11/9/13

Legislative History Research Guide Georgetown Law

LawLibrary LegislativeHistoryResearchGuide
TableofContents
IntroductionLegislativeDocumentsBillsHearingsCommitteeReports(House,Senate,Conference) CongressionalDebates(CongressionalRecord)PresidentialStatementsAppropriationsOther CongressionalDocumentsToolsforFindingLegislativeDocumentsCompiledLegislativeHistories ProQuestCONGRESSIONAL,LEXIS&CISINDEX(CISLegislativeHistories)WESTLAW THOMASCurrentAwarenessFreeWebDatabases: Thisguidecollectsmajorsourcesforconductinglegislativehistoryresearch.

Introduction
LegislativehistoryisatermthatreferstothedocumentsthatareproducedbyCongressasabillis introduced,studiedanddebated.Theselegislativedocumentsareoftenusedbyattorneysandcourtsinan attempttodetermineCongressionalintentortoclarifyvagueorambiguousstatutorylanguage.All legislativedocumentsareonlypersuasivelegalauthority.Thelegislativeprocessthatproducesthese documentscanbequitecomplex.Fordetailsofthelegislativeprocess,readHowOurLawsAreMade,by CharlesW.Johnson,ParliamentarianoftheHouseofRepresentatives. Thisguidewillfirstdiscussthetypesofdocumentsthatcomeoutofthelegislativeprocessandtheiruse, andwillthensetoutthemethodsoflocatinglegislativedocumentsforenactedandpendinglegislation.The Libraryhasacomprehensivemicrofichecollectionoflegislativedocumentsdatingbackto1789andfinding aidsbothinprintandontheweb.RecentlegislativedocumentsarereadilyavailableonTHOMAS, ProQuestCongressional(formerlyLexisNexisCongressional),Lexis,andWestlaw. TheCongressionalResearchService(CRS)hasalsopreparedaguideonLegislativeHistorywhichis availablehere.Foradditionalassistancewithlegislativeresearch,stopbytheReferenceDeskinthe WilliamsReadingRoom.

LegislativeDocuments
CommitteeReportsareusuallyconsideredthemostimportantlegislativedocumentsandcontainmore analysisthantheotherdocuments.BillsandCongressionalDebatesalsomayberelevant.Theother legislativematerialsprovidelittleinformationthatwouldhelpyoutodeterminelegislativeintent,although

www.law.georgetown.edu/library/research/guides/legislative_history.cfm

1/9

11/9/13

Legislative History Research Guide Georgetown Law

theyoftenprovidevaluablebackgroundandfactualinformationontheissuebeingaddressedbythe legislation. IfyouareunsureaboutwhichCongressoryearyourlawwaspassed,youmayfindithelpfultousethe tableofYearsofCongressConversionTable.

Bills
Forpurposesoflegislativehistoryresearch,comparingthevariousversionsofabillasitmovedthroughout thelegislativeprocessmayhelpindeterminingtheintendedmeaningofthelaw. IntroductionofabillintoCongressisthefirststepoftheformallegislativeprocess.Afterabillis introduced,itisassignedabillnumber,printedandreferredtoacommittee.Billsarefrequentlyamended throughoutthelegislativeprocessandmaybeprintedseveraltimesbeforetheyarefinallypassed. Comparingthevariousversionsofabillasitmovedthroughoutthelegislativeprocessmayhelpin determiningtheintendedmeaningofthelaw.Argumentsregardingthemeaningofastatutorysectionmay bedrawnbasedontheinclusion,deletionormodificationoflanguageinthetextofthebill.Note,too,that thebillnumberisoneofthekeystotracinglegislativehistory. Herearesomeofthefirstplacestocheckforbills: ELECTRONIC THOMAS(freeweb) FDsys.gov(freeweb) From101stCongress(1989)topresent From103rdCongress(1993)topresent

ProQuestCongressional(formerlyLexisNexisCongressional) From101stCongress(1989)topresent Foramorecomprehensivelistingofotherelectronic,printandmicroformsourcesofbills,viewour legislativehistorychart.

