Following the launch of Congress.gov in September 2012, we made minor updates in October and November, and made the transition to the 113th Congress at the beginning of January. Today, our public beta gets a big enhancement with the addition of the Congressional Record.
Congressional Record in the Congress.gov Navigation
The Congressional Record page defaults to the most recent issue with the tab for the Daily Digest selected and displayed below. There are tabs for all of the sections that were printed on that day. If all four sections are in the current issue, in addition to the Daily Digest, you will see tabs for the Senate, House of Representatives, and Extensions of Remarks. You can search the Congressional Record from this page or find an issue by date or year and page number. When searching all sources on Congress.gov, the Congressional Record will be included in search results with legislation and Members of Congress.
Congressional Record on Congress.gov
Wondering what is the Congressional Record? Jeanine drafted the About page which provides a good description:
The Congressional Record is a substantially verbatim account of remarks made during the proceedings of the House and Senate. It has been published by the Government Printing Office (GPO) since 1873. Before 1873, records of congressional proceedings were kept under various titles: Annals of Congress, Register of Debates and Congressional Globe. These may be found in the Century of Lawmaking collection in American Memory.
Official Reporters and Member offices edit and add text following the proceedings, after which the text of amendments, conference reports, and some bills and resolutions are added. Other materials such as lists of added cosponsors, notices of messages from the President and the other chamber; lists of Presidential nominations; and Résumés of Congressional Activity are also included.
GPO publishes new issues of the Congressional Record daily and transmits each new issue to the Library of Congress overnight. A new issue becomes available on Congress.gov the following morning.
In addition to keeping current with Congress through the Congressional Record on Congress.gov, you can download the iPhone and iPad app, which was last updated in July 2012.
Another addition to Congress.gov is a link for Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimates. This will appear in the right hand column of a bill that has cost estimates.
CBO Cost Estimates
This continues our march to migrate content over from THOMAS.gov in our effort to eventually retire the old system. Next up? Committee Reports.
Feedback on the Top Right
As we continue to refine Congress.gov, it is important to remember that the site is in beta and that we truly value your feedback. Please take a minute to complete the survey. I find it very helpful to read through each comment we receive.