Federal Legislative History Made Simple: Understand Documents Produced

6. Conference Report

H.Rpt, H.Conf.Rpt=House Conference Report (may be same as for House Report)

S.Rpt=Senate Conference Report (same as for Senate Report)

example: H.Rpt 111-89

7. Presidential Signing Statement

WCPD=Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents

DCPD=Daily Compilation of Presidential Documents

See Bluebook Rule 13 for citing rules.

Click on links to see examples of each document.

1. A bill (H.R. or S.) is introduced in the House or Senate.  Analyzing versions of bills can sometimes help explain Congress' intent.

2. The bill is referred to the appropriate Subcommittee.  That subcommittee may hold Hearings (H.Hrg or S.Hrg) (where interested parties for and against express their opinions on the bill).

3. If the bill is approved by the Committee (or Subcommittee), the Committee issues a Committee Report (H.Rpt or S.Rpt).  This is usually the best source for legislative intent, as it has a section-by-section analysis.

4. The bill then goes to the full chamber (either House or Senate) and is debated.  These debates are transcribed in the Congressional Record (C.R. or Cong.Rec.).
• Page numbers are designated by chamber
• numbers starting with H indicate debate taking place in the House of Representatives - e.g. H4015
• numbers starting with S indicate debate taking place in the Senate - e.g. S50459

5. If the first chamber passes the bill, the bill then goes to the other chamber and goes through steps 1-4 again.  The other chamber may also introduce its own version independently.

6. Once the measure goes through both the House and Senate and passes in both chambers, if there are any differences, there will be a Conference Committee which may produce a Conference Report (H.Rpt, H Conf.Rpt.  or less frequently S.Rpt).

7. If the House and Senate agree upon a version, the bill then goes to the President for his signature.  The president may issue a statement with his signature, known as a Presidential Signing Statement (WCPD or DCPD).

8. Once the bill is signed by the President, it becomes a Public Law (P.L.).  The Public Law number is key for doing most legislative history research.   (See box below for how to find the P.L number.)  The P.L. number consists of two parts.  The first tells you which Congress passed the law and the second tells you the number of the law within that Congress.  So, P.L. 111-148 was the 148th law passed in the 111th Congress.  See Sessions of Congress for a list of Congress numbers and years.
   

To use many legislative history sources, you need to know the Public Law Number. 

To find the Public Law (P.L.) number:

• If you have the code section, such as 17 USCA 107, then go to the parenthetical at end of code section (sometimes known as "Credit" or "History")   
  - click on image below




• If you have the name of the Act, then go to the Popular Name Table