TOPN: Table of Popular Names


What's in a popular name?

Laws acquire popular names as they make their way through Congress. Sometimes these names say something about the substance of the law (as with the '2002 Winter Olympic Commemorative Coin Act'). Sometimes they are a way of recognizing or honoring the sponsor or creator of a particular law (as with the 'Taft-Hartley Act'). And sometimes they are meant to garner political support for a law by giving it a catchy name (as with the 'USA Patriot Act' or the 'Take Pride in America Act') or by invoking public outrage or sympathy (as with any number of laws named for victims of crimes). History books, newspapers, and other sources use the popular name to refer to these laws. Why can't these popular names easily be found in the US Code?

How the US Code is built.

The United States Code is meant to be an organized, logical compilation of the laws passed by Congress. At its top level, it divides the world of legislation into fifty topically-organized Titles, and each Title is further subdivided into any number of logical subtopics. In theory, any law -- or individual provisions within any law -- passed by Congress should be classifiable into one or more slots in the framework of the Code. On the other hand, legislation often contains bundles of topically unrelated provisions that collectively respond to a particular public need or problem. A farm bill, for instance, might contain provisions that affect the tax status of farmers, their management of land or treatment of the environment, a system of price limits or supports, and so on. Each of these individual provisions would, logically, belong in a different place in the Code. (Of course, this isn't always the case; some legislation deals with a fairly narrow range of related concerns.) The process of incorporating a newly-passed piece of legislation into the Code is known as "classification" -- essentially a process of deciding where in the logical organization of the Code the various parts of the particular law belong. Sometimes classification is easy; the law could be written with the Code in mind, and might specifically amend, extend, or repeal particular chunks of the existing Code, making it no great challenge to figure out how to classify its various parts. And as we said before, a particular law might be narrow in focus, making it both simple and sensible to move it wholesale into a particular slot in the Code. But this is not normally the case, and often different provisions of the law will logically belong in different, scattered locations in the Code. As a result, often the law will not be found in one place neatly identified by its popular name. Nor will a full-text search of the Code necessarily reveal where all the pieces have been scattered. Instead, those who classify laws into the Code typically leave a note explaining how a particular law has been classified into the Code. It is usually found in the Note section attached to a relevant section of the Code, usually under a paragraph identified as the "Short Title".

How the LII Table of Popular Names works.

Our Table of Popular Names is organized alphabetically by popular name. You'll find three types of link associated with each popular name (though each law may not have all three types). One, a reference to a Public Law number, is a link to the bill as it was originally passed by Congress, and will take you to the LRC THOMAS legislative system, or GPO FDSYS site. So-called "Short Title" links, and links to particular sections of the Code, will lead you to a textual roadmap (the section notes) describing how the particular law was incorporated into the Code. Finally, acts may be referred to by a different name, or may have been renamed, the links will take you to the appropriate listing in the table.

B-47 Ridge Designation Act

BABIES Act

Baby Doe Amendment

Baca Location No. 1 Land Acquisition and Study Act of 1990

Bacharach Act

Back Pay Act of 1966

Backbone Grant Act (Texas Pacific Railroad)

Bad Check Law (District of Columbia)

Bail Reform Act of 1966

Bail Reform Act of 1984

Bailey Merchant Marine Act

Bainbridge Island Japanese-American Memorial Study Act of 2002

Balanced Budget Act of 1997

Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985

Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Reaffirmation Act of 1987

Balanced Budget Downpayment Act, I

Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act

Bald Eagle Protection Act

Baldwin Amendment

Ball Act (Rents in District of Columbia)

Ballistic Knife Prohibition Act of 1986

Ballistic Missile Defense Act of 1995

Bandelier National Monument Administrative Improvement and Watershed Protection Act of 1998

Bangladesh Disaster Assistance Act of 1988

Bank and Savings Association Holding Company and Depository Institution Regulatory Improvements Act of 2010

Bank Bribery Amendments Act of 1985

Bank Conservation Act

Bank Enterprise Act of 1991

Bank Export Services Act

Bank for Economic Cooperation and Development in the Middle East and North Africa Act

