Before the Congressional Record was first published in March of 1873, several publications provided the debates of Congress: the Annals of Congress (1789-1824), the Abridgement of the Debates of Congress (1789-1850), the Register of the Debates in Congress (1824-1837), and the Congressional Globe (1833-1873). The Record differs from its predecessors in that it is a substantially verbatim account of the words spoken on the floor of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The other publications mostly paraphrased the remarks of members of Congress.
The Record consists of four sections: the proceedings of the House (indicated by an “H” before the page number); the proceedings of the Senate (“S”); the Extensions of Remarks (“E”), where undelivered remarks and other insertions by members, such as constituent tributes, are printed; and the Daily Digest (“D”), which summarizes the contents of each Record.
Remarks that are not actually spoken on the floor, but are inserted into the Record by a member of Congress, are indicated by a different typeface in the House portion, and are preceded by a bullet symbol in the Senate section. Inserted Senate statements unrelated to pending business are usually printed near the end of the Senate proceedings under the heading “Additional Statements.” Undelivered House statements are usually printed in the "Extensions of Remarks" section.
Other items that appear in the Congressional Record include a list of bills and resolutions introduced that day, including statements by sponsors, and reference to committees with jurisdiction over the matter; the text of Senate bills, which are printed upon request by a Senator and are often accompanied by the Senator’s statement of introduction (the text of House bills are rarely printed, and there are usually no statements of introduction in the House); appointees to conference committees; messages from the House and Senate to each other; presidential messages; and petitions and memorials from state and local governments calling for action by Congress.
There are two editions of the Congressional Record: daily and permanent. The daily edition is published the very next day, with page numbers indicated as above (H, S, E, or D). This edition can be edited and revised by members. The permanent edition is compiled with all revisions included, repaginated (there is no H, S, or E before the page number), and bound, with Daily Digest portions collected separately. The permanent edition is distributed to federal depository libraries around the country.
