Editing List of United States federal legislation

{{Short description|None}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2025}}
This is a chronological, but still incomplete, '''list of United States federal legislation'''. Congress has enacted approximately 200–600 statutes during each of its 119 biennial terms so more than 30,000 statutes have been enacted since 1789.

At the [[Federal government of the United States|federal level in the United States]], [[legislation]] (i.e., "[[statute]]s" or "[[statutory law]]") consists exclusively of [[Act of Congress|Act]]s passed by the [[Congress of the United States]] and its predecessor, the [[Continental Congress]], that were either signed into law by the [[President of the United States|President]] or passed by Congress after a [[List of U.S. presidential vetoes|presidential veto]].

Legislation is not the only source of regulations with the [[Statutory law|force of law]]. However, most [[executive branch]] and [[judicial branch]]{{citation needed|date=February 2013}} regulations must originate in a congressional grant of power. ''See also'': [[List of United States federal executive orders|Executive order]]s issued by the President; ''[[Code of Federal Regulations]]'' for rules issued by executive branch departments and administrative agencies; and the [[Federal Rules of Civil Procedure]] of the federal courts.

==Publication of the law==
===Statutes at Large (Stat.)===
[[Act of Congress|Acts of Congress]] are published in the '''[[United States Statutes at Large]]'''. Volumes 1 through 18, which have all the statutes passed from 1789 to 1875, are available on-line at the Library of Congress, [http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/amlaw/lwsllink.html here]. In the list below, statutes are listed by ''X Stat. Y'', where X is the volume of the Statutes at Large and Y is the page number, as well as either the chapter or Public Law number. ''See [[#Examples|examples]] below.''<!-- For example, the [[Compromise of 1850]], which was enacted on September 9, 1850 as ch. 49, {{USStat|9|446}}. That means it was the 49th Public Law passed during that Congress and it can be found in volume 9 of the United States Statutes at Large, starting on page 446.-->

===Sessions (Sess.) and Chapters (ch.)===
Each Congress has two to four sessions.  Under the numbering system used from 1789 until 1957, the Acts in each session are numbered sequentially as Chapters. This numbering included both laws applicable to the general public and laws relating to specific individuals, e.g., to grant [[pensions]] to disabled veterans.<ref>See, e.g., Act of Aug. 11, 1790, ch. 44, {{USStat|6|3}}</ref>

===Examples===
* The [[Militia Act of 1862]] of July 17, 1862, Sess. 2, ch. 201, was the 201st Act of the second session of the 37th Congress.
* The [[National Banking Act]] of February 25, 1863, Sess. 3, ch. 58, was the 58th Act of the third session of the 37th Congress.
* The Global Anti-Semitism Review Act of 2004 of October 16, 2004, {{USPL|108|332}}, {{USStat|118|1282}}, was the 332nd Act of Congress (statute) passed in the 108th Congress. It can be found in volume 118 of the U.S. Statutes at Large, starting at page 1282.
* The [[Help America Vote Act]] of October 29, 2002, {{USPL|107|252}}, {{USStat|116|1666}}, was the 252nd Act of the 107th Congress. It can be found in volume 116 of the U.S. Statutes at Large, starting at page 1666.

==Congress of the Confederation==
{{main|Congress of the Confederation}}
* September 22, 1783: [[Confederation Congress Proclamation of 1783]] 
* April 23, 1784: [[Land Ordinance of 1784]]
* May 21, 1785: [[Land Ordinance of 1785]]
* July 13, 1787: [[Northwest Ordinance|Ordinance of 1787: The Northwest Territorial Government]] ("Northwest Ordinance")