Hearings
Forpurposesoflegislativehistoryresearch,hearingsfocusontheviewsofthepartiestestifyingbefore Congress,anddonotnecessarilyreflecttheviewsofthecommitteeorCongress. HouseandSenatecommitteesheartestimonyonproposedlegislationinordertodeterminetheneedfornew legislationinaparticularareaandtoheartheviewsofvariouspersonsororganizationsinterestedinthe legislation.HearingscanprovideawealthofinformationforbackgroundresearchintotheissueCongressis addressing.Hearingsareheldforalmostallsubstantivelegislationandtranscriptsofmosthearings

www.law.georgetown.edu/library/research/guides/legislative_history.cfm

2/9

11/9/13

Legislative History Research Guide Georgetown Law

(includingexhibitsprovidedbythosetestifying)arepublished.Forinterpretingenactedlegislation,hearings arelessusefulthanotherlegislativedocumentsbecausetheyfocusontheviewsofthepartiestestifying ratherthantheviewsofthecommitteeorCongress. Hearingsarepublishedindividually,andsomeofthefirstplacestocheckinclude: ELECTRONIC FDsys.gov(freeweb) ProQuestCongressional (formerlyLexisNexis Congressional) Selectedhearingsfrom104thCongress(1995)topresent,organizedby committee. Fulltextdigitalhearingsfrom1824topresent.Selectthe"Hearings"button only,andrestrictbyselectingtheappropriateyearorCongressatthe bottomofthepage.

Foramorecomprehensivelistingofotherelectronic,printandmicroformsourcesofhearings,clickhere.

CommitteeReports(House,Senate,Conference)
Forpurposesoflegislativehistoryresearch,committeereportsarethemostimportantsourcefordetermining legislativeintent. Congressionalcommitteereportsingeneral,andconferencereportsinparticular,arethemostimportant sourceoflegislativehistory.Reportsareissuedforalmosteverybillthatbecomesalaw,andthereisusually areportfromeachoftheHouseandSenatecommitteesthatconsideredthelegislation.Areportwill accompanythebillwhenitissenttothefullchamberfordebateandvoting. Reportsusuallyreprintthetextofthebill,describeitspurposes,andgivereasonsforthecommittee's recommendationsonthebill.Often,committeereportsincludethelegislativehistoryofthebill,thepurposes ofthebill,andwhatthecommitteeregardsastheneedfornewlegislation.Thereisoftena"sectionby section"analysisofthebillthatisveryhelpfulifyourresearchisconcentratedonjustonesectionor sections. IfaconferencecommitteewasappointedtodraftacompromisebillacceptabletoboththeHouseand Senate(thisoccurswhentheHouseandSenateversionsofthebillaredifferent),aconferencereportwillbe issued.Conferencereportsareparticularlyimportantbecausetheycomeattheendofthelegislative processandreportonthetextofthecompromisebill. CongressionalcommitteereportsarepublishedintheUnitedStatesCongressionalSerialSet,andsomeof thefirstplacestocheckforacommitteereportinclude:

www.law.georgetown.edu/library/research/guides/legislative_history.cfm

3/9

11/9/13

Legislative History Research Guide Georgetown Law

ELECTRONIC FDsys.gov(freeweb) ProQuestCongressional (formerlyLexisNexis Congressional) From104thCongress(1995)topresent Searchin"SerialSet"forfulltext17892003.Makesuretoselectthe appropriateyearorCongressatthebottomofthepage. Searchin"House&SenateReports"forfulltextfrom1990present. MakesuretheselecttheappropriateyearorCongressatthebottomof thepage. PAPER UnitedStatesCongressional SerialSet HouseReportsandSenateReportsvolumes,WilliamsKF29.U5,from 97thCongress(1981)topresent.

Foramorecomprehensivelistingofotherelectronic,printandmicroformsourcesofcommitteereports, clickhere.

CongressionalDebates( CongressionalRecord )
Congressionaldebatesincludediscussionsfororagainstproposedbillsandamendments,aswellas explanationsofprovisionsthatarevagueorunclear,sosuchdebatescanalsobeusefulforlegislative historyresearch. TheCongressionalRecordcontainsatranscriptofthelegislativeproceedingsanddebatesonthefloorof theHouseandSenate.TheCongressionalRecordmaycontainargumentsfororagainstaproposedbillor amendmentorexplanationsofprovisionsthatarevagueorunclear.Thetextofthedebatesinthe CongressionalRecordisnotnecessarilyverbatimtranscript. TheCongressionalRecordispublishedintwoeditions:thedailyeditionandtheboundedition.Thedaily editionispublishedeverydaywhenCongressisinsession.Thepaperbounddailyeditionhaspagenumbers thatbeginwithS(Senate),H(House),E(ExtensionofRemarks),andD(DailyDigest).Thepermanent "boundedition"ispublishedveryslowly(approximatelyfouryears)aftertheDailyEdition. WhencitingtotheCongressionalRecord,citetotheBoundEditionifavailable(lastpublishedisv.152in 2006).Thepagenumbersinthetwoeditionsdonotcorrespond,soyoumustrelyontheindexesor identicalsearchesintheBoundEditionandDailyEditiondatabasestofindthecorrespondingrecords. Thereisnoresourcetohelpyoucomparethetwopagenumbers. SomeofthefirstplacestochecktolocateTheCongressionalRecordanditspredecessors,Annalsof

