The Journal is a constitutionally-mandated record of certain House and Senate actions, including motions offered, votes taken, and amendments agreed to. Unlike Congressional Record, it does not contain remarks delivered in the House and Senate.
1992 (102nd Congress, 2nd Session) to present (usually a 2 year delay)
"The Journal is a record of the proceedings of each legislative day in the House. The Journal -- and not the Congressional Record -- is the official record of the proceedings of the House (4 Hinds Sec. 2727; Manual Sec. 582), and certified copies thereof are admissible in judicial proceedings (28 USC Sec. 1736)."--from the Web site
1789 (1st Congress) to 1875 (43rd Congress)
The Journal does not record the debates, but the "Link to date-related documents" in the full text transcription provides access to other documents that do contain the debates.
The Journal should be seen as the minutes of floor action. It notes the matters considered by the House and the votes and other actions taken. It does not record the actual debates.
1789 (1st Congress) to 1875 (43rd Congress)
The Journal does not record the debates, but the "Link to date-related documents" in the full text transcription provides access to other documents that do contain the debates.
1789 (1st Congress) to 1875 (43rd Congress)
"From its inaugural session, in addition to its legislative journal, the Senate has maintained a separate record of its executive proceedings that relate to its functions of confirming presidential nominees and consenting to the making of treaties. The Senate Executive Journal was not made public until 1828, when the Senate decided to print and publish the proceedings for all the previous Congresses and thereafter to publish the journal for each session at its close."--from the Web site
1789 to 1791 (1st Congress)
"Within two months of the opening of the first session he had begun to keep a diary, which he continued for virtually every day of the three sessions of the 1st Congress. Because Senate sessions were closed to the public until 1795, his is one of the few accounts we have of Senate floor activity in the early congresses."--from the Web site
Call Number: XJS (check Catalog record for format & location)
The Journal should be seen as the minutes of floor action. It notes the matters considered by the Senate and the votes and other actions taken. It does not record the actual debates.
