Researching Current Federal Legislation and
Regulations: A Guide to Resources for
Congressional Staff
Jerry W. Mansfield
Information Research Specialist
February 19, 2014
Congressional Research Service
7-5700
www.crs.gov
RL33895
Researching Current Federal Legislation and Regulations
Summary
Congressional Staff
November 9, 2015
(RL33895)
Jump to Main Text of Report
Summary
This report is designed to introduce congressional staff to selected governmental and
nongovernmental sources that are useful in tracking and obtaining information on federal
legislation and regulations. It includes governmental sources, such as
the Legislative Information
System (LIS), THOMASCongress.gov, the Government
PrintingPublishing Office
’'s Federal Digital System (FDsys), and
U.S. Senate and House websites. Nongovernmental or commercial sources include resources such
as HeinOnline and the Congressional Quarterly (CQ) websites.
ItThe report also highlights classes offered
by the Congressional Research Service (CRS) and the Law Library of Congress.
This report will be updated as new information is available.
Congressional Research Service
Researching Current Federal Legislation and Regulations
Contents
Researching Current Federal Legislation ........................................................................................ 1
Governmental Sources............................................................................................................... 1
Nongovernmental Sources......................................................................................................... 5
Researching Current Federal Regulations ....................................................................................... 8
Governmental Sources............................................................................................................... 8
Nongovernmental Sources......................................................................................................... 9
Media Sources ............................................................................................................................... 10
CRS Resources .............................................................................................................................. 11
Classes at CRS......................................................................................................................... 11
Congressional Dictionary ........................................................................................................ 12
Selected CRS Reports.............................................................................................................. 12
Contacts
Author Contact Information........................................................................................................... 13
Congressional Research Service
Researching Current Federal Legislation and Regulations
Researching Current Federal Legislation and Regulations: A Guide to Resources for Congressional Staff
Researching Current Federal Legislation
Researching current federal legislation includes identifying action on pending or passed
legislation and locating the relevant documents or text. Analysis, discussion, or media coverage of
pending or passed legislation also has a role in the legislative research process.
These functions
may be accomplished by using governmental, congressional, or commercial services.
Governmental Sources
Congressional Record
http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/browse/collection.action?collectionCode=CREC and available via
the Legislative Information System at http://www.congress.gov
Action on legislation passed or pending in the current Congress, and its status in the legislative
process, is reported in the Congressional Record. The Record also contains the edited transcript of
activities on the floor of the House and Senate. It is the primary source for the text of floor
debates and the official source for recorded votes. The Record is published each day that one or
both chambers are in session, except in instances when two or more consecutive issues are printed
together.
The Record’s Daily Digest section summarizes action in each chamber and identifies committee
hearings, new public laws, official foreign travel reports, procedural agreements, Senate
unanimous consent agreements, treaties and nominations actions, and committee meetings
scheduled for the next legislative day.
Indexes for the Record are issued twice a month. The Subject Index section can be used to
identify bills by topic, and the History of Bills and Resolutions section tracks action on special
bills.
Daily Compilation of Presidential Documents
http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/browse/collection.action?collectionCode=CPD
Published by the Office of the Federal Register, the Daily Compilation of Presidential Documents
(and its predecessor, the Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents) provides the dates on
which the President signed or vetoed legislation. It also contains transcripts of presidential
messages to Congress, executive orders, press releases, nominations submitted to the Senate,
speeches, and other material released by the White House.
Legislative Information System
http://www.congress.gov
The Legislative Information System (LIS) provides Members of Congress and their staff access
Such research may be accomplished by using governmental, congressional, or commercial services.
Governmental Sources
Congress.Govhttp://www.congress.gov
Congress.gov provides Members of Congress, their staff, and the general public access to a wide variety of information, including bill summary and status
;, bill text
;, committee referrals
and committee reports
;, sponsors and cosponsors
;, and Congressional Record
text.
A version of a bill or resolution will typically appear in Congress.gov a day or two after it is introduced or text.1
1
LIS is managed by the Congressional Research Service in conjunction with multiple congressional offices and is only
available on Legislative branch computers. The public equivalent of LIS is THOMAS. A new public beta website was
(continued...)
Congressional Research Service
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Researching Current Federal Legislation and Regulations
Congressional staff may use the LIS Alert Service to obtain e-mail alerts regarding action on bills
and amendments for subjects that they identify. Once established, alerts run automatically and
generate e-mails Monday through Friday when there is new information. To subscribe, go to LIS
Alerts at http://www.congress.gov/help/about-alert.html.
A version of a bill or resolution will typically appear in LIS a day or two after it is introduced or
has had action on the floor of the House or Senate. The text of bills is published by the
Government
PrintingPublishing Office (GPO) and sent to the Library of Congress at various times
throughout the day.
For an estimate as to when GPO will publish a bill, contact the
•
GPO Congressional Desk for House bill versions at 202-512-0224 or
•
Senate Bill Clerk for Senate bill versions at 202-224-2118.
Note that the bill number may not determine the chamber for the most recent version
. For
—for example,
"H.R. 1792 RS
" is a Senate version (RS=Reported in Senate) of a House bill.
Beta.Congress.gov
http://beta.congress.gov
Launched on September 19, 2012, beta.congress.gov will eventually replace THOMAS and LIS.
