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How do I check a bill's status myself?

You can check where any bill stands in the same official records we use. The records are Congress.gov and GovInfo's bill status data. They also include House and Senate vote records. They include the Senate calendar. They also include the Congressional Record.

Last checked October 30, 2026.

Records update on different schedules. The newest action may appear in one place before another. Check the date on each record.

Where can you check the official record?

The record is in more than one place. These are the official government sites our pages use.

  • congress.gov: bill pages, actions, and bill text.
  • api.congress.gov: the same bill data, in a form made for computers.
  • bioguide.congress.gov: photos and short bios of members.
  • constitution.congress.gov: notes on the Constitution, from Congress.
  • govinfo.gov: bills, laws, calendars, and the daily record of floor debate.
  • archives.gov: the Constitution, and the office that gives each new law its number.
  • house.gov: how the House says a bill moves, from the first step to the President.
  • clerk.house.gov: official House roll call votes.
  • uscode.house.gov: the official code of federal laws, kept by the House.
  • senate.gov: Senate roll call votes and the Senate glossary.
  • rules.senate.gov: the Standing Rules of the Senate.
  • appropriations.senate.gov: bills and reports from the Senate spending committee.
  • gao.gov: watchdog reports for Congress.

How do I check if a bill passed?

Look up the bill by its number on Congress.gov, or in GovInfo's bill status data. Read the latest action. To confirm a law, find its public law number on GovInfo.

Official source: Congress.gov (Library of Congress) · GovInfo: Bill Status collection · GovInfo: About Public and Private Laws

  1. 1. Get the number and the Congress. Bills are numbered by chamber and type (H.R. for House bills, S. for Senate bills, and so on). Numbering starts over in each two-year Congress. The current Congress is the 119th (2025-2026). The same number can be a different bill in another Congress.

    Sources: GovInfo: About Congressional Bills

  2. 2. Open the bill's page on Congress.gov. Congress.gov, from the Library of Congress, has a page for each bill. The page has its text, sponsors, actions, and related bills. Addresses follow a pattern. One example is the page for house bill 1402 in the 119th Congress. That bill is H.R. 1402, the TICKET Act.

    Sources: Congress.gov (Library of Congress)

  3. 3. Read the latest action, then all actions. The latest action tells you where the bill is now. The full list shows each step, with dates and Congressional Record page numbers.

    Sources: GPO: Bill Status XML (usgpo/bill-status)

  4. 4. Check the official status record on GovInfo. GovInfo publishes the same bill status data as one file for each bill. One example is the status file for H.R. 1402, the TICKET Act. The file shows the date the record was last updated.

    Sources: GovInfo Bulk Data: BILLSTATUS · H.R. 1402, the TICKET Act: official status record

  5. 5. Check the vote. For a recorded vote, use the House Clerk's roll call pages or the Senate's roll call vote lists. A voice vote has no list of names.

    Sources: Office of the Clerk, U.S. House: Roll call votes · U.S. Senate: Roll call votes, 119th Congress · house.gov: House floor

  6. 6. Check the Senate calendar. The daily Senate calendar lists bills waiting for floor action. Its name is the Calendar of Business. It also lists any agreements on when to take them up.

    Sources: GovInfo: About Congressional Calendars · GovInfo: Congressional Calendars collection

  7. 7. Check the Congressional Record. The Record is the official account of what happened on the House and Senate floors each day.

    Sources: GovInfo: About the Congressional Record · GovInfo: Congressional Record collection

  8. 8. Confirm a law. A bill becomes law when the President signs it. It also becomes law if Congress overrides a veto. It also becomes law if 10 days pass, not counting Sundays, with no veto while Congress is in session. Then the National Archives gives it a public law number. Find that number in GovInfo's Public and Private Laws to confirm the law.

    Sources: U.S. Constitution, National Archives · How Our Laws Are Made (H. Doc. 110-49), GovInfo · National Archives, Office of the Federal Register: current public laws · GovInfo: About Public and Private Laws · GovInfo: Public and Private Laws collection

What is BILLSTATUS?

