Government Publications: Web Resources

Presidential remarks, addresses, statements made at the time of a bill signing and other events as they happen. This collection holds 1993 to the present. Prior to 2009 these compilations were published weekly. Since that time documents are compiled daily. Note that there is a time lag between the date of an event and the publication of the resulting document. For earlier presidential documents see the Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States.

Official publication of the President's addresses, writings, and remarks. This site includes volumes from Herbert Hoover and Harry Truman through Barack Obama. Because the Franklin Roosevelt volumes were originally published commercially, they are not in GPO's online collection.

An independent archive of presidential documents and selected video hosted by the University of California at Santa Barbara. Also includes speeches and other statements of many presidential candidates. While not complete, this site does cover from George Washington to the present, and links to presidential library sites.

This compilation from Project Gutenberg contains the text of the 11-volume set of messages and papers of the Presidents of the United States from 1787 to 1902 which was originally edited by James D. Richardson and published in 1902.

The President of the United States manages the operations of the executive branch of government through executive orders. Here you will find such orders from 1994 to the present. The executive orders gathered here can be viewed in PDF format (sometimes also text or HTML) and are also available for single bulk download or download by President.

Official source for information on congressional activity. Follow legislation as it moves through the House and Senate, lookup committee and member profiles, watch video from the House and Senate floor, as well as video of committee hearings. Links to authenticated versions of bills, committee reports, and the Congressional Record. Also provides in-depth help pages, and further resources to learn about the legislative process.

The Office of the Law Revision Counsel is responsible for editing and maintaining the official version of the United States Code. The US Code is a compilation of the general and permanent laws of the United States arranged into titles by subject. This site is the most current online version of the Code and is continuously updated while Congress is in session. The OLRC website includes other tools and download formats that are helpful such as PDF files for all Code and Statutes at Large volumes, and a popular name tool for finding laws by name.

These are the laws and resolutions enacted during each session of Congress. They are presented in order of the date they were enacted. There is normally a delay of several years before the Statutes are published. For recent laws follow the link to Public and Private Laws under Related Resources at the bottom of the page.

Provides comprehensive analysis and interpretation of the Constitution in plain English. The site is richly annotated with featured articles covering recent court decisions and much other supporting material. This is a great starting place to learn about the Constitution and the government created by it.

Collects the documents of the Continental Congress, the Constitutional Convention and the first through the forty-third Congresses (1789-1875). Among resources you will find here are: Bills and Resolutions, Letters of Delegates to Congress, from the Continental Congress, Elliot's Debates and Farrand's Records from the Constitutional Convention, William MacClay's Journal from the first Congress (1789-1791), and the forerunners to today's Congressional Record: the Annals of Congress (1789-1824), Register of Debates (1824-1837), and the Congressional Globe (1833-1873).

High court opinions from 2002 onward, oral arguments, and variety of other case documents. U.S. Reports, under the Opinions tab, compile opinions and other information from the Court since 1991.

The Law Library of Congress has digitized the entire series of U.S. Reports from 1754 to 2012. These are the final versions of the published opinions of the Supreme Court. See the About this Collection tab for more information.

Senate nomination hearings for Supreme Court Justices from William Rehnquist & Lewis Powell (1971) to the present. This site does not include unsuccessful nominations.

Richly annotated text of the U.S. Constitution and all amendments with an historical introduction and complete list of the relevant cases decided by the Supreme Court. This page comprises previous editions of this title and its supplements back to 1992 in PDF format. Also see the Constitution Annotated on Congress.gov for more resources.

Site description: the official open data source of federal spending information, including information about federal awards such as contracts, grants, and loans.

offers clear explanations of the U.S. government's revenue, spending, deficit and debt in brief articles with graphics and key takeaways. The site also offers machine-readable data.

The annual budget is comprised of the President's budget message, a summary budget proposal, detailed appendixes and historical tables for comparison. At the bottom of this page is a link to historical editions of the Budget of the U.S. Government on FRASER.

Administration's argument for their program and the beneficial effect it will have on the U.S. economy. Gives a snapshot of the economy for that year. Each volume contains plenty of historical statistical tables. At the bottom of the page is a link to the FRASER website where volumes from 1947 onward are available.

Organizational chart of the U.S. government and at the agency level. Provides a description, list of personnel, and cites the legislation that initially created each agency or other government body. Govinfo.gov has a historical collection of the earlier manuals.

This is where regulations first appear. The Federal Register is the daily record of proposed rules, final rules, public notices, and Presidential actions (such as executive orders and proclamations). The entire historical run from 1936 forward is now available. At the bottom of the page is a link to the live HTML Federal Register site.

The Code (CFR) brings together the rules published by executive branch agencies and departments, into a systematic whole. Each section (or title, as they are named), covers a general subject, such as the environment, public health, or labor. Proposed rules are originally published in the Federal Register for public review and comment and later codified into the CFR.

Search and download publicly available regulatory material, including Federal Register notices, rules, proposed rules, supporting analysis and public comments. Best search is by docket number which can be found in the Federal Register.

Up-to-date information on regulatory review by the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs. View past and current regulatory agendas by agency, back to 1995. Includes plain language FAQs and links to many related resources.

This is a very good starting place to search for information on a general subject. These are well-researched reports on current events, past legislation, proposals before the current Congress, or any other topic that may be of interest to a member of Congress. The reports here cover a wide range of subjects and provide non-partisan information, usually footnoted so you can trace sources and find further background. The agency continues to add reports from their back file.

This agency audits government programs, and provides oversight and analysis in response to requests from members of Congress. Their online collection of reports dating back to the post-World War II era, is nearly complete.

Publishes authoritative projections of the long-term effects of various budget proposals, congressional bills and government programs. CBO scoring is frequently cited in support of, or opposition to executive and legislative proposals.

Makes available to the public thousands of reports from federal Inspectors General.

The primary audit and oversight agency in the executive branch. Charged with implementation of the President's budget.

Congress.gov hosts these nine brief videos describing the process of legislation as a bill makes its way through both chambers of Congress and eventually to the President. Closed captions and full text transcripts for each video are also available here.

In-depth essays on the Constitution and the Amendments. Other resources include Supreme Court cases that developed the interpretation of the text.

Some resources are local to the Law Library of Congress, but many of the resources referred to here are freely available online.

Explains executive orders and covers issuances earlier than those available on Govinfo.gov.

Explains the process of tracing votes in Congress. Many of the resources are freely available online.

Explains the statutory publication process for federal laws.

Explanation of the process from Congressional Debate to Presidential Communication.

Overview of resources used to research the legislative history of a law.