The following URLs currently exist side-by-side:
•
congress.gov─For the public, redirects to beta.congress.gov. For legislative
branch devices, continues to go to LIS.
•
thomas.loc.gov─For all users, goes to the beta site. Thomas is currently
accessible from the home page of the beta site.
•
beta.congress.gov─For all users, goes directly to the beta site. As the adjective
“beta” implies, this product is a work in progress; additional content and
functionality are being phased in incrementally. The beta site provides (1) a
single search across all available information and all dates; (2) meaningful,
permanent URLs; (3) “Faceted search”;2 and (4) Member profiles and legislative
histories.
The beta site permits legislative branch devices only to access CRS reports and products
from bill records, the homepage, and help pages.
(...continued)
released by the Library of Congress in mid-September 2012. This website will eventually replace both LIS and
THOMAS.
2
Faceted search is the dynamic clustering of search results into categories that let users drill into the search results (or
even skip searching entirely) by any value in any field. Each facet displayed also shows the number of hits within the
search that match that category. Users can then “drill down” by applying specific constraints to the search results.
Faceted search is also called faceted browsing, faceted navigation, or guided navigation.
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GPO Federal Digital System
http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys
The Government Printing Office’s Federal Digital System (FDsys) is a website that enables GPO
to display and deliver information from all branches of the U.S. government. Materials available
Guidance in the use of Congress.gov is available at http://www.congress.gov/help.
The Congress.gov Alert Service is available to everyone who wants to obtain email alerts regarding action on bills and amendments for subjects that they identify. Once established, alerts run automatically and generate emails Monday through Friday when there is new information. To learn more about alerts and how to create them, a brief video is available at https://www.congress.gov/help/tips/managing-alerts.
Congressional Recordhttp://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/browse/collection.action?collectionCode=CREC and available viaCongress.gov at http://www.congress.gov.
Action on legislation passed or pending in the current Congress, and its status in the legislative process, is reported in the Congressional Record. The Record also contains the edited transcript of activities on the floor of the House and Senate. It is the primary source for the text of floor debates and the official source for recorded votes. The Record is published each day that one or both chambers are in session, except in instances when two or more consecutive issues are printed together.
The Record's Daily Digest section summarizes action in each chamber and identifies committee hearings, new public laws, official foreign travel reports, procedural agreements, Senate unanimous consent agreements, treaties and nominations actions, and committee meetings scheduled for the next legislative day.
Indexes for the Record are issued twice a month. The Subject Index section can be used to identify bills by topic, and the History of Bills and Resolutions section tracks action on all legislation.
Daily Compilation of Presidential Documentshttp://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/browse/collection.action?collectionCode=CPD
Published by the Office of the Federal Register, the Daily Compilation of Presidential Documents (and its predecessor, the Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents) provides the dates on which the President signed or vetoed legislation. It also contains transcripts of presidential messages to Congress, executive orders, press releases, nominations submitted to the Senate, speeches, and other material released by the White House.
GPO Federal Digital Systemhttp://www.gpo.gov/fdsys
The Government Publishing Office's Federal Digital System (FDsys) is a website that enables GPO to display and deliver information from all branches of the U.S. government. Materials available on FDsys include the full text of bills, the Congressional Record and the Congressional Record
Index Index (which includes the History of Bills and Resolutions section), congressional calendars,
public laws, selected congressional reports and documents, the Daily Compilation of Presidential
Documents,
the Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents, the Federal Register, and the
Code of Federal Regulations
. Coverage for each of these publications varies.
Legislative Information Systemhttp://www.lis.gov
The predecessor to Congress.gov, the Legislative Information System (LIS), is still available but only to congressional staff. It is as current as Congress.gov and will continue to be available while further developments and improvements are made to Congress.gov. A specific date has not been set but plans are to retire LIS after the close of calendar year 2016. Alerts that previously existed in LIS must be recreated in Congress.gov.
U. S. House of Representatives Home Pagehttp://www.house.gov
This website has information available from and about the House of Representatives, including the following:
Congressional calendarsHouse calendars (104th Congress, 1995-present)http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/browse/collection.action?collectionCode=CCAL
House committee activitieshttp://www.house.gov/committees
Directory of Representatives by state, district, and namehttp://www.house.gov/representatives
The chamber's leadershiphttp://www.house.gov/leadership
House roll call votes starting with the 101st Congress, second session (1990)http://clerk.house.gov/legislative/legvotes.aspx
Brief descriptions of floor proceedings when the House is in sessionhttp://clerk.house.gov/floorsummary/floor.aspxU. S. Senate Home Pagehttp://www.senate.gov
Materials of legislative interest offered from and about the Senate include the following:
Congressional calendarsSenate calendars (104th Congress, 1995-present)http://www.senate.gov/pagelayout/legislative/d_three_sections_with_teasers/calendars.htm
Background information on and links to materials on the legislative process, including a "How a Bill Becomes a Law" flowcharthttp://www.senate.gov/pagelayout/legislative/d_three_sections_with_teasers/process.htm
Senate roll call votes starting with the 101st Congress (1989-1990)http://www.senate.gov/pagelayout/legislative/a_three_sections_with_teasers/votes.htm
The chamber's leadershiphttp://www.senate.gov/pagelayout/senators/a_three_sections_with_teasers/leadership.htm
Descriptions of the Senate committee system and of individual committeeshttp://www.senate.gov/pagelayout/committees/d_three_sections_with_teasers/committees_home.htm
Directories of Senators by name, state, class (term expiration date), and partyhttp://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm
Glossary of common legislative termshttp://www.senate.gov/pagelayout/reference/b_three_sections_with_teasers/glossary.htmCapitol Hill Resource Centers
House Documents Roomhttp://clerk.house.gov/legislative/housedoc.aspx
The House documents website provides links to sources for electronic copies of congressional bills, resolutions, and committee reports via the House Library and GPO's FDsys. Cannon House Office Building 1069:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m. Monday-FridayPhone: [phone number scrubbed].
