Congress.gov is the official source for federal legislative information, replacing Thomas. On the main page, the default search is for current legislation. You can change the pull-down menu on the left to "All Legislation." Enter your keywords, topic, e.g., "mental health," "child nutrition," etc. On the results page, use the facets on the left to limit your search to specific Congresses and legislation type, e.g., "Status of Legislation."
To search, on the left, enter your keyword(s), select a Congressional term and current status. Alternatively, select a Congressional term, scroll down and select a subject. You can also browse by subject: From the home page (www.govtrack.us), select "Bills and Resolutions" and then select the "By Subject" tab.
Committee reports are analyses and recommendations regarding legislation, and are very useful for ascertaining the purpose or intent of a bill. When the House and Senate cannot reconcile their different versions of a bill, a committee with members from both houses works out a compromise and issues a conference committee report.
On the main page, change the pull-down menu on the left to "Committee Reports."
You can enter keywords from the report title,e.g., "children's safety act," or enter the report number, e.g., 109-218.
Select your collection (in this case, reports) and enter your keywords.
You can only browse on this site, and you will need to drill down.
© Copyright La Salle University. All rights reserved.