Government Information Sources

Trying to make Sense of How the U.S. Government Works? Visit......
Ben's Guide to the U.S. Government! a fun and educational introduction to the U.S. Government.

Trying to make Sense of the Federal Budget? Visit......
A Citizen's Guide to the U.S. Budget.

Federal Government

Searching for Government Documents

Government Document Resources Online - keyword searches for government documents.
Subject Index to Government Information - links to 15,684 different sets of subjects in 40 different sets of subject indexes.

Uncle Sam - Easy way to search for US Government Documents.

Government Accountability Resources

Lobbyists, Money and Politics

Searching for Legal Information

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Executive Branch

 

Welcome To The White House
Executive Branch Resources - regulatory process, presidential remarks, speeches, executive orders and publications.

White House Tapes Archive - original documents from JFK and President Lyndon Johnson, covers civil rights, Cuban Missile Crisis, Kennedy Assassination, Vietnam and integration at the University of Mississippi.
Presidents of the United States - biographical information on all 43 presidents.
Presidential Directives and Executive Orders - from Truman to George W. Bush.
USA: index presidents
Census Bureau
Census Tigerline - Topologically Integrated Geographic Encoding and Referencing system.
Historical Census Information - data describing the people & the economy of the US for each state and county from 1790 to 1970.
National Population Estimates
Historical Data on the foreign-born population in the United States.
U.S. Department of Agriculture
Forest Service

 

Department of Commerce

Department of Defense
Defense Almanac - selection of statistics and information on the organization, staff, funding and equipment of the DOD.Department of Education

Department of Energy - Reliable, Affordable, and Environmentally Sound Energy for America's Future.
Department of Health & Human Services - government's principal agency for protecting the health of all Americans and providing human services.

Department of Homeland Security - web site for the new Office of Homeland Security.

Department of the Interior
History of the Interior Department
National Park Service
Recreational Opportunities on Federal Lands
United States Geological Service Department of Justice

• Office of Justice Programs
• Federal Bureau of Investigation - go to their "Freedom of Information Electronic Reading Room" to see the files on famous people, gangsters, unusual phenomenon, historical events, Adolph Hitler and others.

Department of Labor

• Bureau of Labor Statistics
• U.S. Economy at a Glance

Office of Management and Budget - the US budget for the current fiscal year, with a citizen's guide to the budget. U.S. State Department
US State Department Policy - Democracy, Human Rights, Labor
World Military Expenditures and Arms Transfers Treasury Department

• Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms - examines the illegal youth firearms market in 27 communities.
• Consumer Financial Protection Bureau - CFPB supervises banks, credit unions, and other financial companies, and we will enforce Federal consumer financial laws.

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Legislative Branch

Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress - guide to those who served in Congress from 1774 to the present.
Capitol Police - latest Federal Web site hosted by GPO Access.
Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation - U.S. Congressional documents and debates from 1774 to 1875.
Congressional Hearings - transcripts of various Congressional Hearings on a variety of topics.
CongressLink - learn about Congress, how it works, its Constitutional underpinnings, its leaders and members, and the public policies it produces. (Includes lesson plans for teachers).
Fast Facts for Congress - Bureau sources of economic and demographic data for the U.S., states, counties, and congressional districts of the 108th Congress.
Historical Directory of the U.S. Congress - provides biographical, archival, and bibliographical information for current and former senators, as well as representatives, vice presidents, and members of the Continental Congress.

House of Representatives
U.S. Senate How Congress Voted
Congressional Budget Office Home Page - Congressional Gold Medals presented between 1776 to the present day.
Congressional Gold Medal Recipients
Congressional Research Service - search Congressional Reports on the environment, economic policy, education, government and law, foreign and defense policy, health, science and technology.
Legislative Titles Online - Hearings from various House and Senate Committees.
Statutes at Large - official source for the laws and resolutions passed by Congress from 1789 to 1875.
THOMAS--U.S. Congress on the Internet - searching for information on current or past legislation.