Bank Holding Company Act Amendments of 1970

Bank Holding Company Act of 1956

Bank Holding Company Tax Act of 1976

Bank Note and Redemption Act

Bank Official Loan Act

Bank Protection Act of 1968

Bank Robbery Act

Bank Secrecy Act

Bank Service Company Act

Bankhead-Jones Act

Bankhead-Jones Farm Tenant Act

Banking Act of 1933

Banking Act of 1935

Banking Affiliates Act of 1982

Banking and Related Programs Authorization Adjustment Act

Banking Transparency for Sanctioned Persons Act of 2022

Bankrupt Railroad Service Preservation and Employee Protection Act of 1982

Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005

Bankruptcy Act

Bankruptcy Administration Improvement Act of 2020

Bankruptcy Amendments and Federal Judgeship Act of 1984

Bankruptcy Judges, United States Trustees, and Family Farmer Bankruptcy Act of 1986

Bankruptcy Judgeship Act of 1992

Bankruptcy Judgeship Act of 2005

Bankruptcy Judgeship Act of 2017

Bankruptcy Reform Act of 1978

Bankruptcy Reform Act of 1994

Bankruptcy Tax Act of 1980

Bankruptcy Technical Corrections Act of 2010

Bankruptcy Threshold Adjustment and Technical Corrections Act

Barbour Fight Film Act

Barkley-Norris Resolution (T. V. Authority)

Barona Band of Mission Indians Land Transfer Clarification Act of 2012

Barrow Gas Field Transfer Act of 1984

Barry Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Act

Barry Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Modernization Act of 2021

Bartlett Act (Three Mile Fishery Jurisdiction)

Bartlett Act (Twelve Mile Fishery Jurisdiction)

Base Closure Community Redevelopment and Homeless Assistance Act of 1994

Basic Pilot Extension Act of 2001

Basic Pilot Program Extension and Expansion Act of 2003

Bathrooms Accessible in Every Situation Act

Battered Immigrant Women Protection Act of 2000

Battered Women&aposs Testimony Act of 1992

Battleship Overhaul Act

Bayh-Dole Act

Beaches Environmental Assessment and Coastal Health Act of 2000

Beat China by Harnessing Important, National Airwaves for 5G Act of 2020

Beat CHINA for 5G Act of 2020

Beef Promotion and Research Act of 1985

Beef Research and Information Act

Beer-Wine Revenue Act

Belarus Democracy Act of 2004

Belarus Democracy and Human Rights Act of 2011

Belarus Democracy, Human Rights, and Sovereignty Act of 2020

Belarus Democracy Reauthorization Act of 2006

Bend Feed Canal Pipeline Project Act of 2000

Bend Pine Nursery Land Conveyance Act

Benign Brain Tumor Cancer Registries Amendment Act

Benjamin Berell Ferencz Congressional Gold Medal Act

Benjamin Franklin Commemorative Coin Act

Benjamin Franklin National Memorial Commemoration Act of 2005

Benjamin Franklin National Memorial Commemorative Medal and Fire Service Bill of Rights Act

Benjamin Franklin Tercentenary Commission Act

Benning Road Widening Act

Berne Convention Implementation Act of 1988

Berry Amendment

Beryllium Testing Fairness Act

Best Pharmaceuticals for Children Act

Best Pharmaceuticals for Children Act of 2007

Better Buildings Act of 2015

Better Cybercrime Metrics Act

Better Online Ticket Sales Act of 2016

Better Utilization of Investments Leading to Development Act of 2018

Betty Dick Residence Protection Act

Bicentennial of the Constitution Coins Act

Bicentennial of the United States Capitol Commemorative Coin Act

Bicentennial of the United States Congress Commemorative Coin Act

Big Brothers--Big Sisters of America

Big Cat Public Safety Act

Big Cypress National Preserve Addition Act

Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area Act

Big Sur Wilderness and Conservation Act of 2002

Big Thicket National Preserve Addition Act of 1993

Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012

Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area Act

Bikini Resettlement and Relocation Act of 2000

Bilingual Education Act

Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act

Bill Emerson Humanitarian Trust Act

Bill Emerson Humanitarian Trust Act of 1998

Bill Emerson National Hunger Fellows and Mickey Leland International Hunger Fellows Program Act of 2008