BILLSTATUS is the official bill status data. It comes from four offices. One is the Government Publishing Office. Another is the Library of Congress. They also include the House Clerk and the Secretary of the Senate. GovInfo publishes it as one file per bill.

Official source: GPO: Bill Status XML (usgpo/bill-status) · GovInfo: Bill Status collection

For the current Congress, GPO says it updates the files every 4 hours. Each file lists the bill's titles, sponsors, committees, and actions. If the bill was enacted, the file lists its public law number.

Sources: GPO: Bill Status XML (usgpo/bill-status)

In a file, "latestAction" is the most recent step, and "updateDate" is when the record last changed. An empty "laws" section means the record shows no law.

Sources: GPO: Bill Status XML (usgpo/bill-status) · H.R. 1402, the TICKET Act: official status record

How do I see how my representative voted?

Find the roll call number in the bill's actions. Then open that vote on the House Clerk's site. The page lists every member's vote.

Official source: Office of the Clerk, U.S. House: Roll call votes · House Roll Call 107 (2025), Office of the Clerk

Example: House Roll Call 107 of 2025 is the vote on H.R. 1402, the TICKET Act, which passed 409 to 15 under suspension of the rules.

Sources: House Roll Call 107 (2025), Office of the Clerk

If the House passed a bill by voice vote, no record of individual votes exists.

Sources: house.gov: House floor

How do I see how my senators voted?

Find the "Record Vote Number" in the bill's actions. Then look it up in the Senate's roll call vote lists for that Congress and session.

Official source: U.S. Senate: Roll call votes, 119th Congress · U.S. Senate: Voting

The Senate also passes many bills without a roll-call list. It may use unanimous consent. It may use a voice vote. Those votes leave no list of names.

Sources: U.S. Senate: Voting

How do I check the Senate calendar?

Open the latest Senate calendar on GovInfo. Its name is the Calendar of Business. The Senate's Legislative Clerk prepares it each day the Senate is in session. It lists bills waiting for floor action. Most of them are under "General Orders."

Official source: GovInfo: About Congressional Calendars · GovInfo: Congressional Calendars collection

An issue also lists agreements on when the Senate will take up a bill. It also has notices from senators. Those senators intend to object to taking up a measure, or to passing it.

Sources: Senate Calendar of Business, November 2, 2026, GovInfo · S. Res. 28 (112th Congress), standing order on notices of intent to object

What is the Congressional Record?

This is the official daily record of floor debate. Its name is the Congressional Record. It records what is said on the floor. It covers the House and the Senate. It is published each day Congress is in session.

Official source: GovInfo: About the Congressional Record · GovInfo: Congressional Record collection

It has a Daily Digest and House, Senate and Extensions of Remarks sections. Bill actions cite its pages, such as "CR S5241" for a Senate page.

Sources: GovInfo: About the Congressional Record · GPO: Bill Status XML (usgpo/bill-status)

GovInfo says it usually posts that year's Record once each day. The usual time is 11 a.m. Eastern. A late adjournment can delay that update.

Sources: GovInfo: About the Congressional Record

How can I tell if a bill became law?

Look for "Became Public Law No." in the bill's actions, then find that law on GovInfo.

Official source: H.R. 6500, the Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2027: official status record · GovInfo: About Public and Private Laws

Example: H.R. 6500, the Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2027, shows "Became Public Law No: 119-103" on September 2, 2026.

Sources: H.R. 6500, the Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2027: official status record · P.L. 119-103: Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2027, GovInfo

"Passed Senate," "Presented to President" or "Held at the desk" is not law. A bill can also become law with no signature from the President. That happens after 10 days, not counting Sundays, while Congress is in session. It still gets a public law number.

Sources: U.S. Constitution, National Archives · GovInfo: About Public and Private Laws

Why do sources show different statuses?

Official records update on different schedules. Check the date on each record before you decide where a bill stands. Also check the latest Congressional Record.

