The Congressional Record is the official record of the proceedings and debates of the United States Congress. It is published by the United States Government Printing Office, and is issued daily when Congress is in session. It is similar to the Hansards that report parliamentary debates in the Westminster system of government. A congress is a gathering of people, especially a gathering for a political purpose. ... The logotype of the United States Government Printing Office In the United States, the Government Printing Office (GPO) provides printed (and now electronic) copies of documents produced by and for all federal agencies, including the Supreme Court, the Congress, and all executive branch agencies like the FCC and EPA. Court... A congress is a gathering of people, especially a gathering for a political purpose. ... Hansard is the traditional name for the printed transcripts of parliamentary debates in the Westminster system of government. ... A parliamentarian is a specialist in parliamentary procedure. ... The Westminster System is a democratic system of government modelled after that of the United Kingdom system, as used in the Palace of Westminster, the location of the UK parliament. ...

The Congressional Record consists of four sections: the Daily Digest, the House section, the Senate section, and the Extensions of Remarks. At the back of each daily issue is the Daily Digest, which summarizes the day's floor and committee activities and serves as a table of contents for each issue. The House and Senate sections contain proceedings for the separate chambers of Congress. Finally, the Extension of Remarks includes tributes, statements, and other information that supplements statements made on the Congressional floor. Seal of the House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is one of the two houses of the Congress of the United States, the other being the Senate. ... Seal of the Senate The United States Senate is one of the two houses of the Congress of the United States, the other being the House of Representatives. ... A congress is a gathering of people, especially a gathering for a political purpose. ...

That portion of the Congressional Record entitled "Extensions of Remarks" contains speeches, tributes and other extraneous words that were not actually uttered during open proceedings of the full Senate or of the full House of Representatives. In years past, this particular portion of the Congressional Record has been called the "Appendix." While Members of either body may insert material into the Extensions of Remarks portion of the Record, Senators rarely do so. The overwhelming majority of what is found there is entered at the request of Members of the House of Representatives.

By custom and rules of each House, Members also frequently "revise and extend" the remarks they actually made on the floor before the debates are published in the Congressional Record. Therefore, for many years, speeches that were not actually delivered in Congress appeared in the Record, including in the sections purporting to be verbatim reports of debates. In recent years, however, these revised remarks have been printed in a typeface discernably different from that used to report words actually spoken by Members. In typography, a typeface is a co-ordinated set of character designs, which usually comprises an alphabet of letters, a set of numerals and a set of punctuation marks. ...

History

The Congressional Record was first published in 1873. Prior to this, proceedings, roll calls, debates, and other records were recorded in The Debates and Proceedings in the Congress of the United States (1789–1824), the Register of Debates in Congress (1824–1837), or the Congressional Globe (1833–1873). A digital collection of these historical volumes is being prepared by the United States Library of Congress. 1873 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... 1789 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... 1824 was a leap year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... 1837 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... 1833 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... Library of Congress, Jefferson building The Library of Congress is the unofficial national library of the United States. ...

External links

• Congressional Record