Federal legislative information from the Library of Congress. THOMAS was launched in January of 1995, at the inception of the 104th Congress. The leadership of the 104th Congress directed the Library of Congress to make federal legislative information freely available to the public. Since that time THOMAS has expanded the scope of its offerings to include the features and content listed below.
The main search page of THOMAS defaults to the current Congress for bills and pending legislation though Bill Text from Multiple Congresses extends back to 1989. Bill Summary and Status is the main source for substantive information about legislation.
For researching issues related to Appellate Advocacy, Courts and Judicial Processes the House and Senate Judiciary Committees have jurisdiction.
The House Judiciary Committee Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet has jurisdiction over the following subject matters: Administration of U.S. Courts, Federal Rules of Evidence, Civil and Appellate Procedure, judicial ethics, copyright, patent, trademark law, information technology, other appropriate matters as referred to by the Chairmand and relevant oversight. Hearings can be browsed by each subcommittee at : http://judiciary.house.gov/index.cfm/hearings
The Senate Committee on the Judiciary has jurisdiction over legislation affecting (1) Federal court jurisdiction, administration and management; (2) Rules of evidence and procedure; (3) Creation of new courts and judgeships; (4) Bankruptcy; (5) Legal reform and liability issues; (6) Local courts in territories and possessions. Hearings and pending legislation can be searched using the links at the top of the Committee's home page
ProQuest Congressional provides full text and abstracts for historical congressional publications that pre-date THOMAS as well as current publications. It includes legislative histories (1969-present) ; full-text of hearing transcripts (1824-present); committee reports (1970-present), bills (1987-present) and the Congressional Record (1789-present).
The Serial Set contains all publications from the 15th (1817) through 96th (1980) Congresses and can be searched by Subject Category (e.g. Legal System), A-Z Index (e.g. Appellate Courts), Publication Category, Personal or Geographic Name.
Congressional Quarterly Almanac : Since it was first published in 1946, CQ Almanac has been the definitive annual reference for studying the U.S. Congress. Building on the reporting and analysis done throughout the year by CQ's award-winning news staff, the Almanac offers original narrative accounts of every major piece of legislation that lawmakers considered during a congressional session. Arranged thematically, CQ Almanac organizes, distills, and cross-indexes for permanent reference the full year in Congress and in national politics. Its clear and concise language makes the Almanac an essential resource for scholars, journalists, interested citizens, and students of the U.S. legislative system. Browse byTopic.
Congressional Quarterly Almanac : Policy Tracker Browse by Topic.
Congressional Quarterly Researcher : CQ Researcher provides comprehensive analysis of current legislative issues. Each analysis provides researchers with an introductory overview; pro-con debates; background and chronology onthe topic; current assessment; tables andmaps and bibliographies of key sources. Use the Browse Topic or Browse Reports tabs to access individual reports.
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