==United States Congress==
===1789 to 1901: 1st through 56th Congresses===
{{Main|List of United States federal legislation, 1789-1901}}
{{incomplete list|date=March 2024}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|-
! Start date !! End date !! List of enacted legislation !! [[Act of Congress|Public law]]s !! [[Act of Congress|Private law]]s
|-
| 1789-03-04 || 1791-03-03 || [[List of United States federal legislation, 1789–1901#1st United States Congress|List of acts of the 1st United States Congress]] || 94 || 0
|-
| 1791-03-04 || 1793-03-03 || [[List of United States federal legislation, 1789–1901#2nd United States Congress|List of acts of the 2nd United States Congress]] || 62 || 0
|-
| 1793-03-04 || 1795-03-03 || [[List of acts of the 3rd United States Congress]] || ||
|-
| 1795-03-04 || 1797-03-03 || [[List of acts of the 4th United States Congress]] || ||
|-
| 1797-03-04 || 1799-03-03 || [[List of acts of the 5th United States Congress]] || ||
|-
| 1799-03-04 || 1801-03-03 || [[List of acts of the 6th United States Congress]] || ||
|-
| 1801-03-04 || 1803-03-03 || [[List of acts of the 7th United States Congress]] || ||
|-
| 1803-03-04 || 1805-03-03 || [[List of acts of the 8th United States Congress]] || ||
|-
| 1805-03-04 || 1807-03-03 || [[List of acts of the 9th United States Congress]] || ||
|-
| 1807-03-04 || 1809-03-03 || [[List of acts of the 10th United States Congress]] || ||
|-
| 1809-03-04 || 1811-03-03 || [[List of acts of the 11th United States Congress]] || ||
|-
| 1811-03-04 || 1813-03-03 || [[List of acts of the 12th United States Congress]] || ||
|-
| 1813-03-04 || 1815-03-03 || [[List of acts of the 13th United States Congress]] || ||
|-
| 1815-03-04 || 1817-03-03 || [[List of acts of the 14th United States Congress]] || ||
|-
| 1817-03-04 || 1819-03-03 || [[List of acts of the 15th United States Congress]] || ||
|-
| 1819-03-04 || 1821-03-03 || [[List of acts of the 16th United States Congress]] || ||
|-
| 1821-03-04 || 1823-03-03 || [[List of acts of the 17th United States Congress]] || ||
|-
| 1823-03-04 || 1825-03-03 || [[List of acts of the 18th United States Congress]] || ||
|-
| 1825-03-04 || 1827-03-03 || [[List of acts of the 19th United States Congress]] || ||
|-
| 1827-03-04 || 1829-03-03 || [[List of acts of the 20th United States Congress]] || ||
|-
| 1829-03-04 || 1831-03-03 || [[List of acts of the 21st United States Congress]] || ||
|-
| 1831-03-04 || 1833-03-03 || [[List of acts of the 22nd United States Congress]] || ||
|-
| 1833-03-04 || 1835-03-03 || [[List of acts of the 23rd United States Congress]] || ||
|-
| 1835-03-04 || 1837-03-03 || [[List of acts of the 24th United States Congress]] || ||
|-
| 1837-03-04 || 1839-03-03 || [[List of acts of the 25th United States Congress]] || ||
|-
| 1839-03-04 || 1841-03-03 || [[List of acts of the 26th United States Congress]] || ||
|-
| 1841-03-04 || 1843-03-03 || [[List of acts of the 27th United States Congress]] || ||
|-
| 1843-03-04 || 1845-03-03 || [[List of acts of the 28th United States Congress]] ||
||
|-
| 1845-03-04 || 1847-03-03 || [[List of acts of the 29th United States Congress]] || ||
|-
| 1847-04-04 || 1849-03-03 || [[List of acts of the 30th United States Congress]] || ||
|-
| 1849-03-04 || 1851-03-03 || [[List of acts of the 31st United States Congress]] || ||
|-
| 1851-03-04 || 1853-03-03 || [[List of acts of the 32nd United States Congress]] || ||
|-
| 1853-03-04 || 1855-03-03 || [[List of acts of the 33rd United States Congress]] || ||
|-
| 1855-03-04 || 1857-03-03 || [[List of acts of the 34th United States Congress]] || ||
|-
| 1857-03-04 || 1859-03-03 || [[List of acts of the 35th United States Congress]] || ||
|-
| 1859-03-04 || 1861-03-03 || [[List of acts of the 36th United States Congress]] || ||
|-
| 1861-03-04 || 1863-03-03 || [[List of acts of the 37th United States Congress]] || ||
|-
| 1863-03-04 || 1865-03-03 || [[List of acts of the 38th United States Congress]] || ||
|-
| 1865-03-04 || 1867-03-03 || [[List of acts of the 39th United States Congress]] || ||
|-
| 1867-03-04 || 1869-03-03 || [[List of acts of the 40th United States Congress]] || ||
|-
| 1869-03-04 || 1871-03-03 || [[List of acts of the 41st United States Congress]] || ||
|-
| 1871-03-04 || 1873-03-03 || [[List of acts of the 42nd United States Congress]] || ||
|-
| 1873-03-04 || 1875-03-03 || [[List of acts of the 43rd United States Congress]] || ||
|-
| 1875-03-04 || 1877-03-03 || [[List of acts of the 44th United States Congress]] || ||
|-
| 1877-03-04 || 1879-03-03 || [[List of acts of the 45th United States Congress]] || ||
|-
| 1879-03-04 || 1881-03-03 || [[List of acts of the 46th United States Congress]] || ||
|-
| 1881-03-04 || 1883-03-03 || [[List of acts of the 47th United States Congress]] || ||
|-
| 1883-03-04 || 1885-03-03 || [[List of acts of the 48th United States Congress]] || ||
|-
| 1885-03-04 || 1887-03-03 || [[List of acts of the 49th United States Congress]] || ||
|-
| 1887-03-04 || 1889-03-03 || [[List of acts of the 50th United States Congress]] || ||
|-
| 1889-03-04 || 1891-03-03 || [[List of acts of the 51st United States Congress]] || ||
|-
| 1891-03-04 || 1893-03-03 || [[List of acts of the 52nd United States Congress]] || ||
|-
| 1893-03-04 || 1895-03-03 || [[List of acts of the 53rd United States Congress]] || ||
|-
| 1895-03-04 || 1897-03-03 || [[List of acts of the 54th United States Congress]] || ||
|-
| 1897-03-04 || 1899-03-03 || [[List of acts of the 55th United States Congress]] || ||
|-
| 1899-03-04 || 1901-03-03 || [[List of acts of the 56th United States Congress]] || ||
|}