A weekly compilation of measures that may be considered on the House floor is available from the . Coverage for each of these publications varies.
THOMAS
http://thomas.loc.gov
LOC makes information on federal legislation freely available to the public through THOMAS.
Using THOMAS, one may track bills and resolutions, public laws and other activities of
Congress, and access the Congressional Record. Background information on and links to material
concerning the legislative process, specifically the publication “How Our Laws Are Made,”
prepared by the parliamentarian of the House of Representatives, are available at
http://thomas.loc.gov/home/lawsmade.toc.html#.
For assistance using LIS or THOMAS, contact
•
CRS La Follette Congressional Reading Room 707-7100 | CRS Senate Center
707-5978 or
•
LIS Team lismail@crs.loc.gov | Senate Library 224-5978 | House Call Center
225-6002
House of Representatives Home Page
http://www.house.gov
This website has information available from and on the House of Representatives, including the
following:
•
Congressional calendars
House calendars (104th Congress, 1995-present)
http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/browse/collection.action?collectionCode=CCAL
•
House and committee activities
http://www.house.gov/committees
•
Legislative schedules
http://clerk.house.gov/floorsummary/floor.aspx
•
Directories of Representatives by state, district, and name
http://www.house.gov/representatives
•
The chamber’s leadership
http://www.house.gov/leadership
•
House roll call votes starting with the 101st Congress, second session (1990)
http://clerk.house.gov/legislative/legvotes.aspx
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•
Brief descriptions of floor proceedings when the House is in session
http://clerk.house.gov/floorsummary/floor.aspx
House Documents
http://clerk.house.gov/legislative/housedoc.aspx
The House documents website provides links to sources for electronic copies of congressional
bills, resolutions, and committee reports via the House Library, LOC’s THOMAS, and GPO’s
FDsys. The House documents room, located in B106 of the Cannon House Office Building, can
be reached at (202) 226-5200.
A weekly compilation of bills that may be considered on the House floor is available from the
Office of the Clerk at http://docs.house.gov
.
.
House Legislative Resource Center
http://clerk.house.gov/about/offices_Lrc.aspx
The Legislative Resource Center (LRC)
, located in B106 of the Cannon House Office Building,
provides centralized access to all published documents originated and produced by the House and
its committees, the historical records of the House since 1792, and legislative and legal reference
resources. Congressional staff can retrieve legislative information and records of the House for
congressional offices and the public by calling (202) 226-5200.
Senate Home Page
http://www.senate.gov
Materials of legislative interest offered from and on the Senate include the following:
•
Congressional calendars
Senate calendars (104th Congress, 1995-present)
http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/browse/collection.action?collectionCode=CCAL
•
Background information on and links to materials on the legislative process,
including a “How a Bill Becomes a Law” flowchart
http://www.senate.gov/pagelayout/legislative/d_three_sections_with_teasers/
process.htm
•
Senate roll call votes starting with the 101st Congress (1989-1990)
http://www.senate.gov/pagelayout/legislative/a_three_sections_with_teasers/
votes.htm
•
The chamber’s leadership
http://www.senate.gov/pagelayout/senators/a_three_sections_with_teasers/
leadership.htm
•
Descriptions of the Senate committee system and of individual committees
http://www.senate.gov/pagelayout/committees/d_three_sections_with_teasers/
committees_home.htm
•
Directories of Senators by name, state, class (term expiration date), and party
http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm
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•
Glossary of common legislative terms
http://www.senate.gov/pagelayout/reference/b_three_sections_with_teasers/
glossary.htm
Senate Printing and Documents Service
http://www.senate.gov/legislative/common/generic/Doc_Room.htm
The Senate documents room provides copies of bills, reports, Senate documents, and laws.
Contact information is as follows:
B-04 Hart Senate Building Office
9:00 a.m.-5:30 p.m., Monday-Friday
Phone: (202) 224-7701 (availability inquiries only)
Fax: (202) 228-2815
E-mail: orders@sec.senate.gov
Daily Schedule Information
Both parties in the Senate and the House provide recorded messages about the proceedings on the
floor of each chamber every day they are in session. Call the following numbers for cloakroom
recordings:
Senate at (202) 224-8541 (Democratic) or (202) 224-8601 (Republican)
House at (202) 225-7400 (Democratic) or (202) 225-7430 (Republican)
Public Laws Update Service
Information on new public law numbers assigned to recently enacted laws can be obtained from a
recorded message maintained by the National Archives and Records Administration’s Office of
the Federal Register at (202) 741-6043 or by subscribing to its Public Laws Electronic
Notification Service (PENS). To subscribe, send an e-mail to listserv@www.gsa.gov with the text
message “SUBSCRIBE PUBLAWS-L.”
