Legislative Histories - Step-by-Step

TIP #2:  At various points in your research, you'll almost certainly need the Public Law (P.L.) number and the Congressional bill number (e.g., S. 134 or H.R. 3370), so keep them handy.  Record all the numbers, dates and citations you view, even if you're not sure what each citation means at first; e.g. 79 P.L. 396; 79 Cong. Ch. 281; 60 Stat. 230, H.R. 3370, PUBLIC LAW, NATIONAL SCHOOL LUNCH ACT, JUNE 4, 1946, UNITED STATES STATUTES AT LARGE 79TH CONGRESS - 2ND SESSION

TIP #3:  Don't skip steps. Read and follow the steps carefully.  There are at least a thousand pages of documentation to wade through for most laws, and some laws have tens of thousands of pages.  These steps are designed to help the researcher locate clues about which documentation might be most helpful, thereby allowing the researcher to focus where time is spent.