Finding Government Resources

Portals to U.S. Government Resources

Use the links below to search for government resources.

Small Business Section of the USA.gov Website
The United States government's "one-stop platform" to locate government services to help businesses.
Data.gov
"The federal government possesses a trove of big data—a commodity increasingly important to businesses, researchers and academics. So it is starting to open up that data to the public online at data.gov." (Quote is from "The People's Choice: Distrust" article in "The Wall Street Journal" of 7/19/13 that is included on the "About" page of the website as of 7/26/13.)
FedStats
"FedStats is your one location for access to the full breadth of Federal statistical information." (Quote is from the website itself.)
FedWorld.Gov
The purpose of FedWorld is "to serve as the online locator service for a comprehensive inventory of information disseminated by the Federal Government." It is managed by the National Technical Information Service (NTIS), an agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce. (Quote is from the website itself.)
Forms.gov
Use this site to find federal government forms and applications as well as state tax forms.
govinfo
Provides free public access to the full text of official publications from all three branches of the Federal Government.
Grants.gov
Use this site to find, apply for, and track federal grants.
USA.gov
The federal government's portal for accessing government information and services via the Internet. Make use not only of the search-box feature, but also the resources found in the "Get Services," "Blog," "Explore Topics," "Find Government Agencies," "Popular Topics," and "Just for You" sections.

The U.S. Government Manual

Use the handbook below for descriptions of, and links to, the three branches of the federal government and their departments, agencies, etc. There is also information on international organizations to which the U.S. belongs.

U.S. Government Manual
The Federal Government's official handbook.

Legislative Branch Websites

The sites below: (1) explain how federal laws are made, (2) provide information about the U.S. House, the U.S. Senate, and the agencies that support them, and (3) allow you to track bills, issues, and the voting records of U.S. Senators and Representatives.

Congress.gov
Congress.gov is the official website for U.S. federal legislative information. The site provides access to accurate, timely, and complete legislative information for Members of Congress, legislative agencies, and the public.
GovTrack.us
GovTrack.us is a tool by Civic Impulse, LLC to help the public research and track the activities in the U.S. Congress, promoting and innovating government transparency and civic education through novel uses of technology.
How Federal Laws are Made
Outline of the legislative process compiled by the Library of Congress.
Legislative Branch
The White House webpage outlining the role of the Legislative Branch in the federal goverment
Branches of the Federal Government (usa.gov)
Learn about the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of the U.S. government.
Library of Congress: Congressional Information
Provides access to Congressional information available on the Library of Congress Web site.
Open Congress
Track bills, votes & issues
Resources for Legislative Researchers
Compiled by the Library of Congress.
Roll Call
The official congressional newspaper
Thomas.gov
Library of Congress' current site for legislative information. It presently encompasses more information than Congress.gov, but will eventually be replaced by Congress.gov.
U.S. House of Representatives
The homepage of the United States House of Representatives.
U.S. Senate
The homepage of the United States Senate

State and Local Governments

The sites below lead you to:

1) The websites of individual states and their legislative bodies, courts, and statewide agencies and offices.

2) The websites of individual county and city governments.

3) State court opinions, statutes, consitutions, legislative resources, and topic guides.

4) Other information.

State Agency Databases as Posted on the American Library Association's GODORT Page
"In every US State and the District of Columbia, agencies are creating databases of useful information .... Since July 2007, librarians and other government information specialists have been working on identifying and annotating these databases in one place. We've chased across fifty state web sites so you don't have to!" (Quote is from the website itself.)
FindLaw's Cases and Codes Section
Choose the appropriate state from the list of state resources.
Law Library of Congress' Guide to Law Online for U.S. States and Territories
"The Guide to Law Online ... is an annotated guide to sources of information on government and law available online. It includes selected links to useful and reliable sites for legal information." (Quote is from the Law Library of Congress' website.)
Legal Information Institute (LII): Collection of State Legal Materials
This collection "gathers, state by state, Internet-accessible sources of the constitutions, statutes, judicial opinions, and regulations for the fifty states, plus D.C., and the U.S. territories and affiliated jurisdictions." (Quote is from the website itself.)
National Association of Counties (NACO)
To get specific county information and links:
1) Click on the "About Counties" tab near the top.
2) Click on the "Find a County" link.
State and Local Government on the Net
"One-stop access to the websites of thousands of state agencies and city and county governments" (Quote is from the website itself.)
State Government on the GovSpot.com Website
"GovSpot.com makes it easy to find the best government Web sites and documents, facts and figures, news, political information and much more." (Quote is from the website itself.)
State Legislatures Internet Links from the National Conference of State Legislatures' Website
"This database contains information gleaned from the home pages and websites of the fifty state legislatures, the District of Columbia and the Territories. You can select to view specific website content materials (such as, bills, press rooms, statutes) from all states, one state or a selected list of states." (Quote is from the website itself.)

U.S. Executive Branch Departments with Jurisdiction on Health Matters

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services
"The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is the United States government’s principal agency for protecting the health of all Americans and providing essential human services, especially for those who are least able to help themselves." (Quote is from the website itself.)
U.S. Department of Labor
See the links for "Health Plans & Benefits" and "Affordable Care Act."

Columbia College

Legal and Ethical Aspects of Healthcare - MGMT 353 Resource Guide: Finding Government Resources

Portals to U.S. Government Resources

The U.S. Government Manual

Legislative Branch Websites

State and Local Governments

U.S. Executive Branch Departments with Jurisdiction on Health Matters

U.S. House and Senate Committees with Jurisdiction on Health Matters