Government Information Research Guide
Topics
Federal Legislative Histories
| Introduction | | Understanding the Legislative Process | | Identifying Legislation | | Bills | | Laws| | Compiling a Legislative History| | Committee Hearings, Prints, Reports | | Other Sources |
Introduction
The "legislative history" of a public law or statute consists of the documents produced during the legislative process, beginning with the introduction of a bill to its passage into law. These documents include the bill and any amended versions, committee hearings and reports on the bill, debates in Congress, statements by individuals testifying about the bill, and statements made by the President when signing the bill into law. Legislative histories are important because they provide information on the intent of the law, influential political factors, and background information for citizens and researchers.
Depending on the importance and complexity of the legislation, the federal legislative process provides a wealth of documentation for developing a thorough legislative history. The following list highlights resources available at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, W.E.B. Du Bois Library, and on the Internet.
Understanding the Legislative Process
Enactment of a Law. (U.S. Senate)
Detailed, thorough description of the legislative process in the Senate.
How Our Laws Are Made. (U.S. House of Representatives)
Detailed, thorough description of the legislative process in the House.
The Legislative Process. (U.S. House of Representatives)
Summary description of the legislative process in the House.
Identifying Legislation
Bills:
All legislation introduced in the House or Senate is assigned a bill number.
Examples:
H.R. 5630 (House Bill number)
S. 1508 (Senate Bill number)
Public Laws:
Bills passed into law during a legislative session are called Public Laws or slip laws. The legislation receives a Public Law number.
Examples:
House Bill H.R. 5630 passed into law on December 27, 2000, during the 106th Congress becomes Public Law 106-567 (P.L. 106-567).
Senate Bill S.1508 passed into law on December 21, 2000, during the 106th Congress becomes Public Law 106-559 (P.L. 106-559).
Statutes:
The United States Statutes at Large (UM/NON-CIRC KF 50 U5) contain the compilation of public laws in bound volumes.
The laws are identified and cited by the Statute volume and page where they are located.
Examples:
P.L. 106-567 becomes 114 STAT. 2831
P.L. 106-559 becomes 114 STAT. 2779
United States Code:
Statutes become incorporated into the U.S. Code, the official compilation of federal laws in force. The Code is divided into subject areas by title numbers and section numbers.
Examples:
Education Title 20: Elementary education programs (20 USC, Sec. 1322)
Public Health Title 42: State plans for medical assistance (42 USC, Sec. 1396a)
Railroads Title 45: Ownership restrictions (45 USC, Sec. 1322)
Bills
Locating full text bills
Online:
THOMAS
101st Congress (1989/1990 - present)
Locate bills, public laws, legislators, legislative histories.
American Memory
House bills 6th Congress (Dec. 1799) through 42nd Congress (1873) in full text.
Senate bills 16th Congress (1819) through 42nd Congress (1873) in full text.
Microfiche:
Senate (Y 1.4/1: ) - 96th Congress (1979 - present): full-text bills.
House (Y1.4/6: ) - 96th Congress (1979 - present): full-text bills.
Boston Public Library - 73rd Cong. (1933) - 96th Congress (1980): full-text bills.
Paper:
Congressional Record (UM/W.E.B. Du Bois J 11 R5) contains some bills passed before 1979.
Locating bill numbers and bill abstracts
Online:
THOMAS
93rd Congress (1973 - present).
Bill numbers, abstracts and status.
Paper:
Congressional Index
(UM/NON-CIRC KF 49 C6)
88th Congress (1963) - 105th Congress (1998).
Bill numbers, abstracts and voting records.
Congressional Record
(UM/W.E.B. Du Bois J 11 R5)
43rd Congress (1873) -104th Congress (1996)
Bill numbers and abstracts.
Journal of the House
(UM/Gov.Docs. XJH)
83rd Congress (1953 - present).
Bill number and abstract.
Journal of the Senate
(UM/Gov. Docs. XJS)
83rd Congress (1953 - present).
Bill number and abstract.
Sources for compiling a legislative history from a bill number:
Bills passed into law provide the most thorough legislative histories.
Online:
THOMAS - 93rd Congress (1973 - present).
Go to Word/Phrase, enter topic term(s), and click on "Search".
Select bill number(s) of interest.
Click on "Bill Summary" and "Status" for the most detailed history of the bill.
These summaries do not include all hearings, prints, and/or reports that may have been issued.
Paper:
Congressional Index (CCH).
(KF 49 C6)
(88th Congress (1963)-105th Congress (1998))
House/Senate bills - arranged by bill number. Gives subject, sponsors, abstract, and committee to which it was referred.
Status of House/Senate bills - arranged by bill number, lists all actions and dates.
CIS Index Annual: Legislative Histories of US Public Laws.
(UM/Gov. Docs. Ref. KF49.C62+) (1984- )
Contains "Index to Bill Numbers" at the back of each volume. Lists Congress and bill number with Public Law number.
