Private Laws

Most laws passed by Congress are public laws. That is, they affect society as a whole. However, some laws affect only one individual, a family, or a small group. These are known as private laws.

Many private bills are enacted to assist citizens injured by government programs or who are appealing an executive agency ruling such as deportation. Private bills are numbered separately from public bills.

The first private bill passed was made into law in September 1789. It awarded 17 months of back pay to a military officer.

This information is paraphrased from the book "The Young Oxford Companion to the Congress of the United States." Used with kind permission of the author, Donald A. Ritchie

Want to learn more about the Senate? Visit these websites:

• U.S. Capitol Building Virtual Tour - a fun visual tour of the U.S. Capitol Building.
• C-SPAN's "Capitol Questions" - host Ilona Nickles answers questions about the Senate and the Congress from young people around the world.
• A Century of Lawmaking - the collections of the Law Library at the Library of Congress, containing congressional documents and debates from 1774-1873.

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