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401 Federal Legislative History

What is a federal legislative history?

A federal legislative history consists of documents produced by Congress that precede and relate to the enactment of a public law.  Compiled legislative histories are often available for large or significant federal acts, such as the PATRIOT Act, the Federal Securities Act of 1933, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, etc.  However, in the absence of a published compilation, researchers must locate and compile the prefatory documents, often from multiple sources.

How is it used?

Legislative history information is generally used to determine the legislative intent of a law or a particular section of a statute.  While attorneys typically seek this information to make a legal argument, federal agencies and courts also examine legislative history documents for background information to clarify the statutory text. 

Locating Published Legislative Histories

 Compiling a Legislative History

Congressional Documents

Determining Bill Status

Locating Congressional Documents

Other Guides, Links & Reference Sources


Locating a Compiled Legislative History

Compiled legislative histories are available on selected legislative acts and amendments and can save the researcher a great deal of time. 

  1. SMU Libraries - Search by keyword on the library catalog to locate a published legislative history.  Example:  "legislative history" and patriot to find a legislative history on the PATRIOT Act.
  • References to Compiled Legislative Histories - References to comprehensive or selective histories are available in:
    • HeinOnline's Sources of Compiled Legislative Histories. Identifies published legislative histories for most major U.S. federal laws. Each piece of legislation available in the database includes the public law number, Statutes at Large citation, and any relevant books, articles, and Legislative Histories in its entry.
      A print version of this content, current through 2007, is also available in the Law Library's reference collection. (Nancy P. Johnson, Sources of Compiled Legislative Histories: A Bibliography of Government Documents, Periodical Articles, and Books [2nd Floor, Reference, KF42.2 1979].
    • LEXIS- Click on Federal Legal U.S. >  Statutes, Regulations, Administrative Materials & Court Rules > Legislative Histories & Materials.  Includes links to selected legislative histories on environmental, tax and other laws.  For additional materials, see individual areas of law by topic, such as Securities, Banking, etc.  (Password required.)
    • ProQuest Congressional Publications - Legislative history compilations from 1889 (1st Congress) - Current.  Comprehensive coverage only from 1999 (106th Congress) to Current.  Pre-1970 full text documents limited to what was included in the>U.S. Serial Set.
    • WESTLAW.com - Click on  U.S. Federal Materials > Legislative History.  (Password required.)

Compiling a Legislative History

If no compiled legislative history is available, the researcher must locate the documents individually, often from multiple sources.  Descriptions of the documents  are detailed under Source Documents for Legislative History, followed by a list of resources for obtaining the documents at Locating Congressional Documents at Underwood Law Library, Other SMU Libraries and on the Web.

To begin a search for legislative history documents, one or more of the following pieces of information provide an access point to legislative history sources:

  1. Title or Popular Name of the Act (e.g. Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010)

    If you know the name of the act, check the Popular Name Table in the U.S.C., U.S.C.A. or U.S.C.S. [2nd Floor Law Primary Materials] to locate the public law number, the U.S. Statutes at Large citation and the title and section of the U.S. Code where the act was codified.  Example:  Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010, Public Law No. 111-148;124 Stat 119, 42 U.S.C. 18,001 Note. 

    If you do not know the title or popular name of the act, you can search the subject index shelved at the end of the U.S.C.A. or U.S.C.S. for references to the title or name of the act by topic.  LEXIS and WESTLAW also have searchable Popular Name Tables on their databases.  The U.S. site, Thomas Legislative Information on the Internet at http://thomas.loc.gov provides browsable Popular Name Tables from the 93rd legislative session (1973-1974) to current. 

  • Public Law Number (e.g. Pub. L. No. 111-148) or Statutes at Large Citation (e.g. 124 STAT. 119).

    Public laws are numbered sequentially at the beginning of a legislative session in Congress.  Thus the 1st public law passed during the 111th legislature, First Session, is Public Law No. 111-1.  The subsequent laws are numbered sequentially during the two-year Congressional term. 

