Online Legal Research: Beyond LexisNexis & Westlaw 

U.S. Senate Reference page

This is page is maintained and updated by the U.S. Senate's librarians. Researches may find Bibliographies, the "How To . . . " and Glossary pages helpful.

U.S. Code Popular Name Tables

When looking for a U.S. law, oftentimes you only know the popular name (e.g. Family and Medical Leave Act). Finding the citation is made easier by use of a popular name table. Below you will find two Web sites that list the popular name of laws and provide the citation to the Public Law or U.S. Code sections.

Researching Federal Legislative History

Finding Federal Statutes

GPO Access' Congressional Bills

Contains all published versions of bills from the 103rd (1993-1994) Congress forward. The current Congress' database is updated by 6am (EST) when bills are published and approved for release. May search by keyword or browse bills by Congress or type of legislation. The Congressional Bill Glossary may be useful to those new to Congressional research.

GPO's History of Bills

Lists legislative actions on bills that are reported in the Congressional Record. Covers 1983 to present. The current year's database is updated daily, usually the day after publication of the Congressional Record. A typical entry includes a bill number, summary, names of sponsors and cosponsors, and a chronological list of actions on the bill.

Thomas' Bills, Resolutions

May search (1) full text bills from the 101st Congress (1989) to current; (2) bill summary and status (which includes everything bu the text of the legislation) from the 93rd Congress (1973) to current; and (3) full-text bills from multiple congresses.

American Memory's Bills and Resolutions (historical)

From the Library of Congress. Scanned images of Senate bills and resolutions from the 16th Congress (1819-1820) to the 42nd Congress (1871-1873). Scanned images of House bills and resolutions from the 6th Congress (1799-1800) to the 42nd Congress (1871-1873).

Congressional Record (see also entry under "Legislative History Sources" box on the right)

Many Senate bills are printed in the Congressional Record, usually on the day they are introduced. If you are having trouble finding a bill online in any other location, you may want to try the Congressional Record. The link above takes you to the Senate Library's How to Find the Congressional Record page, which lists the locations for both Web and print access.

The good news first: the U.S. Code is freely available on many sites. Unfortunately, most link to the official 2006 edition and recommend checking the Office of the Law Revision Counsel Classification Tables for updates. In addition, these sources link to the unannotated U.S. Code. If you are used to using Westlaw or Lexis, these drawbacks may bother you. If this is the case, I would recommend that you use Lexis Academic Universe at your local college or university or visit your local county law library for access to their electronic databases. Another option is to subscribe to a lower-cost legal research service such as Loislaw, VersusLaw or FastCase.

GPO's United States Code (2006 ed.)

The U.S.C. is the codification by subject matter of the general and permanent laws of the United States. It is divided by broad subjects into 50 titles and published by the Office of the Law Revision Counsel of the U.S. House of Representatives. Since 1926, the bound editions of the U.S. Code has been published every six years, updated by annual cumulative supplements. Also available are the 1994 through 2006 editions, plus supplements.

The Office of the Law Revision Counsel (2006 ed.)

As stated above, the Office of the Law Revision Counsel publishes the U.S. Code. Of note on this site are the Classification Tables, which include (as of March 6, 2009) Public Laws 109-170 to 109-172 and 109-174 to 111-5, approved Feb. 17, 2009. The tables show where recently enacted laws will appear in the Code and which sections of the Code have been amended by those laws. The tables are a separate method of "updating" a section of the Code. Users can also download chapters and titles in PDF.

FindLaw's U.S. Code

May search by title and section or by keyword. To check if there have been any recent amendments to the section you are reading, FindLaw suggests checking the Office of the Law Revision Counsel's Classification Tables (see above).

The Catalog of U.S. Government Publications may be used as an online finding tool for electronic and print publications from the legislative, executive and judicial branches of the U.S. government (from July 1976 to present). It is updated daily and contains current and historical publications. Provides direct links to those publications available online. The monthly (with semiannual and annual indexes) print version ceased with no. 1345 (Dec. 2004). Consult the print Monthly Catalog for publications issued prior to July 1976. Check with your local federal depository library to locate copies of the print catalog and other items that are not available online.

State Legislative Histories Research Guides on the Web

Compiling a legislative history can be a daunting task, especially if you are unfamiliar with this type of legal research. In fact, once you know the steps involved, legislative history research can be straightforward. Complied by Jennifer Bryan Morgan, Documents Librarian, Indiana University School of Law Library--Bloomington, this page provides researchers with an alphabetical list (by state) of all the legislative history guides available online.

LLSDC's Legislative Source Book

The Law Librarians' Society of Washington, D.C. (LLSDC)'s Legislative Source Book is compiled by members of the Legislative Research Special Interest Section. Some of this material has been published in print for many years, and is now also available on this Web site. Resources include Federal Legislative History Research: A Practitioner's Guide to Compiling the Documents and Sifting for Legislative Intent, A Research Guide to the Federal Register and the Code of Federal REgulations, and Selected Congressional Research Service Reports on Congress and Its Procedures. Also note the page to Legislative Histories of Selected U.S. Laws on the Internet, which is arranged by popular name and public law number.

HeinOnline's U.S. Federal Legislative History Library

This Library contains Sources of Compiled Legislative Histories Database (derived from the loose-leaf publication by Nancy P. Johnson) and U.S. Federal Legislative History Title Collection (full-text legislative histories on some of the most important and historically significant legislation of our time.

GPO Access' Legislative Branch Resources

Includes links to the Congressional Record and House Journal, Public and Private Laws, the Statutes at Large, the Serial Set, and Congressional Hearings and Committee Prints.

GPO's Federal Digital System (FDsys)

The GPO is in the process of migrating information from GPO Access to FDsys. Collections available on FDsys include Congressional Committee Prints, Congressional Documents, Congressional Hearings, and Congressional Reports.

Thomas' Congressional Record

The Congressional Record is the official record of the proceedings and debates of the U.S. Congress. May search the full text from the 101st Congress (1989-1990) to the current Congress. May also view the Latest Daily Digest or Browse the Daily Issues. There is also a Keyword Index. May limit by member of Congress, by section of the Congressional Record and by date.

Thomas' Committee Reports

Available from the 104th Congress (1995-1996) to current Congress. May browse Committee Reports by House, Senate, Conference or Joint. Full text searchable. Limit by Committee or by date.

U.S. Congress Conference Reports

Reports from the current Congress and previous Congress. Links to complete document in PDF or ASCII.

Rutgers--Camden School of Law, U.S. Congressional Documents Archive

Full-text archive of selected Congressional Hearings and Committee Prints, dated from the 1970s to 1998. As of early July 2009, there were 8317 documents available, with plans to add new materials over the next several years. May browse listings or search full-text.

Library of Congress' American Memory, U.S. Congressional Documents & Debates (1774-1875)

Includes materials from the Continental Congress and the Constitutional Convention, Statutes & Documents, Journals of Congress, and the Debates of Congress.

HeinOnline's U.S. Congressional Documents Library (UCLA)

Includes the Debates of Congress, from the Annals of the Congress of the United States (1st Congress to 18th Congress, 1st Session (1789-1824)) to the Congressional Record Daily (except most recent 6 months). Also includes the U.S. Statutes at Large (1789-2005), the American State Papers (1789-1838), and the Journals of the Continental Congress (1774-1789).

LexisNexis Congressional Universe (UC)

Index to publications of the U.S. Congress since 1789 and some full-text documents beginning in the late 1980s. Includes bills, committee reports, testimony, regulations, legislative histories, and more.