Congressional Debates

Floor debates include all activities that occur on the floor of either house. Statements made by the sponsor of the bill or the chair of the committee reporting the bill, especially if stated with the intent of clarifying or explaining the bill, carry more weight than comments made by individual members of Congress. Debates are particularly important when amendments are offered on the floor.

The Congressional Record, published since 1873, is the official record of the proceedings and debates of the United States Congress and contains transcripts of floor debates including remarks by members of Congress, their votes, proposed amendments, conference committee reports, messages from the President, and occasionally the text of the bills. The Congressional Record, however, is not a completely accurate account of what occurred since members of Congress are allowed to revise their remarks or add extended remarks (comments never made on the floor).

The Congressional Record is published in two editions: daily edition and permanent edition. The daily edition is published every day when Congress is in session and later recompiled into permanent annual bound volumes.

Note that the permanent edition bound volumes are usually up to five years behind in publication and there are no electronic sources for the permanent edition.

The Congressional Record and its precursors are available from the following sources:

  • The Congressional Record (1873 to date)
    • Permanent edition:
      • Print: Law Annex (1960 to date-see note above)
      • Microfiche: Pappas Lower Level (1874-1979)
    • Daily edition:
      • Print: Law Annex (until replaced by microfiche)
      • Microfiche: 1980 to date
  • The Congressional Globe (1833-1873)
    Microfiche: Pappas Lower Level
  • Register of Debates in Congress (1824-1837)
    Microfiche: Pappas Lower Level
  • Annals of Congress (1789-1824)
    Microfiche: Pappas Lower Level

The following sources provide electronic access to the Congressional Record daily edition:

  • Thomas:
    Congressional Record text (1989 to date)
    Congressional Record Index (1995 to date)

In addition to the electronic sources listed above, the Library of Congress has provided historical Congressional debates in A Century of Lawmaking (1789 to 1875).

Page maintained by Steve Donweber
Last updated: August 2006