Many federal legislative documents are available freely online. A federal legislative history typically includes the following documents:
Tracking legislative histories before 1995 can be difficult as the full-text of bills is not available freely online. Instead, you'll have to search several print sources and compile the documents by hand. To make this process easier, here are documents to look for and the sources you need to use to find them:
Text of Bills - Any bill introduced in the Congress is recorded in the Congressional Record, which is the transcripts of Congress' proceedings.
Committee Reports - Found in the United States Congressional Serial Set.
Congressional Debates - Found in the Congressional Record.
Conference Committee Reports - Found in the United States Congressional Serial Set.
Public Laws - Found in the United States Code. Most public laws contain a section on legislative history that helps identify other documents to locate.
U.S. Code (Current and federal laws arranged by subject)
U.S. Statutes at Large (All the laws passed by Congress and signed by the President arranged chronologically)
Congressional Record (Official record of daily debates and proceedings published by the Government Printing Office)
Congressional Hearings (Formal meeting or session of a congressional group to obtain information and opinions on proposed legislation or the implementation of a Federal law)
Code of Federal Regulations (Administrative rules passed by federal agencies)
Federal Register (New and amended regulations appear here first)