Congressional Hearings

Congressional Hearings, Select Hearings Back to the 85th Congress

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About Congressional Hearings

What is a Congressional Hearing?

A hearing is a meeting or session of a Senate, House, joint, or special committee of Congress, usually open to the public, to obtain information and opinions on proposed legislation, conduct an investigation, or evaluate/oversee the activities of a government department or the implementation of a Federal law. In addition, hearings may also be purely exploratory in nature, providing testimony and data about topics of current interest.

What is Available?

GovInfo has select House and Senate hearings for the 104th Congress (1995-96) forward. Hearings from earlier congresses are being digitized, and will be added over time.
Documents are available as text and PDF files. Graphics, including scanned images of camera ready copy are omitted from the text version but are contained in the PDF files.
To find hearings not available on GovInfo, try visiting the committee's website.

When are Hearings Available?

Most congressional hearings are published two months to two years after they are held. Hearings are available on GovInfo as they become available during each session of Congress.

Not all congressional hearings are available on GovInfo. Whether or not a hearing is disseminated on GovInfo depends on the committee. This is evident on individual committee browse pages when you see a "No results found" message displayed under the Congressional Hearing node for Congresses that do not have any hearings in GovInfo.

Searching Congressional Hearings

You can find and search Congressional Hearings by:

Using Basic Search for keyword and metadata fielded searches,
Using Advanced Search ; fields specific to the Hearings will display after you select Congressional Hearings in the Refine by Collection column,
Refining search results by clicking on links in the Refine Your Search panel on the left hand side of the page (the sections under Refine Your Search correspond to the metadata available for the documents), and
Browsing the Congressional Hearings browse page.

General GovInfo Search Tips

Search Examples

Search Congressional Hearings by Subcommittee - These examples will search for Congressional hearings from the Subcommittee on Consumer Affairs, Insurance, and Automotive Safety.

Using Basic Search, enter: collection:chrg and subcommittee:Subcommittee on Consumer Affairs, Insurance, and Automotive Safety
Using Advanced Search, select Congressional Hearings under Refine by Collection, then under Search In select Sub Committee in the first box and enter Subcommittee on Consumer Affairs, Insurance, and Automotive Safety in second box

Search Congressional Hearings by Committee - These examples will search for Congressional hearings with the word budget in the committee name.

Using Basic Search, enter: collection:chrg and committee:budget
Using Advanced Search, select Congressional Hearings under Refine by Collection, then under Search In select Committee in the first box and enter budget in the second box

Search Congressional Hearings by Congress Number and Chamber - These examples will search for Congressional hearings from the Senate of the 110th Congress.

Using Basic Search, enter: collection:chrg and congress:110 and chamber:senate then click search and Refine Your Results by Congressional Hearings under the Collection section
Using Advanced Search:
- Select Congressional Hearings under Refine by Collection, then under Search In select Congress Number in the first box and select 110 in the second box
- Click + Additional Criteria and select Chamber of Congress then select Senate in the next box

Search Congressional Hearings for Appropriation Hearings - These examples will search for appropriation hearings.

Using Basic Search, enter: collection:chrg and isappropriation:true
Using Advanced Search, select Congressional Hearings under Refine by Collection then under Search In select Appropriation Hearing in the first box and select yes in the second box

Search Congressional Hearings by Hearing Number - These examples will search for Congressional hearings with 20 as the hearing number.

Using Basic Search, enter: collection:chrg and hearingnum:20
Using Advanced Search, select Congressional Hearings under Refine by Collection then under Search In select Hearing Number in the first box and enter 20 in the second box

Search Congressional Hearings by Congress Member - These examples will search for Congressional hearings with Senator Clinton.

Using Basic Search, enter: collection:chrg and member:clinton
Using Advanced Search, select Congressional Hearings under Refine by Collection then under Search In select Congress Member in the first box and enter clinton in the second box

Search Congressional Hearings by Nominee - These examples will search for Congressional hearings with Johnson as the nominee.

Using Basic Search, enter: collection:chrg and nominee:johnson
Using Advanced Search, select Congressional Hearings under Refine by Collection then under Search In select Nominee in the first box and enter johnson in the second box

Search Congressional Hearings by Witness - These examples will search for Congressional hearings with Johnson as the witness.

