Special Note: Most of the databases listed below are structured by year. Some have multiple databases within the broad category, i.e., Code of Federal Regulations has 50 Titles within it, each with multiple years (2000_cfr_title_1 through 2000_cfr_title_50 for each year). The naming structure of the databases is fairly easy: replace the four-digit numeral with the year desired. For example, 2001_budget is the most current budget database. If you want to research older budget databases, change the year to that desired, such as 2000_budget or 1999_budget. For some Congressional databases, you may need to change the session numeral to get to a different database, i.e., 106_cong_bills becomes 105_cong_bills.

Click here to get to the complete list of GPO Access databases.

The Budget of the United States Government (Fiscal Years 1997 forward)

Content: The Budget of the United States Government databases online via GPO Access, starting with Fiscal Year 1997, contain a summary of the President's budget proposals along with the following separately searchable documents: Supplement (FY 1997 only); Analytical Perspectives; Historical Tables; Appendix; A Citizen's Guide to the Federal Budget; Principles of Budgeting for Capital Asset Acquisitions (FY 98 only); Budgets for States and Mid-Session Review (FY 98 and FY 99 only); and Budget System and Concepts. Also included with these publications is the Economic Report of the President.

Special Features/Notes: Each Budget of the United States Government starting with Fiscal Year 1997 forward is available as a searchable database and is also available for direct download. Note that the Budget of the United States Government, Fiscal Year 1996 is available but is not a searchable database: each chapter can be directly downloaded. Helpful hints provide instructions for searching this database. The search "hints" will retrieve the document.

URL: http://w3.access.gpo.gov/usbudget/index.html

Database Source Information:
Database Name: 2001_budget
Host: historical.access.gpo.gov (162.140.64.89)
Port: 210

Campaign Reform Hearing

Content: The Campaign Finance Reform Legislation Hearing, November 16, 1995, held by the Committee on House Oversight is the 2nd in a series of hearings on that same subject. The database contains the transcripts of individual statements by witnesses, submitted statements of witnesses, charts and graphs. A large number of the submitted statements are scanned images and are therefore not searchable.

Database Structure: Files are available as ASCII text and as Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) files. The file will display in the results list with the initial words of the title. (For example: STATEMENT OF KEN PARMELEE)

Special Features/Notes: Helpful hints provide instructions for searching this database. The search "hints" will retrieve the document.

URL: http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/aces/aaces002.html

Database Source Information:
Database Name: campaign_reform
Host: wais.access.gpo.gov (162.140.64.21)
Port: 210

Catalog of U.S. Government Publications (CGP)

Content: The Catalog of United States Government Publications (CGP) lists and indexes Federal publications cataloged each month by the Library Programs Service (LPS), U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO). It includes publications from all three branches of the Federal government as well as from independent agencies, Government corporations, boards, commissions, and committees.

Database Structure: The CGP is available in paper and microfiche and is searchable online. Files are available as ASCII text and as Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) files.

Special Features/Notes: Helpful hints provide instructions for searching this database. The search "hints" will retrieve the document.

URL: http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/locators/cgp/index.html

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Code of Federal Regulations (1996 forward)

Content: The Code of Federal Regulations is the codification of the general and permanent rules published in the Federal Register by the Executive Department and agencies of the Federal Government. The CFR is divided into 50 titles which represent broad areas subject to Federal regulation. Each title is divided into chapters which usually bear the name of the issuing agency. Each chapter is further subdivided into parts covering specific regulatory areas. The database will be updated throughout the calendar year as the individual title databases are updated. It is now possible to search on individual titles or multiple titles at once.

Special Features/Notes: Helpful hints provide instructions for searching this database. The search "hints" will retrieve the document.

URL: http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/index.html

Database Source Information:
Database Name: 2000_cfr_title_* (*=1-50 depending on which title is desired)
Host: cfrwais1.access.gpo.gov (162.140.64.66)
Port: 210

Commerce Business Daily (1996 forward)

Content: The Commerce Business Daily (CBD) lists notices of proposed government procurement actions, contract awards, sales of government property, and other procurement information. Each notice appears in the print CBD only once. Notices stay "active" in the CBD database online via GPO Access for 15 days and are then moved to an "archived" database. Each notice is available as an ASCII text file. The active database is updated continuously.

Special Features/Notes: Helpful hints provide instructions for searching this database. The search "hints" will retrieve the document.

