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SOCW 584/585: National Social Welfare Policy

This page facilitates access to electronic and print-format reference sources related to social policy development in the United States.

• Federal Legislative Sources
• Regulatory Sources
• Program Evaluation
• Statistics
• U.S. Government Search Engines

Federal Legislative Sources

Web sites/Databases:

• LexisNexis Congressional
  Provides histories of laws and bills with links to related congressional texts and information on members of Congress.
• Thomas
  Also provides histories of laws and bills, and reveals the relationships between legislative documents.
• GPO Access
  Offers full-text documents of executive agencies, the courts, and Congress, including hearings (with appendices).
• U.S. House of Representatives
  In addition to the web sites of House members and committees, includes links to legislative texts through Laws of the United States.
• U.S. Senate
  Offers access to committee and member web sites, and a collection of miscellaneous guides, lists, and other material known as the Virtual Reference Desk.

Analytical aids:

• CQ Weekly (1998-present)
  Summarizes and interprets legislative activity in concise, authoritative articles. Continues the Congressional Quarterly Weekly Report (328.7305 COQa, 1956-1998).
• CQ Almanac (2007-present)
  328.7305 COQ1a (Reading Room; Undergraduate Library)
  No source provides a better overview of Congressional activity during a given year. Continues CQ Almanac Plus (328.7305 COQ1, 2001-2006).
• Congress and the Nation: A Review of Government and Politics
  Covers the work of Congress in five-year increments (except in volume 1, which deals with the period 1945-1964). The most recent volume covers 2001-2004.

Handbooks and Guides:

• How a Bill Becomes a Law (LexisNexis)
  For detailed information, click on the part of the graphic that you need.
• Tying It All Together: Learn about the Legislative Process (House of Representatives)
   An outline of the U.S. government legislative process.
• Congress A to Z, 4th ed. Table of contents
  328.73003 C76 2003 (Education and Social Science Library; Reading Room)
  Explains congressional processes in accessible prose.
• How Congress Works, 3rd ed.  
  328.73 H83 1998 (Reading Room)
  Another excellent introduction to congressional processes.

Regulatory Sources

Note:  When searching for regulations, first identify their source.

Federal Register:

• GPO Access
• Lexis-Nexis Congressional  Click on 'Regulations' in the side bar.

The daily Federal Register contains proposed rules and final rules arranged by executive body. The Federal Register's final rules make up the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). Each edition is arranged by executive body. A typical citation consists of a volume number, the acronym 'FR', a page number, and a year, as in 46 FR 3566 (1981).

Code of Federal Regulations:

• GPO Access
• Lexis-Nexis Congressional  Click on 'Regulations' in the side bar.

The Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) contains regulations printed as final rules in the Federal Register that are currently in force. It is published annually, and the content of the print and online versions is identical. A CFR reference consists of a title number, the acronym 'CFR', a section number, and a year, as in 40 CFR 211.10 (1978).

Program Evaluation

• General Accounting Office/Government Accountability Office
  The GAO carries out audits and evaluations of government programs and activities.  While some GAO reviews are required by law, the majority are undertaken at the request of a Congressional committee.  The site includes a search by broad subject area (see Reports and Testimonies).  GAO reports may also be accessed through the Library's online catalog.
• Green Book (Background Material and Data on Major Programs within the Jurisdiction of the Committee on Ways and Means)
  A standard reference book on social policy, the Green Book consists of detailed program descriptions and statistical appendices. Issued every other year. Also available in print in the Reading Room (DOC.Y4.W36:10-4/).
• Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance 
  The Catalog is a compendium of information on federal programs, projects, services, and activities that provide assistance or benefits to individuals. Also available in print in the Reading Room (DOC.PREX2.20:).
• Congressional Budget Office
  The CBO estimates the cost of implementing each bill. Click on 'Cost estimates' and enter a bill number to get these figures for a particular piece of legislation.

Statistics

• Statistical Abstract of the United States
  When looking for U.S. government or state data, start here. Note that the index in many older volumes refers you to table numbers, not page numbers. Also issued in print (DOC.C3.134:).
• FedStats
  Provides links to statistical databases of U.S. government agencies.
• U.S. Bureau of the Census
  The Census Bureau is the main source of demographic, social, and economic data for the United States.  For 1990 and 2000 Census data, search the Bureau's American FactFinder.
• LexisNexis Statistical
  The statistical module of LexisNexis indexes and abstracts tables published in a wide array of governmental and private sources.
• Statistical Resources on the Web
  The links on this site lead to data in every field.

U.S. Government Search Engines

USA .gov
The U.S. Government's portal for local, state, and U.S. government information.
Google U.S. Government Search
Search for content located on U.S. federal, state, or local government websites.

For comments on this page contact: Government Documents Library

Last modified by: David Griffiths on 8/31/09