How to Cite the Congressional Record

The Congressional Record is the official record of the United States House of Representatives and Senate. If you use information from a Senate or House debate in a term paper, you will likely be required to put the Congressional Record in your reference list. There is a procedure to cite it properly.

Instructions

    • 1

      List the last name of the senator or representative you are citing. Precede the names of representatives with "Rep." Precede the names of senators with "Sen."

    • 2

      List the abbreviation for the lawmaker's state. This should appear in parentheses and be followed by a period. For example: (ME).

    • 3

      List the title of the debate or proceedings in quotation marks, with a comma inside the right-hand quotation marks. For example: "Trade Policy With China,"

    • 4

      List the volume and part of the Congressional Record you are citing. The words "Congressional Record" should appear in italics, and "part" should be capitalized and abbreviated. For example: Congressional Record 144, Pt. 36

    • 5

      List the date of the debate in a day-month-year format and enclose it in parentheses. For example:

      (11 January 2009)

    • 6

      List the Congressional Record pages on which the transcript of the debate appears, preceded by "pp." and followed by a period. For example: pp. 1456-1463.

    • 7

      Ensure that the finished citation appears in the following format: Sen. Snowe (ME). "Trade Policy With China," Congressional Record 144, Pt. 36 (11 January 2009) pp. 1456-1463.

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