Using Basic Search, enter: collection:chrg and witness:johnson
Using Advanced Search, select Congressional Hearings under Refine by Collection then under Search In select Witness in the first box and enter johnson in the second box

Search Congressional Hearings by keyword and witness - These examples will search for Congressional hearings with Johnson as the witness and economy in the full text or metadata.

Using Basic Search, enter: economy and collection:chrg and witness:johnson
Using Advanced Search,
- Select Congressional Hearings under Refine by Collection then under Search In select Witness in the first box and enter Johnson in the second box
- Click + Additional Criteria and enter economy in the next box

Search Congressional Hearings by Member and Keyword - These examples will search for Congressional hearings with McConnell as the member and energy in the full text or metadata.

Using Basic Search, enter: energy and collection:chrg and member:mcconnell
Using Advanced Search,
- Select Congressional Hearings under Refine by Collection then under Search In select Congress Member in the first box and enter McConnell in the second box
- Click + Additional Criteria and enter energy in the next box

Search Congressional Hearings by Committee and Keyword - These examples will search for Congressional hearings with the word budget in the committee name and defense in the full text or metadata.

Using Basic Search, enter: defense and collection:chrg and committee:budget
Using Advanced Search,
- Select Congressional Hearings under Refine by Collection then under Search In select Committee in the first box and enter budget in the second box
- Click + Additional Criteria and enter defense in the next box

Search Congressional Hearings by Nominee and Keyword - These examples will search for Congressional hearings with Steven as the nominee and energy in the full text or metadata.

Using Basic Search, enter: energy and collection:chrg and nominee:steven
Using Advanced Search,
- Select Congressional Hearings under Refine by Collection then under Search In select Nominee in the first box and enter steven in the second box
- Click + Additional Criteria and enter energy in the next box

Sample Congressional Hearings URLs

GovInfo uses two key pieces of information to construct predictable URLs to documents and Details pages. The Package ID is used to identify an individual hearing. The Granule ID is used to identify volumes, parts or errata that may exist for a single hearing. Note: Congressional Hearing content (PDF, HTML) is available at the granule level. Package-level details pages will not return content links.

Identifier	Structure/Metadata Field	Example
Package ID	CHRG-{Congress Number}{Hearing Type}{Jacket ID} Note: Hearing Type is hhrg (House Hearing), shrg (Senate Hearing), or jhrg (Joint Hearing).	CHRG-111hhrg62619
Granule ID	Multiple Parts: {Package ID}-pt{Part Number} Multiple Volumes: {Package ID}-vol{Volume Number} Addenda: {Package ID}-err{Addendum Number} Errata: {Package ID}-err{Errata Number} Volumes, Parts and Errata: {Package ID}-vol{Volume Number}-pt{Part Number}-err{Errata Number} Note: The first granule will only use the Package ID. All additional granules will use the Volume, Part or Errata suffix. Note: Errata Number is only used when there are multiple errata. The first errata will not use Errata Number, however the second errata would have 2 as the Errata Number.	Multiple Parts: CHRG-107shrg12345-pt3 Multiple Volumes: CHRG-107shrg87708-vol3 Addenda: N/A Errata: CHRG-107shrg83924-err Volumes, Parts, Addenda, and Errata: N/A

Identifier

Structure/Metadata Field

Example

Package ID

CHRG-{Congress Number}{Hearing Type}{Jacket ID}

Note: Hearing Type is hhrg (House Hearing), shrg (Senate Hearing), or jhrg (Joint Hearing).

CHRG-111hhrg62619

Granule ID

Multiple Parts:
{Package ID}-pt{Part Number}

Multiple Volumes:
{Package ID}-vol{Volume Number}

Addenda:
{Package ID}-err{Addendum Number}

Errata:
{Package ID}-err{Errata Number}

Volumes, Parts and Errata:
{Package ID}-vol{Volume Number}-pt{Part Number}-err{Errata Number}

Note: The first granule will only use the Package ID.
All additional granules will use the Volume, Part or Errata suffix.

Note: Errata Number is only used when there are multiple errata.
The first errata will not use Errata Number, however the second errata would have 2 as the Errata Number.

