Many attorneys, law librarians, and law students use the Library of Congress's
THOMAS website for federal legislative research. In November, the url Thomas.gov will be redirected to
Congress.gov. Thomas.gov will remain accessible from the Congress.gov homepage through late 2014. For more information, visit
this post on the Law Librarians of Congress blog,
In Custodia Legis.
The new platform, Congress.gov, provides the same information as Thomas. In the search entry box, choose Current Legislation or All Legislation. Search by bill number (hr5 or s276), public law number (109-71), the Popular Name of an Act ("Wind Cave"), or use a boolean search or field search (see
Search Tips link circled in red in the first screenshot below). Refine your search results by using the "facets," or categories, displayed on the left side of the search results. Click on the hyperlinked bill number to go to the Overview and Legislative History tabs.
The screenshot below shows the Overview and Legislative History for Senate Bill 276, which became Public Law No. 109-71. In the Overview, there is a link to the Senate Committee Report. Below the Overview, the "Text" tab links to five versions of the bill. The "Actions" tab includes Congressional Record links for this bill.
Hat tip to
WisBlawg, the University of Wisconsin Law Library Blog.
