Congress in Recess

Congress is in recess until next year, but rather then give up our weekly reports on Congress I thought I would highlight a variety of online resources.

This week I want to look at Thomas. Thomas is a database from the Library of Congress that gathers resources on legislation in Congress. This web site is a good free resource for searching for information on what Congress is doing. They actually have good coverage of going back as well. For a complete list, check out the About Thomas page, but here are a few of the resources you can find there:

• Bill Summary and Status (1973 to present): The summary and status information includes: sponsor(s); cosponsor(s); official, short and popular titles; floor/executive actions; detailed legislative history; Congressional Record page references; bill summary; committees of referral; reporting and origin; subcommittees of referral; links to other committee information provided by the House of Representatives; amendment descriptions; subjects; a link to the full text versions and if the bill has been enacted into law, and a link to the full text of the law on the Government Printing Office Web site.
• House Roll Call Votes (1990 to present) and Senate Roll Call Votes (1989 to present): These are the recorded votes of members of Congress.
• Congressional Record (1989 to present): This is a record of what happens on the floor of both the House and Senate.
• and much more....

If you are interested in additional legislative resources, check out the library's subject guide.