SOWK 7400 Advanced Social Welfare Policy and Practice: Federal Laws

Congress.gov has bill text, summary, and status for past and current legislation, 1973-present. Use the Advanced Search to limit your search to a particular session of Congress or to find legislation that has already passed.

Govinfo.gov provides free online access to official federal government publications and provides links to the U.S. Code, legislative material including hearings, the Congressional Record, and executive branch materials such as the Federal Register and Code of Federal Regulations.

From GovInfo: "A hearing is a meeting or session of a Senate, House, joint, or special committee of Congress, usually open to the public, to obtain information and opinions on proposed legislation, conduct an investigation, or evaluate/oversee the activities of a government department or the implementation of a Federal law."

See especially the Guide to Law Online for links to federal, state, and international legal and government resources, including social welfare.

Congress.gov provides this guide to the steps in which a bill becomes a law.

This guide by Barbara Bavis at the Library of Congress lays out a process for tracking the history of a law starting with how it appears in the U.S. Code.

Outline of resources to consult when tracing the history of a federal law..

Full text of more than 8,000 Congressional Research Service reports.

The Congressional Research Service conducts extensive research on matters of public interest for members of Congress. This selection of reports is hosted by the University of North Texas Digital Library.

Legislative Histories of Selected Laws on the Internet, prepared by the Law Librarians' Society of Washington, D.C.

Presidential Executive Orders by year, 1826-early 2017, presented by the American Presidency Project, University of California, Santa Barbara.

Text of recent Executive Orders on the White House web site.