US Public Policy

Federal    |   State

Almanac of American Politics
National Journal. 1972 - present.
Latest Perkins Ref., earlier Perkins stacks; 1998 to present available online through National Journal.com (limited to Duke University faculty, students and staff.)

Besides information on representatives and senators from each state, this volume includes background information on the political climate of each state and district.

American Presidency Project

Includes Public Papers, State of the Union data, and more.

Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives

Includes roll call votes since 1990, current conference reports, historical information, and hot bills.

Congress.org

A directory useful for identifying committee members and locating phone numbers and email.

Congressional Quarterly's Guide to Congress
Latest ed. Perkins Ref., Lilly Ref.

Executive Branch Departments

The 15 Cabinet-level departments are linked through whitehouse.gov. For other departments and agencies, use Google UncleSam, USASearch.gov, or Washington Information Directory.

Google UncleSam

Limit your web searches to US government sites. See also: USASearch.gov

LatinosVote.com

Identifies Latino representatives in Congress and Presidential candidates' positions on issues,  provides voter information in English and Spanish, and collects articles from U.S. newspapers of interest to Latino voters.

 LexisNexis Congressional  

In-depth  studies done for the U.S. Congress by the Congressional Research Service. These provide excellent reviews and analysis of issues. Duke now has retrospective access through LN Congressional. 

Open Secrets: the encyclopedia of Congressional money and politics
Congressional Quarterly.  1990 - 1996.  Latest Perkins Ref.; earlier Perkins stacks

Thorough examination of political contributions to Congressional candidates, with profiles of industry, committees, PACs, and members of Congress.

Open Secrets.org

The Center for Responsive Politics tracks who's giving how much to whom. Use the tabs at the top or search for individual donor records from the left sidebar.

Politics in America
Congressional Quarterly. 1984 - present.  Latest Perkins Ref. Desk; earlier Perkins Ref.

Provides a description of political careers and activities of current U.S. senators and representatives. Includes voting records, campaign financing and short pieces on the character of the member's district.

Project Vote Smart

One of the best political sites on the web.  A non-partisan project, Project Vote Smart provides information on federal and state legislators, including some rating information.

Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States
online through GPOAccess from 1991; Perkins Ref US AE 2.114: (1984-present) and GS 4.113: (1929-1983); in HeinOnline--either click on US Presidential Library under "Subscribed Libraries" or search for "Messages and Papers of the Presidents" (covers George Washington-Hoover) or "Public Papers of the Presidents" (Hoover to present).

Presidential addresses, communications, interviews, proclamations and nominations, and meetings with foreign dignitaries. See also Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents, below.

THOMAS 

Legislative info through the Library of Congress. Best for up-to-the-minute tracking and browsing of legislative activity. See also LexisNexis Congressional database for more powerful searching, linked documents, and coverage that dates back further.

United States Congressional Elections, 1788-1997: the official results of the elections of the 1st through 105th Congresses
Michael J. Dubin.  Perkins Ref.

Candidates and results by party, number and percent of votes cast, number of freshmen, etc.

United States Government Manual
U.S. Office of the Federal Register.  1985 - present. Latest Perkins Ref. Desk; earlier Perkins Ref. US  AE 2.108/2:

Provides information on federal agencies of all branches. It lists the officials, provides phone numbers and describes programs and agencies. It also includes copies of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.

U.S. Congressional Serial Set  

Search or browse the reports, documents, and journals of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives. This database will eventually cover 1817-1980;
1817-1870 is currently available. The print Serial Set  is available in the Public Documents & Maps Dept.
Note: Some of the images may not be clear, or may not print clearly. After the database is completed, Readex will re-scan the unclear images.

U.S. House of Representatives

The official site for the U.S. House of Representatives.  It is especially useful for committee information, rules and procedures and information on current legislation.

U.S. Senate

The official site for the U.S. Senate.  Contains similar information to the House site.

Washington Information Directory
Congressional Quarterly. Latest Perkins Ref. Desk + online through CQ Electronic Library; earlier Perkins stacks 

A directory of federal agencies, international organizations and NGOs in Washington, D.C. Also useful for federal department and agency organization charts; plus see appendices for directory of government info on the Web, foreign embassies staff, and more.

Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents
Office of the Federal Register. 1992 - present in Perkins Ref. US, older issues in Docs Stacks AE 2.109:

Presidential addresses, communications, interviews, proclamations and nominations, and meetings with foreign dignitaries. Compiled after each term of office in the Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States, online from 1992, Perkins Ref US AE 2.114: (1984-present) and GS 4.113: (1929-1983).

White House

The current administration's site, with latest news, press briefings, proclamations and executive orders, etc.

States and Localities

Article II: a Guide to the NC Legislature
1977 - present.  Latest Perkins Ref. Desk; earlier Perkins stacks

Very useful guide to legislators, with voting records.

North Carolina Manual
Department of the Secretary of State.  1917 - present. Latest Perkins Ref.; earlier Perkins stacks

Shows election districts, explains functions of branches and agencies.  Includes profiles of state congress members and election results.  The Public Documents Department has similar manuals or Blue Books for many states.

State Documents

From Perkins Library's Public Documents. Links to NC legal materials, all states' home pages, legislatures, tax forms, and various subjects.