CCH Congressional Index
CCH Congressional Index (1971 to date)
This is a frequently updated looseleaf service. CCH Congressional Index tracks legislation during a given session of Congress and is printed in two volumes, one for the House of Representatives, the other for the Senate. For legislative history purposes it is primarily useful for tracking pending legislation and providing citations to legislative history information such as committee reports and hearings.

Where to find CCH Congressional Index:
CCH Congressional Index Law Reference section at KF49.C6 .

Congressional Indexes, 1789-1969
This is an online database for the period 1789-1969 indexing the following items:

• U.S. Serial Set
• U.S. Congressional Committee Hearings
• U.S. Congressional Committee Prints
• U.S. Senate Executive Documents and Reports

The database also indexes unpublished Congressional hearings for the period 1823-1980.

Link to Congressional Indexes, 1789-1969 LexisNexis Congressional

CIS Index and CIS Annual
CIS Annual  (in print 1970-2000) at Law Documents Reference Z1223.Z7 C6 and CIS Index (online via LexisNexis Congressional 1969 to date)

The print version of CIS Index is a monthly publication that is then bound and issued annually as CIS Annual in three volumes: an index volume, a volume of document abstracts (describing hearings, committee reports and committee prints), and (starting in 1984) a legislative history volume. This print source covers legislation from 1970 to the present.

Where to find CIS Index:
CIS Index is available in print or online through LexisNexis Congressional.

CIS US Serial Set Index
CIS US Serial Set Index (1789 to 1969) Law Documents Reference Z1223.Z9 C65 1975

This CIS publication is particularly useful for researchers doing earlier legislative histories (sometimes called "historical" legislative histories). The Index offers access to the many volumes (14,000+) of the United States Congressional Serial Set (the "Serial Set"). The Serial Set includes a wide variety of federal publications, not just those traditionally included in federal legislative histories. The most important parts of the Serial Set are listings of House and Senate committee reports going back to 1789. Regarding committee hearings, the historical review found in the Subject Index states, "As a rule committee hearings and prints have been considered committee rather than congressional publications and have consequently been excluded; but during the nineteenth century some hearings of particular note were printed as Serial Set [sic] items."

Congressional Quarterly (CQ) Publications
CQ Quarterly Almanac is available in the library in print (1970 to date) or online through the CQ Electronic Library (1945 to date). CQ Weekly is available in print (1998 to date) or online through the CQ Electronic Library (October 1983 to date). Online access is restricted to UI faculty, staff, and students and members of the public using UI terminals.

CQ publications are particularly strong on current legislation as it moves through the committee, floor debate, and conference committee processes.

Congressional Record Index
The Congressional Record Index is available in print in the main library. It's also available online for the years 1983-2005.

In the print edition, see the section on "History of Bills and Resolutions." The bi-weekly index issues (and later the bound annual index volumes) list bill numbers with page numbers in the Congressional Record on which action on the bill is reported.
There is also an edition of the Congressional Record on microfiche. The print edition is the Permanent Edition, the one on microfiche the so-called Daily Edition.

Congress publishes the Daily Edition while in session. Currently it consists of four sections: House proceedings, Senate proceedings, Extension of Remarks, and a Daily Digest. The Permanent Edition is the source traditionally cited in academic research. Be aware that the pagination in the Permanent Edition differs from that found in the Daily Edition.

GPO Access

LexisNexis (UI Law Faculty and Students Only) (Use "Federal Legal-U.S." link, followed by "Legislative Histories & Materials" link to reach over two dozen relevant databases.)

Westlaw  (UI Law Faculty and Students Only)  (Under "U.S. Federal Materials" click "Legislative History" for over a dozen additional databases.)

Thomas--Library of Congress

United States House of Representatives Webpage

United States Senate Webpage

U.S. Code Congressional & Administrative News (USCCAN)
The well-organized legislative history tables in USCCAN provide only partial legislative histories. There is selective citing of committee reports and conference committee reports. The hearings, however, are not cited. Also, note that USCCAN began in 1941 as the U.S. Code Congressional Service.

The monthly advance sheets and, when bound, one of the annual bound volumes, contain legislative history tables listing information on each bill that is successfully enacted: Date approved, Statutes at Large citation, bill and report numbers, committees that recommended the bill, and dates of consideration and passage in the House and Senate. Find USCCAN in the Core Collections on the 2nd and 3rd floors, KF48 .U54

In addition, USCCAN contains the texts of all Public Laws passed during a given Congressional session and selected Committee Reports.

See Westlaw (Under "U.S. Federal Materials" use "U.S. Code Congressional & Administrative News Link" (USCCAN) for ten additional USCCAN databases).

C-SPAN Glossary