Judicial Branch

United States Supreme Court - Slip Opinions, case guides, argument calendar and more with an internal search engine.
Landmark Supreme Court Decisions
Findlaw - legal resources including Supreme Court, Court of Appeals and Federal District Court opinions.
Primary Legal Documents - legal documents from major breaking news stories (i.e. Enron, War on Terrorism)
Legal News - latest legal news from the American Lawyer and the National Law Journal.
Library of Law & Court Decisions - Internet related court decisions (Copyright, Domain Name, First Amendment, etc.)
Supreme Court Decisions - covers decisions from 1893 to 2001.
Major Supreme Court Decisions - from June 1998, covers line item veto, attorney client privilege, HIV and more
United States Court of International Trade - provides information about the U. S. Court of International Trade and its role in the federal judicial system.
U.S. Courts - clearinghouse for information from and about the Judicial Branch of the U.S. Government.
Finding Judges of the U.S. Courts
American Law Sources - compilation of links to freely accessible on-line sources of law for the United States (State, Federal and Local) and Canada.

Independent Government Corporations

Central Intelligence Agency - coordinates the nation's intelligence activities and correlates, evaluates, and disseminates intelligence which affects national security.
Studies in Intelligence - includes Intelligence research, history and historical records.

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Foreign Government Sources

European Governments Online - the main governmental sites for each European Union country, includes the sites for the Head of State, the Government, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and a portal site for the national civil service.
Foreign & International Information - information on countries, governments, embassies, statistics and news sources.
Foreign Governments - links to foreign governments by geographic area. Includes country background, biographies, human rights, national symbols, constitutions, laws and statistics on demographic, economic, health & military.
Governments on the Web - sites from about 200 countries, includes parliaments, ministries, offices, courts and embassies.
International Government Pages - list of government sources by country as well as international organization links.
Intergovernmental Organizations - a reference guide to about 120 IGO's.
International Organizations - extensive list of links to more than 100 international organizations.
Links to Foreign Governments - provides links to the official websites of national governments.
Nongovernmental Organizations - These organizations are not directly affiliated with any national government but often have a significant impact on the social, economic and political activity of the country or region involved.
United Nations World Government Information
World Fact Book 2001 - the best and most comprehensive coverage of worldwide country information.

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Voting and Electoral College Sites

Election Statistics - election statistics from 1920 to 2012.
Election Center 2012 - CNN's election coverage site.
Ballot Initiatives - covers the ballot initiatives introduced in various states for the upcoming election.
Campaign 2012- Minnesota Public Radio Campaign information
Candidate Finder - locate candidates by state and district for the 2008 election.
Center for Voting and Democracy - dedicated to fair elections where all voters are represented.
Congress.org - a private, non-partisan company that specializes in facilitating civic participation.
Democracy Corps - non-profit organization dedicated to making the government more responsive to the people.
E - Democracy - Election news, information and links to candidates.
Election Online - Election Reform Information Project.
Elections and the Media - national media watch group offering well-documented criticism of media bias and censorship.
Electoral College Calculator - experiment with campaign strategies, predict or track probable election outcomes.
Gallup Poll - This series reveals state-by-state differences in political party affiliation, religiosity, consumer confidence, and job-market conditions.

Media Matters - not for profit center dedicated to monitoring, analyzing, and correcting misinformation.
Minnesota E-Democracy - a non-partisan organization whose mission is to improve participation in democracy in Minnesota through the use of information.
Minnesota Secretary of State's Election Page
National Election Studies - American National Election Studies (ANES) produces quality data on voting, public opinion, and political participation.
Opinion Pages - opinion and editorial pieces from over 600 different English language international sources.

