Several types of documents comprise a legislative history. If you can't find a compiled legislative history or if the one that you found doesn't contain the information that you're looking for, you may have to identify and locate these documents separately.
Here is a list of the documents generated during the legislative process:
This list is arranged by the weight generally given to the document by courts interpreting legislative intent behind a statute.
Committee reports are generally given the most weight for statutory interpretation because these reports are often used by many legislators as the basis for voting for a particular bill.
As presidential signing statements are made when the bill has already passed both Houses of Congress and after the President has decided to sign the bill, they carry very little weight (in that they are post-legislative). They may be useful in suggesting how the administration decides how and to what extent to apply or enforce the law.
The following tools may be used to identify legislative history documents (by title, report number, bill, or subject) and to locate print or online copies of the documents.
Bills that are introduced are "referred" to congressional committees who investigate the legislation and recommend to the rest of their House of Congress whether or not to vote for the legislation and why. Committee reports are the printed, formal explanation of the committee's recommendation of the bill.
Committee reports are the most persuasive sources of legislative intent because they often explain the purpose of the legislation as well as the problem that the legislation was meant to correct. There are many resources where these reports can be found:
Print Sources
Internet Sources
All bills are "sponsored" and introduced by one or more members of Congress. When introducing the bill or speaking about it on the floor of Congress, a sponsor will often relay the purpose behind the bill and the problems that the bill would correct if passed. These statements are usually officially recorded and can be used by the courts later to construe legislative intent.
Members other than the bills sponsor(s) will also speak about the bill when Congress debates as to whether or not to pass it. Both sponsor statements and remarks/debates by other members of Congress are recorded in the Congressional Record:
For more information, see What Is the Congressional Record?
Congressional Record, 43d Congress, 1873-date.
Online
Daily edition
Permanent edition
Committee hearings are public hearings held by committees considering bills. The document published by the government following a hearing includes more than just the testimony of the witnesses and the questions of the committee members. Participants are permitted to add content to the published hearing document following the actual live hearing, such as written reports by expert witnesses and documents submitted to the committee by interested third parties.
Print Indexes:
Online
These collections are transcripts of the hearings themselves, prepared by commercial publishers. They are not the final printed hearings discussed above.
Includes different versions and amendments. Note: many bills are reprinted in hearings. Amendments are often published in the Congressional Record.
Online
Documents prepared by committee staff for use by committee members but are not formally adopted by the committee.
Online
Signing Statements are issued by the President at or shortly after he signs a bill into law. Their value and use in discerning legislative intent is uncertain. The signing statements are published in the Daily Compilation of Presidential Documents (formerly known as the Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents), the Public Papers of the President, and the United States Code, Congressional & Administrative News. The U.S. Statutes at Large include references to signing statements, but not the text of the signing statements.
Daily/Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents
Online
Public Papers of the Presidents cumulates the Weekly Compilation.
Online