Editing Act of Congress (section)

==Usage==
The word "act", as used in the term "act of Congress", is [[Proper noun and common noun|a common, not a proper noun]]. The capitalization of the word "act" (especially when used standing alone to refer to an act mentioned earlier by its full name) is deprecated by some dictionaries and usage authorities.<ref>[http://www.bartleby.com/61/72/A0067200.html Bartleby.com]  {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090314021132/http://www.bartleby.com/61/72/A0067200.html |date=March 14, 2009 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=act: Meaning and Definition of |url=http://dictionary.infoplease.com/act |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160816122048/http://dictionary.infoplease.com/act |archive-date=Aug 16, 2016 |website=Infoplease}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://dictionary.cambridge.org/define.asp?key=act*3+0&dict=A |title=act |website=Cambridge Dictionaries Online |publisher= Cambridge University Press |access-date=February 28, 2009|archive-date=January 26, 2004 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040126040305/http://dictionary.cambridge.org/define.asp?key=act*3+0&dict=A |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ldoceonline.com/dictionary/act_1|title=act|publisher=Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160814042441/http://www.ldoceonline.com/dictionary/act_1 |archive-date= Aug 14, 2016 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Act Definition & Meaning |url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/act |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240117132347/https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/act |archive-date=Jan 17, 2024 |website=Merriam-Webster}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bartleby.com/65/cl/ClaytonAA.html |title=Clayton Antitrust Act |work=The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition |date=2007 |via=Bartleby.com |access-date=2009-02-28 |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090304034430/http://www.bartleby.com/65/cl/ClaytonAA.html |archive-date= Mar 4, 2009 |df=mdy }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=House of Commons {{!}} British Parliament & Politics |url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/128885/House-of-Commons |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150430084348/https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/128885/House-of-Commons |archive-date=Apr 30, 2015 |website=Britannica}}</ref> However, the [[Bluebook]] requires "Act" to be capitalized when referring to a specific legislative act.<ref>''The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation'', 20th ed., Rule R8(c)(ii) (Cambridge: The Harvard Law Review Association, 2015), 92.</ref>  The [[United States Code]] capitalizes "act".

The term "act of Congress" is sometimes used in informal speech to indicate something for which getting permission is burdensome. For example, "It takes an act of Congress to get a building permit in this town."