URL: http://cbdnet.access.gpo.gov/index.html

Database Source Information:
Database Name: HTMLCBD (current database) and CBD_ARCHIVE (archive database)
Host: cbdnet.access.gpo.gov (162.140.64.27)
Port: 210

Congressional Bills (103rd Congress forward)

Content (and relationship to printed counterpart): All published versions of bills from the 103rd Congress (1993-1994) forward are available. The current database is updated by 6 a.m. daily when bills are published and approved for release.

Database Structure: Each bill is a single physical file. There is no internal subdivision into "documents." Each ASCII text version of a bill has a counterpart in Adobe Acrobat Portable Document Format (PDF).

Each bill is displayed in the results list with the bill number and the initial words of the title. The specific version of each bill is identified by the initials in parentheses following the bill number. For example: H.R. 5 (ih) To curb the practice of imposing unfunded Federal mandates on State. In this example, H.R. 5 is the bill number and (ih) is the code that indicates this is the version of the bill as introduced in the House. A list of the abbreviations used to identify different versions of the same bill is included in the helpful hints. The Congressional Bills Glossary will appear first in the results list after performing a search.

Special features/notes: In the ASCII text version of bills from the 105th and 104th Congress, canceled type (which appears with a line through it in printed versions of the bills) is rendered with the tag <DELETED> preceding the deleted text and the tag </DELETED> following the deleted text. When multiple paragraphs have been deleted, the tags appear at the beginning and end of each deleted paragraph. In the ASCII text version of bills from the 103rd Congress, canceled type is rendered with a dash preceding each deleted character. The Acrobat PDF files display and print the typeset bills, including all canceled and inserted type, exactly as it appears in the printed form. Helpful hints provide instructions for searching these databases.

URL: http://www.access.gpo.gov/congress/cong009.html

Database Source Information:
Database Name: 106_cong_bills
Host: wais.access.gpo.gov (162.140.64.21)
Port: 210

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Congressional Calendars (104th Congress forward)

Content (and relationship to printed counterpart): The House and Senate Calendars are separate databases. The Senate Calendar databases contains the current issue of the Senate Calendar as well as the final calendar for the 104th Congress forward. The Senate calendar is published daily when the Senate is in session. It contains a listing of daily Senate activities only. The House Calendar databases contain the current Congress House Calendar and the final 104th Congress House Calendar forward. The House Calendar contains a history of House and Senate bills and resolutions that have been reported or considered by either house. In addition, the issue for the first legislative day of each week that the House is in session includes a legislative history of bills through conference, an index of short titles, an index of major subject headings, and an alphabetical index. (If Congress is not in session on a Monday, these sections will be printed either the Friday before or the next day the House is in session.)

Database Structure: Documents are available as ASCII text and as Adobe Acrobat Portable Document Format (PDF) files.

Special features/notes: The Adobe Acrobat PDF files display and print typeset Senate or House Calendar documents exactly as they appear in the printed form. Helpful hints provide instruction for searching these databases.

URL: House http://www.access.gpo.gov/congress/cong003.html
URL: Senate http://www.access.gpo.gov/congress/cong004.html

Database Source Information:
Database Name: house_calendar (House) and senate_calendar (Senate)
Host: wais.access.gpo.gov (162.140.64.21)
Port: 210

Congressional Directory (104th Congress forward)

Content (and relationship to printed counterpart): The Congressional Directory is prepared by the Joint Committee on Printing (JCP), and is the official directory of the U.S. Congress. It presents short bibliographies of each Member of the Senate and the House, listed by States and Districts respectively, includes additional data such as his/her committee memberships, terms of service, administrative assistant and/or secretary, room and telephone numbers. It also lists officials of the courts, the military establishments and other Federal departments and agencies, including the D.C. Government; Governors of States and Territories; foreign diplomats; and members of the press, radio, and television galleries. The Congressional Directory online via GPO Access contains links to online revisions of the current Directory.

Database Structure: Documents are available as ASCII text and as Adobe Acrobat Portable Document Format (PDF) files, with graphics contained in the files. Graphics are omitted from the ASCII text version.

Special features/notes: The Congressional Directory Interim database does not have a paper equivalent. Helpful hints provide instructions for searching this database.

URL: http://www.access.gpo.gov/congress/cong016.html

Database Source Information:
Database Name: 106_congressional_directory_interim_feb00
Host: wais.access.gpo.gov (162.140.64.21)
Port: 210

Congressional Documents (104th Congress forward)

Content (and relationship to printed counterpart): The Congressional Documents database contains selected House, Senate and Treaty Documents for the 104th Congress (1995-1996) forward.

