U.S. Congressional Documents

Continued Growth of the U.S. Congressional Documents Database

U.S. Congressional Documents, What's New
July 19, 2017 Shannon Sabo

Congressional Committee Reports and New Congressional Documents Added

HeinOnline has added a tremendous amount of content since last September. Twelve new databases have been created and content within key databases has recently been enhanced and even rearranged.

The June 2017 content release greatly expanded the scope of material available in the U.S. Congressional Documents database, which had already experienced exponential growth since its inception in 2007. In fact, this post about the database was published just last year.

Brief Timeline of Key Content/Tool Additions

Late 2007: The Daily to Bound Locator tool was built…

Linking to the GPO’s Authenticated PDFs of the Congressional Record Is Now Available!

Government Documents, U.S. Congressional Documents, What's New
July 5, 2017 Benjamin Boron

About the Congressional Record

The Congressional Record was first published in 1873 and is the official record of the proceedings and debates of the United States Congress, published by the United States Government Publishing Office (GPO) and issued when Congress is in session. Indexes are issued approximately every two weeks. At the end of a session of Congress, the daily editions are compiled in bound volumes constituting the permanent edition. The Record is the most complete and accurate account of congressional matters to date.

Previously, congressional debates were catalogued in the Annals of Congress (1789-1824), Register of Debates (1824-1837) and Congressional Globe (1833-1873).

The Congressional Record consists of four sections:

Daily Digest
House section
Senate section
Extension of Remarks

The GPO has recently partnered with the Library of Congress to release an authenticated digital version of historical issues of the bound Congressional Record from 1951-1998…

Researching the Watergate Scandal: Part One

Exploring HeinOnline, Law Journal Library, U.S. Congressional Documents, U.S. Presidential Library
June 6, 2017 Shannon Sabo

HeinOnline’s journal and government document coverage dates back to inception, enabling researchers to learn about key historical events from multiple perspectives. Read articles written about events as they occurred, and view exact replicas of original historical print publications; also, find current material discussing these same events with information gained through hindsight.

Research Example: The Watergate Scandal

Although the Watergate scandal happened in the early 1970s, it’s been in the news recently. Most people associate Watergate with President Richard M. Nixon’s eventual resignation, but what happened leading up to that? Here’s a brief synopsis of major events:

On June 17, 1972, five men were arrested after breaking into the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee…

Food and Drug Law

Food and Drug Law, Statutes at Large, U.S. Congressional Documents, U.S. Federal Legislative History
February 22, 2017 Benjamin Boron

Tags: Food and Drug Law

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Civilization has long been concerned with the quality and safety of foods and medicines. Up until the late 20^th century, there were few laws regulating the ingredients of food products or the misrepresentation of medicinal substances.

On June 30, 1906, Congress passed the Pure Food and Drug Act which was signed by President Theodore Roosevelt and was a key piece of Progressive Era legislation. This was the first of a series of significant consumer protection laws enacted by Congress in the 20^th century that eventually led to the creation of the Food and Drug Administration in 1930.

The Food and Drug Administration is a federal agency of the United States and is responsible for protecting and promoting public health by ensuring the safety…

Celebrating Presidents' Day with Abraham Lincoln and George Washington

Current Events, Exploring HeinOnline, Law Journal Library, Searching, Slavery in America and the World, U.S. Congressional Documents, U.S. Presidential Library
February 20, 2017 Bonnie Hein

presidentsday

Washington's Birthday or Presidents' Day?

The American holiday of Presidents' Day was originally established in 1885 in recognition of the first President of the United States, George Washington. It was officially called Washington's Birthday and observed as a federal holiday on February 22nd, Washington's actual day of birth. Washington's Birthday was the first federal holiday celebrating the life of an individual American, joining only four national bank holidays – Christmas Day, New Year's Day, Independence Day, and Thanksgiving.

