To see what congressional hearings are happening today, the fastest single source is the Committee Meetings by Date page on Congress.gov, which pulls every scheduled House and Senate committee and subcommittee meeting into one filterable calendar.1Congress.gov. Committee Meetings by Date Almost every hearing is streamed live for free through the hosting committee’s website, its YouTube channel, or C-SPAN, so you can follow along from anywhere.
Where to Find Today’s Schedule
Three official sources publish the day’s hearings, and each organizes the information a little differently.
- Congress.gov’s Committee Meetings by Date page covers both chambers in one place. You can filter by chamber, committee, or date, and each listing links to the committee’s own page for that event. A weekly email alert goes out every Monday summarizing the week’s scheduled meetings; you can sign up from the top of the Committee Schedule page.2Congress.gov. About the Committee Schedule, Meetings and Hearings
- The Senate’s Hearings & Meetings page lists Senate committee events for today and the days ahead, with brief descriptions of each.3U.S. Senate. Hearings and Meetings
- The House Committee Repository has a “Today’s Meetings” section organized by week, with links to details for each subcommittee and full committee session.4U.S. House of Representatives. Committee Repository
Each listing normally includes the time and room, the committee or subcommittee meeting, the topic or bill under discussion, and the invited witnesses. Hearings do get postponed or cancelled, sometimes only hours out. Check the morning of, not the schedule you saw two days ago.
What Kind of Meeting Is on the Schedule
Not every entry labeled a “committee meeting” is the same event. The format changes what you’ll see.
Public Hearings
These are the most common. Members question invited witnesses on a bill, a policy question, or an oversight matter, and the vast majority are open to the public in person and by live stream.5house.gov. In Committee
Markups
A markup is where members actually work on a bill: debating amendments and voting on changes to the text. Markups are also generally open, but there are no outside witnesses; the action is all members.5house.gov. In Committee Congress.gov’s search filters let you separate hearings from markups.
Closed Sessions
Occasionally a committee closes a session. Senate rules permit this only for specific reasons, including classified national security information, matters that could unfairly harm someone’s reputation, law enforcement investigation details, and trade secrets. The committee must hold a roll-call vote in open session to authorize the closure.6U.S. Senate Committee on Rules and Administration. Rules of the Senate If a hearing you were tracking suddenly shows as closed, one of those reasons is why.
How to Watch Live
Most hearings stream live at no cost. You usually have more than one way in.
Committee Websites and YouTube
The hosting committee’s own website is often the most reliable live stream for that committee’s hearings. Many committees also run YouTube channels that carry the stream and archive recordings afterward. The House Appropriations Committee, for instance, lists upcoming and past streams on its YouTube channel, and most other major committees do the same. On a hearing’s detail page at Congress.gov, look for a direct webcast link as well.2Congress.gov. About the Committee Schedule, Meetings and Hearings
C-SPAN
C-SPAN carries many high-profile hearings from both chambers on television and at c-span.org/schedule. It doesn’t carry every subcommittee session, so for smaller hearings, go directly to the committee stream.
Floor Proceedings Are a Different Feed
One point that trips people up: floor debate and committee hearings stream in different places. The House puts floor activity on live.house.gov, and the Senate puts floor proceedings on senate.gov.7U.S. House of Representatives. live.house.gov8U.S. Senate. Floor Proceedings Neither shows committee hearings. For a hearing, go to the committee or to Congress.gov.
If You Miss It
Video recordings normally appear on the hosting committee’s website within hours, and Congress.gov maintains a committee video archive covering both chambers.9Congress.gov. Committee Video Official written transcripts are much slower. Per the Senate’s own guidance, published hearing transcripts on GovInfo can take several months or even years to post.10U.S. Senate. How to Find Committee Hearings For anything recent, use the video.
Attending a Hearing in Person
Hearings are generally open to the public. You don’t need a ticket or an invitation. Seating outside the reserved rows for press, staff, and witnesses is first-come, first-served, so arrive well before the start for anything that will draw a crowd.
House office buildings (Cannon, Ford, Longworth, Rayburn) are open Monday through Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., with doors closing at 5:00 p.m. during House recess. Senate office buildings (Dirksen, Hart, Russell) are open Monday through Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., with doors closing at 6:30 p.m. during recess.11United States Capitol Police. Building Access and Hours Every visitor goes through magnetometer screening, and bags are x-rayed. Weapons and large bags aren’t allowed inside.
Accessibility
The Office of Congressional Accessibility Services (OCAS) is the point of contact for accommodations on Capitol Hill. OCAS arranges sign language interpreters for committee hearings and loans wheelchairs to visitors. Interpreter requests should go in as far ahead as possible at (202) 224-4048. Physical accessibility questions for Senate office buildings go to the Architect of the Capitol at (202) 224-2021.
For remote viewers, a closed captioning service launched in July 2025 is available to every House committee. It displays real-time captions on committee room screens, and viewers can also scan a QR code to read captions on a phone or tablet.12United States Committee on House Administration. Subcommittee on Modernization and Innovation Announces House Committee Closed Captioning Service The service is available rather than required, so availability varies by committee. C-SPAN broadcasts usually carry their own captions.
Getting Your Views Into the Record
You don’t have to be invited to testify to get written comments into the official hearing record. Many committees accept written public testimony from individuals and organizations, with rules and deadlines that vary by committee, so check the specific committee’s website for the hearing you care about.
As one example, the House Appropriations Committee requires written testimony to be emailed as a PDF attachment with “Written Testimony” in the subject line, capped at four pages, single-spaced, 12-point font, one-inch margins, with the submitter’s name and affiliation on the first page and a Witness Disclosure Form attached.13House Committee on Appropriations. Instructions for Providing Written Public Testimony – All Groups Deadlines are set weeks in advance and are firm. Waiting until the day of the hearing is generally too late.