White House Executive Clerk’s Office
By way of a recorded message, the Office of the Executive Clerk at the White House provides
dates for the following information: presidential signings or vetoes of recent legislation,
presidential messages, executive orders, and other official presidential action. If the desired
information is not in the taped message, callers can stay on the line to speak with a staffer. The
recorded message is available at (202) 456-2226.
Nongovernmental Sources
The inclusion of a web-based product under this heading does not imply CRS endorsement of the
product.
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Bloomberg Government
http://www.bgov.com
A fee-based subscription database that provides analysis as well as content from news sources
worldwide. Services include alerts, transcripts, searchable legislation, congressional, state, and
district profiles, and more. Coverage for most historical data begins with the 109th Congress
(2005-2006).
CQ.com
http://www.cq.com
This fee-based subscription database provides bill texts, summaries, tracking, and analysis.
Among its other features are forecasts of major pending bills; versions of bills; links to related
bills; roll-call votes; legislative histories; floor and committee schedules; detailed committee
coverage; texts of committee reports; transcripts of witnesses’ testimony; and publications such as
the CQ Weekly, CQ Almanac, and the congressional offices and the public by contacting the LRC.
Cannon House Office Building 1359:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m. Monday-FridayPhone: [phone number scrubbed]
House Libraryhttp://library.clerk.house.gov
The House Library provides legislative, law, and general reference services to Members of Congress, congressional staff, and the public. Library staff conducts monthly classes on a variety of topics including how to access and use online resources. The reading room has reference materials and computers on which one may access subscription databases; tours may be arranged upon request. A House Library Portal is available for House staff only access at http://library.house.gov.
Cannon House Office Building 2639:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m. Monday-FridayPhone: [phone number scrubbed]
Senate Libraryhttp://webster.senate.gov/library (Not a public access site)
The Senate Library serves present and former Senators, Member and committee staff, Senate leadership, and Senate officers. The Library provides legislative, historic, legal, business and general reference materials and research services. The Senate Library has a reading room, study carrels, computers, and a scanning and microform center; tours are available upon request.
Senate Russell Office Building B-159:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m. Monday-Friday or as long as the Senate is in sessionPhone: [phone number scrubbed].
Senate Printing and Documents Servicehttp://www.senate.gov/legislative/common/generic/Doc_Room.htm
The Senate Documents Room provides copies of bills, reports, Senate documents, and laws. Contact information is as follows:
Hart Senate Building Office B-049:00 a.m.-5:30 p.m., Monday-FridayPhone: [phone number scrubbed] (availability inquiries only)Fax: [phone number scrubbed]E-mail: [email address scrubbed]
Schedule and Legislative Update Services
Daily Schedule Information
Both parties in the Senate and the House provide recorded messages about the proceedings on the floor of each chamber every day they are in session. Call the following numbers for cloakroom recordings:
Senate at [phone number scrubbed] (Democratic) or [phone number scrubbed] (Republican)
House at [phone number scrubbed] (Democratic) or [phone number scrubbed] (Republican)
Public Laws Update Service
Information on new public law numbers assigned to recently enacted laws is available from the National Archives and Records Administration's Office of the Federal Register Public Laws listserv at https://listserv.gsa.gov/cgi-bin/wa.exe?A2=ind1511&L=PUBLAWS-L&P=65. This service is strictly for email notification of new laws. The text of laws is not available through this service. Text is available, on an irregular basis, from GPO's FDsys at http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/browse/collection.action?collectionCode=PLAW.
White House Executive Clerk's Office
By way of a recorded message, the Office of the Executive Clerk at the White House provides dates for the following information: presidential signings or vetoes of recent legislation, presidential messages, executive orders, and other official presidential action. If the desired information is not in the taped message, callers can stay on the line to speak with a staffer. The recorded message is available at [phone number scrubbed].
Nongovernmental Sources of Federal Legislation
The inclusion of a web-based product under this heading does not imply CRS endorsement of the product.
Bloomberg Governmenthttps://www.bgov.com
A subscription database that provides analysis as well as content from news sources worldwide. Services include alerts, transcripts, searchable legislation, congressional, state, and district profiles, and more. Coverage for most historical data begins with the 109th Congress (2005-2006).
CQ.comhttp://www.cq.com
This subscription database provides bill texts, summaries, tracking, and analysis. Among its other features are forecasts of major pending bills; versions of bills; links to related bills; roll-call votes; legislative histories; floor and committee schedules; detailed committee coverage; texts of committee reports; transcripts of witnesses' testimony; and publications such as the CQ Weekly, CQ Almanac, and the Congressional Record. Time spans covered vary by the
category of information. CQ.com is available in all Senate offices and
in most House offices.
GovTrack
the House offers a limited subscription.
GovTrackhttp://www.govtrack.us
GovTrack is a free service that can help to determine the status of U.S. federal legislation, voting
records for the Senate and the House of Representatives, information on Members of Congress,
congressional district maps, and the status of
state legislation. State legislative information is
a
new feature as of June 2012also available. Federal legislation may be searched and browsed back to the
93rd
93rd Congress (1973-1974) and the text of legislation is available as far back as the
106th106th Congress
(1999-2000). GovTrack also provides useful bill statistics
for the current Congress back to the
96thfrom the 96th Congress (1979-1980)
to the present such as bill counts by Congress. Information is available as bill
dockets, bills by subjects, and
there is a bill search and track feature.
