The proceedings of Congress are recorded in the Journals of Congress. The Journals note the matters considered by the House and the Senate, and include votes and other actions taken.
Journal of the House of Representatives of the United States of America
|
Time Period |
Format and links |
|
1789 - 1875 |
Online from the Library of Congress |
|
1817-1952 The House Journal is included in the Congressional Document Set. See this section of the guide for information on how to verify and locate these publications |
Paper Consult the CIS US Serial Set Index - 1789 to 1969 |
|
1875-1983 (imperfect) |
Paper |
|
1979 - 2010 |
|
|
1818 - 2020 |
Online from the US Government Publishing Office |
Journal of the Senate of the United States of America
|
Time Period |
Format and links |
|
1789 - 1875 |
Online from the Library of Congress |
|
1817 - 1952 The Senate Journal is included in the Congressional Document Set. See this section of the guide for information on how to verify and locate these publications |
Paper Consult the CIS US Serial Set Index - 1789 to 1969 |
|
1873 - 1986 (imperfect) |
Paper; held offsite |
|
1979 - 2010 |
|
| 1818 - 2022 | Online from the US Government Publishing Office |
Journal of the Executive Proceedings of the Senate of the United States of America
This is the Senate's separate record of its executive proceedings that relate to confirming presidential nominees and consenting to the making of treaties.
|
Time Period |
Format and links |
|
1789 - 1875 |
Online from the Library of Congress |
|
1805 - 2007 (imperfect) |
Paper |
|
1967 – 2010 |
BACKGROUND
From The United States Constitution, Article I, section 5:
'Each House shall keep a journal of its proceedings, and from time to time publish the same, excepting such parts as may in their judgment require secrecy; and the yeas and nays of the members of either House on any question shall, at the desire of one fifth of those present, be entered on the journal.'
More information about the journals can be found in the Library of Congress online guide.
SUDOC
You might notice the acronym SUDOC in the call numbers of the United States Government microfiche Catalogue records.
United States Government Printing Office (USGPO) microfiche was received on deposit from 1983. It is arranged by Superintendent of Documents classification, given at the top of each fiche. Collect fiche from the Newspaper & Microforms Reading Room
You can find information about SUDOC numbers online from the West Texas A&M University.
The National Library ceased receiving SUDOC fiche from June 2010, but the existing collection is retained.
