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Resource Name &
Link to Resource:		Congressional Bills
Description:

Coverage of legislative proposals from the House of Representatives and Senate within the United States Congress from the 103rd Congress (1993-1994) on.

There are six different types of bills.

  • House bills (H.R.) and Senate bills (S.) require the approval of both chambers (ie House and Senate) and the signature of the President to become law. 
  • House Joint Resolutions (H.J. Res.) and Senate Joint Resolutions (S.J. Res.) require the approval of both chambers and the signature of the President. Joint resolutions generally are used for limited matters, such as a single appropriation for a specific purpose and to propose amendments to the Constitution.
  • House Concurrent Resolutions (H. Con. Res.) and Senate Concurrent Resolutions (S. Con. Res.) require the approval of both chambers but do not require the signature of the President and do not have the force of law. Concurrent resolutions generally are used to make or amend rules that apply to both chambers.
  • House Simple Resolutions (H. Res.) and Senate Simple Resolutions (S. Res.) address matters entirely within the prerogative of one chamber or the other. They do not require the approval of the other chamber or the signature of the President, and they do not have the force of law.

There are numerous different bill versions that track a bill through the legislative process from introduction through passage by both chambers (enrolled version). All final published bill versions are available from GPO.
Resource Type(s): Government Publication 
Access information: Free resource - available to everyone on the Internet
Fulltext: Fulltext is available.
Vendor Name:Government Printing Office
Research Guides: History, Political Science, U.S. Federal Government Research
Coverage:1993 (103rd Congress) - present