Retrieve the full statutory text of a bill section (GovInfo)
get_bill_sectionRetrieve the full statutory text of a single bill section -- or an addressable sub-section chunk -- parsed from the bill's GovInfo Bill DTD XML.
Instructions
Retrieve the full statutory text of a single bill section -- or an addressable sub-section
chunk -- parsed from the bill's GovInfo Bill DTD XML.
Call this after search_bill_text or get_bill_toc to read a specific section by its section_id
(e.g. "D:H/T:I/S:3501"). Fully-qualified section ids and chunk ids resolve directly; a bare
section number (e.g. "101") resolves only when it is unique across the bill. Every id
get_bill_toc returns resolves here, including structural containers such as a division,
title, or subtitle ("D:C/T:XXXI/ST:B"), which return their heading plus child descriptors
when the subtree exceeds max_bytes. The returned text
carries operative and quoted (amendatory) language in reading order; when the section is
subdivided, child chunk descriptors are included. Text is capped at max_bytes, measured as
UTF-8 encoded bytes of the returned text field, clamped to 1,000-100,000.
is_amendatory and amends describe the returned text. For a single unit they are the same
values a search_bill_text hit reports for that section_id; when the response assembles
several units (a subdivided section or a container that fit max_bytes), is_amendatory is
true if ANY included unit amends and amends is the union of their targets. When
is_amendatory is true, quoted language in text is matter the section INSERTS INTO or
STRIKES FROM existing law -- an instruction to change another statute, not a freestanding
requirement of this bill -- so present it as an amendment to the cited target, not as the
bill's own rule. Each amends entry is {kind: "usc"|"public_law", cite}. amends is citations
found, never a complete list: it resolves no named Acts, no chapter- or title-level
amendments, and no non-U.S. Code targets, so a non-empty list can still be short. A
heading-plus-children-descriptors response (subtree too large for max_bytes) reports the
addressed unit's own values; each child's text arrives labeled when fetched.
Input Schema
TableJSON Schema
| Name | Required | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| number | Yes | ||
| version | No | ||
| congress | Yes | ||
| bill_type | Yes | ||
| max_bytes | No | ||
| section_id | Yes |
Output Schema
TableJSON Schema
| Name | Required | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
No arguments | |||