Free Legislative History

The Daily Congressional Record is separated into four parts: (1) Senate floor proceedings, (2) House floor proceedings, (3) Extensions of Remarks (additional remarks of House Members), and (4) Daily Digest (summary of floor and committee proceedings). 

Be careful when relying on statements made in the Extension of Remarks as a tool for determininng legislative intent. These statements are not actulaly deleivered on the House floor, and therefore may have no impact on a floor vote.  

After each session, a permanent version of the Congressional Record is published with continious pagination and no section designations.

The Congressional Record Index (CRI) is published biweekly indexes individuals, organizations, and topics mentioned in the Congressional Record. In the print format, the CRI also includes the History of Bills and Resolutions, which exists as a separate collection on FDsys. 

When using the CRI, an entry will refer to the page of the daily issue, such as H2937(House section), along with the date of the issue, such as 25JA (Jaunuary 25th). 

The Law Library of Congress's A Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation includes access to debates of congress that predated the Congressional Record.