Top Legislative Sources


Through your contract with LexisNexis, you have access to hundreds of legislative sources.  These sources can be found on www.nexis.com by going to Power Search, Find More Sources, in the Legislation & Politics folder.  On www.lexis.com, the Legislation & Politics folder is found on the main Sources screen under the Legal tab.  The Legislative sources are comprised of U.S. Federal and State information as well as Campaign Finance information gathered by the FEC (Federal Election Commission).


Federal Legislative Information


Congressional Full Text Bills, Current Congress (Legislation & Politics Folder / U.S. Congress / Congressional Full Text Bills, Current Congress)
This source contains all bills and resolutions introduced in the current Congress. Each bill, as well as each updated version, is treated as a unique document.  Follow which members of Congress sponsor proposed legislation, what area of business or law a bill impacts, and what changes occurred since the introduction of the original version. Also, you can link to the Bill's tracking report to review the actions taken on a bill, or link to the US Code sections that the bill proposed to amend.  (You may also find historical information on bills by looking in the Full Text of Bills – Historical folder, which provides full-text bills back to the 101st Congress)

Bill Tracking Report – Current Congress (Legislation & Politics Folder / U.S. Congress / Bill Tracking Report – Current Congress)
Use Bill Tracking Reports to follow a bill in the complicated path from its introduction through the hearing process, to mark up, to floor vote, to signature by the President.  At any time you can find out the latest status on a bill, who has added their name to a bill by becoming a co-sponsor, or link to the full text of the bill, the Congressional Record, or a vote report.

In addition, Bill Tracking Reports will alert you whenever a change has occurred on a bill - from a change in committee referral to passage by a chamber or signature by the President. Use the Bill Tracking Reports file to learn what changes have taken place and to predict what changes may occur.

Use the links within the Bill Tracking Reports file to locate bill text, floor votes, committee reports, Congressional Record pages, and the public law (if appropriate).  (You may also find historical information on Bill Tracking Reports from previous Congresses by looking in the Bill Tracking – Historical folder, which provides Bill Tracking Reports back to the 101st Congress)

Congressional Record (Legislation & Politics Folder / U.S. Congress / Congressional Record…)
The Congressional Record on LexisNexis contains the full-text of the Congressional Record from the 99th Congress to the current Congress. You may choose to search all Congresses combined, or you may search the Record by Congress, or by Section.

Committee Reports (Legislation & Politics Folder / U.S. Congress / Committee Reports)
The Committee Report file contains the full text of House and Senate Committee Reports.  House and Senate committees issue Committee Reports following the consideration of legislation. A report details the bill's progress in committee, including how the bill was amended, what amendments were adopted or rejected, the estimated cost of programs proposed in the legislation, and minority and majority opinions.

Washington Daybook (Legislation & Politics Folder / U.S. Congress / Washington Daybook)
This sources provides daily, weekly, and future scheduling information for meetings and activities of the U.S. Congress, Congressional Committees, the U.S. Supreme Court, Federal Agencies, and other important organizations in the Washington, D.C. area.  Click here for a more detailed description of this source.

FNS Daybook (Legislation & Politics Folder / U.S. Congress / FNS Daybook)
The Federal News Service Daybook provides a report of events scheduled by the U.S. Congress, Federal Government and private sector in the Washington, D.C. area.  Click here for a more detailed description of this source.

Committee Membership Profiles - Current Congress (Legislation & Politics Folder / U.S.Congress / Committee Membership Profiles - Current Congress)
This source provides information for all Select, Joint, and Standing Committees (and their respective subcommittees) of Congress for the current Congress. Since the Committee process plays a major role in the shaping of legislation, it is important to know the "key players". Each document contains selected information on majority and minority membership, key staff, and jurisdiction when available. Information for previous Congresses is also available back to 104th Congress.

House and Senate Floor Voting Records, Combined (Legislation & Politics Folder / U.S. Congress / House and Senate Floor Voting Records, Combined)
This sources contains all floor and committee vote information, including House and Senate floor votes, member voting records, committee profiles, and selected committee votes.

Member Biographical Profiles - Current Congress  (Legislation & Politics Folder / U.S. Congress / Member Biographical Profiles - Current Congress)
Biographical information includes name, party, office, address, e-mail address, web URL, birthdate, occupation, education and military status.  In addition to a biography, you can locate committee and subcommittee assignments.  Information is also available for members of previous Congresses back to 104th Congress.

Committee Hearing Transcripts  (Legislation & Politics Folder / U.S. Congress / Committee Hearing Transcripts / FDCH Political Transcripts, Federal News Service, National Narrowcast Network Transcripts)
This is a "combined" file source. On www.lexis.com, combine sources by clicking the link that says "show checkboxes for combining sources" and then check next to the three sources - FDCH Political Transcripts, Federal News Service, National Narrowcast Network Transcripts - mentioned above.  On www.nexis.com, click the "Add" link next to each of the three to bring all three sources to the Power Search screen simultaneously.

This file is a group file containing transcripts of congressional hearings, individual written testimony of witnesses and detailed reports of select committee hearings. It is made up of written testimony and verbatim transcripts from Federal Document Clearing House, Federal News Service, and National Narrowcast Network.

State Legislative Information
For legislative information from the 50 U.S. states - go to the Legislation & Politics Folder / U.S. States / ...

You will be able to search for both the State Full Text Bills and Bill Tracking Reports.  Sources may be searched individually (i.e. one state at a time) or as a large group - all 50 states together. The information provided in the State Bill Tracking Reports is similar to the information provided in the Federal Bill Tracking Reports.

U.S. Campaign Sources
Legislation & Politics Folder / U.S. Campaign ...
The sources in the U.S. Campaign Folder provide documents on Campaign Finance information, including Member financial profiles and honoraria receipts, political action committee reports, campaign and political action committee summary reports, FEC Advisory Opinions and FEC Recent Releases. Sources include:

- Campaign Summary Reports
- Political Action Committee Contributions Reports (PAC)
- Federal Election Commission Advisory Opinions