Journals Published

The topic of discussion for this Constitution Monday comes from Article I.5.3: “The journal of each house shall be published from time to time.” This principle states that the people have the right to have a written record of the business conducted in Congress. A complete record of the proceedings of both the House and the Senate has been published on a daily basis in the Congressional Record since 1873.

Each day members of Congress are given an opportunity to read the complete transcript from the previous day and can make corrections and additions at that time. As in many other things, some members of Congress have taken advantage of this courtesy and have actually changed their remarks to say something different than what they actually said. These members of Congress have damaged the reputation of the Congressional Record.

Journals Kept

The topic of discussion for this Constitution Monday comes from Article I.5.3: “Each house shall keep a journal of its proceedings.” The Founders put this provision into the Constitution because they felt that the people had the right to know what was happening in the House and the Senate.

The purpose for publishing the daily journal of both the House and the Senate is to make sure that the proceedings are public and the members are responsible to the people who elected them. A “Digest” is published because the entire Congressional Record is too voluminous.