Congress.gov Leaves Beta!

Did you know?
Congress.gov officially removed its “beta” label 
on September 26, 2014, two years after launching beta.congress.gov! 

What does this mean? 

• Any URLs that included “beta” in conjunction with “congress.gov” will redirect straight to congress.gov.
• www.thomas.gov also automatically redirects to Congress.gov 

A Few Highlights: 

• Advanced Search: 
• The advanced search section now allows browsing across Congresses.
•  30+ new fields were added to the guided search framework, allowing for in-depth and intricate searching. Users also have the option of using a command line search in lieu of the guided search.

• Resources A to Z: this is an index covering a wealth of terms related to Congress and the federal government at large (e.g. amendments, nominations, NARA). It's great for those who wish to browse the site. 

• “Most-Viewed Bills” replaces the former “popular Top Ten” and is archived going back to late July 2014. 

• House Committee Hearings & Meetings Videos: coverage begins from January 2012.

What’s happened to THOMAS?

• The name “THOMAS” won’t be officially retired until after the close of fiscal year 2015.
• THOMAS can still be accessed through http://thomas.loc.gov/home/thomas.php 

What’s happened to “Yesterday in Congress”? 

“Yesterday in Congress” was a feature of THOMAS that listed all floor activity for the previous day. It is not currently a part of www.congress.gov, but a similar feature will hopefully be added in the future. 

For more information, see the official announcement regarding Congress.gov shedding its beta label and Library of Congress blogpost on the same topic.