URL: http://www.access.gpo.gov/congress/cong006.html

Database Source Information:
Database Name: 106_cong_documents
Host: wais.access.gpo.gov (162.140.64.21)
Port: 210

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Congressional Hearings (105th Congress forward)

Content and File Format: The Congressional Hearings database contains selected House and Senate hearings for the 105th Congress (1997-1998) forward. Options to search either or both the House and Senate Appropriations hearings alone or to include them in the search are also provided. Documents are available as ASCII text and Adobe Acrobat Portable Document format (PDF) files. Graphics, including scanned images of camera ready copy are omitted from the ASCII text version but are contained in the PDF files. Helpful hints provide instructions for searching this database.

URL: http://www.access.gpo.gov/congress/cong017.html

Database Source Information:
Database Name: 106_house_hearings (House) and 106_senate_hearings (Senate)
Host: wais.access.gpo.gov (162.140.64.21)
Port: 210

Congressional Record (1994 forward)

Content: The Congressional Record is the official record of the proceedings and debates of the United States Congress. The Congressional Record databases care available from 1994 forward. The latest database contains the daily issues of the Congressional Record for the current Congress. It is updated between 9:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m., Eastern time each day the Congressional Record is published, depending on when Congress adjourned the previous day.

Database Structure: Each "document" is an individually retrievable unit of text, which begins at a bodoni (fat) dash and ends prior to the next bodoni dash. Congressional Record documents are available as ASCII text files with the graphics in separate scanned image files in TIFF format. There is a separate TIFF file for each image which is sequentially numbered as they appear in the document. The text file includes a tag in the format <GRAPHIC><TIFF><FILENAME> where each graphic appears.

Special features/notes: The Congressional Record databases include page numbers which may searched and used for reference purposes. When viewing the ASCII text, the page number appears in the format [Page H12345]]. Whatever text follows that page reference actually appeared on the printed page H12345. The 1994 CR database does NOT include page numbers. Helpful hints provide instructions for searching these databases.

URL: http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/aces/aces150.html

Database Source Information:
Database Name: 2000_record
Host: wais.access.gpo.gov (162.140.64.21)
Port: 210

Congressional Record Index (CRI) (1983 forward)

Content: The Congressional Record Index  is an index of individuals, organizations, and topics mentioned in the the daily issues of the Congressional Record. It is published biweekly by the Joint Committee on Printing (JCP) when Congress is in session. The current database is updated daily, usually the day after publication of the Record. Databases are available from 1983 forward.

Database Structure: Each "document" is an individually retrievable unit of text, which begins at a major heading (corresponding to the headings in caps, boldface in the printed CRI) and ends at the beginning of the next major heading. The CRI databases are ASCII text. There are no graphics.

Special features/notes: All page number references in these databases refer to pagination of the daily, rather than the final, Congressional Record. "See" index terms, with no associated entries, are treated as documents having only one line. Helpful hints provide instructions for searching these databases.

URL: http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/aces/aaces190.html

Database Source Information:
Database Name: 2000_cri
Host: wais.access.gpo.gov (162.140.64.21)
Port: 210

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Congressional Reports (104th Congress forward)

Content: The Congressional Reports databases contains House, Senate and Executive Reports for the 104th Congress (1995-1996) forward. A "Catalog of Available Reports" is provided online which lists all reports currently available via GPO Access. This database is updated irregularly as electronic versions become available.

Database Structure: Reports are available as ASCII text and Adobe Acrobat portable document format (PDF) files. Graphics, including scanned images of camera ready copy are omitted from the ASCII text version. When reports are printed entirely from camera copy, the text is not searchable, except for words on the cover page. Approximately 15% of the Congressional Reports are produced from camera copy.

Special features/notes: The Adobe Acrobat PDF files display and print typeset Congressional Reports, exactly as they appear in the printed form, however, pages scanned from camera copy that are included in the PDF file will lack clarity. Helpful hints provide instructions for searching this database.

