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Research Guides

Introduction

This page contains key online congressional resources, links to highly relevant topics in the Government Publications Sources by Subject guide, and background information about congress.  More in depth information and sources can be found on the following pages:

Congress: House and Senate Starting Points

Major Congressional Resources

The following resources are Sources by Subject pages which contain a variety of methods to access the respective documents.  Basic information about the resources is also included.

Background Information

Senate Chamber

a black and white photo of the interior of the senate chamber

Senate chamber c. 1952, accessed from the digital collections at the Library of Congress.

House and Senate - Introduction

The United States Congress is the "collective identity of the Senate and House of Representatives." The House and the Senate have equal status; since 1913, all bills must pass in both chambers in the process of becoming laws. However, the House and the Senate are different institutions. There are 100 senators, two from every state, and 435 representatives, with at least one from every state and apportioned otherwise according to population.

To find the year that corresponds to a session of Congress, see: Guide: Congressional Session Chart, Indiana University, Bloomington.

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