===1901 to 2001: 57th through 106th Congresses===
{{Main|List of United States federal legislation, 1901-2001}}
{{incomplete list|date=March 2024}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|-
! Start date !! End date !! List of enacted legislation !! [[Act of Congress|Public law]]s !! [[Act of Congress|Private law]]s
|-
| 1901-03-04 || 1903-03-04 || [[List of acts of the 57th United States Congress]] ||  || 
|-
| 1903-03-04 || 1905-03-04 || [[List of acts of the 58th United States Congress]] || ||
|-
| 1905-03-04 || 1907-03-04 || [[List of acts of the 59th United States Congress]] || ||
|-
| 1907-03-04 || 1909-03-04 || [[List of acts of the 60th United States Congress]] || ||
|-
| 1909-03-04 || 1911-03-04 || [[List of acts of the 61st United States Congress]] || ||
|-
| 1911-03-04 || 1913-03-04 || [[List of acts of the 62nd United States Congress]] || ||
|-
| 1913-03-04 || 1915-03-04 || [[List of acts of the 63rd United States Congress]] || ||
|-
| 1915-03-04 || 1917-03-04 || [[List of acts of the 64th United States Congress]] || ||
|-
| 1917-03-04 || 1919-03-04 || [[List of acts of the 65th United States Congress]] || ||
|-
| 1919-03-04 || 1921-03-04 || [[List of acts of the 66th United States Congress]] || ||
|-
| 1921-03-04 || 1923-03-04 || [[List of acts of the 67th United States Congress]] || ||
|-
| 1923-03-04 || 1925-03-04 || [[List of acts of the 68th United States Congress]] || ||
|-
| 1925-03-04 || 1927-03-04 || [[List of acts of the 69th United States Congress]] || ||
|-
| 1927-03-04 || 1929-03-04 || [[List of acts of the 70th United States Congress]] || ||
|-
| 1929-03-04 || 1931-03-04 || [[List of acts of the 71st United States Congress]] || ||
|-
| 1931-03-04 || 1933-03-04 || [[List of acts of the 72nd United States Congress]] || ||
|-
| 1933-03-04 || 1935-01-03 || [[List of acts of the 73rd United States Congress]] || ||
|-
| 1935-01-03 || 1937-01-03 || [[List of acts of the 74th United States Congress]] || 849 || 730
|-
| 1937-01-03 || 1939-01-03 || [[List of acts of the 75th United States Congress]] || 788 || 835
|-
| 1939-01-03 || 1941-01-03 || [[List of acts of the 76th United States Congress]] || 894 || 651
|-
| 1941-01-03 || 1943-01-03 || [[List of acts of the 77th United States Congress]] || 850 || 635
|-
| 1943-01-03 || 1945-01-03 || [[List of acts of the 78th United States Congress]] || 568 || 589
|-
| 1945-01-03 || 1947-01-03 || [[List of acts of the 79th United States Congress]] || 734 || 892
|-
| 1947-01-03 || 1949-01-03 || [[List of acts of the 80th United States Congress]] || 906 || 457
|-
| 1949-01-03 || 1951-01-03 || [[List of acts of the 81st United States Congress]] || 921 || 1103
|-
| 1951-01-03 || 1953-01-03 || [[List of acts of the 82nd United States Congress]] || 594 || 1023
|-
| 1953-01-03 || 1955-01-03 || [[List of acts of the 83rd United States Congress]] || 781 || 1002
|-
| 1955-01-03 || 1957-01-03 || [[List of acts of the 84th United States Congress]] || 1028 || 893
|-
| 1957-01-03 || 1959-01-03 || [[85th United States Congress|List of acts of the 85th United States Congress]]|| 936 || 784
|-
| 1959-01-03 || 1961-01-03 || [[List of acts of the 86th United States Congress]] || 800 || 492
|-
| 1961-01-03 || 1963-01-03 || [[List of acts of the 87th United States Congress]] || 885 || 684
|-
| 1963-01-03 || 1965-01-03 || [[List of acts of the 88th United States Congress]] || 666 || 360
|-
| 1965-01-03 || 1967-01-03 || [[List of acts of the 89th United States Congress]] || 810 || 473
|-
| 1967-01-03 || 1969-01-03 || [[List of acts of the 90th United States Congress]] || 640 || 362
|-
| 1969-01-03 || 1971-01-03 || [[List of acts of the 91st United States Congress]] || 695 || 246
|-
| 1971-01-03 || 1973-01-03 || [[List of acts of the 92nd United States Congress]] || 607 || 161
|-
| 1973-01-03 || 1975-01-03 || [[List of acts of the 93rd United States Congress]] || 649 || 123
|-
| 1975-01-03 || 1977-01-03 || [[List of acts of the 94th United States Congress]] || 588 || 141
|-
| 1977-01-03 || 1979-01-03 || [[List of acts of the 95th United States Congress]] || 633 || 170
|-
| 1979-01-03 || 1981-01-03 || [[List of acts of the 96th United States Congress]] || 613 || 123
|-
| 1981-01-03 || 1983-01-03 || [[List of acts of the 97th United States Congress]] || 473 || 56
|-
| 1983-01-03 || 1985-01-03 || [[List of acts of the 98th United States Congress]] || 623 || 54
|-
| 1985-01-03 || 1987-01-03 || [[List of acts of the 99th United States Congress]] || 664 || 24
|-
| 1987-01-03 || 1989-01-03 || [[List of acts of the 100th United States Congress]] || 713 || 48
|-
| 1989-01-03 || 1991-01-03 || [[List of acts of the 101st United States Congress]] || 650 || 16
|-
| 1991-01-03 || 1993-01-03 || [[List of acts of the 102nd United States Congress]] || 590 || 20
|-
| 1993-01-03 || 1995-01-03 || [[List of acts of the 103rd United States Congress]] || 465 || 8
|-
| 1995-01-03 || 1997-01-03 || [[List of acts of the 104th United States Congress]] || 333 || 4
|-
| 1997-01-03 || 1999-01-03 || [[List of acts of the 105th United States Congress]] || 394 || 10
|-
| 1999-01-03 || 2001-01-03 || [[List of acts of the 106th United States Congress]] || 580 || 24
|}

