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U.S. Congressional Hearings - Research Guide

Hearings are testimony before a Senate, House, Joint, or Special Committee of the U.S. Congress. They may be held in relation to pending legislation, as part of a congressional investigation, or in evaluation or oversight of the activities of a government department or the implementation of a Federal law. They might also be purely exploratory in nature, providing testimony and data about topics of current interest.

I. Full-text of Hearings found at Penn and elsewhere

Check the table below to see if the text of a hearing will be at available in print, microfiche, microcard at Penn or online. Note the arrangement of the hearings and the information needed to access them. If you need more information to find your hearing or want to identify hearings relevant to a subject, see II. Indexes and Databases for Identifying Hearings below. Please consult with a reference librarian if you need additional assistance.

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[Format: online]

1824 - present





LexisNexis Congressional includes
  • Full text of hearings from 1824 to 1979 in Congressional Hearings Retrospective 1824-1979. Searchable by committee name, geographical location, topic, witness name or affiliation, and more. Includes abstracts, indexing, and eventually searchable PDFs for both published and unpublished hearings.

  • Written submitted testimony for almost all congressional hearings from 1993 forward. There are transcripts of discussion sessions from selected hearings only. Coverage from 1988 to 1993 is less comprehensive.

  • Note, that about 140 hearings, out of several hundred from 1870-1913, were also published as Senate or House Reports or Documents and can be found in the US Serial Set of House and Senate Documents. Check LexisNexis Congressional for these scattered hearings in the U.S. Serial Set online.

Also GPO Access offers some hearings from 1995 (104th Congress) forward. Only hearings released to GPO from the committees are made available on GPO Access.

Please note that many full-text hearings appear in Google Books. Add Congress to the author search on the advanced search screen.
[Format: microfiche]

1981-present and selected sets





All hearings from 1981-present are available on microfiche in the [Van Pelt Library Reference Gov Docs Room].

Arrangement of these fiche hearings is by Superintendent of Documents (SuDocs) number, which can be obtained from:

  • LexisNexis Congressional - Choose Congressional Publications/Advanced Search, check Hearings.
  • WorldCat - many U.S. documents are catalog here, esp post-1976, see Class Descriptor field for SuDoc and Item Number.
  • Catalog of U.S. Government Publications, 1976-present, earlier records being added.
  • Monthly Catalog of U.S. Government Publications, [Van Pelt Library Reference Stacks: Z1223 .A18], use for pre-1976 documents.
  • CIS Index in print [Van Pelt Reference: JK1001 .C65, latest couple years, earlier in High Density Storage]

Biddle Law Library has many hearings in print from 1985 to the present in a SuDocs arrangement. You can use the above mentioned sources to locate SuDocs numbers. Biddle also has a duplicate current collection from 1986 to the present arranged by CIS number. In addition, Biddle has some retrospective sets of hearings on microfiche. Many titles are individually accessible via LOLA.

The following sets are at the Biddle Law Library:

U.S. congressional hearings supplement [microform]
Library has: 41st congr.(1869-1871)-73rd congr.(1933/1934)
Location: Biddle Law Library, Fiche Fed 2.6

Unpublished U.S. House of Representatives committee hearings [microform]
Library Has: 22nd congr.(1833)-1972
Location: Biddle Law Library, Fiche Fed 2.3

Also, All Congressional Hearings from this time period are available in the Congresses Greenwood Press microfiche collection. This collection is not owned by Penn.
[Available at the Philadelphia Free Library Government, Documents Department or through ILL]
[Format: microprint]

1956 - 1980

84th-96th Congresses



All hearings from 1956-1980 are available on microprint at [Van Pelt Library Reference Gov Docs Room: Microprint 5]. The collection includes hearings listed in the Monthly Catalog starting with January 1956. Many of these are 1955 hearings. Last MoCat entry number in the microprint collection is 80-25679. The Monthly Catalog for 1980 includes numbers up to 80-26778. . Microprint collection is arranged by Monthly Catalog (MoCat) number which can be obtained from:
  • LexisNexis Congressional - Choose Congressional Publications/Advanced Search, check Hearings. Some MoCat numbers
  • WorldCat - many U.S. documents are catalog here, esp post-1976, see Class Descriptor field for SuDoc and Item Number.
  • Catalog of U.S. Government Publications, 1976 - present, earlier records being added.
  • Monthly Catalog of U.S. Government Publications in print (1941- c.1997)
  • CIS Index in print [Van Pelt Reference: JK1001 .C65, latest couple years, earlier in Storage]
  • CIS US Congressional Committee Hearings Index [Van Pelt Library Reference Stacks: Z1223.Z7 C18], 1959-1969) - The collection includes hearings listed in the Monthly Catalog
About 140 hearings from 1978-1913, out of several hundred from this time period, were also published as Senate or House Reports or Documents and can be found in the US Serial Set of House and Senate Documents. The Paper version of the Serial Set is in High Density Storage. The microprint version is at [Van Pelt Library Reference Gov Docs Room: Microprint 4]. Both editions are arranged by Serial Set number which can be found in the CIS US Serial Set Index or LexisNexis Congressional. [Check LexisNexis Congressional for these scattered hearings in the U.S. Serial Set online.]
[Format: paper]

1924 - 1986

68th-99th Congresses




Many hearings were selected and received from the Government Depository program in paper. Some of these were cataloged and appear in Franklin. Location: [Van Pelt Library: stacks by individual call number]. Other hearings from this time period are at High Density Storage. These titles are listed in the Van Pelt Library card catalog.
See under title or under author in this format: United States. Congress. House or Senate. Committee name. Subcommittee name.
Franklin:

Hearings with a Dewey call number and a Lippincott location are located in High Density Storage; use the online High Density Storage Request form; the request may take longer than usual.