It became popularly known as Presidents' Day after it was moved by the 1971 Uniform Monday Holiday Act (82 Stat. 250) in order to create more three day weekends for American workers and increase retail and tourism revenue…

Black History Month and Race Relations in the United States

Current Events, Exploring HeinOnline, Law Journal Library, Searching, U.S. Congressional Documents
February 7, 2017 admin

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Each February, Americans honor both people and significant events in African-American history during Black History Month, also known as African-American History Month.

Among the myriad reasons Black History Month is important is the underrepresentation of people of color in standard history classes. For instance, the recently released biographical drama Hidden Figures depicts the story of three female African-American mathematicians who worked at NASA and were integral in getting American astronauts into space. Their names are nowhere near as widely discussed as John Glenn or Neil Armstrong, though their contributions to the space program were arguably as important.

Because underrepresentation of African Americans in traditionally-taught history has long been a problem, Black History Week was created in 1926…

Researching Executive Power in HeinOnline

Current Events, Exploring HeinOnline, Federal Register, Law Journal Library, U.S. Congressional Documents
February 2, 2017 Shannon Sabo

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Since President Donald Trump took office on January 20, he has issued several executive orders. To understand the importance and potential consequences of these actions, let's review legal scholarship on the topic in HeinOnline.

NOTE: HeinOnline's content is composed of image-based PDFs, which are exact replicas of original print documents, so authenticity is never a question. Also, we promise that none of the content will spontaneously vanish from the site.

A search for title: "executive order" OR title: "executive power" OR title: "presidential power" produces nearly 600 results in the Law Journal Library. Sort results by Number of Times Cited by Articles to view the most cited material first:

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The most-cited article from among these results is by Michael Stokes Paulsen…

NEW: HeinOnline Help Video Series Now Available!

Exploring HeinOnline, Navigating, Quimbee, Searching, Training, U.S. Congressional Documents, What's New
January 31, 2017 Shannon Sabo

HeinOnline is excited to announce a new help video series, created by the masterminds at Quimbee, which is now available on the HeinOnline YouTube channel!

About the HeinOnline Video Series

Several months ago, Quimbee approached the Hein Company with the idea to create a course for attorneys and students on the use of HeinOnline. After some initial collaboration, Quimbee took the information provided by HeinOnline’s support team and help page and ran with it, creating this incredible series of training videos. They have generously granted permission to feature this series on HeinOnline’s YouTube channel…

Research the Effects of Opioids on Society

Current Events, Exploring HeinOnline, Hein Blog, Searching, Tips and Tricks, U.S. Congressional Documents, U.S. Presidential Library
January 25, 2017 Bonnie Hein

opioid-epidemic

A recent newspaper investigation revealed that drug wholesalers have shipped 780 million prescription painkillers to West Virginia over a six-year period. This amounted to more than 400 pills per person in West Virginia.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), six counties of West Virginia ranked in the top 10 in the nation for fatal pain pill overdoses. Between 2007 and 2012, more than 1,700 West Virginians died of hydrocodone or oxycodone overdoses, affecting generations of families and representing only a fragment of a growing national crisis.

More than 33,000 people in the United States were killed from opioid overdoses in 2015…

The Extraordinary Cost to Inaugurate a President

Exploring HeinOnline, Law Journal Library, U.S. Congressional Documents
January 23, 2017 Shannon Sabo

Inauguration Facts and Figures

Presidential inaugurations have always been expensive, and experts estimate the cost of last week's inauguration of President Donald Trump and the accompanying celebrations to be anywhere between $175 million and $200 million. Here are some interesting facts:

Republicans and Democrats spend about the same amount for each inaugural celebration when the costs are adjusted for inflation.
Each year, critics lament the extraordinary cost.
The cost of a Presidential inauguration is split between private donors and taxpayers.
Events incorporated into the total cost of an inauguration include the swearing-in at the Capitol, the parade, official parties and dinners, inaugural balls, and security measures.

This Washington Post article summarizes inaugural events and their various price tags in a bit more detail…

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