Research Guides: U.S. Government Information: U.S. & Federal Government Information

Find information by Government Branch

Data.census.gov
Population, Housing, Economic, and Geographic data from the Census Bureau. Also includes maps, statistics, fact sheets and other publications. Covering data 2010 - Present.

Catalog of U.S. Government Publications (CGP)
Contains descriptive records for historical and current federal publications and provides direct links to those that are available online. Covers print and electronic publications created by Federal agencies and Congress. 1976 - present.

CIA World Factbook
"The World Factbook provides information on the history, people, government, economy, geography, communications, transportation, military, and transnational issues for 267 world entities."
Click on Select a Country to View

WhiteHouse.gov
Provides access to Presidential statements, briefings, executive orders and more.
Compilation of Presidential Documents
Available through GovInfo, includes official publications released by the White House Press Secretary from 1993 to the present.
The American Presidency Project
(created by the University of California at Santa Barbara) provides access to Presidential papers, including public papers, news conferences, executive orders, economic reports, speeches and more.
HeinOnline U.S. Presidential Library
contains "Messages and Papers of the Presidents," "Public Papers of the Presidents," Presidential proclamations, executive orders and many other Presidential documents (requires UMD login and password).

U.S. Courts
Provides information about U.S. Federal Courts and their judges, court records from 1999 to the present, where to locate federal courts and more.
Supreme Court Website
This website has slip opinions, electronic versions of the United States Reports (volume 502 onward), and other useful information for Supreme Court cases. Authors of that site caution users that print versions are the official source.
http://www.supremecourtus.gov
Federal Judicial Center
The research and education agency of the federal judicial system, makes many of its research publications available on its website.

CapitolHearings.org
Distributes audio coverage of U.S. Senate Committee hearings (streamed by C-SPAN).
A Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation
The Library of Congress provides access to records and acts of Congress from 1774 through 1873 (1st through 43rd Congresses), including Congressional journals, debates, bills, resolutions and more.
Congress.gov
Congress.gov is the official website for U.S. federal legislative information.
Congressional Publications (Proquest)
Full-text Congressional publications database. Includes: hearings, legislative histories, committee prints and reports, House and Senate documents, Congressional Record, Serial Set, CRS Reports, bills, public laws, regulations...
The Federal Register
The Daily Journal of the United States Government
GovInfo
Provides free public access to official publications from all three branches of the Federal Government.
U.S. Code
Search for information about U.S. laws (through the Office of the Law Revision Counsel of the U.S. House of Representatives).
U.S. Code of Federal Regulations
Full text of the Code of Federal Regulations.

For Legislative Branch Information

The databases listed below are best bets for finding government information. Information on all databases that UMCP subscribes to can be accessed through the Libraries' Database Finder.

Congress.gov
Congress.gov is the official website for U.S. federal legislative information.

Congressional Publications
Access to the full text of congressional publications. Includes: hearings, legislative histories, committee prints and reports, House and Senate documents, Congressional Record, Serial Set, CRS Reports, bills, public laws, regulations...
Congressional hearings, public issues, legislation, history, and legal research.

Congressional Quarterly Congress Collection
An analytical survey of the history and development; powers; personalities; current developments; and legislation considered and passed by the U.S. Congress. Includes data on voting alignments, interest group ratings, advanced CQ key vote analysis, and advanced member analysis.

HeinOnline U.S. Federal Legislative Histories Library
The Sources of Compiled Legislative Histories Database (1789 -2002) is derived from the looseleaf publication /Sources of Compiled Legislative Histories: A Bibliography of Government Documents, Periodical Articles, and Books/. All compilations for major laws are included in the database with the following exceptions: appropriations measures; ceremonial matters; laws that extend the life of an agency or authority; and laws that affect small numbers of persons or specific regions of the country. The sources for these compilations include congressional documents, legal periodicals, treatises and looseleaf services. The Legislative History Title Collection is a collection of full-text legislative histories on some of the most important and historically significant legislation of our time.
Notes: PDF printing requires Adobe Acrobat Reader 5.0 or later.

Congressional Quarterly Almanac
Coverage and analysis of U.S. congressional legislation from 1945 to today. Provides in-depth analysis of the path legislation takes through Congress, including how bills are changed, derailed, or ultimately passed during an annual session of Congress. Updated annually.

For Executive Branch Information

All databases that UMCP subscribes to can be accessed through the Libraries' Database Finder.:

HeinOnline U.S. Presidential Library
Full-text access to a wide variety of Presidential documents, including: /Messages and Papers of the Presidents/ (Washington to McKinley); /Compilation of Messages and Papers of the Presidents/ (Washington to Hoover); /Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States/ (Hoover to George W. Bush); /Inaugural Addresses of Presidents of the United States /(various U.S. Presidents); /Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents/ (1965-2006); /Economic Reports of the President/ (1947-2006); /List and Index of Presidential Executive Orders, 1789 to 1941/; and /Presidential Executive Orders/ (1862-1938).
PDF printing requires Adobe Acrobat Reader 5.0 or later.

Congressional Quarterly Voting & Elections Collection
Full-text database of statistics, analyses, definitions, and historical material on the American voter, major and minor political parties, campaigns and elections, and historical and modern races for Congress, the presidency, and governorships.

Federal Register
Official daily publication for rules, proposed rules, and notices of federal agencies and organizations, as well as executive orders and other presidential documents. 1994 - present.

For Judicial Branch Information

All databases that UMCP subscribes to can be accessed through the Libraries' Database Finder.

Congressional Quarterly Supreme Court Collection
Summaries and analyses for over 4,000 major decisions, as well as links to further relevant information. Users can access information by topic, justice, and case name.

HeinOnline U.S. Supreme Court Library
Full-text access to cases published in /U.S. Reports/ volumes 1 to 540 (1754 to 2003), as well as more recent slip opinions. Includes /U.S. Reports Preliminary Prints/ volumes 535 to 543 (2002-2005), /U.S. Reports Slip Opinions /(2002 - ), several historical texts on the Supreme Court, plus the periodicals /Supreme Court Economic Review /(1982-2000) and /Supreme Court Review /(1960-2000) PDF printing requires Adobe Acrobat Reader 5.0 or later.

U.S. Courts Opinions
United States Courts Opinions (USCOURTS) collection is a pilot project between the U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO) and the Administrative Office of the United States Courts (AOUSC) to provide public access to opinions from selected United States appellate, district, and bankruptcy courts. The content of this collection dates back to April 2004, though searchable electronic holdings for some courts may be incomplete for this earlier time period.
U.S. Courts
Provides information about U.S. Federal Courts and their judges, court records from 1999 to the present, where to locate federal courts and more.
PACER
PACER (Public Access to Court Electronic Records) provides public access to case and docket information from federal appellate, district and bankruptcy courts, and the PACER Case Locator.