www.law.georgetown.edu/library/research/guides/legislative_history.cfm

4/9

11/9/13

Legislative History Research Guide Georgetown Law

Congress,RegisterofDebatesandTheCongressionalGlobeare: ELECTRONIC FDsys.gov(freeweb) DailyEdition,1994topresent. Boundeditions,19992001 BoundEditionsofCongressionalRecord,1873to2006.Alsoincludes AnnalsofCongress,RegisterofDebates&CongressionalGlobe. DailyEditionofCongressionalRecord,101stCongress(1990)to present. ProQuestCongressional (formerlyLexisNexis Congressional) AllBoundEditions,17891997.IncludesAnnalsofCongress,Register ofDebates&CongressionalGlobe. DailyEdition,1985topresent.From99thCongress(1985)topresent.

HeinOnline

Foramorecomprehensivelistingofotherelectronic,printandmicroformsourcesofcongressionaldebates, clickhere.

PresidentialStatements
WhenthePresidentsignsabillintolaw,hemayissueastatementexplainingwhyheisapprovingthe legislation.Thesestatementsweretraditionallybriefandgenerallydidnotcontainsubstantiveanalysisof thelegislation.However,inrecentadministrationstheyhavebeenusedmorevigorouslyandhavebecomea subjectofcontroversy.Thereisdisagreementabouttheirroleinandimportancetolegislativehistory.See ourresearchguideonPresidentialSigningStatementsformoresourcesandinformation.

Appropriations
TheConstitutionprovidesforCongresstoappropriatemoneytobespentbytheFederalGovernment,so whentheWhiteHouseissuestheBudgetoftheUnitedStatesinFebruaryofeachyear,itcanbeconfusing. Foradetailedexplanationofthelegislature'sroleinthefederalbudgetprocess,seethefollowing: CongressLine:TheBudget,publishedonLLRX.com ForadiscussionoftheroleofCongressintheappropriationprocess,versustheauthorizationprocess,see: CongressLine:AuthorizationandAppropriation,publishedonLLRX.com
www.law.georgetown.edu/library/research/guides/legislative_history.cfm 5/9

11/9/13

Legislative History Research Guide Georgetown Law

OtherCongressionalDocuments
OthertypesofmaterialthatmaycomeoutofthelegislativeprocessincludecommitteeprintsandHouseand Senatedocuments.Committeeprintscontaininformationpreparedfortheuseofthecommitteeand sometimesincludespecialreportsorstudiesorcompilationsofearlierlegislativehistorydocuments.House andSenatedocumentsareusuallyoflesserimportanceforlegislativehistoryandcontainspecialmaterial preparedforCongress.

