U.S. Legislative Branch & Legislative Processes

 

Legislative Process:

Capitol Hearings
C-SPAN. Distributes gavel-to-gavel audio coverage of U.S. Senate Committee hearings via the Internet.

Federal Legislative History Research
Law Librarians' Society of Washington, D.C., Inc. Extensive guidance on federal legislative histories, how they are used, sources for prepared histories, procedures for compiling a history from paper, electronic, and historic sources, and finding legislative intent in a legislative history. Document includes a detailed outline with links to written narrative, related legislative history web sites, and a bibliography of law journal articles.

How Our Laws are Made
Parliamentarian, U.S. House of Representatives. June 30, 2003. The Constitution allows each house of Congress to determine the rules of its proceedings. The 23rd edition of this brochure aids in understanding the exceedingly complex and evolving legislative process--much of it unique to each House of Congress.

Enactment of a Law
U.S. Senate.

Glossary of Congressional and Legislative Terms
The Capitol.Net. Glossary of common congressional and legislative process terms.

Guide to Senate Legislative Process

How Congress Works - Committee on Rules
Committee on Rules. U.S. House of Representatives. This web site provides publications, explanations, and facts sheets on various procedural issues and parliamentary questions, with the goal to make the legislative process understandable to the general public.

How a Senate Bill Becomes a Law - Flowchart
U.S. Senate. This flow chart provides a visualization of the legislative process within the United States Senate.

House and Senate Rules of Procedure: A Comparison
Congressional Research Service, April 19, 2001.

LLSDC's Legislative Sourcebook
Law Librarians' Society of Washington, D.C., Inc.

Legislative History Process
University of Michigan Documents Center. A unique, annotated flow-chart approach to finding information sources on each step of the legislative process, for current or historical bills. It also provides links to the sources on the varied influences on the members of Congress -- campaign funders, constituents, lobby groups, political parties, and the President.

The Legislative Process
U.S. House of Representatives. Access to documentation on all aspects of the current and historic legislative process in the House, including a summary of current proceedings on the floor of the House when in session; roll call votes beginning with 101st Congress; and bill texts, bill status, amendment status, committee reports, and floor proceedings beginning with the 104th Congress.

The Legislative Process - Tying it All Together
U.S. House of Representatives. A brief overview of the legislative process.

The Legislative Process on the House Floor: An Introduction
CRS Report. Updated July 30, 1996

Legislative Procedure in Congress: Basic Sources for Congressional Staff
Congressional Research Service, updated August 28, 2003.

Selected CRS Reports on Congress and Its Procedures
Law Librarians’ Society of Washington, D.C., Inc. Provides text of large number of reports from the Congressional Research Service (CRS), Library of Congress, on Congress and its legislative procedures. Also includes links to other web-based collections of nonpartisan CRS reports and issue briefs providing research and analysis on a wide breadth of topics.

Issues and News:

Congress.org: Issues & Action: Action Alert Search
Capitol Advantage. Posts and links to action alerts, browsable by issue area, from over 800 advocacy groups, corporations, associations, unions, state organizations and media.

The Hill
 

Overviews:

About the U.S. Congress
From the U.S. Government Manual

Center on Congress, Indiana University
Extensive information on the institution of Congress, its role in American life, the legislative process, and the various aspects of being a Member of Congress.

The Committee System in the U.S. Congress
Congressional Research Service, Updated May 2, 2003.

Congress of the United States
From Grolier Online. A brief encyclopedia article with links to other articles.

Congress Link
The Dirksen Congressional Center. Designed by this nonpartisan research and educational organization as a resource on the U.S. Congress for teachers of American government, history, and civics. Special features include lesson plans and reference and historical materials related to congressional topics.

Congressional Apportionment
U.S. Census Bureau. This Census 2000 Brief provides a general overview of Congressional apportionment for Census 2000. It explains the differences between apportionment and redistricting and provides historical information for changes by state and region from 1900 to 2000.

Congressional Committees and Subcommittees
Directory of Congressional committees and subcommittees, with contact information and member assignments.

