Last revised: July, 2007
Finding Congressional Hearings
Scope: The purpose of this guide is to assist you in finding hearings located in the Government Documents section of McKeldin Library. The role hearings play in the legislative process, an explanation of the Su Doc Classification System used to organize hearings, and additional Internet resources are provided as well. If you have any questions or would like further assistance, please contact the U.S. Government Information, Maps & GIS Services staff at 301-405-9165 or send an e-mail to govdocs@umail.umd.edu.
Table of Contents |
The Legislative Process:
After a bill is introduced into the House or Senate, it is referred to the committee within that chamber having jurisdiction over that legislation. Within a committee, a bill is typically referred to a subcommittee for that specific area of concern. If a bill warrants consideration, the subcommittee will schedule public hearings. However, hearings can also be held by the full committee as well.
Public hearings are most commonly held to gather information and opinions regarding the desirability of legislation in question. At times, hearings are held even when no legislation has been introduced.
Types of Hearings:
- Legislative hearings: concerning bills.
- Oversight hearings: concerning the ongoing monitoring of government operations.
- Investigatory hearings: to explore the need for legislation, inform public opinion, or uncover scandal.
Contents of Hearings:
Some individuals may be invited or may request to speak at hearings. Such individuals may include technical and academic experts, Federal agency administrators, public and private interest groups and individuals, and elected state, local, and Federal representatives. Some witnesses prepare well-documented presentations that may include analyses or unique perspectives. For investigatory hearings witnesses may be required to appear by congressional directive.
Most hearing publications contain the full transcripts of the hearing's proceedings, usually arranged in the order of appearance of the witnesses. They include oral statements, committee questions, discussion, texts of related reports, statistical analyses, correspondence, exhibits, and articles presented to the committee by witnesses or inserted into the record by committee members and staff.
For more detailed information about hearings, see How Our Laws Are Made from the Library of Congress's Thomas database.
Superintendent of Documents (Su Doc) Classification System:
Hearings are given a call number using the Superintendent of Documents Classification System, typically known as "Su Doc". The Su Doc system organizes publications by the agency that wrote the publication. Therefore all Department of Agriculture publications will be in shevled with an "A" call number, while publications authored by the Department of Commerce will be shelved with a "C" call number, etc. Since the system is based on the current name and organization of the agency, call numbers change with government reorganization. Thus, publications from some issuing agencies may be found under different call numbers to reflect the continuous reorganization of the government. Congressional Hearings are classified with numbers begining in Y 4. followed by additional letters and numbers to indicate which committee held the hearing. See An Explanation of the Superintendent of Documents Classification System from the Government Printing Office for further details.
To find print copies of hearings by call number in the Government Documents section of McKeldin Library, follow these steps:
Example: Y4.J 89/1:101-13
- Find the Y4 section in the Government Documents Collection.
- Find the shelves containing documents of the correct Congress (e.g., 101, found after the colon).
- Find the section of documents with the committee designation (e.g., J 89/1 is the House Committee on the Judiciary).
- Find the Congress and series number on the document (e.g., 101-13 is the 13th hearing of the committee in the 101st congress).
Resources for Finding Hearings:
Congressional committee hearings were first held early in the nineteenth century and became a major component of Congressional work in the years following the Civil War. As a result, hearings may be found starting in the early 1800's and continuing into the present.
Hearings may be found through print indexes as well as databases on the Web. Print indexes are typically used in conjunction with full-text on microfiche. However, a print copy of the hearing may also be available. Freely available Internet databases aim to provide searchable full-text of select hearings, but full text is typically limited to recent hearings only (i.e. mid-1990's and onward). It is important to remember that online full text hearings may only contain the testimony delivered in the hearing.
Web Resources for Finding Hearings:
Note that full text coverage is limited for online resources and may only include transcripts of testimony from the hearing. For complete hearings consult the paper or microfiche versions.
This database is available to UM students and faculty. It provides access to congressional documents from 1789 to the present, with much of the material from the 1980's forward being available in full-text. It also includes legislative histories, laws, regulations, and information about Congress, as well as full-text access to the U.S. Congressional Serial Set from 1789-1969. If full text is not available, this database can be used to track down the call number or microfiche number to access the publication in print or microfiche.
This database, provided free-of-charge by the Federal government, includes selected House and Senate hearings since the 105th Congress (begining in 1997). For further assistance, see Congressional Hearings, Helpful Hints.
Print Indexes:
The following print and corresponding microfiche resources may be found in the Government Documents section in McKeldin Library.
CIS U.S Congressional Committee Hearings Index (early 1800's - 1969)
LOCATION: UMCP McKeldin Library, Government Documents Reference
CALL NUMBER: KF25.C66
This resource provides comprehensive index access to published hearings from the early 1800's through 1969. Index coverage includes bills and laws discussed, Federal agencies concerned, witnesses who testified, and the organizations they represent. This index directs the user to the full-text found on microfiche.
The index is divided into 8 parts according to time period (e.g., Part I: 1800 - Mar. 1917), each including a reference bibliography, indexing by subjects and organizations, indexing by personal names, and supplementary indexing by publication title, bill number, Superintendent of Documents (SuDoc) Classification number, and Report or Document number.
Also available to locate unpublished hearings are:
- CIS Index to Unpublished U.S. Senate Committee Hearings (1823-1976)
LOCATION: UMCP McKeldin Library, Government Documents Reference
CALL NUMBER: KF40.C55 - CIS Index to Unpublished U.S. House of Representatives Committee Hearings (1833-1964)
LOCATION: UMCP McKeldin Library, Government Documents Reference
CALL NUMBER: KF40.C54
CIS Annual Index (1970 - present)
LOCATION: UMCP McKeldin Library, Government Documents Reference
CALL NUMBER: JK8.C6
This source continues the indexing of hearings following CIS U.S Congressional Committee Hearings Index (early 1800's - 1969). It includes an index, legislative histories, and abstracts. The index directs the user to the full-text of the hearings on microfiche. Ask for a copy of the CIS/Index Search Guide, available at the information desk in U.S. Government Information, Maps & GIS Services, for more detailed information.
NOTE: Hearings cataloged in the USMAI Catalog are limited primarily to recent years only (approximately 1997 onward). Ask at the reference desk if you cannot find what you are looking for, or consult another resource listed in this guide.
If you want to find hearings about a particular subject, do a word/s anywhere search using words for your topic followed by the word "hearing."
Examples: chemical weapons hearing
breast cancer hearing
Additional Web Resources:
This database is an index to some government documents, articles, books, conference proceedings, book chapters, and statistical directories about public affairs from 1972 to the present.
Law Librarian Society of D.C., Legislative Sourcebook
This website provides Quick Links to the selected House and Senate committee hearings hosted on the GPO Access website. Additional hearing information pertaining to each House and Senate committee is also provided.
This website provides coverage of Congressional floor and committee proceedings translated into real audio and current Congressional television programming.
Additionally, CapitolHearings.org, a service of C-SPAN, users can listen to Senate hearings LIVE online.
