A manual for writers of research papers, theses, and dissertations, 7th edition - Kate L. Turabian 2007

Congressional publications
Notes-bibliography style: citing specific types of sources
Part II. Source Citation

For congressional publications, bibliography entries usually begin with the designation U.S. Congress, followed by Senate or House. (You may also simplify this to U.S. Senate or U.S. House.) In notes, U.S. is usually omitted. Other common elements include committee and subcommittee, if any; title of document; number of the Congress and session (abbreviated Cong. and sess. respectively in this position); date of publication; and number and description of the document (for example, H. Doc. 487), if available.

DEBATES. Since 1873, congressional debates have been published by the government in the Congressional Record (in notes, often abbreviated as Cong. Rec.). Whenever possible, cite the permanent volumes, which often reflect changes from the daily issues of the Record.

N: 16. Cong. Rec., 71st Cong., 2d sess., 1930, 72, pt. 10: 10828—30.

B: U.S. Congress. Congressional Record. 71st Cong., 2d sess., 1930. Vol. 72, pt. 10.

Occasionally you may need to identify a speaker in a debate, the subject, and a date in a note.

N: 4. Senator Kennedy of Massachusetts, speaking for the Joint Resolution on Nuclear Weapons Freeze and Reductions, on March 10, 1982, to the Committee on Foreign Relations, S.J. Res. 163, 97th Cong., 1st sess., Cong. Rec. 128, pt. 3: 3832—34.

Before 1874, congressional debates were published in Annals of the Congress of the United States (also known by other names and covering the years 1789—1824), Congressional Debates (1824—37), and Congressional Globe (1833—73). Cite these works similarly to the Congressional Record.

REPORTS AND DOCUMENTS. When you cite reports and documents of the Senate (abbreviated S.) and the House (H.), include both the Congress and session numbers and, if possible, the series number. Notice the form for a shortened note, which differs from the usual pattern (see 16.4.1).

N: 9. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, The Mutual Security Act of 1956, 84th Cong., 2d sess., 1956, S. Rep. 2273, 9—10.

14. Declarations of a State of War with Japan, Germany, and Italy, 77th Cong., 1st sess., 1941, S. Doc. 148, serial 10575, 2—5.

15. Senate Committee, Mutual Security Act, 9.

22. Reorganization of the Federal Judiciary, 75th Cong., 1st sess., 1937, S. Rep. 711.

B: U.S. Congress. House. Report of Activities of the National Advisory Council on International Monetary and Financial Problems to March 31, 1947. 80th Cong., 1st sess., 1947. H. Doc. 365.

HEARINGS. Records of testimony given before congressional committees are usually published with titles, which should be included in citations. List the relevant committee as author. Notice the form for a shortened note, which differs from the usual pattern (see 16.4.1).

N: 13. House Committee on Banking and Currency, Bretton Woods Agreements Act: Hearings on H.R. 3314, 79th Cong., 1st sess., 1945, 12—14.

14. House Committee, Bretton Woods, 13.

B: U.S. Congress. Senate. Committee on Foreign Relations. Famine in Africa: Hearing before the Committee on Foreign Relations. 99th Cong., 1st sess., January 17, 1985.

BILLS AND RESOLUTIONS. Congressional bills (proposed laws) and resolutions are published in pamphlet form. In citations, bills and resolutions originating in the House of Representatives are abbreviated HR and those originating in the Senate, S. Include publication details in the Congressional Record (if available).

N: 16. Food Security Act of 1985, HR 2100, 99th Cong., 1st sess., Congressional Record 131, no. 132, daily ed. (October 8, 1985): H 8461.

B: U.S. Congress. House. Food Security Act of 1985. HR 2100. 99th Cong., 1st sess. Congressional Record 131, no. 132, daily ed. (October 8, 1985): H 8353—8486.

STATUTES. Statutes, which are bills or resolutions that have been passed into law, are first published separately and then collected in the annual bound volumes of the United States Statutes at Large, which began publication in 1874. Later they are incorporated into the United States Code. Cite U.S. Statutes, the U.S. Code, or both; cite specific provisions by section (preceded by a section symbol and a space) and, in Statutes, by page.

Cite statutes in notes only; you do not need to include them in your bibliography. Notice the form for a shortened note, which differs from the usual pattern (see 16.4.1).

N: 18. Atomic Energy Act of 1946, Public Law 585, 79th Cong., 2d sess. (August 1, 1946), 12, 19.

19. Telecommunications Act of 1996, Public Law 104—104, U.S. Statutes at Large 110 (1996): 56.

25. National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, Public Law 91—190, § 102, U.S. Statutes at Large 83 (1970): 853, codified at U.S. Code 42 (2000), § 4332.

27. National Environmental Policy Act, § 103.

Before 1874, laws were published in the seventeen-volume Statutes at Large of the United States of America, 1789—1873. Citations to this collection include the volume number and its publication date.