List of United States federal legislation

For people who check facts

At the federal level in the United States, legislation consists primarily of Actss passed by Congress and signed into law by the President. Secondary legislation is also made by the President (primarily Executive Orders), and by other individuals or bodies (e.g. the US federal courts issue Practice Directions).

1790s - 1800s - 1810s - 1820s - 1830s - 1840s - 1850s - 1860s - 1870s - 1880s - 1890s - 1900s - 1910s - 1920s - 1930s - 1940s - 1950s - 1960s - 1970s - 1980s - 1990s - 2000s - Executive Orders - Departments and Agencies - Concepts

Notable Acts of Congress

18th Century

1780s

1789 - Judiciary Act
1789 - Hamilton Tariff

1790s

19th Century

1800s

1810s

1820s

1830s

1833 - Force Bill
1836 - Gag Rule

1840s

1850s

1860s

1870s

1880s

1890s

20th Century

1900s

1910s

1910 - Mann-Elkins Act
1910 - Mann Act
1913 - Federal Reserve Act
1913 - Underwood tariff
1914 - Federal Trade Commission Act
1914 - Clayton Antitrust Act
1916 - Adamson Railway Labor Act
1916 - Federal Farm Loan Act
1917 - Espionage Act (repealed 1921)
1917 - Trading with the Enemy Act (PL 65-91)
1918 - Sedition Act (repealed 1921)

1920s

1920 - Volstead Act
1920 - Esch-Cummins Act
1920 - Mineral Leasing Act
1921 - Emergency Quota Act
1922 - Fordney-McCumber tariff
1924 - Immigration Act Basic Law
1924 - Indian Reorganization Act
1929 - Immigration Act National Origins Formula
1929 - Agriculture Marketing Act

1930s

1940s

1940 - Selective Service Act
1940 - Alien Registration (Smith) Act
1941 - Lend Lease Act
1942 - Office of Price Administration
1944 - GI Bill of Rights
1947 - Presidential Succession Act
1945 - Bretton Woods Agreement PL 79-171
1947 - Aid to Greece and Turkey (See Truman Doctrine) PL 80-75
1947 - Taft-Hartley Act
1947 - National Security Act
1947 - Mineral Materials Act
1948 - Foreign Assistance Act (Marshall Plan) PL 80-472

1950s

1950 - National Science Foundation Act PL 81-507
1950 - McCarran Internal Security Act
1951 - Mutual Security Act
1952 - Immigration and Naturalization Act
1952 - Mine Safety Act PL 82-552
1954 - Saint Lawrence Seaway Act
1954 - Multiple Mineral Use Act
1955 - Multiple Surface Use Mining Act
1956 - Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956, nicknamed the National Interstate and Defense Highways Act of 1956
1957 - Civil Rights Act PL 85-315
1958 - National Defense Education Act
1958 - Military Construction Appropriation Act (Advanced Research Projects Agency) PL 85-852
1959 - Landrum-Griffin Act

1960s

1960 - Civil Rights Act PL 86-449
1961 - Peace Corps
1962 - Trade Expansion Act
1962 - Communications Satellite Act PL 87-624
1963 - Equal Pay Act PL 88-38
1964 - Civil Rights Act PL 88-352
1964 - Full Employment Act
1964 - Great Society Programs
1964 - Urban Mass Transportation Act PL 88-365
1965 - Medicare Amendments to Social Security
1965 - Medicaid
1965 - Voting Rights Act PL 89-110
1965 - Immigration Act
1966 - Freedom of Information Act
1966 - Uniform Time Act
1966 - United States Department of Transportation established PL 89-670
1967 - Age Discrimination Act PL 90-202
1967 - Public Broadcasting Act
1968 - Open Housing Act PL 90-284
1968 - Gun Control Act of 1968
1969 - Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act PL 91-173

1970s

1970 - Bank Secrecy Act
1970 - Occupational Safety and Health Act PL 91-596
1970 - Controlled Substances Act
1970 - Rail Passenger Service Act (Amtrak) PL 91-518
1970 - National Environmental Protection Act
1970 - Postal Reorganization Act (USPS) PL 91-375
1970 - Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act
1972 - Equal Employment Opportunity Act PL 92-261
1972 - Federal Advisory Committee Act PL 92-463
1972 - Coastal Zone Management Act PL 92-583
1973 - Rehabilitation Act PL 93-112
1974 - Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act
1974 - Impoundment Control Act of 1974
1976 - Copyright Act of 1976
1976 - Government in the Sunshine Act
1976 - Railroad Revitalization and Regulatory Reform Act PL 94-210
1976 - Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act PL 94-435
1976 - Federal Land Policy and Management Act
1978 - Humphrey-Hawkins Full Employment Act
1978 - Airline Deregulation Act
1978 - District of Columbia Voting Rights Amendment

1980s

1980 - Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (Superfund
1980 - Refugee Act
1980 - Staggers Act PL 96-448
1981 - Kemp-Roth Tax Cut
1984 - Voting Accessibility for the Elderly and Handicapped Act PL 98-435
1986 - Age Discrimination in Employment Act PL 99-572
1986 - Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act
1986 - Tax Reform Act of 1986
1986 - Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Balanced Budget Act
1986 - Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act
1986 - Goldwater-Nichols Act of 1986 (Defense Reorganization)
1987 - Surface Transportation Act
1987 - Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Improvement Act of 1987 - Public Law 100-107

1990s

1990 - Americans with Disabilities Act PL 101-336
1990 - Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act Human Genome Project funding PL 101-508
1990 - Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act
1991 - Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act PL 102-240
1992 - Land Remote Sensing Policy Act PL 102-555
1993 - Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act
1994 - Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act
1996 - Communications Decency Act
1996 - Telecommunications Act of 1996
1996 - Domestic Violence Offender Gun Ban
1998 - Digital Millennium Copyright Act
- Online Copyright Infringement Liability Limitation Act

1998 - Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act

1998 - Financial Services Modernization Act

21st Century

2000s

Executive Orders

1836 - Specie Circular

Departments and Agencies

For more detailed legislative histories in specific domains, see the Related Legislation sections of the following pages

Concepts