Official source: GPO: Bill Status XML (usgpo/bill-status) · GovInfo: About the Congressional Record

News reports can describe plans before the official record does. Posts can too. One example is a bill being used as a vehicle for other text. Treat those reports as claims to check.

Sources: GovInfo: About the Congressional Record

What doesn't this page cover?

  • This guide covers federal bills in the U.S. Congress, not state legislatures.
  • The Senate tracks nominations on another calendar. It tracks treaties there too. It is called the Executive Calendar. This guide does not cover that calendar.
  1. U.S. Constitution, National Archives

    Article I, Section 7, clauses 2-3: passage by both Houses, presentment, the 10 days (Sundays excepted), veto and two-thirds override, yeas and nays

  2. house.gov: House floor

    Special rules; recorded votes; voice votes, where "no record of individual responses is available"

  3. U.S. Senate: Voting

    Roll-call and voice votes; unanimous consent, "a measure passes so long as no senator objects"; three-fifths to end debate

  4. S. Res. 28 (112th Congress), standing order on notices of intent to object

    Sec. 1: notice to the leader, then to the Congressional Record and the Senate calendar section "Notices of Intent to Object to Proceeding"

  5. GovInfo: About Congressional Bills

    Bills are numbered in the order introduced, "starting at the beginning of each Congress"; bill versions through the enrolled version

  6. GovInfo: About Public and Private Laws

    After signing, the Office of the Federal Register assigns a law number; citation format "Pub.L." plus Congress and number

  7. GovInfo: Public and Private Laws collection

    Browse laws by Congress

  8. GovInfo: About Congressional Calendars

    Senate Calendar of Business: prepared by the Legislative Clerk, updated each day in session, bills awaiting floor action, mostly under "General Orders"

  9. GovInfo: Congressional Calendars collection

    Daily Senate Calendar of Business (PDF)

  10. Senate Calendar of Business, November 2, 2026, GovInfo

    Example issue: unanimous consent agreements, General Orders, notices of intent to object

  11. GovInfo: About the Congressional Record

    Official record of proceedings and debates, published daily in session, usually updated by 11 a.m.; Daily Digest, House, Senate and Extensions of Remarks sections

  12. GovInfo: Congressional Record collection

    Browse by date

  13. GovInfo: Bill Status collection

    Bill status XML by Congress and bill type

  14. GovInfo Bulk Data: BILLSTATUS

    Folders by Congress and bill type, e.g. /119/hr/

  15. GPO: Bill Status XML (usgpo/bill-status)

    GPO, Library of Congress, House Clerk and Secretary of the Senate data; current Congress updated every 4 hours; user guide

  16. Office of the Clerk, U.S. House: Roll call votes

    Search House roll calls by year, number or bill

  17. House Roll Call 107 (2025), Office of the Clerk

    H.R. 1402, the TICKET Act: "On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass", 2/3 Yea-And-Nay, 409-15

  18. U.S. Senate: Roll call votes, 119th Congress

    Senate record votes by number (2nd session)

  19. Congress.gov (Library of Congress)

    Bill pages: sponsors, text, actions, related bills

  20. H.R. 1402, the TICKET Act: official status record

    Example: latest action September 16, 2025

  21. H.R. 6500, the Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2027: official status record

    Example: "Became Public Law No: 119-103," September 2, 2026

  22. P.L. 119-103: Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2027, GovInfo

    Slip law text

  23. How Our Laws Are Made (H. Doc. 110-49), GovInfo

    Pp. 51-52: a bill becomes law on approval, or on passage over a veto. It is then assigned a public law number.

  24. National Archives, Office of the Federal Register: current public laws

    After a bill becomes a law, the Office of the Federal Register assigns a public law number.

About this guide

This guide explains how to check a federal bill's status yourself. It uses the Library of Congress. It also uses GovInfo. It also uses the House Clerk and the Senate.

Last checked October 30, 2026.

We use AI to help draft these pages. We use official government records. A human reviews each release before publication.

Spot an error? Reply to any Political Oversight Weekly email. Contact via LinkedIn. Include the passage and an official source, if available.

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