LibGuides: Social Work Research for Graduate Students: Federal Policy & Laws

Definitions

Public Law

A public law is one that has passed through Congress and been signed into law by the President. It is assigned a law number and is published as a slip law. Example: the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is Public Law No: 111-148; it is the 148th law passed in the 111th Congress.

Statutes at Large

The Statutes at Large permanently compiles all the public laws passed in a session of Congress, so the laws are arranged chronologically in each volume. The citation reads volume number, name of publication, and page number where the law begins. Example: the Affordable Care Act is found at 124 Stat. 119: volume 124 of the Statutes at Large, page 119.

United States Code

The United States Code gathers all the laws and arranges them by subject matter into a Code with 50 "titles" or subject headings. Title 42 is for Public Health and Welfare, the title where you will find many health and social work-related laws. The Affordable Care Act is codified into the U.S. Code at 42 USC 18001.

Federal Legislation

Congress.gov
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
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.
Hearings
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."
Law Library of Congress
See especially the Guide to Law Online for links to federal, state, and international legal and government resources, including social welfare.

Guides to Legislative Tracking

How Laws Are Made
Congress.gov provides this guide to the steps in which a bill becomes a law.
How to Trace Federal Legislation
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.
Federal Legislative History
Outline of resources to consult when tracing the history of a federal law..

More Legislative History and Background

EveryCRSReport.com
Full text of more than 8,000 Congressional Research Service reports.
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.
Selected Legislative Histories
Legislative Histories of Selected Laws on the Internet, prepared by the Law Librarians' Society of Washington, D.C.

Executive Orders

Presidential Executive Orders
Presidential Executive Orders by year, 1826-early 2017, presented by the American Presidency Project, University of California, Santa Barbara.
White House Executive Orders
Text of recent Executive Orders on the White House web site.

Current Legislation

GovTrack.us
Independently tracks members of the U.S. Congress, voting records, and current and recent legislation.
OpenStates.org
Search across states or in a particular state for upcoming legislation.