ToolsforFindingLegislativeDocuments
CompiledLegislativeHistories
Akeypointtorememberforpurposesoflegislativehistoryresearchisthatyoushouldnotreinventthe wheel!Thelegislativehistoryofaparticularlaworareaoflawisoftenalreadycompiledandpublished. Thesesourcesmaybecollectionsofreprinteddocuments,orjustanarrativehistorythatcitestheimportant sources.Todeterminewhethersuchalegislativehistoryhasbeencompiled,checkthesourcesbelow: 1. SourcesofCompiledLegislativeHistoriesavailableelectronicallyandinprint.Thisisalisting,by publiclawnumber,oflegislativehistoriesidentifiedbytheauthorasbeingpublishedinbooksand/or articles.Thelibraryhasmost,butnotall,ofthecompiledlegislativehistoriescited. 2. ProQuestCongressionalhascompiledlegislativehistoriesforlawsfrom1969.Thehistories includeslistingsofalldocumentsassociatedwiththelaw,arrangedbytypeofdocument.Most compiledlegislativehistorieslinktothefulltextofthedocument. 3. Westlaw'sGAOFederalLegislativeHistories(FEDLH)makeavailablelegislativehistoriesfor mostU.S.PublicLawsenactedfrom1915to1995,asoriginallycompiledbytheU.S.Government AccountabilityOffice.Thissetofvaluablelegislativehistorieswasfairlyrecentlyacquiredby Westlawandhasarollingreleaseoverfouryears,andcurrentlycontainslegislativehistoriesfrom 1924to1995. 4. Lexis,Legal>Legislation&PoliticsU.S.&U.K.>U.S.Congress>LegislativeHistories 5. Westlaw,U.S.FederalMaterials>LegislativeHistoryincludestheArnold&Porterlegislative historycollection. 6. LegislativeHistoriesofSelectedU.S.LawsinElectronicFormat.Legislativehistorylinksto about25laws.Somerequirespeciallogins. 7. USCCAN(UnitedStatesCodeCongressionalandAdministrativeNews)listsandprintsthefulltext ofwhatareconsideredthemostimportantlegislativehistorydocumentsforsomelawsenactedsince 1944.USCCANalsoprovidesthebillnumber,dateofenactment,andalistofallcommitteereports foreverylawpassedbyCongress. WestlawUSCCANdatabase Print(usetheLegislativeHistoryvolumes) 8. LegislativeHistoryinBooks.Manybooksinourcollection,bothprint&electronic,havelegislative historyinformation. GULLiver.Inthekeywordsearchfields,enterthenameofthelawortopicyouaresearching,

www.law.georgetown.edu/library/research/guides/legislative_history.cfm

6/9

11/9/13

Legislative History Research Guide Georgetown Law

andthewords"legislativehistory"(includethequotationmarks).Thiswillretrievetheitems wehaveinourcollectionthathaveyoursearchterms. Ebraryelectronicbooksdatabase.UsetheAdvancedSearchtofindthewords"legislative history"inthetextorsubject.Usethesecondsearchfieldtolookforyourtopic. 9. LegislativeHistoryinArticles.UsetheLegalPeriodicals&BooksandtheLegalTracdatabasesto identifyarticlesthatdiscussaparticularlegislativehistory. SearchthesedatabasestogetherinWestlawfromtheDirectory.Enterbothdatabasenames separatedbyacomma(ilp,lri)inthe"SearchTheseDatabases"box. SearchthesedatabasestogetherinLexisfromSecondaryLegal>Annotations&Indexes. Selecttheboxesnextto"LegalResourcesIndex"&"IndextoLegalPeriodicals"andclickthe "CombineSources"button. Searchthedatabasesseparatelyfromourwebsite.

ProQuestCONGRESSIONAL,LEXIS&CISINDEX(CISLegislative Histories)
1. ProQuestCongressional(formerlyLexisNexisCongressional)haslongbeenconsideredthebest toolforcomprehensivelegislativehistoryinformationbecauseitisbuiltaroundtheCISLegislative Histories.. Lawsenactedfrom1969tothepresenthavecompiledlegislativehistoriesavailable.Each historyincludesalldocumentsrelatedtothelaw,arrangedbydocumenttype(committee reports,hearings,debates,etc.).DocumentsareincludedfromallrelevantCongresses,notjust theCongressinwhichthelawwaspassed.Ifthedocumentsarenotavailableinfulltext,then informationisincludedtohelplocatetheminprintand/ormicrofiche. Lawsenactedpriorto1969donothavecompiledhistories(therearesomeexceptions),but youmaysearchbynumberfor"congressionalpublicationsrelatedtoaparticularbillorlaw" (choosethatoptioninthedropdownbox)fromthe16thCongress(1819).Youmayalsodoa basicoradvancedsearch. 2. LexishasCISLegislativeHistories(from1970)andCISHistoricalIndex(17891980),however therearenoguidedsearches,andthecoverageisn'tasbroad. 3. CISIndexistheprintversionofProQuestCongressional. ThereareLegislativeHistoryvolumesforalllawsenactedbetween1970and2008.Like ProQuestCongressional,allofthedocumentsforeachlawarelistedbydocumenttype.In additiontotheLegislativeHistoryvolumes,CISindexesallHouseandSenatereports, hearings,prints,anddocuments,includingmaterialsrelatingtolegislationthatwasnotenacted. Searchingisbysubject,name,committee,publiclawnumber,billnumber,ordocument number.FulltextisnotavailableinCISIndex. Forlawsenactedbefore1970,usetheCISIndexfor17891969.CISalsohaspublished indexesfortheSerialSet(indexingcommitteereports),Hearings,UnpublishedHouseand SenateHearings,andCommitteePrints.Thereareotherindexesthataidinresearchingolder laws.Thischartprovideslinkstothisinformation.

