Public Policy Making Resources Guide

Background Information

Congress and the Nation, 1945+ (Ref JK 1 C662)
Gives overview of an area of legislation any Public Law numbers associated with it. The material is broken down into major subject areas (Economic Policy, Labor, Natural Resources, etc.) and then into more specific subtopics. The information is presented in narrative form with chronologies and descriptions of important legislative initiatives.

CQ Researcher (Ref H35 E352)
Weekly publication, with each issue devoted to a specific topic of federal concern (Social Security, deficit spending, school choice, etc.)

Weekly Compilation Of Presidential Documents, 1965+ (Per J 80 A284)
Online at GPO Access, 1993+

Public Papers of the Presidents, 1929-33, 1945+ (J 80 A283)
Online at National Archives & Records Administration, 1991+

Finding Public Laws

United States Statues at Large
U.S. laws arranged by Public Law number. Found in several locations in Pickler Memorial depending on date
                 1789-1963   Microfiche (Cabinet 23, Drawers 7)
                 1964+   General Collection KF 50 A3 (1964 is 88th Congress, 2nd session)
                 1973+ at Thomas (Library of Congress site)
                 1995+ at GPO Access

U.S. Code
Permanent laws passed by Congress, arranged by subject.
                  Print: Ref KF 62 2000 A2
                  House of Representatives Website
                  LexisNexis Legal Research

Congressional Information

All bills passed by Congress contain a variety of supporting material that is generated in the process of a bill becoming a law, with much of it coming from the various House and Senate committees that a bill passes through. This includes transcripts of committee hearings, committee reports, and committee prints (internal documents of the committee). This material can be as important to understanding a give law as the text of the bill itself.

Indexing
The first step in finding this material is in knowing where it is indexed. Different indexes are available depending on the date of the bill

Congressional MasterFile CD-ROM (workstation across from library reference desk).
Indexing for 1789-1982

U.S. Congressional Committee Hearings Index (Ref KF 40 C57)
Multi-part index of Congressional hearings from 1833 to 1969, divided according to time periods. Each set lists hearings by number and indicates the CIS access information for locating that hearing on microfiche. Indexing is also available by bill name and by organization or agency. A numerical listing of bill numbers lists hearings held on that bill. The sets are organized as shown below:

Part 1: 23rd-64th Cong. (Dec. 1833-Mar. 1917)
Part 2: 65th-68th Cong. (Apr. 1917-Mar. 1925)
Part 3: 69th-73rd Cong. (Dec. 1925-1934)--
Part 4: 74th-78th Cong. (1935-1944)--
Part 5: 79th-82nd Cong. (1945-1952)--
Part 6: 83rd-85th Cong. (1953-1958)--
Part 7:. 86th-88th Cong. (1959-1964)--
Part 8: 89th-91st Cong. (1965-1969)

LexisNexis Congressional
Online indexing available from 1970 onward; some full text available online after 1980

Full Text
For Congressional activity prior to 1982, nearly all information is available on microfiche. This is available in the microform reading room in Microfiche Cabinets 24-30. On any index citation note the CIS (Congressional Information Service) number, the designation for the type of document (Published Hearing, Unpublished Hearing, Committee Print, Serial-Set) and the designation of the appropriate chamber (S for Senate; H for House of Representatives).

Published Hearings (Pre-1970)
Cabinet 24 Drawer 3 - Cabinet 25

Unpublished Senate Hearings (1823-1964, 1965-1968)
Cabinet 27 Drawers 1-2

Committee Prints (Pre-1970)
Cabinet 26 Drawers 5-6

Serial Set (Pre-1970)
Cabinet 27 Drawer 4 - Cabinet Drawer 7

CIS/Serial Set Collection (1970+)
Cabinet 29 Drawer 1 - Cabinet 30 Drawer 8

For this period, documents of all types (Hearings, Committee Prints, etc.) are interfiled in this collection (along with Serial Set items), with documents retrievable by CIS number. After 1982, only Serial Set items are housed here.

