United States Congressional Record

United States Congressional Record
Public domain · source
Name	United States Congressional Record
Type	Proceedings and Debates
Owner	United States Congress
Publisher	Government Publishing Office
Founded	1873
Language	English
Country	United States

Contents

United States Congressional Record The Congressional Record is the official transcript of the proceedings and debates of the United States Congress. It documents speeches, motions, roll calls, and published statements from members of the United States Senate, United States House of Representatives, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, Senate Majority Leader, and Senate Minority Leader. The Record is produced by the Government Publishing Office for use by legislators, researchers, journalists, and courts.

Overview and Purpose

The Record serves as the authoritative account of floor proceedings for the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives, preserving remarks by members such as Nancy Pelosi, Mitch McConnell, Chuck Schumer, Kevin McCarthy, and Bernie Sanders. It supports congressional functions including the drafting of measures like the Social Security Act, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Affordable Care Act, and appropriations bills considered by the House Committee on Appropriations and the Senate Committee on Appropriations. The Record underpins oversight activities by committees such as the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, and informs debates on treaties like the Treaty of Paris (1898) and resolutions such as Joint Resolution 1. Legislative counsel, clerks of the United States Senate Committee on Rules and Administration, and clerks of the United States House Committee on Rules rely on the Record for precedential rulings and precedents referenced in decisions by the Supreme Court of the United States and lower federal courts.

Parliamentary reporting traditions from the British Parliament influenced the early practices that led to the creation of the Record after the Reconstruction era. The Record succeeds earlier publications including proceedings chronicled during the administrations of presidents like Ulysses S. Grant, Rutherford B. Hayes, and Grover Cleveland. Key developments involved figures such as Thomas Jefferson who shaped congressional recordkeeping philosophies and institutions like the Library of Congress. In the 20th century, technological and institutional changes intersected with events including the New Deal, the World War I and World War II legislative mobilizations, the Watergate scandal, and the passage of landmark statutes administered by agencies such as the Department of Justice and the Department of Defense. Reforms enacted during the tenures of Speakers like Tip O’Neill and Newt Gingrich influenced how the Record captured colloquy, extensions of remarks, and changes stemming from rules adopted by the House Republican Conference and the Senate Democratic Caucus.

The Record is published in daily editions during sessions of the United States Congress, and bound into the Permanent Edition that researchers consult alongside the Congressional Record Index. Content categories include floor debates from the Senate Floor and the House Floor, statements for the Record by members such as John McCain, Elizabeth Warren, Ted Cruz, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez', unanimous consent agreements, and infractions of the Federal Elections Commission reporting. It includes printed items like bills introduced in the House of Representatives, committee reports from panels such as the House Committee on Ways and Means and the Senate Committee on Finance, and text of amendments associated with measures like the Patriot Act and the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. The Record also records formal messages from Presidents including Barack Obama, Donald Trump, Joe Biden, George W. Bush, and Bill Clinton.

Members use the Record to make the congressional intent explicit for statutes including the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the Clean Air Act Amendments. Congressional staff from offices such as that of the Senate Parliamentarian and the House Parliamentarian employ it when advising on germaneness, germaneness precedents, points of order, and waivers under rules like the Byrd Rule. Committee clerks from the Senate Judiciary Committee and the House Energy and Commerce Committee consult the Record during markup sessions and for preparing reports to accompany bills referred to the United States Reports. The Record provides source material for the Congressional Research Service, the Government Accountability Office, and historians studying episodes such as the Iran–Contra affair and legislative responses to crises like Hurricane Katrina.

Access to the Record is provided through printed editions held by repositories such as the Library of Congress, the National Archives and Records Administration, law libraries at institutions like Harvard Law School, Yale Law School, Columbia Law School, and digital platforms run by the Government Publishing Office, the Library of Congress, and commercial vendors used by the Federal Judicial Center. Indexing efforts link entries to bills in systems like Congress.gov and to committee material from the House Clerk and the Secretary of the Senate. Digitization projects have involved partnerships with the Internet Archive, university libraries at Princeton University, Stanford University, and initiatives supported by foundations such as the Smithsonian Institution and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

Scholars cite the Record in analyses of constitutional questions brought before the Supreme Court of the United States in cases involving the Commerce Clause, the First Amendment, and the Fifth Amendment. Legal treatises published by firms like West Publishing and journals from institutions such as Harvard Law Review and Yale Law Journal rely on Record excerpts when construing legislative intent in controversies including disputes over the Affordable Care Act and the War Powers Resolution. Historians writing about figures such as Abraham Lincoln, Franklin D. Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, and legislative eras like the Progressive Era and the Civil Rights Movement treat the Record as primary source material for speeches, colloquies, and floor strategy recorded during pivotal debates.

Category:United States federal legislative documents