Library Guides: Public Policy: Starting Places &amp; Primary Documents

Public Policy Starting Places

Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports
Written from a non-partisan perspective, these brief reports on a wide variety of public policy topics are an authority in themselves.

CQ Researcher
Provides in-depth coverage of the most important issues of the day.
Government Accountability Office (GAO) Reports
Provides digital access to GAO reports from as far back as the 1960s to recent.
Points of View Reference Center
A full text database designed to provide students and schools with a series of controversial essays that present multiple sides of a current issue.
Roper Center Public Opinion Archives
A comprehensive database of 500,000 questions and answers asked in the US since 1935. All of the major polling organizations in the US are included in this system. The RoperExpress section allows users to search for and download data sets housed at the Roper Center.

National Conference of State Legislators
Based in Denver, this national organization serves as a non-partisan organization relied upon by state lawmakers and researchers to track state legislative actions, model laws, and public policy initiatives.

ProQuest Congressional
Offers access to congressional publications dealing with the wide variety of topics addressed by Congress.

Govinfo.gov
Official site of the Government Publishing Office provides authenticated versions of congressional and presidential documents.
American Presidency Project
Perhaps the easiest way to access presidential materials.
U.S. Presidential Library
This Hein Online resources includes full text of presidential messages and papers, CFR title 3 (presidential issuances), list of executive orders, and the Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents.
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This Hein Online resources includes full text of presidential messages and papers, CFR title 3 (presidential issuances), list of executive orders, and the Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents.
U.S. Congressional Documents
This section of Hein Online contains the debates of Congress (the Congressional Records and related titles) and the Statutes at Large.
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This section of Hein Online contains the debates of Congress (the Congressional Records and related titles) and the Statutes at Large.
U.S. Supreme Court Library
This section of Hein Online contains the reports (also known as opinions or decisions) of the U.S. Supreme Court as well as several historic treatises.
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This section of Hein Online contains the reports (also known as opinions or decisions) of the U.S. Supreme Court as well as several historic treatises.