This page identifies licensed databases that include legislative materials from Congress. Access is limited to members of the Loyola community and, in some cases, the law school. Other free Internet resources with legislative materials are identifed under the tab "Web Resources" under Legislative Materials.
United States Code (USC)
The USC contains the current laws of the United States. It is organized into 54 titles by subject. The entire official USC is published every six years, with the most recent publication in 2018. Yearly supplements are published in between those six years. Annotated versions of the USC from Westlaw and Lexis may be better sources for research because they are updated frequently and have references to legislative history, court decisions, and secondary sources, such as articles, treatises, and encyclopedias.
Westlaw
Westlaw: USCA
Westlaw Id. and password required.
Contains USC updated regularly and includes useful annotations, such as cases, legislative history, and secondary sources.
Lexis
Lexis: USCS
Lexis Id. and password required.
Contains USC updated regularly and includes useful annotations, such as related Code of Federal Regulations citations, cases, legislative history, and secondary sources.
HeinOnline
United States Code
Available to the Loyola community only.
Contains PDF copies of the official USC since 1925 to current official code.
There are numerous resources for tracking the history of legislation. To learn how to look up the legislative history for a statute, see the library's Federal Legislative History guide. The following lists some licensed databases that contain legislative history materials. Often major treatises in particular subject areas contain legislative history materials too. For legislative history materials available for free on the Web, see Web Resources, then Legislative Materials.
USCA
Westlaw Id. and password required.
Contains summary of amendments, including public law number, and, in some cases, links to legislative documents.
USCS
Lexis Id. and password required.
Contains summary of amendments, including public law number, and, in some cases links to legislative documents.
Proquest Legislative Insight
Use the A-Z database list to locate the link to Proquest Legislative Insight.
Available to the Loyola community only.
Collection of U.S. legislative documents, including compilations of legislative histories, hearings, House and Senate Reports, Committee Prints, and the Serial Set. Searchable by Congressional publication number or term searching.
U.S. Code Congressional and Administrative News (USCCAN)
Westlaw: USCCAN
Westlaw Id. and password required.
Contains the text of laws passed by Congress and select Committee Reports.
HeinOnline
U.S. Federal Legislative History Library
Available to the Loyola community only.
Contains the Sources of Compiled Legislative History database identifying legislative history compilations for major laws. Also includes U.S. Federal Legislative History Title Collection with full text legislative histories of major laws.
Arnold & Porter Legislative History
Westlaw Id. and password required.
Includes numerous legislative history compilations for major laws.
Loyola Library Catalog and WorldCat
Use the library catalog to find books with legislative histories in Loyola's libraries. Use Worldcat to find books with legislative histories in other libraries.
Internet and Online Sources of U.S. Legislative and Regulatory Information
Research guide for identifying and comparing licensed databases and free Internet sources for legislative and regulatory materials. Provided by the Law Librarias' Society of Washington, D.C., Inc.
Researching Current Federal Legislation and Regulations: A Guide to Resources for Congressional Staff
Research guide for identifying and locating federal legislative and regulatory materials. Provided by the Congressional Research Service.
