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Princeton's Guide to Pre-1979 Congressional Materials

Dive deep into the legislative process and find scattered resources from the pre-1979 era. Learn about bills, hearings, committee votes, and how laws are passed in the U.S. Congress. Discover how to access these valuable documents at Princeton and beyond.

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Princeton's Guide to Pre-1979 Congressional Materials

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  1. Finding Pre-1979 Congressional Materials John J. Hernandez Politics & U.S. Documents Librarian jhernand@Princeton.EDU Sara Holder Social Science Reference Specialist scrawfor@Princeton.EDU

  2. Today’s Topics • Introduction • Why pre-1979? • Legislative Documents • Overview of the legislative process • Other Congressional Publications • Locating Pre-1979 Documents at Princeton • Going Beyond Princeton

  3. Why Pre-1979? • Princeton catalogued U.S. docs in-house up to 1979 • U.S. docs held in general stacks until 1979 when switched to U.S. Docs collection in SSRC • Resources and materials for this time period are scattered among collections

  4. Legislative Process in Brief

  5. Bill Introduced • Bill introduced in House or Senate • Assigned number and referred to committee or subcommittee • S. = introduced in Senate • H.R. = introduced in House of Representatives • H.J.Res. or S.J.Res. = House or Senate joint resolutions

  6. Hearings & Mark-up • Committee holds hearings • Testimony from experts heard • Many hearings are published, many are not • Committee marks-up bill • Editing & amending happen here • If bill has major changes, may be reissued as a “clean bill” with new number

  7. Committee Vote & Report • Committee votes on bill • If passes, goes to chamber • If not, “dies in committee” • Bill reported out to chamber • Typically done in favor of passage • Accompanied by committee report

  8. On Chamber Floor • Chamber debates and votes on bill • Amending also happens here • If bill passes in one chamber, goes to the next chamber • Process repeats • Bill retains number

  9. Companion Bills • Often a “companion bill” is introduced simultaneously in the other chamber • Will have a different bill number • One bill often replaces the other, so only one bill continues through process

  10. Conference Committee • Convened if bill version of one chamber differs significantly from that of the other • Made up of members from both chambers to hammer out one version of bill • Conference report issued • Final version goes to both chambers for vote

  11. Passage & Signing • If bill passes both chambers, goes to President for signing • President may sign, veto or do nothing • If signed, becomes law • If vetoed, goes back to Congress where 2/3 vote in both chambers overrides • If nothing, after 10 days becomes law if Congress in session; dies if Congress not in session, aka “pocket veto”

  12. Publication of Laws • New law assigned a Public Law number = P.L. [Cong. #]-[seq. #] • Example: P.L. 94-171 • First published as “slip law” • Compiled into U.S. Statutes at Large • Example: 89 Stat. 1023 • Codified into U.S. Code • Example: 13 USC § 25

  13. Know the Congress Number • Each Congress usually meets for 2 sessions, each session is typically 1 year • Example: 96th Congress = 1979-1980 • Congress may meet for additional or special sessions

  14. Legislative Documents • Bills – text of legislation being considered • Hearings – official published transcripts • Prints – research compiled for committees • Reports – issued by approving committees • Debates & Votes – in Congressional Record & its predecessors • Public Law – “session law” or non-codified text of the law as passed

  15. Bills • CIS Bills, Resolutions & Laws Microfiche • Offers all parliamentary versions of bills arranged by bill number • We do not have the fiche, Rutgers has 1st-70th Congress, 1789-1927 only • GPO Microfiche • 96th–106th Congress, 1979-2000 • SSRC Microfiche on C-level • Indexed by Cumulative Finding Aid (GP3.28)

  16. Bills Cont’d • Last version of a bill (if became law) available in U.S. Statutes at Large • Subject indexing leads to Public Laws which lead to bills • Some bills reprinted inCongressional Record, hearings & committee reports • May request copies of bills via ILL

  17. Committee Hearings • Beside those associated with legislation, there are other types of hearings, such as: • Oversight Hearings • Investigation Hearings • Confirmation Hearings