Multiple Parts:
CHRG-107shrg12345-pt3

Multiple Volumes:
CHRG-107shrg87708-vol3

Addenda:
N/A

Errata:
CHRG-107shrg83924-err

Volumes, Parts, Addenda, and Errata:
N/A

Tip: You can also use the link service and API to construct predictable links.

Details Page for a Part, Volume or Errata of a Congressional Hearing
Structure: https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/{Package ID}/{Granule ID}
Example: https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/CHRG-107shrg87708/CHRG-107shrg87708-vol3

PDF File for a Part, Volume or Errata of a Congressional Hearing
Structure: https://www.govinfo.gov/pkg/{Package ID}/pdf/{Granule ID}.pdf
Example: https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CHRG-107shrg87708/pdf/CHRG-107shrg87708-vol3.pdf

HTML File for a Part, Volume or Errata of a Congressional Hearing
Structure: https://www.govinfo.gov/pkg/{Package ID}/html/{Granule ID}.htm
Example: https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CHRG-107shrg87708/html/CHRG-107shrg87708-vol3.htm

Congressional Hearings Metadata Fields and Values

Metadata fields and values can be used to increase the relevancy of your searches. The metadata fields available for Congressional Hearings are listed in the table below. Metadata fields and values are used throughout GovInfo for

Refining Your Search,
Browsing,
Field Operators,
Advanced Search, and
Display on Details Pages.

Metadata fields and values can be entered into the Basic Search box using field operators. The field operators available for Congressional Hearings are listed in the table below, along with examples for each metadata field. Using Field Operators

Some of these metadata fields are made available for use in Advanced Search. Using Advanced Search

