A Guide for Understanding Federal Legislation

An open government requires transparency of legislative activities and toward this end legislative publications are made publicly available.  However, laws are written broadly to encompass a wide range of circumstances, making legislative language sometimes vague.  Compiling legislative histories of laws may help determine the intent and meaning of laws. 

A legislative history is both a chronological record of the stages that a bill goes through during the legislative process and a compilation of various official documents generated at each legislative stage.  These documents usually consist of bills, committee hearings and reports, committee prints, and debates.  Frequently secondary material such as scholarly journal articles and privately published material prove to be an invaluable component of a thorough legislative history compilation.  Because state legislative documents are generally more scarce than federal documents, a separate guide for compiling state legislative histories has been created.  This guide describes source documents for federal legislation only.

For a thorough discussion of the federal legislative process and primary legislative history sources read How Our Laws Are Made (2003), revised and updated by Charles W. Johnson, Parliamentarian, United States House of Representative.

Simplified Legislative Process

Finding Sources

Primary Resources:

LexisNexis Congressional  (1789-present) - This index provides comprehensive access to U.S. legislative information including legislators and committees, bills, laws, hearing transcripts, committee prints, documents, the Congressional Record, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Code, and Congressional Research Service reports.  Many publications from the mid-1980's to the present are available in full-text digitally.  Microfiche format provides full-text of earlier publications.

U.S. Serial Set   (1817- present; database covers 1817-1935 as of 2/08)  A continuing series of over 14,000 sequentially numbered volumes, the Serial Set contains Congressional Reports, Documents, and Journals of both the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate from the 15th Congress forward.  The Serial Set also includes administrative reports, annual reports of agencies, internal manuals, special reports, and congressional directories making the Serial Set one of the most important sources of primary research material for American history and the social sciences. Maps and illustrations may accompany corresponding text in documents dealing with political and military history; social, ethnic and cultural history; genealogy; explorations; international relations; and commerce and industrial development. Guide 

American State Papers  (1789-183) - contains primary historical documentation of the earliest sessions of Congress.  Although this is not a comprehensive chronicle of congressional activities, it reprints important executive and legislative documents in ten topical classes related to foreign relations, Indian affairs, finance, commerce and navigation, military affairs, naval affairs, post office department, public lands, claims, as well as miscellaneous documents. Guide

Secondary Resources:

CQ Electronic Library  is an extensive reference resource comprised of fourteen separate modules, each with its own focus, for researching American government, politics, history, public policy, and current affairs.

Hein Online Look for "Core U.S./Most Cited Law Journals."

JSTOR  and Project Muse are complementary databases of peer reviewed full-text journal articles in fields of literature and criticism, history, the visual and performing arts, cultural studies, education, political science, gender studies, and many others.  JSTOR contains ONLY back issues while Project Muse coverage begins in 1995.

Description of Legislative Publications

Bills

Bills are printed versions of a proposed law. Bills are printed and reprinted at various stages of the legislative process.  Bills introduced in the House of Representatives are prefixed with H.R. and S. in the Senate.  Bills are numbered consecutively as they are introduced from the beginning of each congressional term. 

Debates

The Congressional Record contains remarks and debates in transcript form, as well as speeches by Senators and Representatives of the U.S. Congress.  The CR is the official reporting mechanism documenting Congressional deliberations. Guide

Hearings

Hearings contain the oral testimony of witnesses in public sessions and may include written material submitted to committees of Congress.  Witnesses include subject experts, government officials, private citizens, and spokesmen for groups which may be affected by the bill being considered.  Hearings may also be held to investigate a particular event or issue not associated with legislation. Guide to hearings and prints

Committee Prints

Committee Prints are research studies requested by committees to gather background information regarding a be or issue.  Prints may include scientific findings, histories of previous legislation, impact statements of legislation. These studies are compiled by committee research staff or the Congressional Research Service, a branch of the Library of Congress. Guide to hearings and prints

Committee Reports

A report is issued after hearings are held and serves as written justification of the committee's action.  The report explains the scope and purpose of the bill.  Reports are considered the most important document of a legislative history because they explain the bill's intend and are non-prejudicial, as hearings frequently are.  Reports are designated H.Rept. or S.Rept.

Proceedings

Proceedings include the daily printed debates, statements, and actions taken by each house. the Congressional Record is the only publication that contains all of these activities.  The House and Senate Journals record the proceedings, but not the debates.

Conference Reports

Conference reports are the product of a conference committee which has been appointed to resolve differences in the House and Senate versions of a bill.  Conference Reports often contain the textual changes in the bill, as well as an explanation of the changes.  The compromise bill must then be approved by both houses before it is sent to the President for signature.

Resolutions

1) Resolutions are an expression of fact or opinion of Congress designated H.Res. or S.Res. and concern only business of the house in which they originate.  They become effective upon passage and do not require approval by the other house or require the signature of the President.  2) Joint resolutions go through the same process as a bill and have the same force of law.  They differ from bills in that they are usually introduced to deal with limited matters. They are designated H.J.Res. or S.J.Res.  3) Concurrent resolutions are designated H.Con.Res. or S.Con.Res. and are used for matters affecting the business of both houses.  They do not require the signature of the President and do not have the effect of law.

Slip Laws

Slip Laws are the first released form of an enacted law and are individually printed in pamphlet form.  They are designated as either public or private laws and are identified by Congress and law number.  Example: P.L. 110-345.

Statutes at Large

Statutes at Large is the official permanent government compilation of all laws enacted during a session of Congress, replacing slip laws in authority.  These session laws are printed chronologically, not by subject.

United States Code

The U.S. Code is the compilation of the permanent laws consolidated and arranged by subject.  Every six years the Code is revised, with supplements issued after each session of Congress.  It is a least two years behind in supplementation.  The privately published United States Code Annotated (USCA) and United States Code Service (USCS) are widely preferred for accurate and current research. Online in print at (Gov. Pubs. KF 62 [yr.])

Presidential Statements

Presidential messages and veto statements also form a part of a law's history.  Such statement may propose legislation or provide commentary on the value or deficiencies of a bill. Public Papers of the Presidents (G.H.W.Bush to G.W. Bush); or in print at Gov. Pubs. J80 .A283 (Hoover to G.W.Bush--Roosevelt paper published separately)

M. Mason
2/2008