ABSTRACT
In February 1980 a story surfaced that the Federal Bureau of Investigation had surreptitiously videotaped and recorded meetings of undercover agents posing as Arab sheiks and public officials, the former bribing the latter in return for political favors. Several members of the House of Representatives and one Senator were subsequently convicted of bribery and conspiracy and were sent to jail. Called Abscam (for Arab Scam), the government's controversial “sting” operation drew attention to a relatively obscure legislative instrument known as the private bill. The phony sheiks offered our legislators sums up to $50,000 to introduce private immigration legislation. Most of the time, the process by which a private bill becomes a private law transpires quietly with little or no media attention. Nevertheless, most of the documents generated in this process are in the public domain and are available to libraries. Private bills and private laws constitute an interesting and occasionally fascinating series. The following is an attempt to shed some light on both the process and the publications.
