Alongside the rest of our daily, weekly, and monthly content additions this year, we continued to expand the U.S. Federal Legislative History Library with additional statute coverage.
In total, 91 legislative histories were added to the database over the past 12 months, spanning more than 230,000 pages and covering a range of topics, from energy research and development to the president’s national emergency powers to music copyright in the streaming era.
About the U.S. Federal Legislative History Library
The U.S. Federal Legislative History Library contains thousands of titles from a number of sources, including the Government Printing Office, Arnold and Porter, Covington and Burling, Kirkland and Ellis, Van Ness Feldman, Pepper Hamilton, and more. William S. Hein & Co., Inc. also contracts with legal experts to compile and publish legislative histories on major public laws in-house. Over the past year, the collection has surpassed 2,500 titles and 6.5 million pages of content in its entirety—a far cry from the nearly 400 titles and 1.2 million pages with which this collection began in 2011.
These compilations are composed of the text of the final public law, House and Senate bill variations, Congressional hearings, House and Senate reports, and more. Users can research legislative intent behind major public laws, follow the progression of a bill from its introduction to its passage, or gain insight into any ambiguous statutory language with this valuable tool.
All titles are indexed to the document level and are fully searchable, and all material available in HeinOnline is linked and accessible from this database.
Additions Over the Past 12 Months
See a breakdown of the legislative histories added over the past year below.
Legislative History of Public Law 88-108
7v. Boston: Goodwin Procter, 1963-1968
Legislative History of the Railroad Retirement System: Its Coming Crisis
1v. Boston: Goodwin Procter, 1972
Legislative History of the Trade Act of 1974, P.L. 93-618
14v. Boston: Goodwin Procter, 1974
Tax Cuts and Jobs Act: A Legislative History of Public Law No. 115-97
28v. Getzville: William S. Hein & Co., Inc., 2020
Manz, William H., Editor
United States-Mexico-Canada Implementation Act: A Legislative History of Public Law No. 116-113
5v. Getzville: William S. Hein & Co., Inc., 2020
Manz, William H., Editor
Legislative History of the Alaska Natural Gas Transportation System (95 Stat. 1204), Congressional Debate, Fiscal Year 1981, P.L. 97-93
1v. Washington, D.C.: Van Ness Feldman, 1981
Legislative History of the Continuing Appropriations for Fiscal Year 1982, H.J. Res. 325, P.L. 97-51
1v. Washington, D.C.: Van Ness Feldman, 1982
Legislative History of the Department of Defense Appropriation Act of 1982 (95 Stat. 1565), P.L. 97-114
1v. Washington, D.C.: Van Ness Feldman, 1982
Legislative History of the Department of Transportation and Related Agencies Appropriation Act of 1982, P.L. 97-102
1v. Washington, D.C.: Van Ness Feldman, 1982
Legislative History of the Energy and Water Development Appropriation Act of 1982 (95 Stat. 1135), P.L. 97-88
1v. Washington, D.C.: Van Ness Feldman, 1982
Legislative History of the Further Continuing Appropriations for Fiscal Year 1982, P.L. 97-161
1v. Washington, D.C.: Van Ness Feldman, 1982
Legislative History of the Further Continuing Appropriations for Fiscal Year 1982, P.L. 97-92
1v. Washington, D.C.: Van Ness Feldman, 1982
Legislative History of the Solar Energy Research, Development and Demonstration Act of 1974, P.L. 93-473
4v. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Energy Research & Development Administration, 1974
Parket, Sylvia E., Compiler
Legislative History of the Urgent Supplemental Appropriations Act of 1982 (96 Stat. 180), P.L. 97-216
1v. Washington, D.C.: Van Ness Feldman, 1982
Orrin G. Hatch-Bob Goodlatte Music Modernization Act: A Legislative History of Public Law No. 115-264
3v. Getzville: William S. Hein & Co., Inc., 2020
Manz, William H., Editor
Setting Every Community up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act of 2019: A Legislative History of Public Law No. 116-94
2v. Getzville: William S. Hein & Co., Inc., 2020
Manz, William H., Editor
Legislative History of the Energy and Water Development Appropriation Act of 1981 (H.R. 7590), P.L. 96-367
2v. Washington, D.C.: Van Ness Feldman, 1981
