Fourteen years after its last printing, Capitol Hill staff are preparing to publish the newest edition of the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.

The directory, maintained by the Senate Historical Office and the House Legislative Resource Center, details the lives of every Member who has ever served — more than 13,000 in all.

Assistant Senate Historian Betty Koed said the 16th edition of the guide will likely be printed by the end of 2003 and available to Congressional offices in early 2004, depending on the passage of legislation approving the reprinting. Both the House and Senate have passed versions of the act, authorizing $96,500 and $95,000, respectively.

Unlike previous editions, much of the editing process for the directory is already completed, Koed noted. Since the directory became available online in early 1999, staffers have been able to update information on a daily basis.

“When we go to a print edition this time … it will be taken directly from the electronic database,” Koed said. The directory first appeared in 1859 as the Dictionary of the United States Congress.

The new edition will include information on Members through the 108th Congress.

— Jennifer Yachnin