LibGuides: Legislative History: Executive Materials

Why are presidential documents important to the legislative history process?

Executive materials include presidential proclamations, executive orders, presidential signing statements, and the like. These materials may not play a large roll within legislative history research, however they can still assist researchers in locating information about the importance of legislation or about how the President feels the legislation applies to the executive branch of government. As such, it is beneficial for researchers to locate the executive materials related to the law they are researching.

Print Resources

There are multiple print resources providing researchers with access to presidential documents. A select few are described below.

Code of Federal Regulations by Government Printing Office
Call Number: AE 2.106/3: 3/ 1st floor Law Library
Title 3 of the CFR compiles the text of presidential documents on a yearly schedule. This includes proclamations, executive orders, reorganization plans, and other similar types of documents.
Federal Register by Government Printing Office
Call Number: AE 2.106 1st floor Law Library
Beginning in 1938, the Federal Register began printing most presidential documents. Its index provides access to these materials under the "Presidential Documents" heading. The Federal Register can also be access through a variety of online resources.
Public papers of the presidents of the United States.
Call Number: AE 2.114: OBAMA:2009:V.1
Each Public Papers volume contains the papers and speeches of the President of the United States that were issued by the Office of the Press Secretary during the specified time period. The material is presented in chronological order, and the dates shown in the headings are the dates of the documents or events.

Electronic Resources

There are many electronic resources for accessing executive materials. Some of the most frequently used resources are highlighted below.

Cornell's Legal Information Institute
(Free): Cornell's LII provides researchers with access to the Code of Federal Regulations. Researchers can use this site to access Title 3 of the CFR which compiles the texts of presidential documents on a yearly schedule.
Govinfo.gov
(Free): FDSys.gov provides researchers with access to the Daily Compilation of Presidential Documents (formerly known as the Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents). This resource provides access to many of the different types of executive materials available including executive orders and presidential proclamations. Coverage spans from 1992 to present.
The American Presidency Project
(Free): The American Presidency Project provides access to presidential documents of all varieties. This information is organized into searchable databases and allows for a good deal of research into documents created by various Presidents.
Whitehouse.gov
(Free): Whitehouse.gov provides researchers with access to many of the executive documents of the current President. Coverage is limited, however the materials are updated frequently.
HeinOnline
(Subscription Access only): HeinOnline provides researchers with access to the U.S. Presidential Library. This library contains various types of presidential materials - including access to the Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents from 1965-2009 and the Daily Compilation of Presidential Documents from 2009 - present.
Lexis+
(Subscription Access only): Lexis Advance allows researchers to search the Public Papers of the Presidents. To access these documents, click on the link for Browse Sources and then using the box on the left side of the page, search for presidential documents. You can then select the proper database to search.
Westlaw Edge
(Subscription Access only): To research presidential documents using Westlaw , enter Presidential Documents into the main search bar from the home screen and enter the proper database. Researchers can then search Presidential Documents from 1936 to present using the main search bar with the Presidential Documents tab highlighted.

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Why are presidential documents important to the legislative history process?

Print Resources

Electronic Resources