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About the U.S. Government

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Overviews | Constitution | Democracy | Budget Process | Public Information | Online Links

Overviews

How Our Laws Are Made
Parliamentarian, U.S. House of Representatives. June 30, 2003. The Constitution allows each house of Congress to determine the rules of its proceedings. The 23rd edition of this brochure aids in understanding the exceedingly complex and evolving legislative process--much of it unique to each House of Congress.
http://thomas.loc.gov/home/lawsmade.toc.html

Learning Objectives: United States Government Structure
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service. A study guide for the Civics Exam, which applicants are required to pass before being considered eligible for U.S. Naturalization.
http://uscis.gov/graphics/services/natz/usstruct.pdf

Outline of U.S. Government
U.S. Department of State, Bureau of International Information Programs. Revised and updated in 2000. What makes U.S. government uniquely American...its Constitution, the separation of powers, the concept of “checks and balances,” the decentralized roles of state and local governments, and a citizenry with wide opportunity to be part of it all.
http://usinfo.state.gov/products/pubs/outusgov/

Our American Government, 2000 edition
House Document 106-216, U.S. GPO: 2000. A popular introductory guide for those who seek a greater understanding of our heritage of democracy. The question-and-answer format covers a broad range of topics dealing with the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of our Government as well as the electoral process and the role of political parties.
http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=106_cong_documents&docid=f:hd216.106

U.S. Government Manual: 2003-04 Edition
The official handbook of the Federal Government, which provides comprehensive information on the agencies of the legislative, judicial, and executive branches.
http://www.gpoaccess.gov/gmanual/browse-gm-03.html


U.S. Government Policy and Supporting Positions
U.S. Senate. Committee on Governmental Affairs. Issued every 4 years after the presidential election, most recently in the Fall of 2000, this report is commonly known as the Plum Book. It provides data on over 7,000 Federal civil service leadership and support positions in the legislative and executive branches of the Federal Government that may be subject to noncompetitive appointment.
http://www.access.gpo.gov/plumbook/2000/toc.html

The Constitution

American National Government: An Overview
U.S. Congressional Research Service. January 22, 2001. This report looks at the distribution of power in the federal government as derived from the constitution and the balance and separation of powers.
http://usinfo.state.gov/usa/infousa/politics/files/ang.pdf

Constitution of the United States of America
U.S. National Archives & Records Administration. A transcription of the Constitution in its original form, including items that have since been amended or superseded, with links to images of the original document and supporting materials.
http://www.archives.gov/national_archives_experience/constitution_transcript.html

Constitution of the United States, with explanatory notes
U.S. Department of State, Bureau of International Information Programs. This illustrated publication includes the complete text of the U.S. Constitution (preamble, seven articles, and 27 amendments), as well an updated introduction and explanatory notes by J.W. Peltason, author of Understanding the Constitution and Government by the People.
http://usinfo.state.gov/products/pubs/constitution/

The Constitutional Amendment Process
National Archives and Records Administration. Summary of the multi-layered process required to make changes to the U.S. Constitution.
http://www.archives.gov/federal_register/constitution/amendment_process.html

Democracy

Democracy Papers
U.S. Department of State. A series of 12 essays on democracy-building covering the following topics: Root Principles of Democracy, Constitutionalism, Democratic Elections, Federalism and Democracy, Creation of Law in a Democratic Society, Role of an Independent Judiciary, Powers of the Presidency, Role of a Free Media, Role of Interest Groups, The Public's Right to Know, Protecting Minority Rights, and Civilian Control of the Military.
http://usinfo.state.gov/products/pubs/democracy/

The Freedom Papers
U.S. Department of State. A 1990's series of seven papers by a variety of experts that provide practical information, case studies, and sources of information on issues of democracy-building. Topics include: free and independent media; teaching democracy; the role of the legislature; an independent judiciary; administering higher education; public access to government information; and creating and disseminating law.
http://usinfo.state.gov/products/pubs/archive/freedom/

Principles of Democracy
U.S. Department of State, Bureau of International Information Programs. Explains fundamental principles that contribute to making a democratic government work effectively. This series of one-page primers provides the reader with a concise definition of democracy and expands on supporting elements such as good governance and the rights and responsibilities of people living in democracies.
http://usinfo.state.gov/products/pubs/principles/

What is Democracy?
U.S. Department of State.
http://usinfo.state.gov/products/pubs/whatsdem/

The Budget Process

A Brief Introduction to the Federal Budget Process
Congressional Research Service
http://www.house.gov/rules/96-912.htm

The Annual Budget Process
http://www.house.gov/rules_bud/annual.htm

The Appropriations Process
U.S. House of Representatives. Rules Committee. A primer on the appropriations process, which provides federal agencies legal authority to incur obligations and the Treasury Department authority to make payments for designated purposes.
http://www.house.gov/rules/approps_proc.htm

The Basic Stages of the Budget Process
U.S. House of Representatives. Rules Committee. A brief description of the five stages of the budget process.
http://www.house.gov/rules/budget_stages.htm

The Budget Process and the Budget Resolution
U.S. House of Representatives. Rules Committee. A primer on the the budget process and the budget resolution, including the timetable of the budget process.
http://www.house.gov/rules/bud_procres.htm

The Budget Reconciliation Process
U.S. House of Representatives. Rules Committee. A primer on the budget reconciliation process, whereby Congress issues directives to legislate policy changes in mandatory spending (entitlements) or revenue programs (tax laws) to achieve the goals in spending and revenue contemplated by the budget resolution.
http://www.house.gov/rules/bud_rec_proc.htm

Public Dissemination of Government Information

Comprehensive Assessment of Public Information Dissemination June 2000 - March 2001
U.S. National Commission on Libraries and Information Science. This independent U.S. government organization completed a broad assessment of the underlying issues involving public dissemination of government information.
http://www.nclis.gov/govt/assess/assess.html

Information Management: Electronic Dissemination of Government Publications
U.S. General Accounting Office, March 2001. A study on the impact of providing documents to the public solely in electronic format and assessing the feasibility of transferring the depository library program to the Library of Congress.
http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d01428.pdf

The People's Right to Know: Transparency in Government Institutions
U.S. Department of State. This essay from the "Democracy Papers" deals with the balance between openness in government and privacy and security issues.
http://usinfo.state.gov/products/pubs/democracy/dmpaper10.htm

Transparency in Government
U.S. Department of State, Bureau of International Information Programs. Discusses the importance of opening government deliberations and rule-making processes to the public and of making government documents available to concerned citizens.
http://usinfo.state.gov/products/pubs/transgov/

Online Links to U.S. Government Resources

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