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If you wish to follow the progress of a bill on its way to becoming law, you may want to consult the Congressional Hearings.
The Congressional Hearings database contains selected House and Senate hearings for the 105th Congress (1997-1998) forward.
They are found at:
http://www.access.gpo.gov/congress/cong017.html
with helpful access hints at:
http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/help/hints/chearings.html
The Congressional Record
The Congressional Record is the official record of the proceedings and debates of the United States Congress. Congressional
Record databases are available from 1994 forward. The current year's Congressional Record database is usually updated daily
by 11 a.m. Access to this database is located at:
http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/aces/aces150.html
with helpful hints at:
http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/help/hints/record.html
The Congressional Record Index (CRI)
The Congressional Record Index is an index of individuals, organizations, and topics mentioned in the daily issues of the
Congressional Record. It is published biweekly by the Joint Committee on Printing (JCP) when Congress is in session. The current
database is updated daily, usually the day after publication of the Record. Databases are available from 1983 forward. It
is found at:
http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/aces/aaces190.html
with helpful hints at:
http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/help/hints/cri.html
The Congressional Record Index (CRI) consists of two parts: the index proper, which lists individuals, organizations, and
topics mentioned in the Congressional Record, and the History of Bills, which lists legislative actions reported in the Congressional
Record. The History of Bills is maintained as a separate database on GPO Access.
Congressional Reports
The Congressional Reports databases contain House, Senate and Executive Reports for the 104th Congress (1995-1996) forward.
These reports are found at:
http://www.access.gpo.gov/congress/cong005.html
with helpful hints at:
http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/help/hints/creports.html
Thomas, Legislative Information on the Internet
Another site containing information on bills, public laws, Congressional Committee Reports, and the Congressional Record (minutes
of Congress) is called "Thomas, Legislative Information on the Internet". This site, names after Thomas Jefferson,
is a "one stop shopping center" for legislative information, and is considered by some to be much more accessible
than the other links which will be listed below. It does not provide access to the U.S. Code (the laws which are at least
five years old), but does provide access to current legislative information. It is found at:
http://thomas.loc.gov/
Thomas also has a link to a site which provides access to information about government issues which are "hot topics"
at the present time. It is found at:
http://www.firstgov.gov/
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