Bill Summaries
Media and Other Reports
Roll Call Votes
Special Interest Groups
Campaign Finance Information

Thomas
Contains a wide range of full-text legeislative materials. Includes bills (1973- ), laws (1973- ), the daily Congressional Record (1989- ), and links to roll call votes (1990- ). First place to go to track legislation: bill summaries, sponsors, roll call votes, full text, committee reports and hearings, CBO cost estimates, related bills, and amendments.

1. Select Advanced Search
2. Select congress
3. Search by bill number, e.g. H.R. 4715

LexisNexis Congressional (now ProQuest Congressional)
Includes links to texts of bills, list of congressional documents published during the legislative process, Congressional Record floor discussion

1. In left-hand column, select Legislative Histories, Bills & Laws
2. Limit by congress
3. Search by bill number, e.g. H.R. 4715 (use punctuation)

CQ Weekly

1. Select Advanced Search and use congress or date limits
2. Search by bill no - no punctuation, e.g. HR 4715
3. may also need to search by keyword

LexisNexis Congressional: Political News/Hot Topics (now ProQuest Congressional)
Searches: Section A of the The Washington Post, The Hill, and Roll Call

1. In left column, select Political News/Hot Topics
2. Limit by year
3. If you get too many resutls, limit search to words in title

LexisNexis Academic
Includes newspapers, newsweeklies, media reports

1. Select Power Search (in lower right "box"), which allows you to limit by year
2. For H.R. 4715, in Select Source box, use By Type, and select "All News (English)"

Academic Search Premier
Includes journals, some newspapers, newsweeklies

1. Search by title of bill limit by year
2. May need to do a keyword search for subject terms
3. If necessary, use "Congress" or "Law and legistlation"

GreenFILE
Offers well-researched but accessible information covering all aspects of human impact on the environment. Its collection of scholarly, government and general-interest titles include content on the environmental effects of individuals, corporations and local/national governments, and what can be done on each level to minimize negative impact. Topics covered include global warming, green building, pollution, sustainable agriculture, renewable energy, recycling, and more.

PAIS International
Articles and government reports aimed at public administrators.

1. Limit by language English
2. May need to include "United States" or "U.S."

Thomas
Contains a wide range of full-text legeislative materials. Includes bills (1973- ), laws (1973- ), the daily Congressional Record (1989- ), and links to roll call votes (1990- ). First place to go to track legislation: bill summaries, sponsors, roll call votes, full text, committee reports and hearings, CBO cost estimates, related bills, and amendments.

1. In center column, select Roll Call Votes (underneath More Legislative Information)
2. Browse by house, congress, and session
3. Votes are listed by roll call number, but also include bill number

LexisNexis Congressional (now ProQuest Congressional)

1. In left-hand column, select Legislative Histories, Bills & Laws
2. Click on Floor Votes
3. Select Congress
4. Search bill number, e.g. H.R. 4715 (use punctuation)

Identifying who is interested in an issue can lead you to their website for further information, if desired. Also look at Campaign Finance material, below

LexisNexis Congressional (now ProQuest Congressional)
Look for hearings on your bill. Witnesses who testify are identified in the bill

MapLight.org
Mashup of private and government information: voting records (Thomas), contributions (CRP data from FEC), and support for bills (hearings, news databases, organizational websites). Most interesting cross-tabulation is contributions received by yes/no vote for each bill.

1. Use the Bills tab
2. Search by bill number
3. Limit by congress number
4. Select "Organizations Supported and Opposed" link

Search the catalog for lists of lobbists and special interest groups
Lobbyists -- United States -- Encyclopedias
Pressure groups -- United States -- Encyclopedias
Political action committees -- United States -- Directories

Campaign Finance Delicious bookmarks

MapLight.org
Mashup of private and government information: voting records (Thomas), contributions (CRP data from FEC), and support for bills (hearings, news databases, organizational websites). Most interesting cross-tabulation is contributions received by yes/no vote for each bill.

1. Use the Bills tab
2. Search by bill number
3. Limit by congress number.