The use of legislative history materials is an essential step in American legal research and statutory interpretation. Legislative histories look at the legislative purpose and intent of Congress where the language of the statute is vague, unclear, or lacks specifics. The judiciary, legal scholars, the legal profession, and the creators of government policy turn to the various documents drafted during the law-making process to clarify areas of confusion or ambiguity. Precise and thorough research in the United States statutes and codes depends on having access to the materials that make up the pre-enactment history. For years, the U.S. Government Printing Office, Federal Administrative Agencies, and Federal Commissions have randomly collected, organized, excerpted, and indexed the various documents that explain the history and intent of a statute. This compilation identifies those officially created sources and provides an important access point to the legal researcher and those interested in the policy behind the nation's laws.
This first annotated bibliography dealing with United States Federal legislative history covers Congressional, executive agency, and special commission sources from 1862 through 1990. The 257 entries provide information about the scope and content of the documents, the locations, the titles and popular names of the bills and laws, the publication dates, the author, the LC card number, the OCLC number, the SUDoc number, the CIS number, the UPA citation, and other information about relevant bills.
About the Author: BERNARD D. REAMS, JR. is Professor of Law and Professor of Technology Management, and the Director of the Law Library at Washington University School of Law in St. Louis, Missouri. Dr. Reams is a member of the Kansas, Missouri, and federal bars. He is also the author of, The Health Care Quality Improvement Act of 1986: A Legislative History of Public Law 99-660 (Greenwood, 1986), and Disability Law in the United States: A Legislative History of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, Public Law 101-336.