Congressional Profile
Office of the Clerk. U.S. House of Representatives. Numerical profile of the current membership and partisan affiliations of the House and Senate. Also includes links to frequently asked questions, including the historical party divisions in the Congress, the number of representatives from each state, and the number of women in Congress.

The House of Representatives Apportionment Formula: An Analysis of Proposals for Change and Their Impact on States
Congressional Research Service, Augsut 10, 2001.

The Legislative Branch
Committee on House Administration, 2000. From "Our American Government". An introductory guide to the legislative branch, providing basic facts about the makeup and powers of congress.

The Legislative Branch: The Reach of Congress
(Outline of U.S. Government, Chapter 4)

Legislative Branch Resources on GPO Access
Government Printing Office. Access to full text official legislative publications, documents, and web resources.

Legislative Branch Internet Resources
Thomas, Legislative Information on the Internet, a service of the Library of Congress

Speaker of the House
Discussion of the role of the Speaker of the House of Representative as a House Officer, Party Leader, and Representative

Thomas: Legislative Information on the Internet
Library of Congress. Portal to a wide range of legislative links, including all points within the legislative process, bills, the Congressional Record, committee information, general information about legislative branch agencies, and historical documents.

U.S. Congress
Official, searchable publication databases authorized for dissemination to the public via GPO Access.

U.S. House of Representatives
Portal to a wealth of websites on the House, including those of individual Representatives and Committees, as well as links on scheduling, finding legislation, and understanding the legislative process.

U.S. Senate
Portal to a wealth of websites on the Senate, including those of individual Senators and Committees, as well as links on floor and committee scheduling, finding legislation and records, and reference resources.

U.S. Legal System
Outline of the U.S. Legal System

Other Roles of the Congress:

Congressional Budget Process: A Brief Overview
Congressional Research Service, Updated January 28, 2004.

Congressional Oversight
Congressional Research Service, updated January 3, 2006. This report describes congressional oversight of policy implementation and administration.

Elections: The Scope of Congressional Authority in Election Administration
General Accounting Office. March 2001. In wake of 2000 presidential election, this report reviews the federal role, and limitations thereof, in the administration of elections.

Foreign Policy Roles of the President and Congress
Congressional Research Service, June 1 , 1999.

Overview of the Authorization-Appropriations Process
Congressional Research Service, updated July 23, 2003.

Highlights of House Ethics Rules
Committee on Standards of Official Conduct, U.S. House of Representatives. Brief guidance on the laws and rules regulating the conduct of House members and staff.

Senate Ethics Manual
Select Committee on Ethics, U.S. Senate. Compilation of texts and explanations of laws, rules, advisory opinions, and decisions regulating the conduct of Senate members and staff.

Research and Tracking:

Federal Statutes: What They Are and How to Find Them
Congressional Research Service, January 2001

Tracking Current Federal Legislation and Regulations: A Guide to Basic Sources
Congressional Research Service, updated February 15, 2000.

GovTrack
Tracking the 110th United States Congress

Questions and Answers in Legislative and Regulatory Research
Law Librarian's Society of Washington, DC, December 1999

Links to U.S. Law Resources:

Code of Federal Regulations
The Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) is the codification of the general and permanent rules published in the Federal Register by the executive departments and agencies of the Federal Government. It is divided into 50 titles that represent broad areas subject to Federal regulation. Each volume of the CFR is updated once each calendar year and is issued on a quarterly basis.

GPOAccess
The U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO) disseminates official information from all three branches of the Federal Government.

Federal Register
The Federal Register is a legal newspaper published every business day by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). It contains Federal agency regulations; proposed rules and notices; and Executive orders, proclamations and other Presidential documents. The Federal Register informs citizens of their rights and obligations and provides access to a wide range of Federal benefits and opportunities for funding. NARA's Office of the Federal Register prepares the Federal Register for publication in partnership with the Government Printing Office (GPO), which distributes it in paper, on microfiche and on the World Wide Web.

