Library Guides: Government Information: Federal

General

A-Z Index of U.S. Government Departments and Agencies
This is a list of U.S. government department and agencies including contact informtation.
Architect of the Capitol
Serving Congress and the Supreme Court, the Architect of the Capitol (AOC) is the builder and steward of the landmark buildings and grounds of Capitol Hill. The AOC staff preserves and maintains the historic buildings, monuments, art and inspirational gardens on the Capitol campus.
DC.gov
Official website for Washington, D.C., the capital city of the United States.
Federal Election Commission (FEC)
An independent regulatory agency administers & enforces the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA), which governs the financing of federal elections. The FEC discloses campaign finance information, enforces the provisions of the law such as the limits and prohibitions on contributions, and oversees the public funding of Presidential elections.
GovInfo
The federal government's main repository of official documents, including the US Code, Statutes at Large, the Federal Register, the Daily Compilation of Presidential Documents, and more.

Metalib This link opens in a new window
a service of the Catalog of U.S. Government Publications (CGP)! MetaLib is a federated search engine that searches multiple U.S. Federal government databases, retrieving reports, articles, and citations while providing direct links to selected resources available online.

USA.gov
Includes docs from all branches of U.S. government. Includes state, local, and tribal docs.
USA Spending
Tracks federal spending to ensure taxpayers can see how their money is being used in communities across America. Learn more on how this money was spent with tools to help you navigate spending from top to bottom.
US Citizen and Immigration Services
The government agency that oversees lawful immigration to the United States.
US Department of State
Website for the US Department of State, The U.S. Department of State, which leads America’s foreign policy through diplomacy, advocacy, and assistance by advancing the interests of the American people, their safety and economic prosperity.
US Population Clock
The U.S. population clock is based on a series of short-term projections for the resident population of the United States. This includes people whose usual residence is in the 50 states and the District of Columbia. These projections do not include members of the Armed Forces overseas, their dependents, or other U.S. citizens residing outside the United States.

Legislative Branch

The legislative branch is made up of the House and Senate, known collectively as the Congress. Among other powers, the legislative branch makes all laws, declares war, regulates interstate and foreign commerce and controls taxing and spending policies. The following are legislative branch organizations.

American State Papers
Comprising a total of thirty-eight physical volumes, contain the legislative and executive documents of Congress during the period 1789 to 1838. The collection includes documents that cover the critical historical gap from 1789 to the printing of the first volume of the U.S. Serial Set in 1817. The books are arranged into ten topical classes or series, including: Foreign Relations, Naval Affairs, Indian Affairs, Post Office Department, Finances, Public Lands, Commerce and Navigation, Claims, Military Affairs, Miscellaneous.
Biographical Directory of the US Congress
A searchable biographical directory of the current members of the US congressional bodies.
Center for Legislative Archives
While congressional publications can be found nationwide, the Center's combination of publications and unpublished committee records make our holdings unique. Their Research Portal will help you get started with your congressional research.
Congress.gov
Congressional documents from 1973 to present.
Congressional Budget Office
Since 1975, CBO has produced independent analyses of budgetary and economic issues to support the Congressional budget process. CBO is strictly nonpartisan, conducts objective, impartial analysis, and hires its employees solely on the basis of professional competence without regard to political affiliation.
Congressional Research Service Reports (CRS)
The Congressional Research Service (CRS) serves as shared staff to congressional committees and Members of Congress. CRS experts assist at every stage of the legislative process — from the early considerations that precede bill drafting, through committee hearings and floor debate, to the oversight of enacted laws and various agency activities.
CQ Congressional Database
An award-winning destination for authoritative information and data on legislation, members, and the history and powers of the U.S. Congress. Researchers will find vast amounts of data and powerful tools to answer questions about members and their legislative voting behavior.
Government Accountability Office
An independent, nonpartisan agency that works for Congress. Often called the "congressional watchdog," GAO examines how taxpayer dollars are spent and provides Congress and federal agencies with objective, reliable information to help the government save money and work more efficiently.
GovTrack.us
Find your representative and senators and legislation that affects you.
Green Book
Published by the Committee on Ways and Means of the United States House of Representatives provides background material and data on the programs within the jurisdiction of the Committee on Ways and Means.
Law Librarian's Legislative Source (LLSDC) Book
A project of LLSDC's Legislative Research Special Interest Section. It was first begun as a printed spiral-bound book in 1992 and was launched as an Internet product in the year 2000 (see the Internet Archive or the Library of Congress collection of Archived Web Sites)
Open Secrets
From the Center for Responsive Politics, the nation's premier research group tracking money in U.S. politics and its effect on elections and public policy. Nonpartisan, independent and nonprofit, the organization aims to create a more educated voter, an involved citizenry and a more transparent and responsive government.
United States Code — Popular Name Tool
This “Popular Name Tool” that has a scroll down bar that lists acts alphabetically by popular name.
US Congressional Serial Set
Commonly referred to as the Serial Set, contains the House and Senate Documents and the House and Senate Reports bound by session of Congress. It began publication with the 15th Congress, 1st Session (1817). Documents before 1817 may be found in the American State Papers. In general, it includes: committee reports related to bills and other matters, presidential communications to Congress, treaty materials, certain executive department publications, and certain non-governmental publications.
US House of Representatives
The website lists current representatives, committees, legislative activity and provides the ability to Watch HouseLive. Legislative Activity is reported, its schedule, Floor proceedings, votes, and Bill & reports. In addition to public disclosure data (financial), the site provides information on Representatives.
US Senate
The web site lists and contains information on the current Senators and the committees on which they are serving. It provides access to tools for searching for bills, a floor webcasts of Senate hearings, roll call votes, Senate legislative calendar a listing of active legislation and much more.