Legislative History of the Supplemental Appropriations Act of 1983, P.L. 98-63
2v. Washington, D.C.: Van Ness Feldman, 1983
Legislative History of the Continuing Appropriations for Fiscal Year 1983, P.L. 97-377
1v. Washington, D.C.: Van Ness Feldman, 1983
Legislative History of the Continuing Appropriations for Fiscal Year 1984, P.L. 98-107
1v. Washington, D.C.: Van Ness Feldman, 1984
Legislative History of the Department of Housing and Urban Development – Independent Agencies Appropriation Act of 1982, P.L. 97-101
2v. Washington, D.C.: Van Ness Feldman, 1982
Legislative History of the Department of Housing and Urban Development – Independent Agencies Appropriation Act, 1984 (97 Stat. 219), P.L. 98-45
1v. Washington, D.C.: Van Ness Feldman, 1984
Legislative History of the Department of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill for Fiscal Year 1985, H.R. 5973
1v. Washington, D.C.: Van Ness Feldman, 1985
Legislative History of the Emergency Jobs Appropriations for Fiscal Year 1983, P.L. 98-8
1v. Washington, D.C.: Van Ness Feldman, 1983
Legislative History of the Energy and Water Development Act of 1984 (97 Stat. 247), P.L. 98-50
1v. Washington, D.C.: Van Ness Feldman, 1984
Legislative History of the Geothermal Energy Research, Development and Demonstration Act of 1974, U.S. Energy Research and Development Administration, P.L. 93-410
3v. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Energy Research & Development Administration, 1974
Burroughs, Barbara E., Compiler
Legislative History of the Interior Department and Related Agencies Appropriations for Fiscal Year 1983, P.L. 97-394
1v. Washington, D.C.: Van Ness Feldman, 1983
Legislative History of the Interior Department and Related Agencies Appropriations for Fiscal Year 1984 (H.R. 3363), P.L. 98-146
1v. Washington, D.C.: Van Ness Feldman, 1984
Legislative History of the Legislative Branch Appropriations for Fiscal Year 1984 (97 Stat. 263), P.L. 98-51
1v. Washington, D.C.: Van Ness Feldman, 1984
Legislative History of the Making Continuing Appropriations for the Fiscal Year 1985, and for Other Purposes, P.L. 98-473
4v. Washington, D.C.: Van Ness Feldman, 1985
Legislative History of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1982, P.L. 97-253
5v. Washington, D.C.: Van Ness Feldman, 1982
Legislative History of the Solar Heating and Cooling Demonstration Act of 1974, P.L. 93-409
6v. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Energy Research & Development Administration, 1975
Perks, Ruth E., Compiler
Legislative History of the Supplemental Appropriations Act of 1984, P.L. 98-181
1v. Washington, D.C.: Van Ness Feldman, 1984
Legislative History of the Department of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations for Fiscal Year 1994, P.L. 103-138
3v. Washington, D.C.: Van Ness Feldman, 1994
Legislative History of the Energy and Water Development Appropriations Act of 1980, P.L. 96-69
7v. Washington, D.C.: Van Ness Feldman, 1980
Legislative History on P.L. 93-577 to Establish a National Program for Research and Development in Nonnuclear Energy Sources
4v. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Energy Research and Development Administration, 1974
Diggin, Denise, Compiler
Formerly Incarcerated Reenter Society Transformed Safely Transitioning Every Person (FIRST STEP) Act: A Legislative History of Public Law No. 115-391
4v. Getzville: William S. Hein & Co., Inc., 2020
Manz, William H., Editor
Legislative Record of 1958 Food Additives Amendment to Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act 1958
1v. New York: Commerce Clearing House, 1958
Dunn, Charles Wesley, Editor
Legislative History of the Continuing Appropriations for Fiscal Year 1980, P.L. 96-86
1v. Washington, D.C.: Van Ness Feldman, 1980
Legislative History of the Continuing Appropriations for Fiscal Year 1981, H.J. Res. 644, P.L. 96-536
1v. Washington, D.C.: Van Ness Feldman, 1981
Legislative History of the Continuing Appropriations for Fiscal Year 1983 (H.J. Res. 599), P.L. 97-276
1v. Washington, D.C.: Van Ness Feldman, 1983
Legislative History of the Department of Housing and Urban Development – Independent Agencies Appropriation Act, 1981, P.L. 96-526
1v. Washington, D.C.: Van Ness Feldman, 1981
Legislative History of the Department of Housing and Urban Development – Independent Agencies Appropriations Act, 1983, P.L. 97-272