Bill of Abominations (Tariff)

Bill Williams River Water Rights Settlement Act of 2014

Billfish Conservation Act of 2012

Billy Frank Jr. Tell Your Story Act

Billy&aposs Law

Biological Weapons Anti-Terrorism Act of 1989

Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act of 2009

Biomass Energy and Alcohol Fuels Act of 1980

Biomass Research and Development Act of 2000

Biomaterials Access Assurance Act of 1998

Biomedical Research and Research Training Amendments of 1978

Biomedical Research Extension Act of 1977

Biosimilar User Fee Act of 2012

Biosimilar User Fee Amendments of 2017

Biosimilar User Fee Amendments of 2022

Bipartisan American Miners Act of 2019

Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013

Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015

Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018

Bipartisan Budget Act of 2019

Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002

Bipartisan Congressional Trade Priorities and Accountability Act of 2015

Bipartisan Safer Communities Act

Bipartisan Safer Communities Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2022

Bipartisan Student Loan Certainty Act of 2013

Bipartisan Trade Promotion Authority Act of 2002

Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities Prevention Act of 2003

Birth Defects Prevention Act of 1998

Biscayne National Park Act

Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness Expansion and Fossil Forest Protection Act

Bituminous Coal Act of 1937

Bituminous Coal Conservation Act of 1935

Black Bass Act

Black Canyon of the Gunnison Boundary Revision Act of 2003

Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park and Gunnison Gorge National Conservation Area Act of 1999

Black Hills Cemetery Act

Black Hills National Cemetery Boundary Expansion Act

Black Hills National Forest and Rocky Mountain Research Station Improvement Act

Black Lung Benefits Act

Black Lung Benefits Act of 1972

Black Lung Benefits Amendments of 1981

Black Lung Benefits Reform Act of 1977

Black Lung Benefits Revenue Act of 1977

Black Lung Benefits Revenue Act of 1981

Black Lung Consolidation of Administrative Responsibility Act

Black-McKellar Act

Black Rock Desert-High Rock Canyon Emigrant Trails National Conservation Area Act of 2000

Blackfeet Water Rights Settlement Act

Blackfoot River Land Exchange Act of 2014

Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge Expansion Act

Blackwater Trading Post Land Transfer Act

Blackwell School National Historic Site Act

Bland Change of Masters Act

Bland Merchant Marine Act

Block Signal Resolution (Railroads)

Blockade of Southern Ports Proclamation (Civil War)

Blood Transfusion Act

Blue Ridge National Heritage Area Act of 2003

Blue Ridge Parkway and Town of Blowing Rock Land Exchange Act of 2009

Blue Star Mothers of America Act

Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act of 2019

Blunt Reservoir and Pierre Canal Land Conveyance Act of 2006

Board for International Broadcasting Act of 1973

Board for International Broadcasting Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 1980 and 1981

Board for International Broadcasting Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 1982 and 1983

Board for International Broadcasting Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 1984 and 1985

Board of Veterans&apos Appeals Administrative Procedures Improvement Act of 1994

Bob Dole Congressional Gold Medal Act

Bob Stump National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2003

Bodie Protection Act of 1994

Boggs Act

Boiler Inspection Act of the District of Columbia

Boise Laboratory Replacement Act of 2000

BOLD Infrastructure for Alzheimer&aposs Act

Bomb Threats Act

Bond Act (Public Officers)

Bond Purchase Clause (Sundry Civil Appropriation Act)

Bonneville Project Act of 1937

Bonneville Unit Clean Hydropower Facilitation Act

Book Postage Act

Booker T. Washington National Monument Boundary Adjustment Act of 2002

Booth Act (California School Lands)

Borah Act

Border Commuter Student Act of 2002

Border Infrastructure and Technology Modernization Act of 2007

Border Jobs for Veterans Act of 2015

Border Patrol Agent Pay Reform Act of 2014

Border Smog Reduction Act of 1998

Border Tunnel Prevention Act of 2012

Borland Amendment (District of Columbia Improvements)