Superintendent of Documents (SuDoc) Collection (1983+)
Cabinets 60-64

From 1983 onward, hearings and committee prints are interfiled with other government documents and accessed by SuDoc number (e.g. Y4 ). This collection is not complete and receipt of the microfiche may lag by a year or more. Serial Set items continue to be housed in the CIS Collection up until 2002.

Since 2002, Truman has not received the Serial Set separately and all items are housed in the SuDoc collection.

Other Resources

Congressional Record (1774+). Published daily while either house is in session. Provides a more or less verbatim transcript of the legislative debates and proceedings before the full chambers.
Please check Congressional Record Finding Aid for help in using this resource.

Roll Call Votes and Member Voting Records

Congressional Roll Call, 1972+ (JK 1 C6635) Current in Reference Collection, older volumes in General Collection)
Congressional Roll Call and Other Recorded Votes, 1789-1994 (Microfilm JK1108 M3492)
Lexis Nexis Congressional, 1989+
Congress and the Nation, Selected Key Votes 1945+ (Ref JK 1 C662)

Thomas
Text of legislative bills, 1973+

GPO Access
Text of legislative bills, 1993+

General Accounting Office
Testimony and reports on a variety of topics from the investigative arm of Congress.

EXECUTIVE BRANCH PUBLICATIONS

Documents from the executive branch of government (the President, his Cabinet, and other administrative agencies) can also be important in researching legislation. Some of these are included in the Congressional information sources listed above, often as part of the Serial Set. Others may be obtained from the sources listed below.

FEDERAL REGISTER (1995+)
Contains proposed rules and regulations of the various governmental bureaus and departments. Also includes Presidential proclamations and executive orders, and decisions of fact-finding bodies. Also available on LexisNexis.

Code of Federal Regulations (KF 70 .A3)
Regulations of the various governmental bureaus and departments. Also available on LexisNexis.

Public Papers of the Presidents, 1929-33, 1945+ (J 80 A283)
Online 1992+ through National Archives & Records Administration

Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents, 1965+ (Per J 80 A284)
Also on the Web 1993+ at GPO Access.

Harry S. Truman Documents
The library has a large collection of documents from the Truman era. Click here for a guide to these resources.

COURT CASES

Rulings of the Supreme Court and other federal courts have played a major role in many national issues through their intrepretation of the Constitution and specific pieces of legislation. Several sources are available for finding texts of these rulings and commentary on their impact.

LexisNexis Academic Legal Research
Can be used for finding Supreme Court cases as well as other federal and state court cases. Also contains full text from many law journals and legal newsletters and magazines. See the LexisNexis Legal Research Guide for search tips.

United States Supreme Court Digest (Ref KF 101.1 D535)
Summarizes Supreme Court decisions. It serves as the index to locating the full texts of the decisions. It is arranged alphabetically by subject. There is also a Table of Cases so that you can locate specific cases by name. This set is updated by pocket supplements in the back of each volume.

Text of the Supreme Court cases can also be found in these volumes in Pickler Library:

United States Reports, 1754-1921 (Ref KF 101 A3)
U.S. Supreme Court Reports Lawyers Ed., 1921-1956 (Ref KF 101 A33)
U.S. Supreme Court Reports Lawyers Ed. 2d Series, 1956+ (Ref KF 101 A33 2d series) Covers period 1956+

The Oral Arguments of the Supreme Court of the United States
Microfiche - Cabinet 26 Drawer 9, 1952-2001
Available online at http://www.supremecourtus.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts.html, October 2000+

LITERATURE REVIEW

Use other databases and indexes to find out what has been written on your topic. These may be accessed from the Search for Articles Link on the library homepage. Some major sources for finding government and legislative information are listed below

Social Science Abstracts
ArticleFirst
America: History and Life
LexisNexis

For books use: Truman's library catalog and MOBIUS and WorldCat