The legislative process begins with the introduction of a bill in the House and/or the Senate. Each bill is numbered, printed, referred to a committee, and often amended many times before it is finally passed. There are many versions of a bill and comparing the various versions of a bill may provide insight into the intended meaning of the law.
The bill number is an important piece of information in tracing a legislative history. Bills are Numbered consecutively by the house in which they are introduced. Each bill has its own legislative history. Bill Numbers do not carry over to the next Congress.
H.R. 68, 109th Cong. (Mar. 1, 2005)
S. 67, 109th Cong. (Jan. 25,2005)
Provides daily updated information¸ including full text of bills starting in 1989¸ public laws starting in 1988¸ committee reports starting in 1990¸ House and Senate documents starting in 1995¸ Congressional hearings starting in 1987-88¸ Congressional Record starting in 1985¸ Federal Register starting in 1980¸ National Journal starting in 1977 and other government information. Users can search an index of congressional publications from 1970 to the present¸ retrieve CIS Legislative Histories for public laws going back to 1970¸ find testimony from congressional hearings¸ track bills as they move through the House and Senate¸ search the Congressional Record and Federal Register¸ locate information about members and committees¸ and search the National Journal.
