Congress produces a variety of publications as a bill moves through the legislative process on its way to becoming a law. A compilation of these full text primary source publications produces a legislative history that is valuable to a wide variety of researchers.

Full-text publication types associated with a legislative history include the Public Law, all versions of enacted and related bills, Congressional Record excerpts, and committee hearings, reports, and documents.

All of these publication types can be used in court to determine the intent of Congress in enacting legislation in cases where the statutory language is ambiguous.

Other full-text publication types are included in our legislative histories to provide users with background material are committee prints, CRS reports, and miscellaneous congressional publications. Presidential signing statements are also included.

See also, Stephen Breyer, On the Uses of Legislative History in Interpreting Statutes, 65 S. Cal. L. Rev. 845 (1992).

• ProQuest Legislative Insight

Archive of federal legislative history consisting of researched compilations of digital full-text publications relevant to enacted United States public laws. Legislative Insight offers a research citation page that not only links to the full text of the associated primary source publications, but allows the user to do a Search Within from that very page that searches the full text of all the associated publications with one-click.

• Internet of Things Cybersecurity Act of 2020 (Pub. L 116-20)

To establish minimum security standards for Internet of Things devices owned or controlled by the Federal Government, and for other purposes.

• FOSTA-SESTA (Pub. L. 115-164)

The House of Representatives’ “Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act” (FOSTA) and the Senate’s “Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act” (SESTA) became FOSTA-SESTA.

To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to clarify that section 230 of such Act does not prohibit the enforcement against providers and users of interactive computer services of Federal and State criminal and civil law relating to sexual exploitation of children or sex trafficking, and for other purposes.

• Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986 (ECPA) (Pub. L. 99-508)

To amend title 18, United States Code, with respect to the interception of certain communications, other forms of surveillance, and for other purposes.

• Computer Fraud and Abuse Act of 1986 (CFAA) (Pub. L. 99-474)

To amend title 18, United States Code, to provide additional penalties for fraud and related activities in connection with access devices and computers, and for other purposes.

• Communications Act of 1934 (Pub. L. 73-416)

To provide for the regulation of interstate and foreign communication by wire or radio, and for other purposes.

For assistance, please contact the research librarians at the Kresge Law Library by email: AskUs@nd.edu.