Research & Subject Guides: Political Science: Congress

Top Database Picks

Almanac of American Politics
In-depth profiles of every governor, Senator, and House member; campaign finance data for all Senators and House members—plus their challengers--in the most recent election vital statistics on Congress; analysis of voter turnout in each state and congressional district for the 2016 presidential elections; demographic information for every state and district, including the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey.
CQ Researcher
CQ Research Plus Archive is a database of in-depth, authoritative reports on a full range of political and social-policy issues extending back to 1923. Each report is footnoted and includes an overview, background section, chronology, bibliography and debate-style pro-con feature, plus tools to study the evolution of the topic over time.

CQ's Vital Statistics on American Politics Online
Date coverage varies. Provides basic statistical information on congress, elections, the presidency and the judiciary. Also includes issues related to state and local government, media analyses, campaign finances, foreign, social and economic policy. Reference guides to statistical analysis include downloadable tables.

National Journal Publications
2005-present. Fulltext. Includes the Almanac of American Politics, Hotline, selected articles from the National Journal, CongressDaily, American Health Line and Technology Daily. Also includes polls, news, guides, campaign information, bill status, tracking information, book reviews and market reports.

ProQuest Congressional
Some fulltext from early 1990s-present. Fulltext of CRS reports 1916-present. Subjects covered include U.S. bills, committee prints, Congressional Record, Code of Federal Regulations, documents, Federal Register, hearings, laws, legislative histories, members, and regulations.

Bills Project
1947-2008. This public resource provides information about more than 400,000 bills introduced in the U.S. Congress during the years above. Also includes extensive information about each bill's progress and sponsor. This data may be merged with ICPSR data.
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It is used by researchers to study legislative institutions and behavior; by policy experts to study issue attention in Congress; and even by citizens studying their family histories (the dataset provides the only digitized records of tens of thousands of private bills introduced between 1947 and 1972).
Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1774-present
C-SPAN
CongressLink
From the Dirksen Center. The website is directed to teachers of American Government and civics. Also included are lesson plans, historical materials and current information about Congress.
Fast Facts for Congress
This Census website provides access to selected statistics they collect through the American Community Survey. Statistics are demographic, social, and economic.

U.S. Government Documents
Dates vary from early and mid 1990's. Full text. The primary source for free, online, published, official and authenticated government information. Includes Congressional bills, budget, documents, prints, and reports, hearings, the Congressional Record, the Constitution, the Federal Register, the United States Code, Presidential Documents, Public and Private Laws, United States Code and Statutes at Large. Links to the CGP (Catalog of Government Publications), news, offices of the Inspector General, Congressional Relations, and more.

Fednet
U. S. Congressional Documents & Debates
From the Library of Congress. Only some full text. Provides a gateway to information about the Continental Congress and the Constitutional Convention, Statutes and Documents, Journals and Debates of Congress.

BEST RESOURCES FOR FINDING:

If you need:	Try using:
Member Information	CQ Weekly in CQ Press, Almanac of America Politics, National Journal
Party Platforms	National Journal
Voting Records	CQ Weekly in CQ Press, NationalJournalAlmanac
Ethnic Opinions	Ethnic NewsWatch
Election Analyses	CQ Weekly in CQ Press, CQ Voting & Elections, NationalJournalRoll Call, CQ's Vital
Statistics	CQ's Vital Statistics on American Politics Online, CQ Voting & Elections, iPoll Databank
Polls	iPoll Databank
District Descriptions	NationalJournalAlmanac, US Census Bureau
Public Policies
Maps	Almanac of American Politics
GAO Reports
E-Mail Alerts	NationalJournal Almanac, Roll Call (CQ Voting & Elections), CQ Weekly in CQ Press
Predictions	iPoll Databank, Roll Call
Polls & Public Opinion	NationalJournalAlmanac, Polling the Nations
Saved Searches	CQ Weekly in CQ Press
Lobbying & Lobbyists	Roll Call, iPoll
Podcasts	NationalJournalAlmanac,
Transcripts
Blogs	NationalJournalAlmanac