1v. Washington, D.C.: Van Ness Feldman, 1983
Legislative History of the Department of State, U.S. Information Agency, Board for International Broadcasting, Inter-American Foundation, Appropriation Authorizations Department of State Authorization Act, FY 1984-1985 (97 Stat. 1017), P.L. 98-164
1v. Washington, D.C.: Van Ness Feldman, 1984-1985
Legislative History of the Department of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations for Fiscal Year 1981 (H.R. 7724), P.L. 96-514
3v. Washington, D.C.: Van Ness Feldman, 1981
Legislative History of the Energy and Water Appropriations of 1985, P.L. 98-360
1v. Washington, D.C.: Van Ness Feldman, 1985
Legislative History of the Second Supplemental Appropriations Act, 1984, P.L. 98-396
1v. Washington, D.C.: Van Ness Feldman, 1984
Legislative History of the Supplemental Appropriations Act, 1982, P.L. 97-257
2v. Washington, D.C.: Van Ness Feldman, 1982
Legislative History of the Supplemental Appropriations and Rescission Act of 1980, P.L. 96-304
1v. Washington, D.C.: Van Ness Feldman, 1980
Legislative History of the Supplemental Appropriations and Rescission Act, 1981, P.L. 97-12
5v. Washington, D.C.: Van Ness Feldman, 1981
Legislative History of the Foreign Operations Appropriations FY95, P.L. 103-306
3v. New York: Pepper Hamilton, 1994
Legislative History of the HUD Appropriations for FY94, P.L. 103-124
6v. New York: Pepper Hamilton, 1993
Legislative History of the Vaccine Assistance Act, P.L. 87-868
1v. New York: Pepper Hamilton, 1962
Legislative History of the Commodity Distribution Reform Act, P.L. 100-237
1v. New York: Pepper Hamilton, 1987-1988
Legislative History of the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, P.L. 103-3
5v. New York: Pepper Hamilton, 1993
Legislative History of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act, P.L. 81-797, 64 Stat. 873
1v. New York: Pepper Hamilton, 1949-1950
Legislative History of the Foreign Operations Appropriations FY94, P.L. 103-87
3v. New York: Pepper Hamilton, 1993
Legislative History of the Hepburn Act of 1906, P.L. 59-337
1v. New York: Pepper Hamilton, 1906
Legislative History of the Hotel and Motel Fire Safety Act of 1990, P.L. 101-391
2v. New York: Pepper Hamilton, 1990
Legislative History of the Longshoremen’s and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act Amendments of 1984, P.L. 98-426
6v. New York: Pepper Hamilton, 1984
Legislative History of the Memorandum History of Railroad Retirement Acts, 1944
1v. New York: Pepper Hamilton, 1944
Miller, C. A., Compiler
Legislative History of the National Defense Authorization Act for FY96, P.L. 104-106
6v. New York: Pepper Hamilton, 1996
Legislative History of the Pipeline Safety Act of 1992, P.L. 102-508
2v. New York: Pepper Hamilton, 1992
Legislative History of the Preventive Health Amendments of 1984, P.L. 98-555, 98 Stat. 2854
1v. New York: Pepper Hamilton, 1984
Legislative History of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 P.L. 104-67
4v. New York: Pepper Hamilton, 1995
Legislative History of the Public and Private Laws, House, Senate and Conference Reports on Legislation Reported from the Committee on Ways and Means, 1965-1966, P.L. 89-23-P.L. 89-9789
3v. New York: Pepper Hamilton, 1965-1966
Legislative History of the Public and Private Laws, House, Senate, and Conference Reports on Legislation Reported from the Committee on Ways and Means, 1969-1971, P.L. 91-8-P.L. 91-172
3v. New York: Pepper Hamilton, 1969-1971
Legislative History of the Railroad Retirement Solvency Act of 1983, P.L. 98-76
2v. New York: Pepper Hamilton, 1983
Legislative History to Amend the Federal Aviation Act of 1958 to Improve Cargo Air Service, P.L. 95-245, 92 Stat. 156
1v. New York: Pepper Hamilton, 1958
Superfund: A Legislative History: The Evolution of Selected Sections of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act
3v. Washington, D.C.: Environmental Law Institute, 1983
Needham, Helen Cohn; Menefee, Mark, Editors
Legislative History of the Federal Water Power Act of 1920
1v. New York: Pepper Hamilton, 1950
McKernan, Louis W.
Legislative History of the Federal Water Power Act of 1920 (1920-1950) including All Provisions of Federal Power Act of 1935 Related to Water Resources
1v. New York: Pepper Hamilton, 1950
McKernan, Louis W.
