December 13, 2015 Congress.gov Adds Congressional Record Index, Quick-Search Function

The free legislative information website Congress.gov beginning today added the Congressional Record Index to the site’s searchable data sets. It is the last of multiple upgrades to the site throughout 2015 as the Library of Congress moves toward discontinuing the legacy information site THOMAS.gov.

The Congressional Record Index data set runs from 1995 to the present day. Other enhancements include a new “quick-search” feature, a U.S. states and territories interactive finding-aid map, text of legislation from the 101st and 102nd Congresses (1989-1992) and a Spanish-language version of the legislative process infographic. The quick search interface is one of many user-feedback-driven enhancements to the site in 2015.

Congress.gov this year added extensive new features, including email alerts, which notify users of the status of legislation and other developments; treaty documents; improved search, browse and accessibility among other enhancements informed by user feedback; and Senate executive communications.

“I am proud of the progress our web team has made on Congress.gov this year,” said the Library’s Chief Information Officer, Bud Barton. “The site continues to expand its data offerings and functionality. Importantly, its responsiveness to user feedback demonstrates our emphasis on providing good customer service on all our online properties.”

Congress.gov is the official source for federal legislative information. A collaboration among the Library of Congress, the U.S. Senate, the U.S. House of Representatives and the Government Publishing Office, Congress.gov is a free resource that provides searchable access to bill status and summary, bill text, member profiles, the Congressional Record, committee reports, direct links from bills to cost estimates from the Congressional Budget Office, legislative process videos, committee profile pages and historic access reaching back as far as 1973. The site has had more than 36 million page views in fiscal 2015.

The Library of Congress, the nation’s first-established federal cultural institution and the largest library in the world, holds more than 160 million items in various languages, disciplines and formats. The Library seeks to spark imagination and creativity and to further human understanding and wisdom by providing access to knowledge through its magnificent collections, programs, publications and exhibitions. Many of the Library’s rich resources can be accessed through its website at loc.gov.