The United States Statutes at Large, typically referred to as the Statutes at Large, and abbreviated as Stat., is the permanent collection of all laws and resolutions enacted during each session of Congress. These public and private laws are published in chronological order, by the date of enactment. Additional material in the Statutes at Large include concurrent resolutions, proclamations by the President, proposed and ratified amendments to the U.S. Constitution, and reorganization plans. Treaties and international agreements approved by the Senate were published in the Statutes at Large until 1948.

Public laws (Pub. L.), also called slip laws, are the first publication of enacted laws that affect society as a whole. Public laws are distinct from private laws, which typically affect an individual, family, or small group. Public and private laws are published in chronological order in the U.S. Statutes at Large. For more information on public laws, see the U.S. Government Publishing Office's "About Public and Private Laws" webpage.

Bills are legislative proposals introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate for consideration and debate. Bills can come in eight forms, including bills, joint resolutions, concurrent resolutions, and simple resolutions. If a bill does not pass and become law in a Congress, it may be reintroduced in a subsequent Congress for further consideration. For additional information on bills and the legislative process, see the Congress.gov "Learn About the Legislative Process" webpage.

Congressional hearings are held by committees of the U.S. Congress typically to obtain information on proposed legislation, conduct an investigation, or to evaluate the implementation of a law or the activities of a governmental department. As it may take quite some time for printed hearings to become available, researchers may also find it valuable to review video recordings of more recent hearings, as described in the guide. For more information on congressional committee hearings, see the Government Publishing Office's "About Congressional Hearings" page.

Congressional committee prints are publications prepared for, or commissioned by, congressional committees to inform committee members’ legislative or oversight activities. The content of a committee print varies widely and might include drafts of reports and bills, directories, bibliographies, statistics, staff research reports, transcripts of markup sessions, studies, hearings and hearings excerpts, digests, and analysis. For more information on congressional committee prints, visit the Government Publishing Office’s “About Congressional Committee Prints” page.

Congressional documents include various types of material ordered printed by committees, including, for example, committee prints ordered printed as documents for wider distribution, and reports of executive departments and agencies. Senate Executive Documents, known as Senate Treaty Documents since 1981, contain the text of a treaty as it is submitted to the U.S. Senate for ratification by the President of the United States. For more information on congressional documents, visit the Government Publishing Office’s "About Congressional Documents" page.

Committee legislative calendars provide a comprehensive record of the activity of the committee during one Congress. The contents and organization varies, but they may include, for example, committee, subcommittee, and staff membership lists, summaries and status of the legislative bills and resolutions under consideration, dates of meetings and hearings, and lists of printed committee prints and hearings.

Note, these are distinct from the congressional calendars of the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate as described on the Government Publishing Office's "About Congressional Calendars" page.