Finding Federal Legislative Information The search for legislative history is a search for legislative intent. Ambiguous language can make statutory interpretation difficult, and you must often find Congressional reports or debate in order to discover what Congress had in mind when the statute was being considered. For a detailed explanation of the legislative process, consult How Our Laws Are Made (Y 1.1/7:1-1-139; Shelved in Documents Reference). For an in-depth discussion of legislative history research, see Chapter 6 of How to Find the Law (Reference KF240.H6 1976), Chapter 10 of Fundamentals of Legal Research (Reference KF240.J3 1987) or How to Prepare a Legislative History (Documents Reference desk). What follows is a basic outline of the legislative process and where to find Congressional publications in the Cornette Library. The Legislative Process First a bill must be introduced into one house of Congress (taxation bills must originate in the House of Representatives) at which time it will be referred to a committee and printed for the first time. Bills are almost never read into the Congressional Record when they are first introduced. The committee can then hold hearings, commission staff reports ("committee prints"), or do nothing. Next the committee will report back to the Congress on the bill at which time they may introduce amendments. Committee reports often include a copy of the bill and any recommended amendments. At this time the house may debate the bill (officially the second reading), amend the bill, or do nothing. Sometimes, but not always, the bill is reprinted in the Congressional Record at this point and almost all floor amendments are printed. If the house passes the bill (the third reading), the bill is then sent to the other house of Congress for action where it undergoes pretty much the same procedure. If the second house further amends the bill, it will have to go to a conference committee to have the conflicts resolved. The conference committee then reports back to both houses, and their report usually, but not always, includes both versions of the bill as well as the final version. At any step along the way, the bill will die if nothing is done to continue the process. If both house pass the final version of the bill, it then goes to the president for his signature or veto. When researching legislative history, it is important to remember that each Congress is two years long. All legislation that has not become law by the end of the congress automatically dies. A bill that does not pass into law during those two years must be reintroduced into the next Congress if it is to continue. When the bill is reintroduced, it will be assigned another number. Also, while in theory, a bill must first pass one house of Congress before being sent to the other, in reality similar bills are usually introduced into both houses at more or less the same time and then one is substituted for the other or the differences are settled in a conference committee. Therefore, a bill may have several numbers before it finally is passed into law. BILLS: Before you can find a bill, you must have the bill number (S. ______ for Senate Bills or H.R. _____ for a House bill). To find the bill number when you have only the subject, use: Congressional Record Index (every other Friday) Documents X 1.1:congress/no Indexed by sponsor and subject in one alphabet. Covers only the previous two weeks and does not cumulate until the end of the session. Citations refer you to the day and page of the Congressional Record. Congressional Quarterly (weekly) Reference JK1.C65 The "Status of Major Legislation" table at the end of each issue includes the bill number for all major legislation before the current congress. The table also gives any report number and the public law number, if the bill has passed into law. Once you have found a bill number, the next step is to find the text of the bill. WT does not receive copies of bills. If you have time, you can contact the office of your congressman for a copy of a current bill. Also, bills can be obtained through Interlibrary Loan. If you do not have time, you will need to try to find a committee report or hearing which reprinted a copy of the bill or discussion in the Congressional Record. To find discussion in the Congressional Record, use the History of Bills and Resolutions section of the Congressional Record Index (discussed above) to find all discussion on a particular bill and (possibly) a copy of the bill. To find committee hearings or reports use: CIS Congressional Index, 1970 - Documents KF49.C62; Shelved in Documents Reference CIS indexes and abstracts all Congressional publications. Arranged by committee and indexed by sponsor and cosponsor, subject, and, for hearings, by witness. CIS has a separate bill number index and a legislative history volume which compiles the abstracts of all legislative action on bills that eventually become law. To use CIS, first use the index volume which will refer you to a citation in the abstracts volume. The abstract entry will include the SuDoc number of the hearing or print. Sometimes the abstract will even tell you if the document reprints the bill. COMMITTEE REPORTS: Committee reports detail the recommendations of the committee concerning a particular bill and the arguments in support or opposition to it. Many reports also include minority dissents. Committee reports, usually written by the committee staff not the legislators themselves, often include detailed backgrounds of the problem and the reasons for the new legislation. Committee reports are individually published