COMPILING YOUR OWN FEDERAL LEGISLATIVE HISTORIES

Getting the Bill number
If you're checking on the status of a pending bill:

If you are compiling a federal legislative history of a law already passed but not yet codified:

  • Do you have the Public Law number?
  • If you do, you can find the relevant volume of the Statutes at Large simply by using the first part of the Public Law number, which represents the relevant session of Congress, to guide you to the proper Statutes at Large volumes.
  • Once there, go to the Public Law tables at the front of each volume to see on which page your law begins.
  • The bill number will be in the upper right or left margin, along with the date of final passage.

If you are compiling a federal legislative history of a law already found in the United States Code:

  • Use the official United States Code, the United States Code Annotated, or the United States Code Service, find the "Pub. L. #" and citation to the United States Statutes at Large (#Stat. #) in parentheses at the end of the relevant Code section. Located in the Core Collections on the 2nd and 3rd floors.
  • Use the Statutes at Large citation to find the Public Law.
  • The bill number will be in the upper right or left margin, along with the date of final passage.

If you don't have the Public Law number:

  • Then you must have the topic of the bill; a relevant time period helps as well.
  • The fastest source for finding the bill number would be choosing LexisNexis Congressional.

Updating Committee Activity
Online resources are plentiful; you just have to double-check the dates covered by any given database. Thomas and LexisNexis Congressional are great resources for bill status.

CCH Congressional Index is a premier print resource for legislative status questions.

Committee Reports
The committee report explains the committee's work and the content of the proposed bill. While committee reports are optional in the Senate, they are mandatory in the House of Representatives. The report will often contain opinions of committee members, and may also contain statistical studies, including budgetary and revenue considerations. Also, information regarding the proposed bill's effect on current law may be included. Conference committee reports describe the work of a conference committee, i.e., House and Senate members who meet to form two similar acts into a single act that can be voted on by both chambers.

Where to find Committee Reports:

  • United States Code Congressional and Administrative News (USCCAN) (selected reports, 1941 to date). Core Collections on 2nd and 3rd floors, KF48 .U54
  • LexisNexis (1990 to date; selected coverage, 1990-1992; full coverage 1993 to date)
  • Westlaw (Has online version of the USCCAN reports, covering selected reports, 1948 to 1989; comprehensive coverage, 1990 to date)
  • LexisNexis Congressional (Full text 1990 to date; abstracts prior to 1990)
  • GPO Access (1995 to date)
  • CIS Microfiche (1970 to date)
  • CIS United States Serial Set Index (1789 to 1969) Law Documents Reference Z1223.Z9 C65 1975
  • Thomas (1995 to date)
  • Library of Congress' Century of Lawmaking (selected reports, 23rd through 64th Congresses

Committee Hearings
A bill is then referred to the relevant committee/subcommittee. Both the House and the Senate may hold hearings prior to debating and voting on the bill. Hearings are held before relevant committees according to the bill's topic.

At hearings, expert witnesses or parties with an expertise or interest in the legislation testify. Be aware that not all hearings get published. Also, keep in mind that hearings on related legislation may have been held during a previous Congress, yet may be relevant to understanding the legislation in question. Some hearing transcripts must be requested from the committee that handled the matter. When in doubt, consult your reference librarian.

Where to find Committee Hearings:

  • CIS Microfiche (1970 to date)
  • GPO Access (1995 to date)
  • House and Senate websites (for current hearings)
  • LexisNexis (Selected coverage from Federal Document Clearing House database. Coverage varies, depending on source. Coverage includes summaries and full testimony. Also, selected coverage from Federal News Service, August 1988 to date.).
  • Westlaw (Partial coverage from January 1993; full coverage from January 1996)
  • LexisNexis Congressional (selected information from 1988 to 1993; comprehensive testimony from 1993 to date)

Floor Debates and the Congressional Record
A "floor debate" (sometimes referred to as "remarks") is actually a misnomer. "Debate" instead refers to the time allotted each Representative or Senator to discuss the bill on the floor of their respective chambers. Debates are printed in the Congressional Record (Congress's daily paper), and are referred to by bill number.

Comments by bill sponsors or the reporting committee chair are given more consideration than individual member comments when construing legislative intent. Comments made during the adoption of floor amendments are important as well.
The Congressional Record, first published in 1873, appears in a daily edition and a permanent edition. Always check to make sure you're searching the correct edition. This is especially important for law journal citation checkers and research assistants.

Congressional Record:

Pre 1873

  • Congressional Globe (1833-1873) Law Documents X.Cong/sess.
  • Register of Debates in Congress (1824-1837) Law Documents X.Cong/sess.
  • Annals of Congress (1789-1824) Law Documents X.Cong/sess.

Final Voting Record
The Thomas webpage has excellent entries for roll call votes for all sessions of Congress starting with the 101st Congress (1989-1990). Thomas uses the roll call pages found on the House of Representatives and Senate websites. For earlier roll call votes use the index in the Congressional Record. For about the last 30 years the "Votes in Senate" and "Votes in House" sections of the general index will lead you to roll call votes. Before that, use the bill number or name of the bill to locate citations in the Congressional Record Index. Then go to the given citations to determine if a vote was by roll call. By the way, only members' names (and not parties or districts) are listed under "yeas" and "nays."

Presidential Messages
Presidential messages, either a signing or veto statement, are sent to Congress.
Where to Find Presidential Messages: