Legal Research: Federal: Legislative History & Intent

Help with common legal research questions.

Legislative History in Westlaw

WestlawNext offers several sources that may be helpful in determining the history of federal statutes.

Federal Legislative History via WestlawNext This link opens in a new window
Congressional Record, 1985 (99th Cong.)-present
Congressional testimony, Jan 1993-present
Political transcripts, Feb. 1994-present
GAO legislative histories, 1921-1995
Public Laws, 1973-present

Determine the legislative source of the code section

Statues begin as bills, before being passed and codified into law.

Look at the end of the code section for the Public Law number (abbreviated PL or Pub. L.) and the Statutes at Large number (abbreviated Stat.)

Hint: In Westlaw, display the full text of the statute, then look for the section labeled "CREDIT(S)."
Hint: If you need to know the bill number, look in Congress.gov: Public Laws (82rd Congress/1951-52 to the present) or Statutes at Large, KF 50.U52 (72nd Congress/1930-31 to the present)

Locate text of bills as passed

Once you know the Statutes at Large or Public Laws number, you can locate the text of the bill as passed.

Consult Statutes at Large (digitized volumes from 1951-present) arranged by Stat. and/or PL number,

or Congress.gov: Legislation Search (93rd Congress/1973 to the present). Searchable by keyword, bill number, date, and more.

House and Senate Reports

If legislation came out of a committee, the committee's reports may shed light on its intended goals.

Look in the 'Legislative History' section of United States Code Congressional and Administrative News (USCCAN), 5th Floor KF 48.A 5 (1980-2014). USCAAN is arranged by Congress, then by Public Law number.

Or, check Congress.gov: Committee Reports (104^th Congress/1995-96 to the present)

Floor Debates

Look in the Congressional Record:

1873-1981 Microfilm, 4th floor
1981-1994 (incomplete) Periodicals, 3rd floor
1913-present at Congress.gov: Congressional Record search
2000-present Gov Docs Microfiche, 4th floor. SuDoc number X 1.1/A:

The Congressional Record is arranged by Congressional session, then by day. Indexes are published every 10 days (on 3rd floor, filed at end of section).

For floor debates prior to 1873, consult the American Memory site, A Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation: U.S. Congressional Documents & Debates, which includes:

Annals of Congress 1789-1824
Register of Debates 1824-37
Congressional Globe 1833-73