Thomas - Legislation on the Internet
THOMAS has the Congressional Record and full text of legislation available from 1989 (101st Congress) to the present. In addition, THOMAS has summaries (not full text) of legislation back to 1973 (93rd Congress).

U.S. Code
The U.S. Code is a consolidation and codification by subject matter of the general and permanent laws of the United States. The Code does not include regulations issued by executive branch agencies, decisions of the Federal courts, treaties, or laws enacted by State or local governments. Regulations issued by executive branch agencies are available in the Code of Federal Regulations. Proposed and recently adopted regulations may be found in the Federal Register.

FindLaw: LawCrawler

FirstGov Reference Center: Laws and Regulations
Extensive links to both federal and state sources of legal information.

Legal Information Institute

Legal Information Institute: State Statutes by Topic

Meta-Index for U.S. Legal Research

U. S. Courts
Links to the U. S. Supreme Court, the U. S. Courts of Appeals, the U. S. District Courts, and U. S. Bankruptcy Courts.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

U.S. Government Documents Ready Reference Collection

NEPANet

Researching U.S. Treaties and Agreements
A good, brief overview of how treaties and agreements are developed and how to find them.

Legislative Contacts:

Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress

Congressional E-Mail Addresses 110th Congress 2007-2008

United States Congress Senators Phone List 110th Congress 2007-2008

United States House of Representatives Phone List 110th Congress 2007-2008
Updated March 13, 2008

Congressional Committees and Subcommittees
Assignments for all congressional committees by Juan Cabanela.

Offices and Agencies that Support Congress:

Office of the Clerk. U.S. House of Representatives

Architect of the Capitol

Congressional Budget Office (CBO)

General Accounting Office (GAO)

Government Printing Office (GPO)

Library of Congress

Stennis Center for Public Service

U.S. Botanic Garden

Links to State Government and Law Resources:

Links to State and Local Governments:

State and Local Governments
Library of Congress Internet resource page.

State and Local Government on the Net
Piper Resources. Directory with geographic and functional access to websites of state agencies and city and county governments. Also includes links to large number of related national and regional associations.

State and Territorial Governments
Firstgov.com. Links to websites of state and territorial governments, and related resources.

State Legislatures Internet Links
Searchable Database provides links to web sites of state legislatures, legislators and other select content areas including bills, constitution, issue reports, program evaluations and statutes.

Stateline
includes the latest state news, search tools, important events, links to key players, and more.

U.S. States - YAHOO's Catalog of State Government Sites

Links to State Law Resources:

Full-text State Statutes and Legislation on the Internet
Geographically organized links to state and private sites containing full-text state constitutions, statutes, legislation, and administrative rules.

State Statutes on the Internet
Legal Information Institute, Cornell University

StateLaw - State Government and Legislative Information
Washburn University School of Law

Stateline.org
Pew Center on the States. Offers recent news items on State legislative issues and issue summaries by subject.

Links to State and Local Government Resources:

Council of State Governments
National organization for all branches of state governments, focusing on policy development, innovative programming, and suggested state legislation.

National Association of Counties
Only organization representing county governments - serves as liaison with other levels of government, assists with research, and promotes public-private innovations.

The National Center for State Courts
NCSC, an independent, nonprofit organization, seeks to improve justice by providing leadership and service to the state courts. Includes best practices in a wide range of areas, and a database of extensive court-related information in 18 major subject areas and over 100 indexed topics.

National City Government Resource Link
A collection of city-related links from throughout the United States to associations and research organizations.

National Conference of State Legislatures
Research and support organization for state legislators with rich issue-related databases, news, reports, and resources.

National Governors Association
Develops policy reports on innovative state programs and promotes best practices on a broad array of issues. Also provides management and technical assistance to both new and incumbent governors.

U.S. Conference of Mayors
Nonpartisan organization of over 1,000 cities with populations of 30,000 or more. Provides links to mayors, cities, best practices, issue discussion forum, and news.

This site is produced and maintained by the American Information Resource Center in Ankara. Links to other Internet sites should not be construed as an endorsement of the views  contained therein.

Last updated March 24, 2008.