Hearings with the location High Density Storage (B-10) are in High Density Storage. Use the Franklin request button to request from Storage; the request may take longer than usual.

Card Catalog: Some of the call numbers given for titles in the old card catalog read "Hearings," followed by Congress and session number and committee abbreviation. Fill out an online High Density Storage Request form; the request may take longer than usual.

From 1977 to 1984, Biddle received about 75 percent of all hearings in paper. These are arranged by SuDocs number.

Also note, about 140 hearings from 1870-1913 (41st-63rd Congresses), out of several hundred from this time period, were also published as Senate or House Reports or Documents and can be found in the US Serial Set of House and Senate Documents. The Paper version of the Serial Set is in High Density Storage. The microprint version is at [Van Pelt Library Reference Gov Docs Room: Microprint 4]. Both editions are arranged by Serial Set number which can be found in the CIS US Serial Set Index or LexisNexis Congressional. [Check LexisNexis Congressional for these scattered hearings in the U.S. Serial Set online.]

1914 - 1923

63rd-67th Congresses

[no holdings in print or microfiche]


Penn does not have print hearings dating from this time period. These are available in the Greenwood Press microfiche collection held by the Free Library of Philadelphia Documents Department and through InterLibrary Loan. See the online holdings 1824-present above and Biddle microfiche collections below (1833-various).

II. Indexes and Databases for Identifying Hearings

To look for hearings on particular subjects, from certain committees, with particular witnesses or during particular time periods, use one of the indexes below. The type of access offered is listed, as well as the range of information that can be obtained from each source. Note that to access hearings in different time periods or formats, different information may be necessary. Check the I. Full-text of Hearings found at Penn and elsewhere table above to find out what you need to know to access hearings in the Van Pelt Library.

Comprehensive Index to Hearings

1824 - present


 LexisNexis Congressional - Choose Congressional Publications/Advanced Search, check Hearings, indexing from 1824 to the present makes this the best place to start.

See section I for full-text of hearings.


Additional indexes

1970 - present

Catalog of U.S. Government Publications, 1976 - present, earlier records being added.
Monthly Catalog of U.S. Government Publications, [Van Pelt Library Reference Stacks: Z1223 .A18], 1940-1990s, use for pre-1976 documents.
Access full citation to hearings by title, Library of Congress subject heading, SuDocs, MoCat number, committee, date, and other keywords. Provides Monthly Catalog number and Superintendent of Documents numbers needed for microprint and microfiche access. Public Hearings are announced in the Congressional Record

WorldCat - many U.S. documents are catalog here, especially post-1976, see Class Descriptor field for SuDoc and Item Number.

CIS Annual - Index to Congressional Publications and Public Laws.
[Van Pelt Library Reference: JK1001 .C65], last few years, earlier volumes in High Density Storage
Since 1970 this index has been the major index to Congressional publications. Catalogs, abstracts and indexes hearings, by subject, committee, witness and witness affiliation, and by bill number. For bills that have passed into law, references to all hearings held can be found under the entry for the Public Law, including hearings on the same bill introduced in previous congresses with a different bill number. Gives both SuDocs and MoCat numbers in most cases. Indexes and abstracts for the year are updated monthly in the Index to Publications of the United States Congress.


1895 - 1970
Monthly Catalog of United States Government Publications.
[Van Pelt Library Reference: Z1223 A18], 1941- 1990s.
[Van Pelt Library Stacks: Z 1223 A18] ,1895-1940.
Indexing by subject and committee. Since 1971 indexing by subject, committee, title and SuDocs number.


1935 - 1980
U.S. Congress Senate Library. Cumulative Index of Congressional Committee Hearing (not confidential in character)
[Van Pelt Library Reference: Z 1223 A1935 Supp.]
Indexed by subject, committee, and bill number. Volume numbers given are for bound volumes in the Senate Library. Useful as a tool indicating which hearings during the time period were published. Later supplements add a title index, make corrections to earlier volumes, and provide an index by SuDocs number.

Index of Congressional Committee Hearings (not confidential in character) prior to 1935 in the United States Senate Library.
[Van Pelt Library Reference: Z 1223 A1935]
Indexed by subject, committee, and bill number. Provides report or document number when available, and volume number references to the Senate Library collection. Not a complete listing of published documents as this only lists hearings held by the Senate Library. For example, only one hearing from the 41st Congress is listed; it is only with the 50th Congress that larger numbers of hearings appear. Yet, it is useful as a tool indicating which Hearings during the time period were published.


1893 -1940
US Superintendent of Documents. Catalog of the Public Documents of Congress and of the Government of the United States.
[Van Pelt Library Reference: Z 1223 A13]
Also known as the Document Catalog. Hearings are indexed by subject and committee.



1839 - 1913
CIS US Serial Set Index.
[Van Pelt Library Reference: J74 .C66 1975]
Provides mainly keyword-in-title, subject and title access to hearings which were published as House and Senate Reports and Documents appearing in the Serial Set during the years 1839 - 1913. The index in Van Pelt covers the years 1789-1925, but no hearings were published as Reports or Documents before 1839 or after 1913.


1823 - 1964
CIS Index to Unpublished US Senate Committee Hearings.
[Van Pelt Library Reference: Z 1223 Z7 C1 1986]
Five volumes index by subjects and organizations, titles, bill numbers, and personal names. The accompanying microfiche text of the hearings is not available at Van Pelt. The closest location is Paley Library, Temple University.

Send mail concerning this page to Patty Lynn at: lynn@pobox.upenn.edu

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