Welcome to the Virtual Reference Desk! If you are seeking general information on the Senate, the legislative branch and process, or on the federal government, this is a good place to begin. Links are arranged broadly by subject and may take you to PDF documents, useful sources on the Web, or other Senate Web pages. You may also wish to contact your Senator's office if you have additional questions.
This chart shows the relationships among Senate leaders and officers who manage the flow of legislative and administrative business in the Senate.
Congressional Sessions lists all Congresses and corresponding years - from 1789, when the 1st Congress met, through the current 109th Congress.
You can access legislative information, by bill number or key words, from the THOMAS Web site. Information from the present back to the 93rd Congress (1973) is available on THOMAS.
