Citation Guide

Citation Tool

Congress.gov offers a citation tool that provides support for several citation formats. The supported citation formats include the Bluebook, the American Psychological Association (APA), the Modern Language Association (MLA), and the Chicago Manual of Style (CMOS).

The citation tool can generate a specific citation for bills and resolutions in any of these formats. For all other collections in Congress.gov, the citation tool will only generate a generic citation that follows the selected format’s method for citing a website.

The citation tool is present on the top toolbar of each Congress.gov collection page, such as Legislation, the Congressional Record, Committees, and Members. Clicking on the citation tool will open a popup. You may click Copy to Clipboard for each of the four available citation formats. Once copied, the citation will be saved to your clipboard and can be pasted elsewhere on your desktop by using Control + V or right clicking and selecting Paste.

Example Citations

Based upon the Bluebook format:

H.R.200 – 117th Congress (2021-2022): National Intersection and Interchange Safety Construction Program Act of 2021, H.R.200, 117th Cong. (2021), https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/200.

S.300 – 116th Congress (2019-2020): Pipeline and LNG Facility Cybersecurity Preparedness Act, S.300, 116th Cong. (2019), https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/senate-bill/300.

H.J.Res.3 – 114th Congress (2015-2016): Expressing support for designation of September 2015 as “Gospel Music Heritage Month” and honoring gospel music for its valuable and longstanding contributions to the culture of the United States, H.J.Res.3, 114th Cong. (2015), https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/house-joint-resolution/3.

S.Res.19 – 117th Congress (2021-2022): A resolution recognizing January 2021 as “National Mentoring Month”, S.Res.19, 117th Cong. (2021), https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/senate-resolution/19.

Based upon the APA format:

H.R.200 – 117th Congress (2021-2022): National Intersection and Interchange Safety Construction Program Act of 2021. (2021, February 4). https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/200

S.300 – 116th Congress (2019-2020): Pipeline and LNG Facility Cybersecurity Preparedness Act. (2019, January 31). https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/senate-bill/300

H.J.Res.3 – 114th Congress (2015-2016): Expressing support for designation of September 2015 as “Gospel Music Heritage Month” and honoring gospel music for its valuable and longstanding contributions to the culture of the United States. (2015, January 6). https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/house-joint-resolution/3

S.Res.19 – 117th Congress (2021-2022): A resolution recognizing January 2021 as “National Mentoring Month”. (2021, January 28). https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/senate-resolution/19

Based upon the MLA format:

“H.R.200 – 117th Congress (2021-2022): National Intersection and Interchange Safety Construction Program Act of 2021.” Congress.gov, Library of Congress, 4 February 2021, https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/200.

“S.300 – 116th Congress (2019-2020): Pipeline and LNG Facility Cybersecurity Preparedness Act.” Congress.gov, Library of Congress, 31 January 2019, https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/senate-bill/300.

“H.J.Res.3 – 114th Congress (2015-2016): Expressing support for designation of September 2015 as “Gospel Music Heritage Month” and honoring gospel music for its valuable and longstanding contributions to the culture of the United States.” Congress.gov, Library of Congress, 6 January 2015, https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/house-joint-resolution/3.

“S.Res.19 – 117th Congress (2021-2022): A resolution recognizing January 2021 as “National Mentoring Month”.” Congress.gov, Library of Congress, 28 January 2021, https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/senate-resolution/19.

Based upon the CMOS format:

Congress.gov. “H.R.200 – 117th Congress (2021-2022): National Intersection and Interchange Safety Construction Program Act of 2021.” February 4, 2021. https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/200.

Congress.gov. “S.300 – 116th Congress (2019-2020): Pipeline and LNG Facility Cybersecurity Preparedness Act.” January 31, 2019. https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/senate-bill/300.

Congress.gov. “H.J.Res.3 – 114th Congress (2015-2016): Expressing support for designation of September 2015 as “Gospel Music Heritage Month” and honoring gospel music for its valuable and longstanding contributions to the culture of the United States.” January 6, 2015. https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/house-joint-resolution/3.

Congress.gov. “S.Res.19 – 117th Congress (2021-2022): A resolution recognizing January 2021 as “National Mentoring Month”.” January 28, 2021. https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/senate-resolution/19.