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Congress.gov October 2021 New, Tip, and Top

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Andrew’s Congress.gov post at the end of September featured a video that provided an overview of 10 recent enhancements to Congress.gov. In the latest release, we have made it easier for users to search for historical congressional legislation, or more recent legislation, by grouping together these options through the use of checkboxes on the legislative quick search form and the advanced legislation search form. In addition, when you choose to search historical legislation, fields that are not available in that data will be disabled.

A screenshot demonstrating the legislation quick search form on Congress.gov with the historical and more recent Congress boxes highlighted.
Checkboxes make it more convenient for users to choose to search for historical or recent legislation on Congress.gov.

Enhancements

Enhancement – Legislation – Search

  • Congress checkboxes allow you to separate historical material from more recent legislation when using the legislation search form or the advanced legislation search form.
  • Options for searching metadata, such as sponsors and committees, are disabled when you have selected only historical Congresses. Legislation for historical Congresses includes titles, text, and an abbreviated actions list.