Government Info: Federal Resources

Guide Contents

Public Laws & Statutes at Large

Presidential Signing Statements

Documents, Hearings, & Analysis

Pre-Made Legislative Histories

Legislative Histories of Selected U.S. Laws on the Internet
Listed by popular name or public law number for a handful of US laws; from the Law Librarians' Society of Washington, D.C.

Congressional Publications This link opens in a new window
Find histories of laws and bills by keyword, public law number, or bill number for 1969 to current.

Federal Legislative Histories
An index to officially published legislative histories. Available from HeinOnline

US Code

If you are looking for the history of an enacted law, you will need the Public Law number. The US Code contains Public Law and Statutes at Large annotations.

US Code: Public (free) Access
Access the US Code for years 1994 to present through GovInfo or the House of Representatives websites.

Nexis Uni This link opens in a new window
Federal and state annotated codes and regulations. (Requires UCSC or Off-Campus Access)
Westlaw Next This link opens in a new window
Federal and state annotated codes and regulations. (Requires UCSC or Off-Campus Access)

Popular Name Tool
Find the Public Law number by the popular name of the law or act; from the Office of the Law Revision Counsel [this page may be slow to load]

US Statutes at Large

The Public Laws are annotated with a "legislative history" that lists relevant Congressional Record dates, House and Senate reports, and Presidential Signing Statements when applicable.

v.1 (1789)- v.44 (1927)
Early US Statutes at Large; full-text from the University of Cincinnati

v.50 (1937)- most recent received:
In print or microform at McHenry library:
---Statutes at Large: v.50 (1937) - v.88 (1974)
---US Code Congressional and Administrative News: v.89 (1975) to most recent received

v.65 (1951) - v.115 (2002 )
GovInfo Statutes at Large collection

v.87 (1973) - current
THOMAS: full-text of the enrolled bills by Public Law number. See "Congressional Actions" for relevant dates, votes, and reports (linked when available)

v.101 (1987) - current (Requires UCSC or OCA access).
ProQuest Congressional: Full text of for 100th (1987) congress to current. Includes annotations to USC, Bills, Reports, Hearings, and Congressional Record.

v.109 (1995) - current
GovInfo: Public and Private Laws collection

Congressional Reports

Use the citations from the Public Laws or search by keyword and congress for House and Senate reports and Committee prints.

GovInfo (formerly FDSYS)
GPO’s GovInfo provides full-text government information available from Federal agencies, the Executive branch, Congress, and the Judicial branch. Includes the Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, Congressional Record, as well as Congressional hearings, reports and bills, the U.S. Code and Supreme Court decisions. Most databases date back to 1994.

Congressional Publications This link opens in a new window
Find report by number or use Basic or Advanced Search to search reports by keyword. Full-text reports for 1990 to current, abstracts only for 1970-1990 and index only for 1789-1969.
U.S. Congressional Serial Set This link opens in a new window
The Serial Set includes the documents and reports of Congress. 1817-1975 available through Readex.
Also available in print or microform at McHenry Library.

Early US Serial Set
Full-text of 23rd (1833) to 64th (1917) congresses; from the Library of Congress.
American State Papers
Precursor to the Serial Set. Full-text of all ten series from 1789 to 1838; from the Library of Congress
US Congressional Documents
HeinOnline Congressional documents, including congressional prints
US Code Congressional and Administrative News
Contains highlights of the Congressional reports issued for the Public Laws. In print at McHenry library.

Floor Debates & Votes

The debates of Congress and record of votes can be found in the Congressional Record which is published daily.

Congressional Record
Full-text for 101st (1989) congress to current

Congressional Publications This link opens in a new window
Full text for 49th (1985) congress to current.

In print or microform at McHenry library
1st (1789) to most currently available congress.
Roll Call Votes
List of roll call votes from 101st (1990) to current; from the Office of the Clerk of the US House of Representatives.

CQ Weekly This link opens in a new window
Roll call votes from 98th (1983) to current. Search by bill number, topic, etc.

C-SPAN Video Archive
Metavid
Archive of public domain US legislative footage. Search for video of House and Senate floor proceedings. From UCSC and the Sunlight Foundation.

Presidential Signing Statements

American Presidency Project
Public Papers of the President, signing statements, executive orders, the Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents, public addresses, etc.; from UCSB
GovInfo (formerly FDSYS)
GPO’s GovInfo provides full-text government information available from Federal agencies, the Executive branch, Congress, and the Judicial branch. Includes the Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, Congressional Record, as well as Congressional hearings, reports and bills, the U.S. Code and Supreme Court decisions. Most databases date back to 1994.

Legislative Hearings

GovInfo (formerly FDSYS)
GPO’s GovInfo provides full-text government information available from Federal agencies, the Executive branch, Congress, and the Judicial branch. Includes the Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, Congressional Record, as well as Congressional hearings, reports and bills, the U.S. Code and Supreme Court decisions. Most databases date back to 1994.

Congressional Publications This link opens in a new window
Full-text of hearings for 18th (1824) to 96th (1979) congress and 108th (2003) to current. Abstracts available for years without full-text.

CRS Reports

The Congressional Research Service provides Congress with nonpartisan research and analysis of a wide range of public policy issues. CRS reports are not immediately available to the public and they must be accessed indirectly through other sources. None of these sites offer a full collection of CRS reports. Also refer to this CRS Guide from the University of Colorado at Boulder.

CRS Reports from UNT
Full-text collection of CRS reports from various collections; from the University of North Texas.

Congressional Publications This link opens in a new window
Citations for CRS reports published from 1970 to current.

Congress.gov
Full-text of bills, roll call votes, and member profiles. Date coverage varies, with some back to the 101st congress (1989-90).

Legislative Support Agencies

Congressional Budget Office
CBO provides congress with economic/budgetary analyses of government programs
Government Accountability Office (GAO)
GAO is the investigative arm of Congress; browse Reports and Testimonies by date, topic, or agency
Library of Congress
Congressional Information
List of resources for finding congressional information

Capital Hill News & Information

CQ Weekly This link opens in a new window
Searchable, browsable, full-text reports of issues currently under debate before the Senate and House of Representatives. Includes status of bills, behind-the-scenes maneuvering, committee and floor activity, debates and roll-call votes. Also known as Congressional Quarterly Weekly.
CQ Researcher This link opens in a new window
CQ (Congressional Quarterly) Researcher is written by seasoned journalists and provides comprehensive reporting and analysis of issues in the news. Reports include introductory overviews, topic backgrounds and chronologies, an assessment of the current situation, pro-con debates, tables and maps, and bibliographies of key sources.
Nexis Uni This link opens in a new window
Search articles from major Capitol Hill newspapers such as The Hill, Roll Call, and the Washington Post as far back as 1977.

Public Opinion Polls & Data

PollingReport.com
Compilation of public opinion polls from a variety of sources on politicians, elections, national security, and current issues and events.

Lobbying & Special Interests

Lobbying Disclosure Act Database
Lobbying documents and reports. From the US Senate
MAPLight.org
Tracks the connections between interest groups, campaign donations, and legislative votes. Research interest groups, legislators, or individual bills. From the Center for Responsive Politics and the Sunlight Foundation.
OpenSecrets.org
Tracks influence and lobbying and their effects on elections and public policy. Research industries, lobbying firms, individual politicians, and more. From the Center for Responsive Politics.

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