===2001 to present: 107th and subsequent Congresses===
{{Main|List of United States federal legislation, 2001-present}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|-
! Start date !! End date !! List of enacted legislation !! [[Act of Congress|Public law]]s !! [[Act of Congress|Private law]]s
|-
| 2001-01-03 || 2003-01-03 || [[List of acts of the 107th United States Congress]] || 377 || 6
|-
| 2003-01-03 || 2005-01-03 || [[List of acts of the 108th United States Congress]] || 498 || 6
|-
| 2005-01-03 || 2007-01-03 || [[List of acts of the 109th United States Congress]] || 482 || 1
|-
| 2007-01-03 || 2009-01-03 || [[List of acts of the 110th United States Congress]] || 460 || 0
|-
| 2009-01-03 || 2011-01-03 || [[List of acts of the 111th United States Congress]] || 383 || 2
|-
| 2011-01-03 || 2013-01-03 || [[List of acts of the 112th United States Congress]] || 283 || 1
|-
| 2013-01-03 || 2015-01-03 || [[List of acts of the 113th United States Congress]] || 296 || 0
|-
| 2015-01-03 || 2017-01-03 || [[List of acts of the 114th United States Congress]] || 329 || 0
|-
| 2017-01-03 || 2019-01-03 || [[List of acts of the 115th United States Congress]] || 442 || 1
|-
| 2019-01-03 || 2021-01-03 || [[List of acts of the 116th United States Congress]] || 344 || 0
|-
| 2021-01-03 || 2023-01-03 || [[List of acts of the 117th United States Congress]] || 362 || 3
|-
| 2023-01-03 || 2025-01-03 || [[List of acts of the 118th United States Congress]] || 47 || 0
|}

