Document Type | Abbreviation |
House bill | H.R. |
Senate bill | S. |
House Joint Resolution | H.J.Res. |
Senate Joint Resolution | S.J.Res. |
House Concurrent Resolution | H.Con.Res. |
Senate Concurrent Resolution | S.Con.Res. |
House Resolution | H.Res. |
Senate Resolution | S.Res. |
When searching for federal laws enacted by Congress, you can search the U.S. Statutes at Large by date, or the U.S. Code by subject.
The Congressional Research Service (CRS) is the non-partisan public policy research arm of the United States Congress. CRS experts prepare reports to assist members of Congress throughout the legislative process, providing background information and data on public policy issues.
Common Document Types | Description |
Bills, Amendments, Resolutions |
Proposed legislation, which may take many forms |
Debates |
Official proceedings and debates are published daily in the Congressional Record |
Hearings |
Committees may decide to publish publicly held hearings, two months to two years after they are held |
Committee Prints & Conference Reports |
Findings and recommendations of committees, reported back to the House or Senate as a whole |
Public Laws |
Enacted legislation that affect the general population. For each session of Congress, all acts and resolutions are published chronologically in the U.S. Statutes at Large. These are then codified and integrated by topic into the U.S. Code. |