Thomas / Congress.gov / Library of Congress / Govinfo (CongressionalGlossary.com)

From the Congressional Glossary – Including Legislative and Budget Terms

Thomas / Congress.gov (Library of Congress)

“THOMAS: In the spirit of Thomas Jefferson, legislative information from the Library of Congress”

THOMAS is now Congress.gov

THOMAS / Thomas was launched in January of 1995, at the inception of the 104th Congress. The leadership of the 104th Congress directed the Library of Congress to make federal legislative information freely available to the public. Since that time THOMAS has expanded the scope of its offerings. CRS bill digests are available for legislation listed on THOMAS.

THOMAS provides many options for finding legislative information. The site has frequently asked questions (FAQs) about Congress.gov and an extensive list of topics on the Help page.

THOMAS is the place to begin any online research on the current Congress—texts of legislation, reports, legislative status, access to committee and member information, and so on. In conjunction with the House and Senate, the Library of Congress operates THOMAS to make congressional information and documents easily available to everyone. Some users need more value-added information than THOMAS supplies, but THOMAS’ quick, easy access to current status information, texts of documents, schedules, and links to complementary web resources makes it a site to visit daily. At the very least, the potential user should set aside thirty to sixty minutes to explore the site and get to know it before an emergency need for information arises.

Congress.gov can be used to search for a legislator’s public positions and official statements published in the Congressional Record (official transcript of the full House’s and the full Senate’s proceedings) on various bills and topics. The Thomas homepage allows the user to:
1. Search for bills introduced or cosponsored by a legislator, and
2. Search the Congressional Record for statements made on a specific subject, bills, or amendments debated, and materials included in the record by a member of Congress.

Also see Congressional Record; Government Printing Office / GPO; Library of Congress; § 9.20 Finding and Obtaining Congressional Documents, in Congressional Deskbook; § 3.8 The Seven Ps: Questions to consider before communicating with policymakers, in Lobbying and Advocacy.

GPO launched govinfo.gov in 2016 as the successor to FDsys.
 

More

• Thomas is now Congress.gov
• Congress.gov FAQs
• THOMAS – Wikipedia
• Govinfo.gov

Courses

• Congressional Operations Briefing – Capitol Hill Workshop
• Drafting Federal Legislation and Amendments
• Writing for Government and Business: Critical Thinking and Writing
• Custom, On-Site Training
• Drafting Effective Federal Legislation and Amendments in a Nutshell, Audio Course on CD
• Congress, the Legislative Process, and the Fundamentals of Lawmaking Series, a Nine-Course series on CD

Publications

Legislative Drafter’s Deskbook: A Practical Guide

Pocket Constitution

Citizen’s Handbook to Influencing Elected Officials: A Guide for Citizen Lobbyists and Grassroots Advocates

Congressional Procedure

CongressionalGlossary.com, from TheCapitol.Net