Tips for Using Congressional Universe

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Document	Description	Location
CRS Report	Reports written by Congressional staff providing nonpartisan and objective research and analysis on all public policy issues.	Congressional Universe : 1916- present Microfilm 2757/Cabinet 28: 1975-2006
Congressional Record	This is the official transcript of debates of the House and the Senate. From 1789 until 1827 it was called the Annals of Congress. From 1824 until 1837 the Register of Debates in Congress was published. In 1833 the Congressional Globe began. It lasted until 1873 when the Congressional Record began.	Congressional Universe: 1985- Present Microfilm 2781a : 1789-1827 Microfilm 2781b : 1824-1837 Microfilm 2781c : 1833- 1872 Microfilm 2781d : 1873- Each reel has indexes within the reel. When the Record begins in 1873, the indexes are placed after each Congress. The Library has marked all the of reels containing the Indexes with BLUE tape
Congressional Record	The Congressional Record is divided into four parts: 1. House debates and other floor action page numbers beginning "H" (as in H8793) 2. Senate debates and other floor action page numbers beginning "S" (as in S3987) 3. “Extension of Remarks” Includes material not spoken on the floor. This section appears in the Record after the Senate and House floor debate sections paged as E2347 4. “Daily Digest” contains a brief synopsis of floor action in both the House and Senate and in all the committees that met on that day. Especially useful for identifying each day's floor amendments and their disposition. paged as D739
Document or Report	Congressional Committees report and make recommendations to the House or Senate as a whole. These reports concern the findings of committee hearings or the outcome of committee deliberations. Earlier years are part of the Serial Set (full-text)	Congressional Universe: 1819-1969, Index and PDFs 1970-present, index 1990-present, selected full text GPO Access : 1997 - Present/full-text If no full-text is found, search in Serial Set. Need Congress and Doc# Special Collections : Paper copies of the Serial Set Y1.1 – need Congress & Doc#
Hearings	Hearings are the official record of committee hearings proceedings. HINT: When the Congressional Universe number has a hyphen and extension number at the end of the number ( e.g. Congressional Universe-NO 81 H1227-4), it means a number that will appear in the body of the fiche, not the 4th fiche. Hold the fiche up to the light and you will see the “4” on the fiche.	Congressional Universe: 1824-present Microfiche (use Congressional Universe #) Cabinet 58: 41st-73rd Congress (1869-1935) Cabinet 59-60: 74th-90th Congress (1935-1969) Cabinet 62-66: 91st- Congress (1970- Present) GPO Access 1997-2005 selective hearings/ full-text 2006-present/ full-text
Legislative History	Legislative histories trace the development of a public law from its early consideration to its enactment. Includes: 1. Enacted Bill 2. Related Bills 3. Debates from the Congressional Record 4. Committee Reports 5. Hearings 6. Prints 7. Documents and more	Congressional Universe: 1969-present Microfiche Cabinet 48-50: Bills– 48th Congress (1883-present) GPO Access: 1994-present full-text CongressionalRecord/Globe: Microfilm 2781a: 1789-1824 Microfilm 2781b: 1824-1837 Microfilm 2781c: 1833-1873 Microfilm 2781d: 1873-1973 Microfiche 1904: 1977-2003 In Print: X.92.1. Gov. Doc.
Print	Committee prints include a wide variety of publications approved and issued by committees or portions of committees.	Congressional Universe: 1830-present If full-text is not available online, see Micrfiche, Cabinet 61 (use Congressional Universe #)
Published Hearings	Same as Hearings (above) usually are prior to 1940s
Unpublished Hearings	A committee may decide not to publish a hearing because it contains classified or sensitive information. Senate hearings remain closed for 20 years, and House hearings for 30 years or even longer. Once they are published they are kept separately from hearings that were published at the time of the hearing.	Congressional Universe: 1824-present Microfiche (use Congressional Universe #) Cabinet 57 (House & Senate) Full-text for complete set to be finished by end of 2008.
Serial Set See also: Reports & Documents	Contains comprehensive and often detailed information on an extremely wide range of subjects. Its earliest documents date from 1789 and additions are made continually. Currently, the Serial Set includes House and Senate documents and reports, Senate executive reports, and Senate treaty documents.	Congressional Universe : 1789-1969 After 1969: search in Reports & Documents Microfiche (use Cong.Session & Doc#) Cabinet 56: 1789-1879 (not complete) Special Collections Y1.1 (not complete) (use Cong. Session & Doc#) 1789–1996

This document was created by Ruth Dickstein

Updated: 10/2007