URL: http://www.access.gpo.gov/congress/cong005.html

Database Source Information:
Database Name: 106_cong_reports
Host: wais.access.gpo.gov (162.140.64.21)
Port: 210

Special Features/Notes: Helpful hints provide instructions for searching this database. The search "hints" will retrieve the document. Deschler's Precedents can be browsed at http://www.access.gpo.gov/congress/house/precedents/deschler.html. Order icons are also available on this page to purchase specific volumes. Additionally, Deschler's Precedents are fully searchable at http://www.access.gpo.gov/congress/house/precedents/srchdeschler.html.

URL: http://www.access.gpo.gov/congress/cong002.html

Database Source Information:
Database Name: economic_indicators
Host: wais.access.gpo.gov (162.140.64.21)
Port: 210

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Economic Report of the President (1996 forward)

Content: The Economic Report of the President is transmitted to Congress no later than ten days after the submission of the budget. The Report includes: 1) current and foreseeable trends and annual numerical goals concerning topics such as employment, unemployment, production, real income and Federal budget outlays; 2) employment objectives for significant groups of the labor force; 3) annual numeric goals and; 4) a program for carrying out program objectives. Supplementary reports can be issued to the Congress which contain additional and/or revised recommendations.  The 1995 Economic Report of the President is available via the Web for downloading. All subsequent Economic Reports of the President are available as separate databases and as downloadable files

Database Structure: Documents are available as ASCII text files and Adobe Acrobat Portable Document Format (PDF) files.

Special features/notes: Helpful hints provide instructions for searching this database.

URL: http://w3.access.gpo.gov/eop/

Database Source Information:
Database Name: 2000_erp
Host: historical.access.gpo.gov (162.140.64.89)
Port: 210

Federal Register (1994 forward)

Content (and relationship to printed counterpart): Contains the daily issues of the Federal Register (FR). The current database is updated by 6:00 a.m., Eastern time each day the FR is published. The FR databases for prior years contain the daily issues of the Federal Register from 1994 forward. All information in the Federal Register is included: Notices, Rules, Proposed Rules, Executive Orders, Presidential Documents, Table of Contents, Preliminary Information, Sunshine Act Meetings, List of the CFR Parts Affected and other Reader Aids. The Unified Agenda (Semi- Annual Regulatory Agenda) is available as a separate database.

Database Structure: GAO Reports are available as ASCII text files with the graphics in separate scanned image files in TIFF format. There is a separate TIFF file for each image, sequentially numbered in order of appearance. The text file includes a tag in the format <GRAPHIC><TIFF><FILENAME> where each graphic appears. GAO Reports are also available as Adobe Acrobat Portable Document Format (PDF) files, with the graphics contained in the files. Delineations within the text indicating chapter titles, headings, and bullets are preserved. Major divisions and subdivisions of the text, such as Chapters, Sections, and Appendixes, are identified by double and single lines. The numbers on the right end of these lines indicate the position of each of the subsections in the document outline. These numbers do NOT correspond with the page numbers of the printed product. Graphical images are not displayed, although figure captions are reproduced. Tables are included, but may not resemble those in the printed version.

URL: http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/aces/aces160.shtml

Database Source Information:
Database Name: gao
Host: wais.access.gpo.gov (162.140.64.21)
Port: 210

GAO Comptroller General Decisions (1995 forward)

Content: The database, sponsored by the U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO), contains decisions made by the Comptroller General in the areas of Federal law such as: appropriations; bid protests; civilian or military personnel pay and allowances; household goods and freight loss damage; and transportation rates, etc. The database includes decisions from October 1995 forward. The current database is updated within two business days after decisions are released.

Database Structure: Documents are available as ASCII text files and as an Adobe Acrobat Portable Document Format (PDF) files.

Special features/notes: The Adobe Acrobat PDF files display and print typeset Decisions exactly as they appear in the printed form. Helpful hints provide instructions for searching these databases. Search for the word "hints" to retrieve the Helpful Hints document.

URL: http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/aces/aces170.shtml

Database Source Information:
Database Name: gao_comptroller_general
Host: wais.access.gpo.gov (162.140.64.21)
Port: 210

Government Information Locator Service

Content: The Government Information Locator Service (GILS) databases contain records to identify public information resources throughout the Federal government, describe information available in those sources, and provide assistance in obtaining information. GILS core records describe the GILS record holdings of a particular agency. Agencies update their records on an irregular basis.

Database Structure: Records are available in ASCII text. Some records are also available in html (hypertext markup language) and contain hot links to the World Wide Web.

Special Features/Notes: Helpful hints provide instructions for searching this database. The search "hints" will retrieve the document.

