Library Resources for Tracking a Bill
POS 4424 U.S. Congress – 2/27/2006
Librarian: Bruce Barron

ACCESSING INFORMATION

The address of the Library’s web site is (http://www.fau.edu/library). In order to access databases from home you must use EZ Proxy. This can be done by going to Quick Links on the homepage and then clicking <EZ Proxy>. You must then enter your Owl Card number.

LexisNexis Congressional, CQ Weekly, and National Journal can be found by choosing Index/Databases from the Quick Links and then selecting the appropriate letter under Databases by Title. Thomas can be found in the Government Resources links under Research Resources on the homepage.

It may be helpful to become more familiar with the legislative process and applicable terminology before beginning this assignment. A good source of information about this topic is available in Thomas.

SELECTED RESOURCES

Thomas - Legislative Information On the Internet

Locate this resource from the Library’s homepage by selecting Research Resources, then Government Resources, followed by Federal Government Resources. Look under “Legislative Branch” to find the link.

Review detailed information concerning the legislative process by selecting “From a Bill to a Law” in the Learn section of the homepage.

Begin by choosing  Search Multiple, Previous Congresses and then use keyword search for bills from selected sessions of Congress. Make sure to choose from Enrolled Bills Sent to the President.  

Track a bill by selecting Bill Summary and Status followed by All Congressional Action. You will find committee actions, reports, roll call votes, and links to the Congressional Record for your bill.

LexisNexis Congressional

Use this database to find hearings conducted on your bill, many of which will be available full text. From the homepage, select Legislative Histories, Bills & Laws followed by Get a Document. Enter the Enacted Bill Number or Public Law Number to find a list of documents including hearings.

If the hearing is available full text, you may print or email the information. If only an abstract is available, check the Library’s catalog to see if the full text print version is owned.

You may do a search to track a bill similar to Thomas by selecting Bills and then searching by keyword or bill number.

National Journal

Use this resource to read commentary about your bill. Use the Advanced Search mode and select keywords as well as dates when your bill was being discussed.

Information on the dealings that involve your bill can also be found by searching appropriate dates in This Week on the Hill. In addition, you may search for more details in Congress Daily.

CQ Weekly

Use this resource to read about the “inside story” concerning your bill. Remember to write down the dates when your bill was being acted upon to help you locate articles about it.

You may search articles in this database using keywords in Quick Search and then modify the results page to date order. You may also search in the Archives by selecting Browse by Issue Date or Browse by Topic.

FINDING ADDITIONAL ASSISTANCE

Ask-A-Librarian email reference help

Government Documents Department phone number: 561-297-3788

Reference Desk phone number: 561-297-3785

Make an appointment with a librarian: One-on-one reference consultation