Government Information

A Guide to Government Information Sources

Federal Legislative History

Compiling a federal legislative history is the process of following a bill through its life in Congress and analyzing the documents which are created during that process. These documents include the text of the bill and any amendments; reports of House and Senate committees; transcripts of hearings and debates about the bill.

ProQuest Legislative and Executive Publications This link opens in a new window
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Allows you to search for legislative history by keyword, or go directly to a bill by its identifying number(s).
Available on campus to all, or off-campus to UMass Amherst students, staff and faculty with an UMass Amherst IT NetID (user name) and password.
HeinOnline Core Collection This link opens in a new window
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Choose "U.S. Federal Legislative History Library" and you can browse by Congress, bill name, popular name, or public law number. You can also locate law review articles that cite a particular bill or law.
Available on campus to all, or off-campus to UMass Amherst students, staff and faculty with an UMass Amherst IT NetID (user name) and password.
CQ Almanac This link opens in a new window
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Annual reference almanac - offers original narrative accounts of every major piece of legislation that lawmakers considered during a congressional session, 1946 to present.
Available on campus to all, or off-campus to UMass Amherst students, staff and faculty with an UMass Amherst IT NetID (user name) and password.

Congress.gov
Here you can access legislation, bills, committee reports, and find representatives.
Researching federal legislative history
A basic outline of resources to consult when first researching a federal legislative history