at the time the committee reports back to Congress. They are then reprinted in the United States Congressional Serial Set (Y 1.1/2:Serial number) which tends to come out three to four years later. Here at the Cornette Library, we have miscellaneous volumes from the 1830s on with a complete run from the 1940s. To find Committee reports from 1970 to the present, use the CIS Congressional Index discussed above. For Committee reports before 1970, you will need to use CIS's US Serial Set Index. Serial Set volumes not available here at WT can usually be borrowed via Interlibrary Loan. US Serial Set Index Documents Z1223.Z9 C65 1975; Shelved in Documents Reference Each entry of the subject index includes the report number, congress number, and volume of the Serial Set in which it is reproduced. If you have the congress and number of a report, the Finding Lists volume will tell you which volume of the Serial Set reprints that report. HEARINGS AND COMMITTEE PRINTS: Congressional committees frequently hold hearings both on specific pending legislation and on general problems. Committees also commission detailed reports (called committee prints) from various government agencies. The testimony presented at these hearings along with the commissioned reports, while not expressing an official opinion of the Congress, provide evidence of support or opposition by members of the groups which expect to be effected by the legislation. This is also much of the evidence upon which Representatives and Senators decide to cast their votes. WT has a fairly complete collection of hearings and prints from the last ten years and selected hearings from earlier congresses. As with committee reports, most hearings can be borrowed via Interlibrary Loan. To find hearings and prints from 1970 on, use the CIS Congressional Index discussed above. For hearings from 1789 to 1953, you will need to use the Index to Congressional Hearings and its supplements (Y 1.3:H 35/2/933; Shelved in Documents Reference). For hearings between 1953 and 1970, you will have to rely on the print version of the Monthly Catalog of United States Government Documents (GP 3.88:vol; Shelved in Documents Reference) FLOOR DEBATE: The Congressional Record (CR), published daily when Congress is in session, transcribes the floor debates of both chambers of Congress. In addition to the text of the floor debate, each issue of the CR also contains the "Daily Digest", which is a daily summary of legislative activity and a status table of action taken on bills that day. At the end of each congressional session, the "Daily Digest" cumulates as a special part of the CR. Votes on legislation are also recorded in the CR. The daily edition of the CR is used for citation only when the bound edition is not available. Congressional Record, 1860s - Documents X 1.1:congress/vol. The biweekly index contains subject and author in one alphabet and a "History of Bills and Resolutions" section which reports all legislative action in the two weeks covered. The indexes are cumulated at the end of the session into one bound volume. The House and Senate each publish a journal which records the legislative proceedings in brief, but neither journal reports the details of debates. House Journal, 1953 - Documents XJH:congress Senate Journal, 1953 - Documents XJS:congress PRESIDENTIAL ACTION: When a bill has passed both houses of Congress, it goes to the President for his signature. At this time the President may sign the bill, veto it, or do nothing. If the President does nothing for ten days while Congress is in session (Sundays excepted), the bill automatically becomes law. If the President does nothing and Congress adjourns before the ten days are up, the bill does not become law in what is called a "pocket veto". Presidential messages upon vetoing or signing a bill are first published in the Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents and then cumulated in chronological order into the Public Papers of the President series. Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents, 1965 - Documents AE 2.109:vol/no (1989 - Documents GS 4.114:vol/no (1965-1988) Contains the text of all public statements and messages of the President, including statements when sending proposed legislation to Congress or when signing or vetoing legislation. Executive orders are also included. Public Papers of the President, 1929 - Documents AE 2.114:year (1984 - Documents GS 4.113:year (1929-1983) Presidential Vetoes, 1789-1988 (and 1989-1991 supplement) Documents Y 1.3:S.pub.102-12 and 102-12; Shelved in Documents Reference Lists all bills passed by both houses of Congress but vetoed by the President. Indicates whether the veto was challenged and, if challenged, whether the veto was sustained or overridden. While no veto messages are included, each entry does indicate where a copy of the message can be found. FOR MORE INFORMATION: Fundamentals of Legal Research / J. Myron Jacobstein and Roy M. Mersky. 1987 ed. Mineola, NY : Foundation Press, 1987. Reference KF240.J3 1987 How to Prepare a Legislative History / by David R. Siddal.. Washington, DC : Congressional Research Service, 1978. Shelved at Documents Reference desk How to Find the Law / Morris L. Cohen. 7th ed. St. Paul, Minn. : West, 1976. Reference KF240.H6 1976 Legal Research in a Nutshell / Morris L. Cohen. 2nd ed. St. Paul, Minn : West, 1971. Reference KF240.C54 1971 Effective Legal Research / Miles O. Price, Harry Bitner. 3rd ed. Boston : Little, Brown, 1969. Reference KF240.P7 1969b NEED MORE HELP? ASK A REFERENCE LIBRARIAN! Bennett Claire Ponsford, West Texas A&M University 5/31/94