Tutorial Index

• Introduction
• Federal Legislative Process
• Bills
• Hearings
• Committee Prints
• Reports
• Debates
• Conference Committee Reports
• Presidential Statements
• Public Laws
• Compiled Legislative Histories
• Newspapers, Books & Journals
• Checklist - Legislative Documents
• Hierarchy of Authority - Legislative Documents

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Federal Legislative History

PRESIDENTIAL STATEMENTS

The final step before a bill becomes a law is the presidential signature. Once a bill has passed both the House and the Senate, it is forwarded to the President, who can either sign the bill enacting it into law or veto the bill, sending it back to Congress.  When acting on a bill, the President often issues a statement which gives his reasons for the action or his opinion as to what the bill means.  These statements made by the President are also a part of the legislative history.

Statements accompanying enacted or vetoed bills appear in:

• Congressional Record, KF 35.C65, 9^th Floor, which can also be found on Westlaw and Lexis;
• U.S. Code Congressional and Administrative News ("USCCAN"), KF 48.W57, 9^th Floor, which can also be found in Westlaw.
• Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents, J 80.A284, 8^th Floor.  Note:  this item is no longer available in print format.
• GPO Access - the Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents (1993 - present).

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