USAID Library Guides: Legal Research Guide: United States Legislative History

Free Sources of Legislative History

Several types of legislative history documents are available for free online, although mostly for recent Congresses only. Like other free online legal materials, legislative history documents are not usually annotated or linked to cases or enacted statutes. Researchers typically have to rely on document numbers or keyword searching to find relevant documents. Please also note that many of these sources only provide selected documents, meaning they do not contain all documents for a particular time period.

Congressional Bills

American Memory Bills and Resolutions
House bills from 1799-1873 (6th - 42nd Congresses) with the exception of the 12th Congress and Senate Bills from 1819-1873 (16th - 42nd Congresses). Browseable by Congressional session and type of legislation. Searchable by keyword (full text).
Congress.gov Congressional Bills
Bills from 101st Congress (1989 - present). Searchable by bill number of keyword (full text).
GovInfo Congressional Bills
Bills from 103rd Congress (1993 - present). Browseable by Congressional session and type of legislation. Searchable by bill number or keyword (full text). To search the full text of bills, use the advanced search interface.

Congressional Hearings

GovInfo Congressional Hearings
Select hearings 99th, 100th & 102nd Congresses (1995 - present) (none from the 101st). Browseable by Congressional session and searchable by keyword (full text). To search the full text of hearings, use the advanced search interface.
Rutgers School of Law Congressional Documents Online
Selected hearings from 1970s to 1998. Searchable by keyword (full text).

Congressional Committee Reports

American Memory U.S. Serial Set
Select reports from 23rd - 64th Congress (1833 - 1917). Browseable by Congressional session and searchable by keyword (full text).
Congress.gov Congressional Committee Reports
Coverage from the 104th Congress (1995 - present). Browseable and searchable by report number and keyword (full text).
GovInfo Congressional Committee Prints
Coverage from the 104th Congress (1995 - present). Browseable by Congressional session and searchable by keyword (full text). To search the full text of reports, use the advanced search interface.

Congressional Debates (Congressional Record)

An Overview of the Congressional Record and Its Predecessor Publications: A Research Guide
Provides an overview of the Congressional Record and its predecessor publications. Links to content are included when available.
Sources of the Congressional Record
Extensive list of sources for the Congressional Record both online and in print.