Legal Definitions - Statutes at Large

The Statutes at Large is the official, chronological collection of all laws passed by the United States Congress during each of its sessions. It includes every public and private act, as well as resolutions, exactly as they were enacted into law. Think of it as the definitive historical record of every single piece of legislation that has officially become law in the U.S., presented in the order of its passage.

Here are some examples to illustrate this concept:

• Example 1: Researching a Landmark Environmental Law

  Imagine a historian is researching the exact original wording of the Clean Air Act amendments passed by Congress in 1970. To find the authoritative text of this legislation as it was first enacted, they would consult the volume of the Statutes at Large corresponding to the 91st Congress (1969-1970). Within that volume, the Clean Air Act amendments would appear chronologically alongside all other public and private laws and resolutions that became law during that specific congressional session, providing an unedited snapshot of the law at its inception.

• Example 2: Tracking a New Technology Regulation

  Suppose Congress recently passed a new law regulating artificial intelligence. Once this bill is signed by the President and officially becomes law, its complete text will be published in the next available volume of the Statutes at Large. This ensures that legal professionals, government agencies, and the public have access to the precise language of the new AI regulation as it was enacted, appearing in the sequence of other laws passed during that same legislative period.

• Example 3: Locating a Specific Private Bill

  Occasionally, Congress passes a "private bill" that grants a specific benefit or relief to a particular individual or entity, rather than applying to the general public. For instance, a bill might be passed to grant U.S. citizenship to a specific person. Even these highly individualized laws, along with broader public laws and resolutions, are meticulously recorded in the Statutes at Large. If someone needed to verify the exact provisions of such a private bill, they would find its official text in the relevant volume, listed in the chronological order of its enactment, ensuring a comprehensive record of all congressional legislative actions.