HeinOnline
HeinOnlinehttp://heinonline.org
HeinOnline is a searchable digital library of current and historical materials, including some
congressional documents back to 1789. The database also includes legal journals, texts, cases,
statutes, regulations, presidential materials,
and treaties, as well as international and foreign legal
journals, cases, and materials. Many are full text in the original page-image (PDF) format.
HeinOnline is
fee-based and available only to subscribers.
National Journal
http://www.nationaljournal.com/njonline
The National Journal Group
is a source of writings oncovers the current political environment and
emerging policy trends. Its information products include National Journal
, , Congress Daily
, The Hotline, The
Hotline, NationalJournal.com, The Capitol Source
, , The Almanac of American Politics
,
, Convention Daily
, , National Journal On Air, and Washington Week with Gwen Ifill. All House and
Senate offices have
free access to NationalJournal.com, National Journal Daily, and National Journal
Hotline Hotline, as well as to the print versions of National Journal Daily
and the weekly National Journal Magazine.
OpenCongresshttp://www.OpenCongress.org
and the weekly National
Journal Magazine at no cost.
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OpenCongress
http://www.OpenCongress.org
OpenCongress is a resource that helps constituents navigate legislative and Member information.
Basic features allow one to track legislation
and votes, to receive email alerts, and RSS feeds.
OpenCongress allows citizens to use issue-based templates for selected topics to write to
Members of Congress directly from the website. Another, votes, and issues in general or those tied to a specific Member. An additional feature is the ability to search
legislation by issue areas, keywords,
and bill numbers
,; identify
those Members who support or
are
opposed to a bill thenopposed a bill; and join groups
comprisedcomposed of other constituents who share the same interests.
Users have the capability to share their interests with their online communities
via a variey of
“one click” social networking options.
A “Money Trail” feature provides information on campaign contributions, specific bills, and the
votes of Members of Congress. Top recipients of industry sector level donors to a Member are
provided. by joining any of hundreds of groups. Interest groups may be identified by state or congressional district.
OpenCongress is a free, open-source, not-for-profit resource of the Participatory
Politics Foundation and the Sunlight Foundation.
ProQuest Congressional
http://congressional.proquest.com
This database contains detailed abstracts and links to the full text of many congressional and
federal documents, such as the Congressional Record, congressional hearing transcripts,
committee prints, and legislative histories. Length of coverage varies depending on the category
of information. It is the enhanced web-based counterpart of the CIS/Index to Publications of the
United States Congress. This resource is fee-based and accessible only to subscribers. ProQuest
Congressional is available to all House and Senate offices.
For optimum functionality, ProQuest
recommends using the Firefox browser.
Scout—Federal and State Legislative Alert Service
https://scout.sunlightfoundation.com
Scout is a legislative and regulatory alerts service from the Sunlight Foundation, which provides
updates on federal and state legislation
as well as Congressional Record speeches and federal
regulations. Bill text is provided by GPO, and most other information on bills comes from
GovTrack, through THOMAS. Information from THOMAS and GPO is delayed by about one
, federal regulations, court opinions, and GAO reports. Using the Congressional Record as its source, Capitol Words, a Sunlight Foundation project, analyzes word usage in Congress. GPO provides bill text and GovTrack, Congress.gov, and OpenCongress provide other bill information. Information from GPO is delayed by about one day. Regulatory information is provided from the Federal Register and published throughout the
day. Scout
’'s data covers 2009 to the present.
Information on state legislation comes from
Open States, a Sunlight Foundation project
that
, which publishes data on state legislative activity for all 50 states, Puerto Rico, and the District of
Columbia. This data originates from the official websites of the 50 state legislatures, and it is
published at various times throughout the day, depending on the state.
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Researching Current Federal Regulations
Researching Current Federal Regulations
Regulations are issued by federal departments and agencies under the authority delegated to them
by federal law.
31 Final rules are printed in the Federal Register (FR) and later codified by subject
in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR)
.
Governmental Sources
.
Governmental Sources
Code of Federal Regulations
http://
www.gpo.gov/fdsys/browse/collectionCfr.action?collectionCode=CFR
The CFRgpo.gov/fdsys
The Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) codifies final rules having general applicability and legal
effect that first appeared in the
Federal Register. The CFR’s 50 titles are arranged by subject. The
entire CFRFederal Register. CFR titles are arranged by subject and the entire CFR is revised annually (one-quarter of the titles at a time) in January, April, July, and
October. Because the annual revision incorporates new regulations and drops superseded ones,
the
CFRCFR reflects regulations in effect at the time of printing. An index volume that includes tables
accompanies the set. By using the FR and
CFRCFR sources, with their many finding aids, it is
possible to identify existing regulations in a subject area or those that pertain to a specific title
and section of the United States Code, identify regulations issued pursuant to a specific public
law, and find proposed regulations that are not yet final.
4
2
The Electronic Code of Federal Regulations, http://ecfr.gpo.gov (e-CFR), is the current, updated
version of the CFR. However, it is not an official legal edition of the CFR, but an unofficial
editorial compilation of
CFRCFR material and FR amendments produced by the National Archives
and Records Administration
’'s Office of the Federal Register (OFR) and GPO. The OFR updates
the e-CFR
on a daily basis.
daily.
