Senate documents are a common source of data for writers. Although the "Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association" (6th ed.) offers guidelines for many citations, the manual relies on the 19th edition of "The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation" for information about legal matters such as United States Senate bills. This publication is a reference book for legal professionals and writers covering government business.
In-Text Citation
After you discuss information from a U.S. Senate bill, put a citation within parentheses. Insert the title of the bill -- if it is available and important to your work -- a comma and the year, such as: (Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009, 2009). If you do not include the title, use "S." without quotation marks, the bill or resolution number, a comma and the year; for example: (S. 181, 2009). If you mention the bill in text, omit it from the parentheses.
References Page
Include in-text citations of U.S. Senate bills on the References page. Begin with the title of the bill and a comma. Insert "S." without quotation marks, the bill or resolution number and a comma. Indicate the congressional session with the ordinal number and "Cong." Put the year within parentheses and end with a period; for instance: Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009, S. 181, 111th Cong. (2009).