==See also==
* [[Authorization bill]]
* [[Appropriations bill (United States)]]
* [[List of sources of law in the United States]]
* [[List of Uniform Acts (United States)]]
* Lists by subject
** Agriculture: [[United States Department of Agriculture#Related legislation]]
** Civil Rights: [[Civil Rights Act (disambiguation)]]
** Defense: [[United States Department of Defense#Related legislation]]
** Drugs: [[Office of National Drug Control Policy#Legislation and executive orders]]
** Energy: [[United States Department of Energy#Related legislation]] and [[Energy law#Federal laws]]
**Environment: [[United States Environmental Protection Agency#Related legislation]]
** Health and Human Services: [[United States Department of Health and Human Services#Related legislation]]
** Judiciary: [[Judiciary Act (disambiguation)]]
** Labor: [[United States Department of Labor#Related legislation]]
** Slavery: [[Slave Trade Act]]s
** Social Security: [[List of Social Security legislation (United States)]]
** Taxation: [[List of tariffs in United States|List of tariffs]], [[:Template:US tax acts]], and [[:Category:United States federal taxation legislation]]
** Transportation: [[United States Department of Transportation#Related legislation]]
** Veterans Affairs: [[United States Department of Veterans Affairs#Related legislation]]
** Water Resources, Navigation, Environmental Regulation: [[United States Army Corps of Engineers#Public Laws affecting the Corps of Engineers]] (partial)

==Sources==
* [http://assembler.law.cornell.edu/uscode/topn/ Acts listed by popular name], via Cornell University
* Statutes at Large
** [http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/amlaw/lwsllink.html Volumes 1 through 18, 1789–1875], via Library of Congress
** [https://www.loc.gov/law/help/statutes-at-large/index.php Volumes 19 through 64, 1875-1950], via Library of Congress
** [https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/browse/collection.action?collectionCode=STATUTE Volumes 65 through 127, 1951-2013], via Government Publishing Office
* Public laws
** [https://www.congress.gov/public-laws/ 93rd Congress through current Congress], via Congress.gov
* U.S. Code
** [http://uscode.house.gov/ U.S. Code], via Law Revision Counsel of the U.S. House of Representatives
** [http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/#TITLES U.S. Code], via Cornell University
** [https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/browse/collectionUScode.action?collectionCode=USCODE U.S. Code], via the U.S. Government Publishing Office
** [http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/casecode/uscodes/toc.html U.S. Code], via FindLaw.com
*Brian K. Landsberg (ed), ''Major Acts of Congress''. MacMillan Reference Books (December 2003) {{ISBN|0-02-865749-7}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{USCongress|powersprivilegesprocedurecommitteeshistoryandmedia}}
{{Law of the United States}}
{{Lists of acts of the United States Congress|state=autocollapse}} 
{{list of lists |law |listcat=Lists of United States federal legislation}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:United States federal legislation}}
[[Category:United States federal legislation| ]]
[[Category:History of the government of the United States|Legislation]]
[[Category:Lists of United States legislation|Federal]]
[[Category:United States history-related lists|Legislation]]
[[Category:Lists related to the United States Congress|Federal legislation]]