Legislative History of the National Emergency Act H.R. 6831, Supplemental Material
1v. New York: Pepper Hamilton, 1977
Legislative History of the National Emergency Act H.R. 8444
2v. New York: Pepper Hamilton, 1977
Legislative History of the Public and Private Laws, House, Senate, and Conference Reports on Legislation Reported from the Committee on Ways and Means, 92nd Congress, Jan. 3, 1971-Oct. 18, 1972, P.L. 92.5-P.L. 92-606
3v. New York: Pepper Hamilton, 1972
Legislative History of Certain Lands for the Navajo Indian Reservation, P.L. 72-403; P.L. 90-306
1v. New York: Pepper Hamilton, 1933-1968
Legislative History of the Communicable Disease Control Amendments Act of 1972 P.L. 92-449
1v. New York: Pepper Hamilton, 1972
Legislative History of the Communicable Disease Control Amendments of 1970 P.L. 91-464
1v. New York: Pepper Hamilton, 1970
Legislative History of the Construct Disputes Act of 1978 P.L. 95-563
1v. New York: Pepper Hamilton, 1978
Legislative History of the Emergency Railroad Transportation Act of 1933 P.L. 73-68
1v. New York: Pepper Hamilton, 1933
Legislative History of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments 92 Stat. 2467 P.L. 95-576
1v. New York: Pepper Hamilton, 1978
Legislative History of the Federal and Highway Act of 1944 P.L. 78-521
1v. New York: Pepper Hamilton, 1944
Legislative History of the Indian Oil Act of 1927 P.L. 69-702
1v. New York: Pepper Hamilton, 1927
Legislative History of the Local Rail Service Assistance Act of 1978 P.L. 95-607
1v. New York: Pepper Hamilton, 1978
Legislative History of the Public Health Service Act of 1944 P.L. 78-410
1v. New York: Pepper Hamilton, 1944
Legislative History of the Railroad Bankruptcy Amendments of 1935 P.L. 74-381
1v. New York: Pepper Hamilton, 1935
Legislative History of the Solid Waste Disposal Act Amendments of 1980 P.L. 96-482
1v. New York: Pepper Hamilton, 1980
Legislative History of the Transportation Act of 1920 P.L. 66-152
8v. New York: Pepper Hamilton, 1920
Legislative History of the Transportation Appropriations for Fiscal Year 1994 P.L. 103-122
2v. New York: Pepper Hamilton, 1994
Legislative History of the Transportation Appropriations for Fiscal Year 1995 P.L. 103-331
1v. New York: Pepper Hamilton, 1995
Public and Private Laws, House, Senate, and Conference Reports on Legislation Reported from the Committee on Ways and Means, House of Representatives for the 90th Congress
1v. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1968
Locating a Compiled Legislative History
After entering the database, users can browse all legislative histories by title, author, date, and subject. If you have a particular statute in mind, see if the database contains its legislative history by browsing the complete list by publication title, popular name, or public law number.

Each title displays the public law number, source, and a “More Information” link containing public law information, bill references, and related materials.

Click the title of any document to access its full text within the database or a corresponding subject-specific database.

Where a legislative history has been broken into multiple volumes, a search bar has been made available, enabling users to search across the entire compiled history.

Sources of Compiled Legislative Histories
Use the Sources of Compiled Legislative Histories subcollection available within this database to easily determine whether a legislative history of a public law has been compiled, even if it’s not currently available in HeinOnline. The Sources of Compiled Legislative Histories collection is derived from the loose-leaf publication Sources of Compiled Legislative Histories: A Bibliography of Government Documents, Periodical Articles, and Books originally created and edited by the late law librarian Nancy P. Johnson, and now updated by professional law librarians Ron Wheeler and Jenna Fegreus.
The collection can be searched, or browsed by Congress or by a list of public laws organized into an A-Z index by popular name. Locate the desired public law, and then click the title of the Act to view its entry. Each entry displays a list of available material pertaining to that public law, such as compiled legislative histories, books, and law review articles. Any material available within HeinOnline is hyperlinked.


To learn more about the U.S. Federal Legislative History database, including database-specific search tips and tricks, visit its dedicated LibGuide!
Need Help? Email Us.
Have a question? HeinOnline search gurus are here to help! Email us, chat us in the HeinOnline interface, or call us at (800) 277-6995 to speak with a HeinOnline expert.