  18. Indexing of Hearings • CIS U.S. Congressional Committee Hearings Index • 23rd-91st Congress, 1833-1969 • Often called the “Retrospective Groups” • We only have 89th-91st Congress, 1965-1969 • CIS Index to Unpublished U.S. Senate Committee Hearings • 18th-94th Congress, 1823-1976 • We do not have the fiche, Rutgers has complete

  19. Indexing of Hearings Cont’d • CIS Index to Unpublished U.S. House of Representatives Committee Hearings • 23rd-90th Congress, 1833-1968 • We do not have the fiche, Rutgers has complete • CIS Index to Publications of the U.S. Congress • 91st-108th Congress, 1970-present • SSRC Microfiche on C-level

  20. Hearing Documents

  21. Committee Prints • Major Studies & Issue Briefs of the Congressional Research Service • 1916-2001 on microfilm in Microforms Room, index kept in SSRC • CIS US Congressional Committee Prints Index: From the Earliest Publications Through 1969 • 21st-91st Congress, 1829-1969 • We do not have the fiche, Rutgers has complete

  22. Committee Prints Cont’d • 1970-present in CIS Microfiche set kept in SSRC Microfiche on C-level • Some earlier paper copies in Firestone & Annex A, check catalogs • Some printed in Congressional Record • Some issued as House or Senate Docs • In the Serial Set available on microfiche

  23. U.S. Congressional Serial Set • Materials of the 1st-14th Congress called the American State Papers • House & Senate Journals • Proceedings of the chambers • House & Senate Reports & Documents • Reports Required by Congress • Financial reports of chartered corporations, such as Little League & Girl Scouts • Cartographic Materials

  24. Accessing the Serial Set • 1789-1969 on microfiche in Microforms Room • Paper holdings cumbersome to access • Indexed by CIS U.S. Serial Set Index

  25. Committee Reports • CIS Microfiche set • 1970-present in SSRC Microfiche on C-level • Indexed by CIS Index to Publications of the U.S. Congress • U.S. Congressional Serial Set • 1789-1969 on microfiche in Microforms Room • Indexed by CIS U.S. Serial Set Index

  26. Sources for Debates & Votes

  27. More on Debates & Votes • House & Senate Journals • More reliable source of Congressional voting information for 1789-1873 • Need to use the Supplementary Catalog to locate these in Firestone • CQ Almanac • Good source for roll call votes 1945-2001 • Located in Public Admin (SF) under 0800.0247

  28. Online Resources Pre-1979 • Congressional Universe • Congressional Indexes (1789-1969) • Indexes to Hearings • Serial Set Index • Committee Prints Index • CIS Index (1970- ) • Statutes at Large (1789- )

  29. Online Resources Pt.2 • Library of Congress • A Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation • Records of Continental Congress-43rd Congress, 1774-1875 • http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/amlaw/lawhome.html • Thomas: Legislative Information on the Internet • Bill status & summaries 1973-present

  30. Online Resources Pt.3 • National Archives & Records Administration • Records of Congress • Online guides to archive records of the House, Senate, Joint Committees and Congressional Committees • http://www.archives.gov/records_of_congress/

  31. Online Resources Pt.4 • Main & Supplemental Catalogs • Items held at Princeton • PAIS International • Back to 1972 online (1915 in paper) • Very selective for Congressional documents

  32. Examples of Doc Numbers • H.doc.158, 79-1 • 10th Annual Report of Securities and Exchange Commission, 1944 (House Document in Serial Set) • S.rp.205, 59-1 • Increase of pension for William J. Grow (Senate Report in Serial Set) • Y4.P84/10:90-38 • Proposed National Criminal Statistics Center (Published Hearing)

  33. Search Strategy • Search Congressional Universe or other CIS print indexes in SSRC • If not held in fiche, gather as much bibliographic information as possible • Search Main & Supplemental Catalogs • Try searching for Miscellaneous Prints, Reports or Hearings of the committee • Refer to U.S. Documents Librarian & Staff

  34. Beyond Princeton • Rutgers University • Alexander Library • Regional Depository • Newark Public Library • Other Large Depositories • New York Public Library • Columbia University • Harvard University

  35. Beyond Princeton Cont’d • Library of Congress • National Archives • RLIN & OCLC

  36. Thank You!

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