www.law.georgetown.edu/library/research/guides/legislative_history.cfm

7/9

11/9/13

Legislative History Research Guide Georgetown Law

WESTLAW
1. GAOFederalLegislativeHistories(FEDLH):ThisdatabaseinWestlawmakesavailable legislativehistoriesformostU.S.PublicLawsenactedfrom1915to1995,asoriginallycompiledby theU.S.GovernmentAccountabilityOffice.Thissetofvaluablelegislativehistorieswasfairly recentlyacquiredbyWestlawandhasarollingreleaseoverfouryears,beginninginNovember2007. 2. Arnold&PorterLegislativeHistoryCollection:ThissetofdatabasesinWestlawcontains legislativehistoriesforapproximatelythreedozenmajorlawsascompiledbythelawfirmofArnold &Porter.EachlegislativehistoryisaseparatedatabaseinWestlaw,availableat:U.S.Federal Materials>LegislativeHistory>Arnold&PorterCollectionLegislativeHistories.

THOMAS
THOMASisthelegislativedocumentsdatabasefromtheLibraryofCongress,anditisparticularlyusefulif youseekrecentmaterials.Youcansearchorbrowsetothe"BillSummary&Status"foreachbillorlaw. Clickon"TextofLegislation"toseethefulltextofallversionsofthebill,"andon"AllCongressional Actions"toseeitschronologicalhistory,withlinkstofulltextofthedocumentsproduced(nohearings). Datesofcoveragefordifferenttypesoflegislativedocumentsvaries.Checkthecoveragepagein THOMASforavailabledatesforeachtypeofdocument.

CurrentAwareness
Usethefollowingsourcestofindcommentaryoninformationonspecificbillsandlaws.

FreeWeb
RollCall OnlineversionoftheCapitolHillnewspaper,containingnewsandanalysisoflegislation. CBSNewsPolitics:Congress Congress.org,"America'sTownSquare."serviceofCapitolAdvantageandKnowlegis,LLCprivate, nonpartisancompaniesthatspecializeinfacilitatingcivicparticipation. MSNBC.comPolitics/CapitolHill NationalJournal.Weeklynewspaperonpoliticsandgovernment. OpenCongress,afree,opensource,notforprofit,andnonpartisanprojectoftheParticipatoryProjects FoundationandtheSunlightFoundation"bringstogetherofficialgovernmentdatawithnewsandblog coveragetogiveyoutherealstorybehindeachbill"inthenameofgovernmenttransparencyand

www.law.georgetown.edu/library/research/guides/legislative_history.cfm

8/9

11/9/13

Legislative History Research Guide Georgetown Law

encouragementofcivicengagement.Beganwiththe109thCongress. PostPolitics,TheWashingtonPost U.S.Congress,TheNewYorkTimes YahooU.S.CongressNews Politico.com NewspublicationcoveringCongressandpoliticalcompaigns,pendinglegislation,andlobbyingefforts.

Databases:
CongressDaily.NonpartisandailyelectronicnewsletterfromtheNationalJournal.Coversthepeople, processandthebehindthesceneseventsconcerningCongress. CQResearcher.Publishes12,000wordreportscoveringthemostcurrentandcontroversialissuesofthe daywithcompletesummaries,insightintoallsidesoftheissues,bibliographiesandmoreonaweeklybasis. IncludesallCQResearcherreportspublishedsince1991. CQWeekly.ProvidesnonpartisannewsandanalysisontheUnitedStatesCongress.Theserviceincludes accesstothefulltextofallarticlespublishedsince1983. Hotline.TheNationalJournal'sdailybriefingonpolitics.Combinesoriginal,bipartisanreportingwith coveragefromover2,500mediasources.TheHotlineprovidesacomprehensivepictureofthepolitical landscape,fromtheUnitedStatestolocalgovernments.CoverageincludesTVads,pollsandotherupto theminuteinformation.

Updated10/2012(MK) GeorgetownUniversityLawLibrary.Theseguidesmaybeusedforeducationalpurposes,aslongas propercreditisgiven.Theseguidesmaynotbesold.Requeststorepublishoradaptaguideshouldbe directedtotheHeadofReference.Propercreditincludesthestatement:Writtenby,oradaptedfrom, GeorgetownLawLibrary(currentasof.....).

www.law.georgetown.edu/library/research/guides/legislative_history.cfm

9/9