Pew Research Center for People and the Press
Political Research & Exit Polling - Edison Media Research provides strategic information to radio & television stations, Internet companies, newspapers, cable networks, and other media organizations.
Polling Data - one of the most comprehensive ways to keep tabs on recent and informative polls.
Polling Institute - Quinnipiac University's Polling Institute is perhaps one of the best known polling centers in the U.S.
Pollster.com - developed by Mark Blumenthal, a 20 year veteran of political polling.
PR Watch- The Center for Media and Democracy (CMD) is a boutique investigative research and reporting group with a demonstrated capacity to break major news stories and highlight the work of advocates.
Public Agenda Online - provides overview, background data and recent stories on topics such as crime, education, environment, immigration, social security and welfare.
Public Integrity - nonprofit, nonpartisan organization known for its high-quality, well-documented research.
Public Opinion Research - American Association for Public Opinion Research.
Presidential Debate Transcripts - houses the transcripts from 1960, and 1976 through 2004.

U.S. Action - seek to take our democracy back from the corporate elite.
US Presidential Elections Atlas - presidential elections from 1789 to 2004, obtain results by state, compare results, or view articles, documents, the election process or related news.
Vote-Smart - a citizen's organization providing accurate and unbiased information for electoral decision-making.
Vote Trust USA - non-partisan organization working to ensure future elections are free, fair, accountable and accurate.
Washington Post Key Races - presidential races.

Voter Registration Form for the State of Minnesota.

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State, County and Local Government

Archival and Manuscript Depositories - list of archives and manuscript repositories by State.
Compare Minnesota - an economic and statistical fact book. (.pdf)
National Association of Counties - resource for locating information about County Government.
State and County Quick Facts - facts about people, business and geography at the national, state, & county level.
State & Local Government Information - comprehensive guide to States & Territories of the U.S., as well as regional, county and city government sites.
State and Local Governments - Library of Congress meta site for state and local government information.
State Agency Databases - US State and the District of Columbia, agencies are creating databases of useful information - information on businesses, licensed professionals, plots of land, even dates of fish stocking.
State BlueBooks - "almanac type" publications of states.
State Reports - provides data on history, statistics, maps, geographical data, government, economy and more.

State of Minnesota

Capitol Watch - legislative update for members of Education Minnesota.
Issue Watch - covers critical and emerging issues, trends and ideas in Minnesota that affect citizens and government.
Minnesota BlueBook - covers federal, state executive, judiciary, legislative and state agencies.
Minnesota Budget - Minnesota 2020 Report on State Government spending.
Minnesota Census Data Center - provides access to Census micro data.
Minnesota Constitution - includes the state's bill of rights and the division of powers.
Minnesota Department of Education
Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development - annual reports, economic trends, program and employments reports.
Minnesota Department of Public Safety - The mission of the Department is to protect the people and property in Minnesota through prevention, regulation, enforcement, information and service.
Minnesota Digital Library - The collection brings you more than 80,000 images, maps and documents from more than 125 of the state's cultural heritage organizations.
Minnesota Legislative Reference Library - information on state agencies, boards, task forces, and commissions since the early 1970s.
Minnesota Legislators - biographical information on all MN legislators, past & present, going back to territorial times, .
Minnesota Office of the Attorney General
Minnesota Attorney General Opinions
Minnesota Secretary of State
Minnesota State Legislature -- Legislation and Bill Tracking
Minnesota Session Laws - all acts of the Legislature passed in each year's legislative session from 1849 to the present.
Minnesota State and Local Government - guide to Minnesota state, county and city government sites.
Minnesota State Court System
Minnesota Tribal Governments - provides the history and culture of Minnesota's Native American tribes.
State of Minnesota - North Star Options
State of Minnesota Yellow Pages Directory - A to Z directory of State of Minnesota offices and departments.

Minnesota Counties
Minnesota Counties - List of Minnesota counties with links to County Home Pages.
Welcome to Dakota County
Hennepin County
Ramsey County
St.Louis County

Cities
Apple Valley, Minnesota
Eagan, Minnesota
Rosemount, Minnesota

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