Primary Sources in Government Documents

Congressional hearings are the official record of publicly held committee hearings proceedings to obtain information and opinions on proposed bills. (Not all hearings that are published are publicly available.) Hearings may contain testimonies from expert witnesses (for instance, Jose Canseco in the Mitchell report on steroid use in major league baseball).

Congressional reports originate from congressional committees and deal with proposed legislation and issues under investigation. There are several types of reports House and Senate Reports, Senate Executive Reports and Conference Reports.