Frequently Asked Questions: Law Library of Congress

Federal law defines the term “congressionally mandated report” as “a report of a Federal agency that is required by statute to be submitted to either House of Congress or any committee of Congress or subcommittee thereof.” Pub. L. No. 117-263, § 7242(2)(a), 136 Stat. 2395, 3678. During each congressional session, the House publishes a document listing reports that must be submitted to Congress.

Until recently, reports submitted to Congress from executive and judicial branch agencies and organizations (not to be confused with congressional committee reports) were not routinely distributed to the public or published. Agencies sent these reports to the Secretary of the Senate and to the House Clerk. Congress.gov's House and Senate Communications collections note a report’s receipt, as does the Congressional Record Daily Digest section. However, these entries are very general in nature; they usually omit report titles and only generally identify the report’s source.

Access to Congressionally Mandated Reports Act

In December 2022, Congress enacted the Access to Congressionally Mandated Reports Act through the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023. This law requires federal agencies to submit congressionally-mandated reports to the Government Publishing Office (GPO). A White House memorandum provides more details about the law, as well as guidance to federal agencies. According to GPO, federal agencies began submitting reports to a GPO portal in October 2023. As of December 12, 2023, newer reports are available on GPO’s GovInfo website in the Congressionally Mandated Reports GovInfo Collection. Reports may be browsed by agency. Additionally, a table may downloaded as either a CSV or JSON format file.

Locating Recent and Older Reports

More recent reports (issued prior to December 2023) can sometimes be found on agency websites, while older reports are more likely to be stored at the National Archives and Records Administration. CIS, a commercial service, published an annual index of reports from 1994-2002 entitled "Reports Required by Congress: CIS Guide to Executive Communication," with accompanying microfiche of reports for 1994-1995 and 1997-1998. The Law Library of Congress has copies of these annual indexes and the microfiche for the years indicated.

Various libraries also collect copies of reports to Congress, either from the agency itself or from the congressional committee to which the report was submitted. Researchers may want to search WorldCat.org External to determine whether any GPO federal depository or local libraries External hold copies of a certain report.