When a bill or resolution is introduced in the House or Senate it is assigned a bill or resolution number, the text is printed, and it is assigned to a committee. Full text of bills and resolutions can be found online:

• Congress.gov (93rd Congress [1973]-present)
• House and Senate (best for currently active legislation)
• ProQuest Congressional (1789-present)
• GovInfo.gov (103rd Congress [1993]-present)
• GovTrack (6th Congress [1799]-present)- ***May have to hit enter
• The American Memory Project at the Library of Congress, (House: 6th-42nd Congress [1799-1872], Senate: 16th-42nd Congress [1819-1872])

For bills and resolutions not available online:

• 73rd Congress (1933)-present on microfiche in the Yale Law Library
• Pre-1933, on microfilm, may be borrowed from the Center for Research Libraries (search for Bills and Resolutions).

• Congress.gov (93rd Congress [1973]-present)
• History of Bills lists legislative actions on bills that are reported in the Congressional Record. Available online:
  • GovInfo.gov (98th Congress [1983]-present)
  • HeinOnline (43rd Congress [1873]-present) - browse to the Index for each session; History of Bills is part of the index
• The Congressional Record through 1994 is also available in print at the Marx Science and Social Science Library; volumes 1995-present can be requested through Orbis.

• Calendars of the House of Representatives and History of Legislation. See the "History of Bills and Resolutions" section in the House Calendar, which covers both House and Senate bills.
  • Online: 104th Congress (1995)-present
  • In print: 88th Congress (1963)-present
• House, Senate, and Senate Executive Journals
  • House and Senate Journals, Series 1, 1789-1817 (Readex)
  • Senate Executive Journals, Series 1, 1789-1866 (Readex)
  • Journals of Congress, 1789-1875 (American Memory Project)
  • House Journal, 1992-2010 (GovInfo)
  • In the library, 1876-recent: House (CD and microform), Senate (print), Senate Executive (print)

If a committee votes favorably on a bill, it is "reported" from that committee to the full House or Senate.  The bill is accompanied by an actual report, which explains the purpose of the bill, reviews past Congressional actions on the subject, specifies how the bill changes existing law and its expected effects on the federal budget and the national economy. Reports are identified by Congress and report number. Reports, along with Congressional documents, eventually get compiled into the Serial Set.