Introduction
Article I, Section 1 , of the United States Constitution, provides that:

All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives.

See also: Guides to Congress

The chief function of Congress is the making of laws. In addition, the Senate has the function of advising and consenting to treaties and to certain nominations by the President.

• A Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation: US Congressional Documents and Debates, 1774-1873 via Library of Congress
  • Debates of Congress
  • Journals of Congress
  • Statutes and Documents
• Legislative Branch Resources on GPO Access via Government Printing Office
  • History of Bills (1983 to present)
  • Congressional Bills (103rd [1993-1994] Congress to present)
  • Congressional Record (vol. 140 (1994) to present)
  • Congressional Record Index (1983 to present)
  • Public and Private Laws (104th [1995-1996] Congress to present)
• Legislative Source Book via Law Librarians' Society of Washington, D.C.
  • Federal Legislative History Research: A Practitioner's Guide to Compiling the Documents and Sifting for Legislative Intent
• Quick Guide to Congressional Publications at UCB
• Thomas: Legislative Information on the Internet via Library of Congress
  • Bill Summary and Status (93rd [1973-1974] Congress to present)
  • Bill Text (101st [1989-1990] Congress-present)
  • Congressional Record (101st [1989-1990] Congress to present)
  • Congressional Record Index (104th [1995-1996] Congress to present
  • How Our Laws Are Made
  • Public Laws (93rd [1073-1974] Congress to present)
  • Roll Call Votes (101st [1989-1990] Congress to present)

• Almanac of American Politics via National Journal
• Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (1774-Present)
• Congressional Vote Search via C-SPAN (1996 [104th, 2nd] to present)
• Contacting the Congress
• Congressional Directory, (104th [1996-97] to present)
  • Historical copies from 1903/1904 to present: MAIN JK1011
• Congressional Directory via CongressLink
• Congressional Districts
• Lobbying Disclosure
• Years of Congress Table via University of North Texas

• Lexis/Nexis Congressional UC Access Only
  Indexing and abstracting of congressional publications dating back to 1789. LexisNexisT Congressional has written submitted testimony for almost all congressional hearings from 1993 forward. There are transcripts of discussion sessions from selected hearings. Coverage from 1988 to 1993 is less comprehensive. Additional resources include:
• Hot Bills & Topics
• Inside Washington: Full-text of The Hill, Washington Post, and Roll Call
• Laws
• Regulations
• See also: Coverage and Update Schedule for LexisNexisT Congressional content
• Readex U.S. Congressional Serial Set Digital Edition (1817-1980) UC Access Only
  Full-text index and reproduction of the United States Congressional Serial Set, which consists of the full text and full image Reports, Documents, and Journals of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives. As of March 2005: 15th Congress - 37th Congress, 1st Session, 1817 - 1861. The entire project is scheduled for completion in 2008. For the most current information on the Congresses and periods covered, check the help after you have entered the database.
• Congressional Materials via GPO Access
  This is not a comprehensive electronic collection, depends on the committee.
  • Congressional Committee Prints (105th Congress [1997/1998] to present)
  • Congressional Documents (104th Congress [1995/1996] to present)
  • Congressional Hearings (105th Congress [1997/1998] to present)
  • Congressional Reports (104th Congress [1995/1996] to present)
• CQ Weekly via Congressional Quarterly (1983 to present) UCB Access Only
  Pre-eminent resource for nonpartisan information about US government and congressional affairs and subjects of concern. This online version also provides access to some articles prior to when they appear in the print version of CQ Weekly. Historical copies:
  • GREF: JK1 .C15 Latest Five Years
  • MAIN: JK1 .C15 v.1(1945)-3(1947), 12:28(July 1954)-v.13(1955), 14(1956)-54(1996)
  • News/Micro: MICROPRINT 6(1948)-13(1955)
• National Journal Group's Policy Central UCB Access Only
  A comprehensive resource on politics and policy for the academic community. Included are National Journal Group's publications and databases including:
  • The Hotline
  • Congress Daily
  • National Journal (back to 1977)
• PAIS International (1972-present) UC Access Only
  Indexes books, journals, government documents, statistical directories, grey literature, research reports, conference reports, and web sources related to public policy, politics, economics, and social issues worldwide.

• House of Represenataives
  • California Delegation
  • Committees
  • Leadership Offices
  • Office of the Clerk
    • Committee Rosters
    • Congressional History: includes profile, membership, and leadership information as well as subjects tables, from the 1st Congress through the present Congress.
    • Election Statistics, 1920 to present
    • Member Directory
  • Speaker of the House
  • Write Your Representative
• Senate
  • California Delegation
  • Committees
  • Historical Statistics
    • Facts & Milestones
    • Party Division in the Senate, 1789-Present
    • Senate Salaries since 1789
    • Senators by State
  • How to...
  • Legislative Process
  • Nominations
  • Treaties

• Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports:
  • via Department of State Foreign Press Centers
  • via House Committee on Rules
  • via Memory Hole
  • via National Council for Science and the Environment (NCSE)
  • via U.S. Embassy to Italy

• Federation of American Scientists provides CRS Reports by topic:
  • Intelligence
  • Military and National Security
  • Nuclear, Chemical and Missile Weapons and Proliferation
  • Space and Science Documents

• Major studies & issue briefs of the Congressional Research Service. Bibliography & indexes 1991-present
  • Index: JK1108 M353 GREF Indexes
  • Microfiche set: 19151 Periodicals 1916-1989
  • JK1108 M35 1989 GREF Indexes
  • Microfilm - the microfilm for 1969-1989 is owned by several UC Campuses. Ask at Doe Reference desk for loan information.

• Penny Hill Press provides abstracts of CRS publications back to 1993.

• Architect of the Capitol
  • Architects of the Capitol Since 1793

• Congressional Budget Office
  • Publications by Subject Area

• Congressional Research Service

• General Accounting Office
  • GAO Reports
  • Special Publications by Subject

• Government Printing Office (GPO)
  • Catalog of U.S. Government Publications (July 1976- to present)
  • Core Documents of U.S. Democracy
  • Legislative Resources see also: Comprehensive Guides

• Library of Congress
  • American Memory
  • Law Library of Congress
    • A Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation: US Congressional Documents and Debates, 1774-1873
    • Global Legal Information Network (GLIN)
    • Guide to Law Online
    • THOMAS: Legislative Information on the Internet

• Office of Technology Assessment (Closed 9/29/1995) via Princeton University
  • Publications

• Congress Online Project via George Washington University and the Congressional Management Foundation
• Congress.org
• Legislative Branch via GovSpot
• The Legislative Process via Columbia University
• Inside Politics via CNN
• Political Information: search engine for politics, policy, and political news
• Public Policy Matrix via University of Michigan Documents Center

• International multilateral conventions and other instruments via Tufts University
• Treaties via U.S. Senate
• Treaties and International Agreements: Research Guide
• Treaties in Force via Department of State