Federal Register
http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/browse/collection.action?collectionCode=FR
The Federal Register (FR)
The FR contains the official announcement of regulations and legal notices
issued by federal departments and agencies. It includes proposed and final federal regulations
having general applicability and legal effect; executive orders and presidential proclamations;
documents required to be published by an act of Congress; and other federal documents of public
interest. Daily and monthly indexes
, and an accompanying publication,
"List of
CFR Sections CFR Sections
Affected,
" aid in its use.
The FR
The FR also publishes the
“"Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions
”
" twice yearly (usually in April and October). This document provides advance notice of proposed
rulemaking by listing all rules and proposed rules that more than 60 federal departments,
agencies, and commissions expect to issue during the next six months. Regulations that concern
the military or foreign affairs, or that deal only with agency personnel, organization, or
management matters, are excluded. The agenda is available online from 1994 through the present.
3
For more information, see CRS Report RL32240, The Federal Rulemaking Process: An Overview, coordinated by
Maeve P. Carey.
4
For more information, see CRS Report RL30812, Federal Statutes: What They Are and Where to Find Them, by
Cassandra L. Foley.
Congressional Research Service
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Researching Current Federal Legislation and Regulations
GPO Federal Digital System
http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys
The Government Printing Office’s Federal Digital System (FDsys) is a website that enables GPO
to display and deliver information from all branches of the U.S. government. Materials available
on FDsys include the full-text of bills, the Congressional Record and the Congressional Record
Index (which includes the History of Bills and Resolutions section), congressional calendars,
public laws, selected congressional reports and documents, the Daily Compilation of Presidential
Documents, and the Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents, the Federal Register, and the
Code of Federal Regulations. Coverage varies by title.
RegInfo.gov
http://www.reginfo.gov
http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys
See entry under "Researching Current Federal Legislation – Government Resources" above.
RegInfo.gov http://www.reginfo.gov
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the General Services Administration (GSA)
produce this website. RegInfo.gov provides a list of all rules undergoing Office of Information
and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) E.O. 12866 regulatory review. Updated daily, it also provides a
list of all rules on which review has been concluded in the past 30 days, lists and statistics on
regulatory reviews dating back to 1981, and letters to agencies regarding regulatory actions.
Regulations.gov
http://www.regulations.gov
This website was launched in 2003 to enhance public participation in federal regulatory activities.
Users can search and view proposed regulations from more than 176 federal departments and
agencies. Many proposed regulations include a link to a comment form that readers can complete
and submit to the appropriate department or agency. Regulations.gov is updated each business
day with proposed new regulations. Among the database
’'s search options are keyword or subject,
department or agency name, regulations published today, comments due today, open regulations
or comments by publication dates, and
Code of Federal Regulations citation.
CFR citations.
White House Executive Clerk
’s Office
The Office of the Executive Clerk at the White House provides a recorded message with
information on the dates that executive orders and presidential proclamations appeared in the
Federal Register. If the desired information is not included in the taped message, callers can also
be connected to a staff member. The recorded message is available at (202) 456-2226.
Nongovernmental Sources
's Office
See entry under "Schedule and Legislative Update Services" above.
Nongovernmental Sources of Federal Regulations
The inclusion of a web-based product under this heading does not imply CRS endorsement of the
product.
BNA’
BNA's Daily Report for Executives
http://dailyreport.bna.com
This online report covers a broad spectrum of issues, providing news reports and links to the full
text of key documents, such as proposed and final legislation, regulations, testimony, and fact
sheets summarizing major issues. Available in electronic and print formats
only to paid
subscribers.
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Researching Current Federal Legislation and Regulations
subscribers.
Federal Regulatory Directory
http://www.cqpress.com/product/Federal-Regulatory-Directory-15th.html
This link leads to
a product description and purchase information for the
Federal Regulatory Directory. The Federal Federal Regulatory
Directory. This publication may be purchased in print or electronic format. The Federal
Regulatory Directory provides profiles of the mandates and operations of more than 100 federal
regulatory agencies and is published every two years. Each profile gives a brief history and
description of the agency and its regulatory oversight responsibilities
, and lists key staff,
information sources, legislation, and regional offices. It also provides an overview of the federal
regulatory process. Other aids are the full texts of key regulatory acts and executive orders, a
guide to using the Federal Register and the Code of Federal Regulations, and subject and name
indexes.
HeinOnline
http://heinonline.org
HeinOnline is a searchable digital library of current and historical materials, including some U.S.
congressional documents back to 1789. The United States Codes, Code of Federal Regulations,
and U.S. Statutes at Large are accessible through HeinOnline. Users can browse CFR indexes,
determine if a federal regulation is current, find a presidential proclamation or an executive order.
HeinOnline is fee-based and available only to subscribers.
Media Sources
HeinOnlinehttp://heinonline.org
See entry under "Nongovernmental Sources of Federal Legislation" above.
Media Sources
Print and web-based media sources provide useful background information on the status of
federal legislation and regulations through their reporting, political analysis, and editorial
perspectives. The inclusion of a web-based product under this heading does not imply CRS
endorsement of the product.
CQ.com
http://www.cq.com
In addition to the legislative analysis and tracking role of this fee-based subscription service,
CQ.com
also provides a daily news feature, full-text of CQ Weekly
,, Budget Tracker for articles on
appropriations bills and continuing resolutions, and a variety of CQ specialty news sources
, such
as CQ Healthbeat
,, CQ Homeland Security
,, CQ Financial Transcripts
, , and CQ Hot Docs.
