to Congressional committees by members of the public or the Administration. Occasionally Members of Congress will testify. Reports contain the committees' findings and recommendations after having considered particular bills. Occasionally individual Members will append their personal views to such a report. Hearings are found at DOC-US Y4, and Reports are at DOC-US Y 1.1/5 and DOC-US Y 1.1/8. (See next item.)

11. Lexis-Nexis Congressional from the Congressional Information Service (CIS). This is the most effective index to Committee hearings and reports. Contains abstracts which describe individual hearings or reports, subject terms to facilitate searching by topic and legislative histories, which lists all the pertinent hearings, reports and Congressional Record debates. Each citation gives the "Sudocs" number (e.g., Y4.F76/2:C71), which is the call number used for shelving.

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MEMBERS' BILLS

12. Congressional Index. DOC INDEX TABLES. A comprehensive index to bills for a given Congress (2-year period). Contains 1) listings by bill number, 2) indexes by sponsor and subject, and 3) record of each bill's history as of approximately two weeks ago.

13. Lexis-Nexis Congressional from the Congressional Information Service (CIS). Described above (#11), this contains an index by bill number, which identifies all the hearings and reports associated with the consideration of any particular bill, whether or not it was adopted. If the bill was passed into law between 1984 and 1996, the legislative history gives a full account of the bill and associated documents.

14. Congressional Quarterly Weekly Report and CQ Almanac. Described above (#8), these sources will often summarize the journey of a particular bill through Congress, show its relationship to other similar bills, and provide "inside" information not contained in the official sources. There is no index by bill number, so you must use the subject index or your own knowledge of the dates the bill was considered.

15. Texts of bills. All bills are available in microfiche at DOC-US/MF Y 1.4. You must use the finding list kept on the top of a nearby filing cabinet, to locate the right piece of fiche. Often sponsors publish the text of their bills in the Congressional Record, on the date of introduction; or they may be published in relevant hearings or committee reports (use Lexis-Nexis Congressional to identify these).

16. Internet sites. There are several Internet sites which can be used to find the texts of bills and related legislative documents. GPO Access is an official site for access to the full text of Congressional bills and resolutions from the 103rd -current Congresses; the Congressional Record, Congressional reports, and History of Bills from those Congresses; the Federal Register for 1994 - present, the United States Code, and Government Accountability Office reports, along with other documents. Thomas is a server for legislative information from the Library of Congress. LOCIS is the Library of Congress Informations System. Select the "Federal Legislation" database for the legislative history of bills for any Congress from the 93rd through the current one (1973 - present).

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CAMPAIGN EXPENDITURES

17. Open Secrets: the Encyclopedia of Congressional Money and Politics. 4th ed. DOCS REF. JK1991 .M26 1996. This volume summarizes campaign contributions for each Member of Congress for the 1993/94 campaign cycle. For later or more detailed figures, contact the FEC through one of the methods described below.

18. U.S. Federal Election Commission. DOC-US Y 3.El2/3. The FEC publishes various reports detailing contributions to Congressional campaigns, beginning with 1983-84. Reports for some years are in microfiche.

19. FEC toll-free number (1-800-424-9530): You can use this number to request free printouts detailing campaign contributions for any Congressional candidate in recent elections. The FEC needs 5 working days to process a request, so call early if you plan to use this service. Be prepared to tell them which Member you want, for which campaign period, and whether you want contributions by individuals, PAC's or both. To save time, specify these indexes: "E-Long" (PACS), "G-1" (individuals) and "L" (bank statement).

20. Electronic sources of campaign expenditures:
The FEC web site gives summary information on the amount of money raised and spent by candidates. It also has a series of databases on candidates, PACS, individual contributors and contributions that can be downloaded and used to determine who gave how much to whom. This approach requires considerable knowledge of computer databases and is advisable only for those needing data for large numbers of candidates or contributors.
The Center for Responsive Politics is a non-partisan, non-profit organization which seeks to provide information on the role of money in politics. Their Web site has a wealth of information on the topic, including detailed data on contributions to the campaigns of Members of Congress.

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FOR FURTHER READING

For a useful and knowledgeable discussion of Congressional publications and their relationship to the legislative process, see Jerrold Zwirn's Congressional Publications: a Research Guide to Legislation, Budgets and Treaties DOC-LC JK1067.Z85 1983. A valuable reference for unraveling questions about Congressional procedures and organization is Congressional Quarterly's Guide to Congress (DOCS REF. JK1021 .C565 2000 [2 vols]).