Guides: Legislative History Research Guide: Congress &amp; the Legislative Process

The Legislative Process (Videos) (HIDDEN)

This series of nine videos is available for free on Congress.gov.

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Understanding the Legislative Process

How Our Laws Are Made (House Document 110-49)
Provides a detailed look at the legislative process. Also available as a PDF.
Introduction to the Legislative Process in the U.S. Congress (CRS) (2025)
"I'm Just a Bill" (1978)
A classic video from the children's program Schoolhouse Rock. Runtime: ~3 minutes
Videos: The Legislative Process (Congress.gov)
This series of nine short videos is available for free on Congress.gov.
Legislative Glossary (Congress.gov)
Brief explanations of a large number of legislative terms.
Statutory Interpretation Treatises
These treatises typically explain the legislative process and may also include discussions of how legislative history documents can be used to aid in statutory interpretation. (For example, Sutherland discusses using legislative history documents for statutory interpretation in Chapter 48.)

Legislative Drafting Step-By-Step
Call Number: KF4950 .R98 2013
A practical, step-by-step guide to drafting legislation designed to assist legislators, their staff, and all who read or write legislation.

How Congress Passes Laws Now
This study by John Cannan and the Villanova law library reviews how laws were passed during the 111th-116th Congresses and the information sources that were generated for each law. A useful summary and analysis of this data is available in the article Long Live Schoolhouse Rock! How Congress is Legislating Now (AALL Spectrum, March/April 2022).

How Our Laws Are Made (Infographic)

[Click image for high-resolution version.]

On Congress, Generally

U.S. Senate: Powers and Procedure (senate.gov)
Introductory educational information on the powers and procedure of the U.S. Senate, including censure, contested state elections, declarations of war, explusion, filibusters and cloture, impeachment, investigations, nominations, senate rules, treaties, and voting.
The House Explained (house.gov)
Introductory educational information on representatives, House leadership, committees, commissions, rule, and house history.
How Congress Works
A part of the CQ Press Congress Collection on SAGE, this electronic resource provides in-depth explanations for how Congress works.

Guide to Congress (7th ed) by CQ Press
Call Number: JK1021 .C565 2013
This two-volume guide provides detailed entries on Congress, its history, and its inner workings. Each chapter ends with a very useful list of references for further research. The CQ Guide to Congress (6th ed) is also available electronically through SAGE.

See the legislative news, issues, and analysis page of this research guide for more.

Researching Members, Staff, Committees, and Districts

Almanac of American Politics
Provides detailed biographical and political summaries of elected officials and staff information. Includes profiles for committees and for districts. Current information only. Published by National Journal.
Politics in America
Contains detailed profiles of members, statistics, and district maps. Published by CQ (2000 - present). (After clicking the link, scroll down to find this resource.)
Leadership Connect
Access Leadership Connect using your Georgetown University NetID and password. Formerly known as Leadership Library and, prior to that, as the Federal Yellow Book, this electronic resource provides detailed directory information on various individuals in leadership positions in a searchable database. Biographies of Members of Congress as well as Congressional staff include their educational background, contact information, photos, and publications, where available. Also has features such as district maps and Policy Connect, which connects bills/legislation to the members, staff, and other government offices involved.
Govtrack: Members of Congress
Free website that provides profiles and analysis of members of Congress, including legislative metrics and sponsorship/leadership analytics. Alerts/tracking also available.
Congress.gov: Members of Congress
Links to brief biographies and to bills sponsored or co-sponsored.
Congress.gov: Committees

Rules & Procedure

Senate

Senate Manual (GPO)
The Senate Manual, prepared during the second session of each Congress by the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration, contains the standing rules, orders, laws, and resolutions affecting the Senate, as well as copies of historical U.S. documents, such as Jefferson's Manual, Declaration of Independence, Articles of Confederation, Constitution of the United States, et cetera. and selected statistical information on the Senate and other Government entities. It is generally issued each Congress as Senate Document 1.
Senate Rules & Procedure (senate.gov)
A list of references on topics such as the amending process in the Senate, filibuster and cloture, the legislative process, and more, as well as links to Riddick's Guide, the Senate Manual, and the Standing Rules of the Senate.
Senate Committee on Rules & Administration (rules.senate.gov)
See "Rules of the Senate" (top) for a searchable version of the Rules of the Senate, also available as a PDF download.
Parliamentary Reference Sources: Senate (CRS) (2023)
Information on the Senate's rules and procedures, including the Senate Manual, Riddick's Senate Procedure, the rules of the Senate standing committees, and the publication of unanimous consent agreements.
Note: As explained here, The Electronic Senate Precedents are considered "unofficial documents" and are available only through the Senate's internal portal, Webster (not available to the public).
Points of Order, Rulings, and Appeals in the Senate (CRS) (2018)

House of Representatives

House Practice: A Guide to the Rules, Precedents, and Procedures of the House (2024 Edition)
House of Representatives Committee on Rules (rules.house.gov)
See "Rules and Resources" (top), for links to the Rules of the House of Representatives, Rules and Manuals of the House for Prior Congresses, Rules of the Committees of the House of Representatives, and more.
Parliamentary Reference Sources: House of Representatives (CRS) (2024)
Information on the rules and precedents of the House of Representatives, including House Practice, Deschler's Precedents, the Precedents of the United States House of Representatives, and Hinds' and Cannon's Precedents.
Points of Order, Rulings, and Appeals in the House of Representatives (CRS) (2018)

Other Resources

How Congress Works
Call Number: JK1021 .H65 2013
This classic CQ reference presents basic explanations of the procedures and rules that govern the Senate and the House. Highlighted sidebars further detail the impact of congressional action with interesting narrative examples from history, along with charts and tables that provide a complete overview of congressional procedures.

For more on rules and procedure, try the subject headings listed under Additional Resources in the Catalog, below.

Archival & Historical Materials

Archival Records of Congress: Frequently Asked Questions (CRS) (2024)
National Archives: Center for Legislative Archives
The Center for Legislative Archives preserves and makes available to researchers the historical records of the U.S. House of Representatives (1789 - ), the historical records of the U.S. Senate (1789 - ) including materials from committees and administrative/support offices as well as other legislative branch organizations and commissions. The research room at the National Archives in Washington, DC is open by appointment.
Archives of the United States Senate (senate.gov)
Links to resources for Senators' Papers and Archives, Senate Committee and Administrative Archives, the Center for Legislative Archives, and Senate Rules and Statutes Governing Senate Records.
Senate Stories: the Senate History Blog (senate.gov)
This blog features stories that reveal the depth and breadth of Senate history from the well-known and notorious to the unusual and whimsical.
U.S. House of Representatives: History, Art & Archives (history.house.gov)
Includes educational information on the institution and people of the House of Representatives, including Exhibitions & Publications, searchable Oral Histories, and searchable "Collections" on topics such as events, furniture & decorative arts, historical artifacts, painting & sculpture, photographs, prints & drawings, and more. See "Records Search" (top right), for a list of resources on researching the House, including official records, primary sources, secondary sources, bibliographies, and finding aids for Official House Records.

Additional Resources in the Catalog

To find books or other materials on Congress in our collection, try searching the Law Library's catalog by subject (click "Advanced Search") using subject headings such as:

Bill drafting -- United States
Parliamentary practice -- United States
United States Congress
United States Congress House
United States Congress House -- Rules and practice
United States Congress Senate
United States Congress Senate -- Rules and practice
Legislative bodies -- United States -- Rules and practice

Legislative History Research Guide

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