Born-Alive Infants Protection Act of 2002

Bosque Redondo Memorial Act

Boston National Historical Park Act of 1974

BOTS Act of 2016

Bottles and Breastfeeding Equipment Screening Act

Boulder Canyon Project Act

Boulder Canyon Project Adjustment Act

Boulder City Act of 1958

Bowman Act (Claims)

Box Elder Utah Land Conveyance Act

Boy Scouts of America Centennial Commemorative Coin Act

Boy Scouts of America Equal Access Act

Boykin Merchant Marine Act

Boys Town Centennial Commemorative Coin Act

Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act

Brand USA Extension Act

Breast and Cervical Cancer Mortality Prevention Act of 1990

Breast and Cervical Cancer Prevention and Treatment Act of 2000

Breast Cancer and Environmental Research Act of 2008

Breast Cancer Awareness Commemorative Coin Act

Breast Cancer Research Stamp Act of 2001

Breast Cancer Research Stamp Reauthorization Act of 2015

Bree&aposs Law

Bretton Woods Agreements Act

Bretton Woods Agreements Act Amendments of 1978

Brian A. Terry Memorial Act

Bridge Act of 1906

Bridgeport Indian Colony Land Trust, Health, and Economic Development Act of 2012

Bridging the Gap for New Americans Act

BRIGHT Act

Bring Them Home Alive Act of 2000

Bringing Missing Children Home Act

Broadband DATA Act

Broadband Data Improvement Act

Broadband Deployment Accuracy and Technological Availability Act

Broadband Interagency Coordination Act of 2020

Broadcast Decency Enforcement Act of 2005

Brookhart Act

Brooklyn Bridge Authorization Act

Brooks Architect-Engineers Act

Brooks Automatic Data Processing Act

Brown-Lodge Bill

Brown-Stevens Act

Brown Tree Snake Control and Eradication Act of 2004

Brown v. Board of Education National Historical Park Expansion and Redesignation Act

Brownfields Revitalization and Environmental Restoration Act of 2001

Brownfields Utilization, Investment, and Local Development Act of 2018

Brownsville Wetlands Policy Act of 1994

Brush Disposal Act

Bryson Act

Buck Act

Budget and Accounting Act, 1921

Budget and Accounting Procedures Act of 1950

Budget Control Act of 2011

Budget Enforcement Act of 1990

Budget Enforcement Act of 1997

Buffalo Bayou National Heritage Area Study Act

Buffalo Soldiers Commemoration Act of 2005

BUILD Act

BUILD Act of 2018

BUILDER Act

Building American Homeownership Act of 2008

Building Blocks of STEM Act

Building Height Act of 1910

Building Our Largest Dementia Infrastructure for Alzheimer&aposs Act

Building Up Independent Lives and Dreams Act

Bulb Replacement Improving Government with High-efficiency Technology Act

Bulgarian Declaration of War

Bulk Infant Formula to Retail Shelves Act

Bull Run Watershed Management Act

Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant Act of 1998

Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant Act of 2000

Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant Act of 2008

Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant Program Reauthorization Act of 2015

Bunning-Bereuter-Blumenauer Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2004

Bureau of Corporations Act

Bureau of Land Management Drug Enforcement Supplemental Authority Act

Bureau of Marine Inspection and Navigation Act

Bureau of Reclamation Small Conduit Hydropower Development and Rural Jobs Act

Burial Equity for Guards and Reserves Act

Burke Act (Indians)

BURMA Act of 2022

Burma Unified through Rigorous Military Accountability Act of 2022

Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act of 2003

Burnt, Malheur, Owyhee, and Powder River Basin Water Optimization Feasibility Study Act of 2002

Burnt Timber Act

Burton Law (Control and Regulation of Waters of Niagara Falls)

Bus Regulatory Reform Act of 1982

Business Methods Inquiry Act (Executive Departments)

Business Opportunity Development Reform Act of 1988

Business Opportunity Development Reform Act Technical Corrections Act

Business Records Act

Business Risk Mitigation and Price Stabilization Act of 2015

Butter Standard Act

Butterfield Overland National Historic Trail Designation Act

Buy America Act

Buy American Act

Buy American Act of 1988

Buy Indian Act

Byrnes Act (Transporting Strikebreakers)

Byron Nelson Congressional Gold Medal Act