ENV 2376 Environment and Society: Government Information

a few representative sites... 

Census Bureau 

Department of Energy

Department of Health and Human Services

Department of Interior 

Department of Labor

Environmental Protection Administration

Fish & Wildlife Service

National Biological Service

National Center for Health Statistics

National Research Foundation

National Science Foundation (NSF)  

United States Geological Survey

Congressional Bills available through FDsys at http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/search/home.action

citation example: H. R. 2

The following abbreviations stand for types of legislative documents or Congressional Bills.

H.R.                  House Bill

S.                     Senate Bill

H.J.Res.           House Joint Resolution

S.J.Res.           Senate Joint Resolution

H.Con.Res.       House Concurrent Resolution

S.Con.Res.       Senate Concurrent Resolution

H.Res.             House Simple Resolution

S.Res.              Senate Simple Resolution

Congressional Record. 1873-  Gov. Docs. Compact Shelving X:   and newer at Gov. Docs. X: or http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/search/home.action

U.S. Congressional Serial Set.  Shelved together by serial set number (ex. S.S. 1289) at the end of the compact shelving section or on microfiche. 

Slip Laws. Gov Docs AE 2.110:  . http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/search/home.action

Once a law is signed by the President, it is assigned a public law number and issued in print as a "slip law."

"Pub.L." stands for public laws, "105-276" is the public law number

citation example: Pub.L. 105-276

United States Statutes at Large. Gov Docs AE 2.111:  . http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/search/home.action

At the end of each session of Congress, the slip laws are compiled into bound volumes called the Statutes at Large, and they are known as "session laws." The Statutes at Large present a chronological arrangement of the laws in the exact order that they have been enacted.

A Statutes at Large citation includes the volume number, the abbreviation "stat," and the number of that particular law as assigned in the Statutes at Large.

citation example: 112 stat 3280

United States Code. Gov. Docs. Y 1.2/5:year/vols. http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/search/home.action

Every six years, public laws are incorporated into the United States Code, which is a codification of all general and permanent laws of the United States. The U.S. Code is arranged by subject matter, and it shows the present status of laws that have been amended on one or more occasions.

A U.S. Code citation includes a title number, the abbreviation "USC” or “U.S.C." and a section number.

citation example:  31 USC 511

Regulatory Process

Federal Register. Gov. Docs. AE 2.106:  . http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/search/home.action

The Federal Register is published by the Office of the Federal Register, National Archives and Records Administration  (NARA). It is the official publication for rules, proposed rules, and notices from Federal agencies and organizations, as well as executive orders and other presidential documents.  The Federal Register is published Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.

Each citation includes a volume number, an abbreviation for Federal Register, and a page number.

         citation example:  64FR618

Code of Federal Regulations. AE 2.106/3:  . http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/search/home.action

The Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) is a codification of the general and permanent rules published in the Federal Register by the executive departments and agencies of the Federal Government.

Each citation includes the title number, "cfr" which stands for Code of Federal Regulations, the part number, and  the section number.

Citation example:  7 CFR 246.11