Laws
Locating Public Laws
Online:
Library Catalog:
The Library Catalog contains records for individual Public Laws from the 99th Congress (1985 - present). Conduct a government document number search with the Congress number: AE 2.110:103 [for 103rd Congress].
At the Library's home page, click on "Catalog", "Other Searches", "Government Document Number" (enter AE2.110:103).
Public and Private Laws:
Full text available from the 104th Congress (1995- ).
THOMAS (Library of Congress)
Public Laws available in full text from the 93rd Congress (1973- ). Search by Public Law number.
Paper:
CIS/Annual:
(UM/Gov. Docs. Ref. KF40.C56 1981) (1970-1983)
Public law legislative histories included as the last section in each volume.
CIS Index: Legislative Histories:
(UM/Gov. Docs. Ref. KF49.C62+) (1984- )
Histories include an abstract of the law and citations for all relevant documents.
Arranged by Public Law number. Subject, name and bill indexes included.
Shepard's Acts and Cases by Popular Names: Federal and State:
(UM/Ref Desk KF 90 S5)
Excellent ready reference source for finding federal and state statutes and laws by their popular name or title.
United States Statutes at Large
(UM/NON-CIRC KF 50 U5)
1st Congress (1789 - present).
Arranged by Statute at Large number with the Public Law number listed at the beginning of the law. Includes popular name and subject indexes.
United States Code Congressional and Administrative News
(UM/NON-CIRC KF 48 U5) (77th Cong. (1941- present)
Full text of public laws with very brief legislative history and text of committee report.
Compiling a federal legislative history from a Public Law
Start a federal legislative history with a Public Law number. We discourage searching by bill number, because most bills never become law and the researcher will run into many dead end.
THOMAS or CIS Legislative Histories (UM/Gov. Docs. Ref. KF49.C62+) both provide excellent versions of legislative histories. The researcher may find one preferable to the other depending on the topic or level of research being conducted. Using them in concert provides the most thorough coverage of all documentation and action on a piece of legislation.
Use the following sources when investigating specific issues, background information, debate or actions taken on legislation.
Committee Hearings, Prints and Reports
After its introduction in the House or Senate, a bill is referred to a committee. Vital primary documents in researching legislative history and intent includes congressional committee hearings, prints, and reports.
Hearings are held on a bill if the committee needs more information regarding the legislation or the issues concerning the legislation.
Prints are reports written for a committee that contain information requested by the committee to assist them in understanding the legislation.
Reports are issued by the committee if the committee returns the legislation back to the House or Senate. Committee reports contain the committee's recommendation, analysis of the bill, budgetary considerations, and background information.
Locating Congressional Committee Hearings, Prints, and Reports
Online:
Library Catalog
Search hearings, prints and reports by Keyword search using the words "committee" and "hearing*", or"print", or "report".
The Library has extensive historical holdings of these materials.
Hearings: 1833-
Prints: 1976-
Reports: 1976-
THOMAS (Library of Congress)
Committee Reports - 104th Congress (1995-1996 - present) in full text.
Paper:
CIS Index: 1970 to the present
(UM/Gov. Docs. Ref. KF40.C56 1981)
Indexes Congressional hearings, committee prints, House/Senate reports, House/Senate documents, executive reports, treaty documents, and public laws.
CIS Index: Legislative Histories
(UM/Gov. Docs. Ref. KF49.C62+) (1984- )
Histories include an abstract of the law and citations for all relevant documents.
Arranged by Public Law number. Subject, name and bill indexes included.
CIS US Committee Prints Index through 1969
(UM/Gov. Docs. Ref. Z1223.Z7C66+)
Background studies of issues before Congressional committees.
CIS US Congressional Committee Hearings Index 1789-1969
(UM/Gov. Docs. Ref. KF40.C56 1981)
Citations and summaries of all committee hearings.
CIS US Serial Set Index 1765-1969
(UM/Gov Docs. Ref. Z1223.Z9 C65 1975 );
(1970 - present), (UM/Gov. Docs. Ref KF40.C56 1981)
Indexes Congressional committee reports, journal and manuals; some executive branch publications; reports from nongovernment organizations, etc.
Other Sources of Information on Federal Legislative History and Intent
Online:
Congressional Record
99th Cong. (1997- to present). (X 1.1/A). paper and microfiche.
43rd Cong. (1873) - 98th Cong. (1996). (J 11 R5)
Daily transcript of action and debate on the floors of the House and Senate.
Primary source for references to congressional action and debate cited in THOMAS and CIS indexes.
Federal Legislative Branch-Congress
UMass Government Documents Web site for online sources of information about Congress.
Paper:
Congressional Roll Call
( JK 1059 C6) (1969 -to present)
Record of all votes taken on bills in the House and Senate.
CQ Almanac
( JK 1 C74) (1945 - to present)
Annual compilation of the "CQ Weekly Report". Provides the same information as the weekly report. Includes an annual table of contents and index.
CQ Weekly Report
( JK 1 C741) (1961 - to present)
Provides background information on major legislation and current issues, information on key players and behind-the-scenes activity, and all roll call votes.
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