U.S. Congressional Serial Set   Tags: government_information, government_publications  

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The U.S. Congressional Serial Set, or “Serial Set”, is a compilation of all congressional publications except for hearings and debates. The Serial Set consists of the following types of publications:

• House Documents
• House Reports
• Senate Documents
• Senate Reports
• Senate Treaty Documents
• Senate Executive Reports

“Documents” are publications, often written by an outside source, which Congress has authorized to be printed in order to help members make informed decisions on legislation. “Reports” concern the affairs of Congressional Committees. They are usually in-depth publications on the legislative and budgetary impact of a particular bill. They are important in determining the “legislative intent” of a law. Senate Treaty Documents contain the texts of treaties which are presented to the Senate for ratification. Senate Executive Reports are specialized reports on treaties or on presidential nominations of high officials.

If you are unsure how to interpret a citation to the serial set, please refer to the page "Reading Serial Set Citations" fora brief guide. 

For more information on how to access the Serial Set from the URI Library please click on the "Library's Holdings of the Serial Set" tab above. 

If you are interested in searching the Serial Set for specific documents, reports, treaties, or other information, you should go to the "Resources for Accessing the Serial Set" tab which will show you how to access indexes to the Set, and some online tools that allow you to search it. 

D. Mongeau, 1/92, 3/98, 5/04, 5/06

H. Posey, 3/10