    To Locate a Public Law or Statutes at Large Citation:

    • In the U.S.C.A., U.S.C.S., or U.S.C. -  Check the historical notes at the end of the code section, which include a chronological list of all amendments to the section since its inception, as well as the Statutes at Large citation and date the legislation was passed.  Also the Popular Name Table as noted above.
  • LEXIS and WESTLAW - WESTLAW includes the U.S.C.A., and LEXIS includes the U.S.C.S., both of which have a separately searchable Popular Name Table. 
  • Bill or Resolution Number -Usually found in Statutes at Large or, since 1941, in the United States Code Congressional & Administrative News (U.S.C.C.A.N.).  2nd Floor, Law Primary Materials. Also on WESTLAW. 

Congressional Documents for Legislative History

The following list identifies and describes the most common documents used to argue legislative intent from the most to least authoritative.

  1. Bill Texts and Amendments
    In order for a law to be enacted, it is first introduced as a bill or joint resolution either in the House or Senate.  After a number has been assigned to the bill, it is referred to the appropriate committee for consideration.  Bills may be amended multiple times before being enacted into law.  There may be several versions in the House or Senate or both, and the changes can offer insight into the legislative intent of the bill. 

  2. Committee Reports
    Generally considered the most important sources for determining legislative intent, Committee Reports are produced by the House or Senate Committee assigned to review the bill.  The content of the report reflects the analysis and recommendations of the committee members who may recommend passage, attempt to reconcile competing versions of the bill in the House and Senate or allow the bill to "die" in committee by taking no action on it.  The committee reports are usually cited as H.R. Rep. for the House, and Sen. Rep. or Sen. Conf. Rep. for the Senate.

  3. Congressional Debates
    Often referenced as "floor debates," debates on a given bill may occur at any point in the legislative process in either the House or Senate.  While most bills become law without Congressional debate, bills with significant impact on the public may yield debate transcripts that provide a good source for discussions and explanations of vague or controversial language in the text of a law.  The transcripts of congressional debates are published (though occasionally edited, revised or deleted by members of Congress) in the Congressional Record available in print, on LEXIS and WESTLAW and on the Internet.

  4. Committee Hearings
    Committee hearings usually are held in order that non-legislators, such as experts and other interested individuals, may provide committee members with information regarding the subject matter of a bill, its purpose and potential impact.  The testimony may include suggested changes or amendments to the bill, as well.   Less frequently, such a hearing is held to investigate not a pending  bill, but a matter of public concern, such as national security, public health issues, etc.  Because these transcripts contain the opinions of non-legislators, rather than Congressional debate, they are not technically considered part of a bill's history.  However, the transcripts can offer valuable insight into the history of a bill because they include the legislators' questions and comments, and sometimes members of Congress themselves testify in these hearings.  Note that not all hearings transcripts are published.

  5. Committee Prints
    These reports contain studies and research materials prepared by legislative staff or outside consultants to assist members of Congress in evaluating proposed legislation.

  6. Presidential Documents
    When the President signs or vetoes a bill, he may issue a brief statement regarding his rationale for the decision to sign or veto.  These statement, as they do not come from Congress, are not usually considered significant sources for determining legislative intent.

Determining the Status of a Federal Bill

These sources enable the researcher to locate current and previous versions of a bill and to determine its status:

  1. LEXIS - Click on Federal Legal - U.S. > Bill Tracking - Current Congress for current Session.  Select Archived Bill Text & Tracking for bills from 1989 - previous year.    (Password required.)

  2. WESTLAW - For Current Congress, click on U.S. Federal Materials > Bill Tracking - Federal: 104th Congress - Current.   For previous years from 1991, click on Bill Tracking - Federal Archives. (Password required.)

  3. Thomas - Search Bill Status & Summary  93rd Congress (1973) - current.  http://thomas.loc.gov/bss/111search.html

  4. FDSys - History of Bills: Search  98th Congress (1983) - current.  http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/browse/collection.action?collectionCode=HOB.  Locates all published versions of bills.  Browse by year.  

