Government Information

Debates

The Congressional Record and its predecessors contain a record of the proceedings of Congress. These are not verbatim transcripts, as members are allowed to edit their remarks and insert remarks not actually spoken.

Current issues of the Congressional Record are available online:

• LexisNexis Congressional (OSU access only; choose Congressional Record & Rules from menu) 1985 - present
• Thomas 1989 - present
• GPO-Access 1994 - present

Older volumes available in the Valley Library:

• Congressional Record, 1873 - 1985 -- J11 .R5
• The Congressional Globe, 1834 - 1873 -- J11 .G5
• Register of Debates, 1824 - 1838 -- Microfilm J11 .D5
• Annals of Congress, 1789 - 1824 -- J11 .A5

The Serial Set = Documents and Reports

The United States Congressional Serial Set (aka the Serial Set) is a compilation of Congressional Reports and Documents. It does not include hearings, debates and committee prints. OSU has Serial Set volumes through the 96th Congress (1979). Congressional Reports and Documents published after 1979 are available in microfiche (3rd floor of the Valley Library).

Reports - House and Senate Reports are committee reports on proposed legislation. Once a bill is "reported" it can be sent to the floor of the House or Senate for debate or voting.

Documents - House and Senate Documents are publications printed by order of Congress. They include reports of executive branch agencies, special studies done for Congress, and reports of some non-governmental groups.

Call numbers for Congressional Reports and Documents (1980 - present) (pre-1980 are in the Serial Set):

• Senate Reports - Docs Fiche Y 1.1/5:(rept. no.)
• House Reports - Docs Fiche Y 1.1/8:(rept. no.)
• Senate Documents - Docs Fiche Y 1.1/3:(doc. no.)
• House Documents - Docs Fiche Y 1.1/7:(doc. no.)

Full text of congressional reports and documents available on the Internet:

• LexisNexis Congressional: (OSU access only)
  • House & Senate Reports: 1970 - present
  • House & Senate Documents: 1970 - present
• GPO Access (under Legislative Resources) and Thomas:
  • Reports and Documents: 1995 - present

Finding Aids:

• LexisNexis Congressional indexes the Serial Set, Congressional Reports and Documents from 1879 - present.
• The CIS U.S. Serial Set Index covers 1789 - 1969 - KF49 .C61 1975
• Numerical Lists and Schedule of Volumes of the Documents and Reports of Congress  Z1223 .A15 --This source cross references Document and Report numbers with Serial Set numbers.

The pre-1980 Serial Set is located on the 3rd floor of the Valley Library, in locked shelves. Access is provided through the OSU Archives desk located on the 3rd floor during their regular operating hours. Researchers are invited to make an appointment. http://osulibrary.oregonstate.edu/archives/misc/hours.html

Hearings

Published committee hearings include transcripts of testimony, question and answer sessions, and any supplementary material inserted into the record. Not all hearings are published.

OSU has hearings from about 1980 - 1999 on microfiche. Hearings from 1999 - present are collected in paper. Check OASIS for availability and format.

Pre-1980 hearings: We also have a collection of selected pre-1980 hearings. Most are not cataloged, but are kept in the Documents stacks arranged by committee name and title.

Finding Aids:

• LexisNexis Congressional abstracts and indexes hearings from 1970 - present.
• LexisNexis Congressional also has the full text of the testimony portion of hearings from 1988 - present.
• CIS US Congressional Committee Hearings Index covers 1953-1969. KF40 .C56 1981
• Hearings card file (in the Docs shelf list) indexes pre 1953- hearings (requires staff assistance).

Other Internet sources for hearings:

• GPO Access has hearings from 1995-96 (104th congress) - present.
• The Legislative Source Book from the Law Librarians Society of Washington DC provides links to committee web pages and any testimony they have put on the web.

Committee Prints

Committee Prints can be anything the committee wants to issue in support of its legislative and oversight functions. Committee prints can contain draft legislation, situation reports, statistical information, historical information, or legislative analyses.

Many committe prints are not widely distributed and are not made available to libraries. OSU has some prints from about 1980 - 1999 on microfiche. Prints from 1999 - present are collected in paper. Check OASIS for availability and format.

Pre-1980 Prints: We also have a collection of selected pre-1980 prints. These are not cataloged, but are kept in the Documents stacks arranged by committee name and title.

Finding Aids:

• LexisNexis Congressional indexes committee prints from 1879 - present (OSU only)
• Monthly Catalog of United States Government Publications pre-1976 - Z1223 .A14
• Catalog of U.Sl Government Publications (from GPO) 1976 - present

Bills

OSU has House and Senate Bills from 1987 (100th Congress) - 2000 (106th Congress) on microfiche. For previous years, text of bills may be included in the Congressional Record or in Senate and House reports, prints and hearings. Current bills are available online (see below).

Finding Aids:

• LexisNexis Congressional indexes bills from 1969 (91st Congress) - present; has full text from 1989 (101st) - present (OSU only)
• Thomas: indexing and full text from 1993 (103rd) - present
• GPO Access: indexing and full text from 1993 (103rd) - present