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United States Federal Government Resources: Legislative Branch Overview
Introduction
The Legislative Branch of the United States Government is responsible for making and passing laws. The United States Congress, composed of two houses, the House and the Senate, is the primary organ of the Legislative Branch. The Legislative branch creates laws. Laws are enforced by the executive branch through regulations and interpreted by the judicial branch through the Courts.
This page contains resources for finding legislative branch documents and general information about the legislative branch of government. Consult the Government Research Basics page in this guide for other government overview resources.
To find information about specific aspects of the Legislative Branch of the United States Government, see the pages below:
History and Information about the Legislative Branch
- Government ManualsOnline and print sources of the United States Government Manual, the official handbook of the Federal Government, can be found on this Sources by Subject page.
- A Historical Guide to the U.S. GovernmentThis text provides an overview of the U.S. government's historical structure and its evolution to the government's present form. Print only.
- Congress A to ZThis encyclopedia contains articles covering the origins, development, organization, powers, processes, and scandals of congress.
2014 edition also available as an e-book (Access for all on-campus; login required from off-campus). - Congressional DemographicsCongressional delegations, who is up for re-election, parties and more in this guide from Proquest.
- Guide to Congress
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This 7th edition e-book contains the origins, history, powers, and procedures related to congress.
The 6th edition is available in print. - Vital Statistics on Congress1980-2008. Combines historical context with insightful analysis and copious data to produce a valuable and authoritative picture of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives and how it has changed over the years.
2008 edition also available as an e-book (Access for all on-campus; login required from off-campus).
The Legislative Process
- Enactment of a Law - Congress.govThis online document from Congress.gov provides detailed information on the history and processes of Federal lawmaking. Can be downloaded in PDF format.
- How Our Laws are Made - Congress.govSimilar to the document above, this resource informs users about the process of law making, with a greater emphasis on the documents resulting from the legislative process.
- Legislative Process - Congress.govVideos with text transcripts providing an overview of the legislative process along with explanations of how the House and Senate differ.
- The Legislative ProcessThis handy PDF explains the legislative process from drafting, through committee committee action, to presidential action.
The United States Capitol Building
Image courtesy of senate.gov.
Google News: Legislative Branch
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