Locating Congressional Documents at Underwood Law Library, Other SMU Libraries and on the Web 

Generally

  1. ProQuest Congressional Publications.  1st Congress (1789) - current.  Available to SMU Law School faculty, students and staff from Research Databases link on the Underwood Law Library's Web site at http://library.law.smu.edu. 
Click on the Search by Number tab to search for documents by publication number of citation.  Pre-1970 full text documents limited to the U.S. Serial Set.   Also available on LEXIS; click on  Federal Legal - U.S. > Legislative Histories & Materials > US - CIS Legislative Histories.  
  • LexisNexis.  http://www.lexisnexis.lawschool.com/.  Click on Federal Legal U.S. >  Statutes, Regulations, Administrative Materials & Court Rules >Legislative History Materials. (Password required.)
  1. U.S. Code Congressional and Administrative News (USCCAN) [2nd Floor, Primary Sources].   77th Congress (1941) - current.  The Legislative History volumes provide a list of citations for each public law that includes all committee and conference reports, Congressional Record references to the dates of House and Senate debate or discussion of the bill and any presidential signing statements.   The committee reports are usually reprinted in full text.  Also available on WESTLAW from 1995 - current. 
  • Digest of Public General Bills and Resolutions, 79th - 102nd Congress (1945 - 1990) [2nd Floor, Primary Sources].  Useful primarily for historical research, this source has two parts:  1) the Public Laws section -  provides a summary and brief legislative history of bills on which some action was taken subsequent to their introduction; and 2) the Public General Bills and Resolutions - provides summaries of bills that expired in committee. 

Bill Texts and Amendments

  1. Lexis and Westlaw.  See Determining the Status of a Federal Bill. 
  1. Thomas 101st Congress (1989) - current.   http://thomas.loc.gov/home/bills_res.html. 
  1. FDSys Congressional Bills.  103rd Congress (1993) - current. http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/browse/collection.action?collectionCode=BILLS.
  1. ProQuest Congressional Publications.  101st Congress (1989) - current.  Available to SMU Law faculty, students and staff at http://web.lexis-nexis.com/congcomp/ or from Research Databases link on the Underwood Law Library's Web site at http://library.law.smu.edu. 
  1. U.S. Congressional Bills & Resolutions 97th Congress (1981) - current.  Underwood Law Library's CIS microfiche collection [Central Basement].  Note:  These are usually 2 - 3 years behind current Congressional session. 

Committee Reports

  1. LEXIS - Click on Federal Legal U.S. > Legislative Histories & Materials > Committee Reports.  Includes full text reports from 101st Congress (1990) - current.  (Password required.)

  2. WESTLAW - Click onU.S. Federal  < Legislative History > Legislative History - U.S. Code.  Includesall congressional committee reports, including reports on bills that did not become law, and Presidential signingi statements from 1948.   (Password required.)

  3. ProQuest Congressional Publications (available to SMU Law School students, faculty and staff from the Library's secure Research Databases page).  Includes full text reports from 1789 - 1969; indexing and abstracts from 1970-current.

  4. Thomas Committee Reports  http://thomas.loc.gov/home/LegislativeData.php?&n=Reports&c=104.  Full text reports available from the 104th Congress (1995-1996) - current.  

  5. FDSys Congressional Reports.  http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/browse/collection.action?collectionCode=CRPT.  Full text reports available from the 104th Congress (1995-1996) - current.   

  1. U.S. Code Congressional and Administrative News (USCCAN) [2nd Floor,  Primary Sources].  The Legislative History volumes contain selected full text House and Senate Reports form the 78th Congress (1943) to date, as well as citations to other legislative history materials.  Also available on WESTLAW from 1990 - current.  

  2. CIS Microfiche Set [Underwood Law Library - Central Basement].  Full text reports available from 1970 - most current received. 

  3. U.S. Serial Set [SMU's Fondren Library and Dallas Public Library].  Full text reports from the 19th Century - current. 

