This tutorial is divided into 8 main sections. The Introduction (where you are now) provides background information and explains how the tutorial is structured. The next 6 main sections correspond to the stages in the legislative process:
- Bills
- Committee Action
- Floor Action
- Conference
- President
- Law
Within each of these sections:
- An "About" page describes what happens at this stage, as a bill moves through Congress to become a law.
- Documents created at each stage (bills, hearings, reports, etc.) are described.
- Key sources for locating each document type are provided.
- Online sources open in new windows for searching.
- "Tips" pages provide searching instructions.
Finally, the last section describes sources for Compiled Legislative Histories. In many cases legislative histories have been compiled by other researchers and commercial publishers. Before undertaking the research required to create a legislative history, check first to see if one already exists.