RSS
RSS news feeds are also provided as news occurs.
CQ Roll Call
http://www.rollcall.com
CQ Roll Call, a daily newspaper, has been covering Capitol Hill news since 1955. CQ Roll Call is
free to congressional staff, both online and in print.
C-SPAN.org
http://www.c-span.org
C-SPAN is a private, nonprofit company, created in 1979 by the cable television industry as a
public service. Its mission is to provide public access to the political process.
Congressional Research Service
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Researching Current Federal Legislation and Regulations
The Hill
http://www.thehill.com
The Hill
is a newspaper for and about Congress. It is published Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday when Congress is in session and Wednesday only when Congress is out of session.
Politico is a weekly newspaper covering Congress and its Members.
Politico
http://www.politico.com
Politico.com covers political news with a focus on national politics, Congress, Capitol Hill, the
presidential race, lobbying, and advocacy.
Politico Pro
https://www.politicopro.com
This premium subscription service goes beyond the standard political news coverage of its sister
publication, Politico. According to its website, Politico Pro was launched in June 2010 to provide
“ "access to intense
PoliticoPolitico-style coverage of Washington
’'s most important policy issues.
” At
present, six issue areas are covered—Defense, Energy, Finance, Health Care, Technology, and
Transportation.
CRS Resources
Classes at CRS
Introduction to Legislative Research: Using Books and the Internet to Locate Laws,
Regulations, and Court Decisions
A two and a half hour seminar offered six times a year by the Law Library of Congress and CRS.
This seminar outlines the fundamentals of legal research and focuses on sources of federal legal
materials: Congress, the executive branch, and the federal courts. It covers print and electronic
sources and examines the basic legal documents each branch generates and the types of
information contained in them. The documents include the U.S. Code, the Federal Register, the
Code of Federal Regulations, the U.S. Reports, the Federal Reporter, and the Federal
Supplement. The seminar is intended for staff with limited or no experience with federal legal
research techniques" It currently covers 14 issue areas: agriculture, campaigns, cybersecurity, defense, education, eHealth, energy, financial services, health care, labor and employment,technology, trade, transportation, and tax.
CRS Resources
Classes at CRS
Introduction to Legislative Research
This two and a half hour seminar, offered six times a year by the Law Library of Congress and CRS, is designed for those with no legal research experience. A Law Librarian specialist will discuss the print and electronic sources used when conducting federal legislative research. Participants will be shown where and how to use the various print and electronic resources containing bills, enacted laws, and codified laws. In addition to covering the official and unofficial print publications, the seminar will demonstrate the relative strengths and substantive content of various Internet resources, such as Congress.gov, GPO's Federal Digital System (FDsys), and others.
This program is open to interns who have attended the CRS Intern Orientation. To register, go to
http://www.crs.gov/Events/category/3, and select the "Register" tab.
http://www.crs.gov/programs/Pages/eventcal_legal.aspx
and select class from the Events Calendar, then select “Register” tab.
Federal Legislative History Research: Using Print and Electronic Resources
This two and a half hour seminar is offered four times a year.
This seminar examines methods of identifying and locating electronic and print versions of legislative history resources, including committee reports, hearings, debates and other relevant materials. Research techniques are illustrated using a case study. This seminar emphasizes both Internet and traditional print research techniques. It is jointly sponsored by the Law Library of Congress and CRS.
A Law Library A Law Library of Congress
specialist will discuss various electronic and print
chronological and topical publications
publications containing federal laws and how to research the legislative history of those laws. Participants will
be shown where and how to locate electronic and print versions of congressional documents,
including bills, resolutions, committee reports and prints, and floor debates that are generated in
the legislative process. Sources of compiled legislative histories and methods of compiling
legislative histories will be covered. Internet sources
that will be discussed
include THOMAS and
, including Congress.gov and other Library of Congress sites, GPO
’s FDsys, and various congressional sites. To register, go to
Congressional Research Service
11
Researching Current Federal Legislation and Regulations
http://www.crs.gov/programs/Pages/eventcal_legal.aspx and select class from the Events
Calendar, then select “Register” tab.
Federal Statutory Research: Using Print and Electronic Resources
This two and a half hour seminar is offered two times a year. Content coverage includes the
historical development of federal statutory publications, and an explanation as to the significance
's Federal Digital System (FDsys), various congressional sites, and others. Fee-based databases such as Lexis or Westlaw will not be covered.
This program is open to interns who have attended the CRS Intern Orientation. To register, go to http://www.crs.gov/Events/category/3, and select the "Register" tab.
Federal Statutory Research: Using Print and Electronic Resources
This seminar examines methods of identifying and locating print and electronic versions of statutes and conducting research in the United States Code. It describes historical sources of federal statutory law and illustrates research techniques using case studies. The Law Library of Congress and the Congressional Research Service jointly sponsor this seminar, which emphasizes both Internet and traditional print research techniques. Knowledge of the United States Code and Legislative Procedure is a prerequisite for this program.