Congressional Debates

Congressional Record : Proceedings and Debates of the . . . Congress.   Published daily (when Congress is in session).  Includes the transcripts of floor debates in the House and Senate.  Sources include:

  1. LEXIS.  99th Congress (1985) - Current.  (Password required.)  Click on  Federal Legal - U.S. > Individual Congressional Record Materials, and select a Congressional session; or click on Federal Legal - U.S. > Legislative Histories & Materials Congressional Record, All Congresses Combined to search all years.  (Password required.)

  2. WESTLAW.  99th Congress (1985) - Current.  (Password required.)  Click on U.S. Federal Materials > Legislative History > Congressional Record. (Password required.)

  3. Thomas Congressional Record. http://thomas.loc.gov/home/LegislativeData.php?&n=Record. 101st Congress (1989) - current.

  4. FDSys Congressional Record. http://www.fdsys.org/.  94th Congress (1994) - current. 

  5. Print issues.  2nd Floor, Law Primary Sources: vol. 116, Jan. 1970 - Current.  Older volumes (beginning with volume one) are in Law Storage.

  6. Microfiche. Law Microforms [Central Basement], vol. 1, 43rd Congress (1873) - vol. 34, 100th Congress (1988). 

Committee Hearings

  1. WESTLAW.  (Password required.)  Click on U.S. Federal Materials > Legislative History  and select: 

    • U.S. Congressional Testimony. Selected transcripts 1993-1996; full coverage 1996 - current.
    • U.S. Political Transcripts.  Oral testimony from 1994 - Current.
    • LEXIS.  (Password required.)  Click on  Legislation & Politics - U.S. & U.K. > U.S. Congress > Committee Hearing Transcripts.

  2. ProQuest Congressional Publications (available to SMU Law School students, faculty and staff from the Library's secure Research Databases page). Indexing and abstracts from 1970-current.

  3. CIS Microfiche Set [Underwood Law Library - Central Basement].  Full text reports available from 1970 - most current received.  

  4. FDSys Congressional Hearings. http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/browse/collection.action?collectionCode=CHRG  104th Congress (1995) - current.  

  5. Capitol Hearings at http://www.capitolhearings.org/.  Committee hearings from C-Span.

Committee Prints

  • WESTLAW.  (Password required.)  WESTLAW does not have a separate searchable database for committee prints.  However, these reports are available as part of compiled  histories, accessible in the Legislative History databases.  See WESTLAW under Locating a Published Legislative History at Underwood Law Library supra.

  • FDSys.org Committee Prints. http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/browse/collection.action?collectionCode=CPRT. 100th Congress (1987) - current. 

  • ProQuest Congressional Publications (available to SMU Law School students, faculty and staff from the Library's secure Research Databases page).  Includes indexing from 1830 - current; indexing and abstracts from 1970-Current. Selected full text committee prints, 103th Congress (1993-1994) - current.  

  • CIS Microfiche Set [Underwood Law Library - Central Basement].  Full text reports available from 1970 - most current received. 

  • Print Documents - Selected committee prints available in Law Government Documents, Central Basement, Underwood Law Library, and at Fondren Library.  Search the library catalog by name of the act or title of report. 

Presidential Documents

  • Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents, vol. 1 (1965) - current.  [2nd Floor, Primary Sources] 

Other Guides & Reference Tools

Articles &  Research Guides

Books at Underwood Law Library on Statutory Construction and Interpretation

(4th Floor, unless otherwise noted.)
  • Brown, Ronald Benton.  Statutory Interpretation : The Search for Legislative Intent (2002).  [KF 425 .B76 2002]
  • Cross, Frank B.,The Theory and Practice of Statutory Interpretation (2009). [KF425 .C76 2009]

  • Mammen, Christian E.  Using Legislative History in American Statutory Interpretation (2002).  [KF 425 .M36 2002]

  • Singer, Norman J.  Statutes and Statutory Construction (2007); Current supplement.  [KF 425 .S25 2007] Also available on WESTLAW [database identifier SUTHERLAND].

  • Vermeule, Adrian.  Three Strategies of Interpretation (2005).  [KF 425 .V474 2005]
  • Yule, Kim, Statutory Interpretation: General Principles and Recent Trends (2009). [KF425 .K56 2009]