Metadata Field Display Name	Metadata Field Definition	Field Operator	Field Operator Example
Collection	The collection to which the document belongs. Typically the same as the publication or series.	collection:	collection:chrg "chrg" is used for Congressional Hearings
Government Author	The names of the Government organizations responsible for authoring or assembling the document.	governmentauthor:	governmentauthor:house
Publication Date	The date the document was first made available to the public.	publishdate:	publishdate:2006-09-30 Date format is YYYY, YYYY-MM, or YYYY-MM-DD
Language	The language code of the original document, from the ISO639-2b standard.	language:	language:eng
ILS System ID	The 9-digit integer number for the record of the publication in GPO's Integrated Library System, the Catalog of Government Publications (CGP).	ilsid:	ilsid:000943346
SuDoc Class Number	The SuDoc class number from the U.S. Superintendent of Documents which classifies government publications by publishing agency.	sudocclass:	sudocclass:"y 4.c 73/8:" The SuDoc Class Numbers in GovInfo are at the class stem level, not the book number level.
Ingestion Date	The date the document was ingested into the preservation repository.	ingestdate:	ingestdate:2009-12-29 Date format is YYYY-MM-DD
Electronic Location (URL)	The URL where the document or the document in context (the Details page) is located.	url:	url:"/pkg/CHRG-109hhrg30415/pdf/CHRG-109hhrg30415.pdf"
Publisher	The government organization who publishes the document or publication. Not typically the Government Publishing Office (who serves as the printer and distributor), except in the case of Congressional publications.	publisher:	publisher:"u.s. government printing office"
Branch	The branch of Government responsible for the document's contents.	branch:	branch:legislative Possible values: executive, legislative, judicial
Type of Resource	The media type for the document, typically "text". Defined as part of the Library of Congress MODS standard.	typeofresource:	typeofresource:text
WAIS Database Name	The name of the WAIS database to which the document belonged in the former GPO Access system.	waisdbname:	waisdbname:109_senate_hearings
Record Origin	How the record was originally generated. Typically "machine generated."	recordorigin:	recordorigin:"machine generated"
Title	The title of the publication.	title:	title:(railroad safety)
Congress Number	The number of the Congress responsible for the document. Congresses last for two years, so for example, the 110th Congress was in session from 2007 through 2008.	congress:	congress:110
Congress Session	The session of congress which produced the report.	session:	session:2 Values: 1, 2
Congress Chamber	The chamber of Congress who produced the hearing. Congressional hearings can be House hearings, Senate hearings, or joint hearings.	chamber:	chamber:house Possible values: house, senate
Hearing Number	The number used to identify the hearing within the senate hearings. In the case of the House of Representative, it is the number that identifies a hearing within a committee or subcommittee.	hearingnum:	hearingnum:20
Hearing Type	The type of hearing which provides information about the activity of the hearing. Hearing types include field, markup, oversight, authorization, appropriation, nomination, treaty, or general.	doctype:	doctype:hhrg Possible values: hhrg, shrg
Hearing Sub Type	The type of hearing; which provides information of the activity of the hearing.	hearingsubtype:	hearingsubtype:f Possible values: Field (f), markup (m), oversight (o), authorization (au), appropriation (ap), nomination (n), treaty (t), general (g)
Appropriation Hearing	If true, search over all hearings where the purpose was to discuss a government appropriation.	isappropriation:	isappropriation:true Possible values: true, false
Nomination Hearing	If true, search over all nomination hearings.	isnomination:	isnomination:false Possible values: true, false
Heading	Search for the hearing part heading.	heading:	heading:"part 2" heading:"volume 1" heading:errata
Held Date	The date or dates on which the hearing occurred.	dateheld:	dateheld:2005-05-26 Date format is YYYY-MM-DD
Committee and Subcommittee	The name of the committee or subcommittee listed on the hearing.	committee: subcommittee:	committee:transportation subcommittee:aviation
Members	Members of the committee or subcommittee listed on the hearing.	member:	member:clinton
Agency	The organization to which the appropriation hearing refers.	hearingagency:	hearingagency:agriculture
Nominee	Individuals who were nominated on the hearing.	nominee:	nominee:portman
Positions being Nominated	The position of the individual being nominated.	mods:nominee:position:_______	mods:nominee:position:"general counsel" mods:nominee:position:"Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System"
Witnesses	Witnesses that participated in and are listed on the hearing.	witness:	witness:baldwin
Serial Numbers	Serial number listed on the hearing.	serialnum:	serialnum:108
Jacket ID	The Jacket ID of the document. This is usually a five digit number, such as "86-484" that is printed on the front page of the document.	jacketid:	jacketid:30-496
H.A.S.C. Numbers	House Armed Services Committee number.	hascnum:	hascnum:114-143
Citation	The GPO standard method for searching citation references from the selected publication.	citation:	citation:"S. Hrg. 115"
Public and Private Law References	A referenced public or private law.	plawcitation:	plawcitation:"public law 108-330"
United States Code Citation	Reference to a United States Code citation within the text of the document. This citation may only include the United States Code Title and Section, chapter, or appendix numbers.	uscodecitation:	uscodecitation:"5 u.s.c. 706" uscodecitation:"2 U.S.C. 621et seq." uscodecitation:"5 U.S.C. App. 3"
Statutes at Large Citation	Reference to a Statutes at Large citation within the text of the document.	statutecitation:	statutecitation:"72 stat. 69"
Bill Number Citations	Reference to a bill number within the text of the document.	billscitation:	billscitation:"s. 1"
Congressional Report Citations	Reference to a congressional report within the text of the document.	crptcitation:	crptcitation:"S. Rept. 100-446"
Congressional Document Citation	A reference to a congressional document in the body of the document.	cdoccitation:	cdoccitation:"H. Doc. 103-316"
Congressional Hearing Citations	Reference to a Senate Hearing within the text of the document.	chrgcitation:	chrgcitation:"S. Hrg. 108-359"
Code of Federal Regulations Citation	Referenced title and part number from the Code of Federal Regulations, in standard citation format.	cfrcitation:	cfrcitation:"2 CFR Part 2001" cfrcitation:"1 CFR Chapter CIX-43.304-1.50"
Reference Citation	Reference to another document within the text of a document.	refcitation:	refcitation:"H.R. 1"

Congressional Hearings Related Resources

Browse by Congressional Committee - Browse documents issued by individual committees, including Bills, Documents, and Hearings.
Contact your local Federal Depository Library - To access a physical copy of Congressional Hearings.
Supreme Court Nomination Hearings - Transcripts from the Senate Committee on the Judiciary: Supreme Court Nomination Hearings (1971-forward)
117th Congress Committee and Subcommittee Code Resource (.xlsx file download) - This file contains a list of values for these fields: Committee and Subcommittee Codes, Short Name, Standard Name, Chamber, Type, and SuDoc Number. *Disclaimer: This file is meant to be available as an informational resource only. This file is not comprehensive, is not an official document, and is subject to change at any time.