A Law Library specialist will discuss electronic and print chronological and topical publications containing federal statutory law, including electronic and print sources of public laws and the United States Code. The seminar will cover the organizational principles and features facilitating research, the historical development of federal statutory publications, and the significance of enactment of titles of the United States Code into positive law. Internet sources
that will be
discussed include THOMAS andwill be discussed, including Congress.gov and other Library of Congress sites,
various congressional sites, GPO
’'s FDsys,
and Cornell
’'s Legal Information Institute site
, and others. Fee-based databases such as Lexis or Westlaw will not be covered.
This program is open to interns who have attended the CRS Intern Orientation. To register, go to
http://www.crs.gov/Events/category/3, and select the "Register" tab.
http://www.crs.gov/programs/
Pages/eventcal_legal.aspx and select class from the Events Calendar, then select “Register” tab.
Introduction to Congress Courses
CRS staff
CRS regularly
provideprovides classroom instruction to congressional staff on legislative process and
procedure. Two such courses
are available to House and Senate staff
are
•
:Congress: An Introduction to Resources and Procedure. This is an all-day
program that is program designed for those seeking a better understanding of the
legislative process and the resources available to monitor it. This program is not
open to interns. Attendance at this program is a prerequisite for the Advanced Legislative Process Institute Series (see below). open to interns. Registration information is available at http://
www.crs.gov/
programs.
•
Events/category/4.
Legislative Concepts. CRS also offers a monthly introductory
“Legislative
Concepts”"Legislative Concepts" class to House staff and interns in the House Learning Center.
Information is available on HouseNet at
httphttps://housenet.house.gov
under “House
Learning Center.”
/training under "Training."Advanced Legislative Process Institute
This Institute builds on the basic procedures and resources provided in
“"Congress: An
Introduction to Resources and Procedure.
”" In depth sessions describe processes and procedural
strategy that are specific to each chamber. Additional information on this class and others can be
found at http://
www.crs.gov/ under the "Events" tab.
House Advanced Legislative Process Institute Series (HALPS)
This overview of the "other chamber" includes a description of the Senate's rules and norms, and salient committee and floor procedures, focusing on those that differ from the House. Other discussion will cover the Senate's orientation toward individuals and minorities; its attitude toward and use of committees; its norm of collective scheduling of legislation; its use of motions to proceed, unanimous consent, and time agreements to call up, consider, and amend measures; the role of the presiding officer; holds; filibusters and invoking cloture. This program is not open to interns. Register at http://www.crs.gov/Events/category/4.
Senate Advanced Legislative Process Institute Series (SALPS)
This overview of the "other chamber" is an introduction to the organization and operation of the House with an emphasis on differences in procedure and their impact on legislation. Please note, registration is separate for each session. Register at http://www.crs.gov/Events/category/4. This program is not open to interns.
Note: A calendar year listing of CRS classes is not available. They appear on the CRS Events page a few weeks before the scheduled date and when registration is open.
Selected CRS Reports
Additional information on researching legislation and regulations is provided in the following CRS reports.
crs.gov/programs.
Congressional Dictionary
Congressional Quarterly’s American Congressional Dictionary
This online dictionary provides a quick reference to definitions and brief explanations of many
terms and expressions currently used in Congress. Updated as necessary by CRS specialists and
analysts. Available at http://crs.gov/pages/glossary_a.aspx.
Selected CRS Reports
Additional information on researching legislation and regulations is provided in the following
CRS reports:
CRS Report 98-673, Publications of Congressional Committees: A Summary, by Matthew E.
Glassman.
Congressional Research Service
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Researching Current Federal Legislation and Regulations
CRS Report RS20120, Legislative Support Resources: Offices and Websites for Congressional
Staff, by Jennifer E. Manning and Michael Greene.
CRS Report R43056, Counting Regulations: An Overview of Rulemaking, Types of Federal
Regulations, and Pages in the Federal Register
, by [author name scrubbed].
, by Maeve P. Carey.
CRS Report
RS21363, Legislative Procedure in Congress: Basic Sources for Congressional Staff,
by Jennifer E. Manning and Michael Greene.
RL32240, The Federal Rulemaking Process: An Overview, coordinated by [author name scrubbed].
CRS Report RL30812, Federal Statutes: What They Are and Where to Find Them
, by [author name scrubbed].
CRS Report 98-309, House Legislative Procedures: Published Sources of Information, by [author name scrubbed].
, by Cassandra
L. Foley.
CRS Report RL32240, The Federal Rulemaking Process: An Overview, coordinated by Maeve P.
Carey.
CRS Report R41865, Legislative History Research: A Guide to Resources for Congressional
Staff, by Julia Taylor.
CRS Report 98-309, House Staff, by [author name scrubbed].
CRS Report RS21363, Legislative Procedure in Congress: Basic Sources for Congressional Staff, by [author name scrubbed] and [author name scrubbed].
CRS Report RS20120, Legislative Support Resources: Offices and Websites for Congressional Staff, by [author name scrubbed] and [author name scrubbed].
CRS Report 98-673, Publications of Congressional Committees: A Summary, by [author name scrubbed].
CRS Report 98-308, Senate Legislative Procedures: Published Sources of Information
, by [author name scrubbed]
Author Contact Information
[author name scrubbed], Lead Information Services Coordinator
([email address scrubbed], [phone number scrubbed])
, by Megan
S. Lynch.
Author Contact Information
Jerry W. Mansfield
Information Research Specialist
jmansfield@crs.loc.gov, 7-0106
Congressional Research Service
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