GPO has started a multi-year effort to digitize and make accessible Congressional Hearings dating back to the 41st Congress.
A hearing is a meeting or session of a Senate, House, joint, or special committee of Congress, usually open to the public, to obtain information and opinions on proposed legislation, conduct an investigation, or evaluate/oversee the activities of a Government department or the implementation of a Federal law. In addition, hearings may also be purely exploratory in nature, providing testimony and data about topics of current interest. The Congressional Hearings are available for free public access on GovInfo, the one-stop site for authentic, published Government information.
The digitized Congressional Hearings are accompanied by extensive metadata, allowing users to retrieve hearings by:
- Congressional Committee or Subcommittee
- Congress Number or Chamber
- Hearing Number
- Hearing Type
- Congress Member
- Nominee
- Witness
More information on searching the Congressional Hearings collection can be found on the Help page.
As digitization continues, the list of needed volumes will grow, so please check our Congressional Hearings needs list on the FDLP Resource Guides and FDLP eXchange. We need your help to ensure all volumes are digitized.
