When the interpretation of a statute requires an understanding of legislative intent, lawyers need access to the documents that were involved in passing the law. These sources meticulously index and link to the various documents generated during the United States Congress’s legislative process, which can help you create a narrative a bill’s history.
Provides the tools for searching the Congressional Record, finding members of Congress, tracking proposed legislation by keyword and sponsor, and searching Congressional hearings, the Federal Register, the U.S. Serial Set Digital Collection, Congressional committee schedules, Committee Prints and Miscellaneous Publications, and Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports. Dates covered: 2004 – present.
The U.S. Government Printing Office disseminates official information from all three branches of the Federal Government. Search the entire catalog of government publications. Formerly called FDsys.
Access note: Freely available to the public. Government resources may be unexpectedly unavailable or altered in alignment with current federal administration priorities.
Legislative histories, including fully searchable PDFs of full-text publications. Each history includes the full text of the public law itself, all versions of related bills, law-specific Congressional Record excerpts, committee hearings, reports, and prints. Also included are presidential signing statements, CRS reports, and miscellaneous congressional publications that provide background material to aid in the understanding of issues related to the making of the law.