When there are no compiled legislative histories, it's possible to create one of your own.
This page gives sources to help you identify relevant legislative history documents by title, report number, bill number, public law number, or subject. It also has charts showing where you can find print or online copies of the various types of Congressional documents.
These sources will help you find citations to the documents related to the bill you are researching. Search options include: title; report number;, bill number; public law number; or subject. Many of these sources also allow browsing.
Here are selected sources for reports of Congressional standing committees and conference committees. The sources listed are those that are most readily available to the USF law school community.
| Dates | Congresses | Sources |
| 1789 to 1969 | 1st to 90th | CIS American State Papers/United States Congressional Serial Set, Zief Library microfiche (Fiche cabinet 16, drawer 1 to cabinet 17, drawer 4) |
| 1970 to 2010 | 91st to 111th | CIS Publications of the Congress, Zief Library microfiche (Fiche cabinets 11 - 15) |
| 1995 to present | 104th to current | GovInfo - committee reports |
| 1789 to present | 1st to current | ProQuest Congressional (with some omissions) |
| 1981-1982; 1989-present) | 97th & 101st to current | Lexis— Committee Reports source. (Selected coverage from 1981-1982 and 1989-1992.) |
| 1948⁄1990 to present | 80th⁄101st to current | Westlaw— Legislative History - U.S. Code, 1948 to present source. (All reports from 1990 to present. Reports for enacted bills from 1948 to present.) |
Here are selected sources for Congressional bills and Public Laws. The sources listed are those that are most readily available to the USF law school community.
(Excludes the current Congress.)
| Dates | Congresses | Sources |
| 1789 to 1932 | 1st to 72nd | Stanford Green Library Media-Microtext |
| 1789 to 1836 & 1861 to 1898 | 1st to 24th & 37th to 55th | UC Berkeley Law Library, on microfilm |
| 1933 to 1992 | 73rd to 102nd | Zief Library microfiche (Fiche cabinet 6, drawer 6 to cabinet 7, drawer 4) |
| 1993 to present | 103rd to current | GovInfo - bills — in PDF format |
| 1995 to present | 101st to current | Lexis — Congressional Full Text Bills sources. |
| Present | Current | Westlaw — Current Congressional Bills source. |
| 1995 – | 101st – | Westlaw — Historical Federal Bills sources. |
Here are selected sources for transcripts of hearings conducted by House and Senate standing committees. The sources listed are those that are most readily available to the USF law school community.
| Dates | Congresses | Sources |
| 1833 to 1970 | 23rd to 91st | Zief Library microfiche (Fiche cabinet 19, drawer 1 to cabinet 20, drawer 4) |
| 1970 to 2010 | 91st to 111th | CIS Publications of the Congress, Zief Library microfiche (Fiche cabinets 11 to 15) |
| 1985 to present | 99th to current | GovInfo - selected hearings |
| 1834 to present | 23rd to current | ProQuest Congressional |
| 1927 to 1994 | 71st to 103rd | HeinOnline Congressional Hearings A growing selection of hearings. HeinOnline plans to extend this collection to the present. (Access for the USF community.) |
| 1993 to present | 103rd to current | Westlaw — U.S. Congressional Testimony source (selected from 1993 to 1996; "increased" coverage from 1996 to present) |
| Nov. 2004 to present | 109th to current | Westlaw — Congressional Testimony source (selected prepared statements and selected full transcripts) |
Here are selected sources for Congressional committee prints (studies and compilations of documents prepared for committees). The sources listed are those that are most readily available to the USF law school community.
| Dates | Congresses | Sources |
| 1830 to 1969 | 21st to 90th Congress | Zief Library microfiche (Fiche cabinet 6, drawers 1-6) |
| 1970 to 2010 | 91st to 111th | CIS Publications of the Congress, Zief Library microfiche (Fiche cabinets 11 to 15) |
| 1975–76 & 1991 to present | 94th & 102nd to current | GovInfo - committee prints |
| 1834 to present | 23rd to current | ProQuest Congressional |
Here are selected sources for the Congressional Record and related publications. The Congressional Record will include: bill actions; votes; floor debate; remarks; and the daily digest of floor & committee actions. The sources listed are those that are most readily available to the USF law school community.
| Dates | Congresses | Sources |
| 1789 to 1824 | 1st to 18th | Debates & Proceedings in the Congress… / Annals of Congress (not verbatim), Zief Library microfiche (Fiche cabinet 5, drawer 4) |
| 1824 to 1837 | 18th to 25th | Register of Debates in Congress (not verbatim), Zief Library microfiche (Fiche cabinet 5, drawer 4) |
| 1833 to 1873 | 23rd to 42nd | Congressional Globe, Zief Library microfiche (Fiche cabinet 5, drawer 4) |
| 1789 to 1824 | 1st to 18th | HeinOnline — Annals of the Congress of the United States (Access for the USF community.) |
| 1825 to 1837 | 18th to 25th | HeinOnline — Register of Debates in Congress (Access for the USF community.) |
| 1833 to 1873 | 23rd to 42nd | HeinOnline — Congressional Globe (Access for the USF community.) |
| 1873 to present | 43rd to current | HeinOnline — Congressional Record. Printing of this permanent edition lags. The Congressional Record Daily Edition for 1980 to the present is also available. (Access for the USF community.) |
| 1789 to 1873 | 1st to 43rd | Library of Congress — Annals of Congress, Register of Debates in Congress, Congressional Globe, and Congressional Record |
| 1989 to present | 101st to current | Congress.gov - Congressional Record — daily edition only |
| 1873 (vol. 1) to present | 43rd to current | GovInfo - Congressional Record — bound edition |
| 1994 to present | 103rd to current | GovInfo - Congressional Record — daily edition |
| 1985 to present | 99th to current | Lexis— Congressional Record source |
| 1985 to present | 99th to current | Westlaw— Congressional Record source |
Here are selected sources for presidential signing statements. The sources listed are those that are most readily available to the USF law school community.
| Dates | Congresses | Sources |
| 1965 to 2008 | 89th to 110th | Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents, Zief Library print, call number: J 80 .A284 Law Stacks & Zief Library microfiche (Fiche cabinet 1, drawer 5) (Publication ceased after the 110th Congress.) |
| 1929 to present | 70th to current | Public Papers of the Presidents, Zief Library print, call number: J 82 Law Stacks |
| 1992 to present | 102nd to current | GovInfo - Compilation of Presidential Documents (includes the Weekly Compilation and the Daily Compilation) |
| 1991 to present | 101st to current | GovInfo - Public Papers of the Presidents |
| 1965 to 2008 | 89th to 110th | HeinOnline, U.S. Presidential Library, Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents. (Access for the USF community.) |
| 2009 to present | 111th to current | HeinOnline, U.S. Presidential Library, Daily Compilation of Presidential Documents. (Access for the USF community.) |
| 1931 to present | 71st to current | HeinOnline, U.S. Presidential Library, Public Papers of the Presidents (Access for the USF community.) |
| 1981 to present | 97th to current | Lexis — Public Papers of the Presidents source. Includes both the Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents and the Daily Compilation of Presidential Documents. |
| 1986 to present | 99th to current | Westlaw — Presidential Messages and Signing Statements, U.S. Code Congressional and Administrative News - Presidential Messages and Signing Statements source |