Researching current federal legislation includes identifying action on pending or passed legislation and locating the relevant documents or text. Analysis, discussion, or media coverage of pending or passed legislation also has a role in the legislative research process. Such research may be accomplished by using governmental, congressional, or commercial services. Congress.g ov http://www.congress.gov Congress.gov provides Members of Congress, their staff, and the general public access to a wide variety of information, including bill summary and status, bill text, committee referrals and committee reports, sponsors and cosponsors, and Congressional Record text. A version of a bill or resolution will typically appear in Congress.gov a day or two after it is introduced or has had action on the floor of the House or Senate. The text of bills is published by the Government Publishing Office (GPO) and sent to the Library of Congress at various times throughout the day. For an estimate as to when GPO will publish a bill, contact the GPO Congressional Desk for House bill versions at 202-512-0224 or Senate Bill Clerk for Senate bill versions at 202-224-2118. Note that the bill number may not determine the chamber for the most recent version—for example, "H.R. 1792 RS" is a Senate version (RS=Reported in Senate) of a House bill. Guidance in the use of Congress.gov is available at http://www.congress.gov/help . The Congress.gov Alert Service is available to anyone who wants to obtain email alerts regarding action on bills and amendments for subjects that they identify. Once established, alerts run automatically and generate emails Monday through Friday when there is new information. To learn more about alerts and how to create them, a brief video is available at https://www.congress.gov/help/tips/managing-alerts . Congressional Record https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/browse/collection.action?collectionCode=CREC and available via Congress.gov at http://www.congress.gov . Action on legislation passed or pending in the current Congress, and its status in the legislative process, is reported in the Congressional Record. The Record also contains the edited transcript of activities on the floor of the House and Senate. It is the primary source for the text of floor debates and the official source for recorded votes. The Record is published each day that one or both chambers are in session, except in instances when two or more consecutive issues are printed together. The Record 's Daily Digest section summarizes action in each chamber and identifies committee hearings, new public laws, official foreign travel reports, procedural agreements, Senate unanimous consent agreements, treaties and nominations actions, and committee meetings scheduled for the next legislative day. Indexes for the Record are issued twice a month. The Subject Index section can be used to identify bills by topic, and the History of Bills and Resolutions section tracks action on all legislation. Daily Compilation of Presidential Documents http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/browse/collection.action?collectionCode=CPD Published by the Office of the Federal Register, the Daily Compilation of Presidential Documents (and its predecessor, the Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents ) provides the dates on which the President signed or vetoed legislation. It also contains transcripts of presidential messages to Congress, executive orders, press releases, nominations submitted to the Senate, speeches, and other material released by the White House. govinfo.gov https://govinfo.gov The Government Publishing Office launched govinfo.gov as a beta website in February 2016. It is still a work in progress and will eventually replace GPO's Federal Digital System (FDsys). It provides free public access to the full text of official publications from the three branches of the federal government. Several govinfo tutorials and handouts are available on the site. Recorded webinars are also available through the Federal Depository Library Program Academy at https://fdlp.gov/about-the-fdlp/fdlp-academy . GPO Federal Digital System http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys GPO's FDsys is a website that enables GPO to display and deliver information from all branches of the U.S. government. Materials available on FDsys include the full text of bills, the Congressional Record and the Congressional Record Index (which includes a History of Bills and Resolutions section), congressional calendars, public laws, selected congressional reports and documents, the Daily Compilation of Presidential Documents , the Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents , the Federal Register , and the Code of Federal Regulations . Coverage varies for each of these publications. FDsys will eventually be replaced by govinfo.gov (see entry above). Legislative Information System http://www.lis.gov The predecessor to Congress.gov, the Legislative Information System (LIS), is still available but only to congressional staff. It is as current as Congress.gov and will continue to be available while further developments and improvements are made to Congress.gov. A specific date has not been set but plans are to retire LIS near the end of 2018. Alerts that previously existed in LIS must be recreated in Congress.gov. U. S. House of Representatives Home Page http://www.house.gov This website provides information from and about the House of Representatives, including the following: Congressional calendars House calendars (104 th Congress, 1995-present) http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/browse/collection.actioncollectionCode=CAL House committee activities http://www.house.gov/committees Directory of Representatives by state, district, and name http://www.house.gov/representatives The chamber's leadership http://www.house.gov/leadership House roll call votes starting with the 101 st Congress, second session (1990) http://clerk.house.gov/legislative/legvotes.aspx Brief descriptions of floor proceedings when the House is in session http://clerk.house.gov/floorsummary/floor.aspx U. S. Senate Home Page http://www.senate.gov This website offers legislative materials from and about the Senate, including the following: Congressional calendars Senate calendars (104 th Congress, 1995-present) http://www.senate.gov/pagelayout/legislative/d_three_sections_with_teasers/calendars.htm Background information on and links to materials on the legislative process, including a "How a Bill Becomes a Law" flowchart http://www.senate.gov/pagelayout/legislative/d_three_sections_with_teasers/process.htm Senate roll call votes starting with the 101 st Congress (1989-1990) http://www.senate.gov/pagelayout/legislative/a_three_sections_with_teasers/votes.htm The chamber's leadership http://www.senate.gov/pagelayout/senators/a_three_sections_with_teasers/leadership.htm Descriptions of the Senate committee system and of individual committees http://www.senate.gov/pagelayout/committees/d_three_sections_with_teasers/committees_home.htm Directories of Senators by name, state, class (term expiration date), and party http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm Glossary of common legislative terms http://www.senate.gov/pagelayout/reference/b_three_sections_with_teasers/glossary.htm House Documents Room http://clerk.house.gov/legislative/housedoc.aspx The House documents website provides links to sources for electronic copies of congressional bills, resolutions, and committee reports via the House Library and GPO's govinfo.gov. Cannon House Office Building 106 9:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m. Monday-Friday Phone: [phone number scrubbed]. A weekly compilation of measures that may be considered on the House floor is available from the Office of the Clerk at http://docs.house.gov . House Legislative Resource Center http://clerk.house.gov/about/offices_Lrc.aspx The Legislative Resource Center (LRC) provides centralized access to all published documents originating in and produced by the House and its committees, the historical records of the House since 1792, and legislative and legal reference resources. Congressional staff can retrieve legislative information and records of the House for congressional offices and the public by contacting the LRC. Cannon House Office Building 135 9:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m. Monday-Friday Phone: [phone number scrubbed] House Library http://library.clerk.house.gov The House Library provides legislative, legal, and general reference services to Members of Congress, congressional staff, and the public. Library staff conducts monthly classes on a variety of topics including how to access and use online resources. The reading room has reference materials and computers on which one may access subscription databases; tours may be arranged upon request. A House Library Portal is available for access by House staff only at http://library.house.gov . Cannon House Office Building 263 9:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m. Monday-Friday Phone: [phone number scrubbed] Senate Library http://webster.senate.gov/library (Not a public access site) The Senate Library serves present and former Senators, Member and committee staff, Senate leadership, and Senate officers. The Library provides legislative, historic, legal, business, and general reference materials and research services.