Government Documents Information

Library Research FAQ

Government Information

THOMAS: An official source for federal legislative information

United States Government Manual: List of officials and descriptions of governmental branches and agencies, including boards, commissions, committees, and international organizations in which the US participates.

The White House: The official White House web site.

Executive Branch

Budget of the United States Government

Code of Federal Regulations (CFR): Includes regulations, proposed rules, codified regulations, current legislation, and laws.
Print volumes in Government Documents AE 2.106

Federal Register: a daily gazette of federal regulations, issued chronologically.
Microform in Government Documents AE 2.106/3

Public Papers of the Presidents: Contains various presidential documents, including executive orders, proclamations, proposed legislation, vetoes, speeches and transcripts of news conferences.
Print volumes in Reference J 80.A283

State of the Union Addresses

Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents

Judicial Branch

NOTE: The Supreme Court does not view any of its electronic information as official!

Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts (Federal Judiciary Homepage)

Code of Federal Regulations, Title 28 - Judicial Administration
Print volume in Reference KF62 2000 .A2

Supreme Court Web Site

US Constitution

US House Committee on the Judiciary

US Senate Committee on the Judiciary

US Reports
Print volumes in Reference KF101.A2

Legislative Branch

Congress.org: Find a representative, learn about current legislation, and submit comments to Congress.

Congressional Directory: Includes biographies, office listings and district descriptions of members of Congress.

Congressional Pictorial Directory: Features photos of members of Congress.
Print version in Reference JK1011.C67

Congressional Quarterly: Provides nonpartisan reporting of Congressional activities. (Monthly.)
- Print version in Periodicals
- Indexed in Pro-Quest 1/4/86-present

Congressional Record: Official record of the proceedings and debates of the United States Congress, published daily when Congress is in session.
Microform version in Government Documents

CQ Researcher: Discusses current events and controversial topics with commentary by experts and annotated bibliographies. (Weekly.)
- Print version in Periodicals
- Indexed in Pro-Quest 1/4/86-present

History of Bills: Bill summaries and status with links to the
Congressional Bills: Full-text of each bill version (e.g. introduced, engrossed, enrolled).

House Journal: A record of the proceedings of each legislative day in the House.
- Print to 1971-2000 in Government Documents
- CD-ROM to 1991-1999 in Government Documents

The House of Representatives: The official House of Representatives web site.

The Senate: The US Senate web site Includes links to current bills and legislation.

Senate Journal: A record of the proceedings of each legislative day in the Senate.
- Print 1971-2002 in Government Documents
- CD-ROM to 1991-1999 in Government Documents

Statutes at Large: The official source for laws and resolutions passed by Congress.
Print volumes in Reference KF 50.A2

Public and Private Laws: Full-text versions of all signed bills.

US Code: The official publication of federal statutes.
Print volumes in Reference KF62 2000 .A2

Note: These sites have been evaluated by library staff. Please consult with your professor or a librarian to evaluate any Internet resources found using search engines such as Yahoo! or Google.