Executive Branch

The executive branch consists of the President, his or her advisors and various departments and agencies. This branch is responsible for enforcing the laws of the land. Below, find links to the executive branch organizations and agencies related to the presidency.

President Obama was invited to offer the Commencement Speech at Notre Dame on May 17, 2009. For more information, see the Observer Article in the Notre Dame University Archives, Digital Collections.

44th President Obama's Notre Dame commencement speech

The Presidency

The American Presidency Project (Carter 1977-G.W. Bush January 29, 2009)
A non-profit and non-partisan source of presidential documents on the internet, hosted at the University of California, Santa Barbara.
Daily Compilation of Presidential Documents
A searchable index by Hein Online of daily presidential documents.
Executive Orders and Other Presidential Documents
Sources and explanations for executive orders and other presidential documents. Part of the research materials on LLSDC's Legislative Source Book
Official US Executive Branch Websites (portal)
A portal listing links to many of the Executive Branch sites.
Papers of the Presidents (1991-present)
Automated search of the collected papers of the US presidents, 1991-present.

The White House

The White House
The official website for the US White House. The White House website includes information about the current administration, the history of the White House, and facts about the three branches of government. It also includes the current President's speeches, remarks, and statements on issues.

Executive Agencies

Official US Executive Branch Websites (portal)
A portal listing links to many of the Executive Branch sites.

Judicial Branch

The judicial branch consists of the U.S. Supreme Court and the Federal Judicial Center. According to the Constitution, "[t]he judicial Power of the United States, shall be vested in one supreme Court, and in such inferior Courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish." The Federal Judicial Center is the education and research agency for the federal courts.

Supreme Court of the United States
The official website for the Supreme Court of the United States.
Oyez
A free law project at Chicago-Kent, is a multimedia archive devoted to making the Supreme Court of the United States accessible to everyone. It is a complete and authoritative source for all of the Court’s audio since the installation of a recording system in October 1955. Oyez exclusively offers transcript-synchronized and searchable audio, plain-English case summaries, illustrated decision information, and opinions. Oyez also provides detailed information on every justice throughout history and offers a panoramic tour of the Supreme Court building, including the chambers of several justices.

Regulations

Office of the Federal Register
The Office of the Federal Register (OFR) prepares and publishes a wide variety of public documents. Upon issuance, acts of Congress are published in slip law (pamphlet) form and then cumulated and published for each session of Congress in the United States Statutes at Large.
Reginfo.gov
Reviews Federal regulations and information collections. Also develops and oversees the implementation of government-wide policies on information technology, information quality, privacy, and statistics.
Title 21
Covers regulations for food & drugs. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is a scientific regulatory agency responsible for the safety of the nation's domestically produced and imported foods, cosmetics, drugs, biologics, medical devices, and radiological products. It also covers the regulations regarding Clinical Research.