Tutorial Index

• Introduction
• Federal Legislative Process
• Bills
• Hearings
• Committee Prints
• Reports
• Debates
• Conference Committee Reports
• Presidential Statements
• Public Laws
• Compiled Legislative Histories
• Newspapers, Books & Journals
• Checklist - Legislative Documents
• Hierarchy of Authority - Legislative Documents

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Federal Legislative History

CONGRESSIONAL DEBATES

Congressional debates occur on the floor of the House and the Senate. During the debates, members of Congress offer arguments for or against the pending legislation.  Frequently, a member of Congress will offer interpretations of confusing or obscure language or provide insight into the goals of the bill.

The proceedings of both the House and Senate are printed daily in the Congressional Record (KF 35.C65, 9^th Floor).  Legislators do have the ability to revise their comments before they are published in the Congressional Record, even though it is generally thought of as a verbatim transcript of the happenings in Congress. In issues of the Congressional Record since 1978, deviations from the actual floor testimony are noted by black bullets at the beginning and ending of the revision (Senate testimony) or by a change in typeface (House testimony).

Congressional Record is available electronically through Westlaw and Lexis.  It is also available on the Internet through the Library of Congress' Thomas site.

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