LibGuides: Government Documents: Executive

Executive Documents Table of Contents

White House. HABS Collection, Library of Congress

White House Speeches

Overview

Of course, much of the information released by the executive branch is the stuff of administrative law--administrative decisions and regulations. There are additional sources of information that document the President's direction of policy and implementation of law. This page presents some of those sources of current and historical Presidential pronouncements as well as guides to find additional information from executive agencies.

Presidential Documents

Compilation of Presidential Documents
Official publication of public statements by the President as released by the White House Press Secretary from 1993 to the present. Up to 2009, this was referred to as the Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents. Subsequently, it is referred to as the Daily Compiliation of Presidential Documents.
Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents
Historical coverage of presidential documents from 1965 - 2009.
Title 3, Code of Federal Regulations (C.F.R.)
Title 3 of the C.F.R., unlike the rest of the volumes of the set, is a cumulative compilation of executive orders and proclamations from 1936. (There is no substantive difference between an order and proclamation. Some commentators suggest that proclamations declare policy or commemorative events and orders direct the executive agenices. However, both are often used interchangably without regard to this distinction.) Prior bound volumes can be found in the LRC stacks at KF70.A3x.
Title 3, Code of Federal Regulations (C.F.R.)
Historical volumes of the C.F.R.'s Title 3 in PDF format.
Public Papers of the Presidents of the U.S.
Compiliation of public Presidential writings, messages, addresses and remarks from 1991 to present.
Public Papers of the Presidents of the U.S. - U. of Michigan Digital Library
Public papers of Presidents from Hoover to Clinton.
Compilation of the Messages and Papers of the Presidents
Collection of Presidential proclamations, speeches and other writings from President Washington to Theodore Roosevelt. This is available through Hein's U.S. Presidential Library.
American Presidency Project
University of California site containing Presidential documents such as public papers, addresses, statements of policy and economic reports.

White House Agencies

As the head of the executive branch, the President, of course, directs the executive agencies. The Executive Office of the President also contains agencies that assist in the direction of executive action. Below are some of the key White House agencies that produce information.

Council of Economic Advisors
Agency that advices the President on economic matters. The council produces fact sheets, economic data and an annual economic report that details Presidential economic policy.
Office of Management & Budget
Office charaged with drafting the President's annual budget.
Office of the U.S. Trade Representative
Office charged with advancing and administering trade policy. The site contains current trade agreements with other nations.

Executive Directories

President's Cabinet
List of the President's cabinet officers with links to their agencies.
U.S. Government Manual
Guide to the federal government with a list of agencies, descriptions of their responsibilities and list of senior officers. It also contains a History of Agency Organizational Changes which lists now defunct agencies and the entities that assumed their responsibilities.
Catalog of U.S. Government Publications
Finding aid for current and historical government documents.