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TAP-INFO - An Internet newsletter available from listproc@tap.org
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TAXPAYER ASSETS PROJECT - INFORMATION POLICY NOTE
ACCESS TO FEDERAL REGISTER, US CODE, CFR, CON RECORD AND BILLS.
May 6, 1995
COMPLETE IDIOT'S GUIDE TO FREE INTERNET ACCESS TO FIVE
IMPORTANT GOVERNMENT DOCUMENTS:
Federal Register
US Code
Code of Federal Regulations
Congressional Record
Congressional Bills
by Michael Ward, TAP May 5, 1995
(mike@tap.org; 202/387-8030)
INTRODUCTION
If you really are a complete idiot this won't help too much,
and even if you aren't, some of these sites can be difficult to
use. But seriously, here are some tips on how to search SOME
important government documents on the Internet.
The following documents are all available for keyword
searching from various government Internet sites for free:
Legislation (103rd & 104th Congress)
Congressional Record (103rd & 104th Congress)
Federal Register (103rd & 104th Congress)
US Code
Code of Federal Regulations
At the bottom of this post there is a brief description of what
these documents are, as well as how often they are updated at
each site.
EASY WAY TO FIND THE BIG FIVE PUBLICATIONS
There are pointers for all of five of these documents at the
essential.org gopher. They are under menu item "4. Government
Information Resources". Using essential.org adds a layer of
menus, but you only have to remember one address. World Wide Web
(WWW) databases such as the Library of Congress THOMAS system
have been linked with the non-graphical interface lynx.
WHERE ARE THE IMPORTANT INTERNET SITES FOR THE FIVE PUBLICATIONS
The most important servers are the Library of Congress
THOMAS system, the GPO Access system and the House of
Representatives' GOPHER and WEB servers.
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS THOMAS
Thomas - thomas.loc.gov
Thomas, the Library of Congress's Home Page, is a good site
to use if you have a Web browser. It provides access to
Congressional bills and the Congressional Record. Library
of Congress officials say THOMAS will soon have many other
documents, but the product line hasn't grown as fast as
expected. You can also search THOMAS from the essential.org
gopher.
GPO ACCESS PROGRAM
GPO Access contains:
Congressional bills
Federal Register
Congressional Record
GAO Reports
The GPO Access program is a terrific source of information, if
you can find it and don't mind the somewhat clunky interface.
GPO Access is the only free site for the FEDERAL REGISTER, and it
provides keyword searching of the US CODE. Plus, you can do a
key word search on several publications at the same time, such as
searching bills, the Congressional Record and the US Code at the
same time for the same key words. For reasons best explained
elsewhere, free access to GPO Access is provided through 13
libraries, each providing a somewhat different front end. TAP
has provided links to 9 of these libraries through the
essential.org gopher. If you want to connect directly, here are
our recommended sites:
Case Western Reserve Univ.
1. Select "1". GPO Access
Georgia Southern Univ.
1. Login Username as "INFO"
2. Select "8" Government Printing Office Access
3. Enter "y" to connect"
Alaska Statewide Library Electronic Doorway (SLED)
1. Login as "sled"
2. Select "5" Government Information
3. Select "2" Federal Government Information
4. Select "6" GPO Access - Federal Register ...
5. Enter "y" to connect
Univ. of North Carolina
1. Login username as "library
2. Select "2" U.S. Government Databases
3. Select "2" GPO Access ...
While searching GPO Access databases it is important to use
capital letters for the boolean connectors, i.e. " assault ADJ
weapon ". The booleans are AND, OR, ADJ (adjacent to), and NOT.
To search GPO databases use the following syntax:
Bill Number (punctuation is s. ADJ 21
important) h.r. ADJ 36
Date march ADJ 21
Member of Congress mr ADJ kennedy
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES GOPHER AND WEB SITES
Gopher - gopher.house.gov
The most notable documents on the House gopher are the
Congressional Record and House bills, both searchable by
keywords, and the US Code by Title. If you just need to
retrieve bills from the House of Representatives, the House
gopher is the easiest source.
WWW - www.house.gov
US Code
Code of Federal
Regulations
The Code of Federal Regulations (as far as we know the only
complete CFR available on the net for free) and US Code are
available through the House's homepage. These databases
actually are available from a different URL than the House's
homepage (with a search engine from Personal Library
Software.) The homepage also links to the House Gopher for
the Congressional Record.
Description of Databases
Code of Federal Regulations (House WWW)
The Code of Federal Regulations is the official compilation of
the Federal regulations. The CFR database is not as current as the
printed version, but soon they expect to catch up.
Congressional Record (GPO Access, Thomas, House Gopher)
The Congressional Record database is the public proceedings of
both the House and Senate. It contains the floor debates, as well
as the roll call votes among other things.
Federal Register (GPO Access) The Federal Register is the official
forum for making available to the public regulations and legal
notices issued by Federal agencies, some Presidential Documents,
and many other important items.
Legislation (GPO Access, House Gopher (House side only), Thomas)
Bills introduced by members of Congress.
US Code (GPO Access, House WWW, House Gopher (by title))
The United States Code contains the general and permanent laws of
the United States. The GPO's US Code database is current as of
January, 1994; however, any section that has been affected by
laws passed during the 2nd Session of the 103rd Congress (1994)
includes a note identifying the public law that affected that
section. Some titles available from the House gopher are current
as of January 1995. GPO allows searching of the entire Code,
while the House gopher requires the user to retrieve the code by
section.
Other Internet sites of Interest
Marvel - marvel.loc.gov
The Library of Congress's Marvel systems is the most
comprehensive source of government information accessible by
gopher. It is more of a directory that points you toward
other gopher servers, rather than a repository for
government information. Information and pointers to other
sites are listed by branch of government and then by agency
in each branch.
FEDWORLD
Internet Multicasting Service -- SEC's EDGAR (10K,10Q,etc)
Sunsite-US and World Politics
Wiretap-US & World Politics
USIA - US INFORMATION AGENCY
To connect to several "forbidden" USIA Internet sites, use
the links from essential.org.
Court Opinions
- 3rd Circuit Opinions, Via Villanova University
Links from essential.org
- 11th Circuit Opinions, Via Emory University
Links from essential.org
- Search Supreme Court Opinions, Via UNC
Links from essential.org