URL: http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/gils/index.html

Database Source Information:
Database Name: gils
Host: wais.access.gpo.gov (162.140.64.21)
Port: 210

United States Government Manual (1995/1996 forward)

Content: The Government Manual database contains the United States Government Manual volumes from 1995/1996 forward. This manual is prepared by the National Archives and Records Administration, Office of the Federal Register.

The United States Government Manual is the official handbook of the Federal Government. It provides comprehensive information on the agencies of the legislative, judicial, and executive branches. The Manual also includes information on quasi-official agencies; international organizations in which the United States participates; and boards, commissions and committees. The Government Manual is available both in paper and online.

Database Structure: Documents are available as ASCII text and as Adobe Acrobat portable document format (PDF) files. Graphics are omitted from the ASCII text version, but are contained in the PDF files. Each document begins with the agency title and ends with a listing of additional sources of information for that particular agency. The U.S. Government Manual is available as a searchable database or as a table of browseable documents.

Special features/notes: The Adobe Acrobat PDF files display and print typeset Government Manual, exactly as it appears in the printed form.

Helpful hints provide instructions for searching this database. A search for the word "hints" will retrieve the document.

URL: http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/nara001.html

Database Source Information:
Database Name: 2000_government_manual
Host: historical.access.gpo.gov (162.140.64.89)
Port: 210

History of Bills and Resolutions (1983 forward)

Content: Available from 1983 forward. The  History of Bills and Resolutions is a section of the Congressional Record Index  that provides information about all bills and resolutions introduced during the current session of Congress. The current database is updated daily, usually the day after publication of the record. Entries for each bill include actions that are reported in the Congressional Record and reference issue and date and pages where the action is reported.

Database Structure: Each "document" is an individually retrievable unit of text, which begins at a major heading (corresponding to the headings in caps, boldface in the printed HOB) and ends at the beginning of the next major heading. The HOB databases are ASCII text. There are no graphics.

Special Features/notes: All page number references in these databases refer to pagination of the daily, rather than the final, Congressional Record.

Helpful hints provide instructions for searching these databases.

URL: http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/aces/aaces200.html

Database Source Information:
Database Name: 2000_hob
Host: wais.access.gpo.gov (162.140.64.21)
Port: 210

House Rules Manual

Content: The House Rules Manual online via GPO Access contains the revised edition of the Rules and Manual of the House of Representatives for the current session of Congress. The House Rules and Manual contains the fundamental source material for parliamentary procedure used in the House of Representatives: the Constitution of the United States; applicable provisions of Jefferson's Manual; rules of the House (as of the date of this preface); provisions pertinent decisions of the Speakers and other presiding officers of the procedural authority used in the House of Representatives.

Database Structure: The file is available as ASCII text and as an Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) file.

Special Features/Notes: Helpful hints provide instructions for searching this database. The search "hints" will retrieve the document.

URL: http://www.access.gpo.gov/congress/cong019.html

Database Source Information:
Database Name: 105_cong_house_rules_manual
Host: wais.access.gpo.gov (162.140.64.21)
Port: 210

Interior Department - Reports of the Office of the IG

Content: The Interior IG Reports database online via GPO Access contains various reports of the Inspector General, Department of the Interior.

Database Structure: The file is available as ASCII text and as an Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) file. The file will display in the results list with an identification code listing the report number followed by the initial words of the title. (For example: (No 96-I-223) Final Audit Report on Department of the Interior Comp...)

Special Features/Notes: Helpful hints provide instructions for searching this database. The search "hints" will retrieve the document.

URL: http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/aces/aaces002.html

Database Source Information:
Database Name: interior
Host: wais.access.gpo.gov (162.140.64.21)
Port: 210

Privacy Act Issuances, 1995 and 1997 Compilations

Content (and relationship to printed counterpart): The Privacy Act databases contain the Privacy Act Issuances, 1995 and 1997 Compilations. The Privacy Act Issuances 1995 and 1997 Compilations Online contain descriptions of Federal agency systems of records maintained on individuals and procedures Federal agencies follow to assist individuals who request information about their records. The categories of documents in this database are: individual Privacy Act system descriptions; and agency record-keeping policies and practices. The two sources of Privacy Act notices are: The Privacy Act Issuances, 1995 and 1997 Compilations and the Federal Register, which has updates to the most recent (1997) Compilation.

Database Structure: Documents are available as ASCII text. Most often, documents begin with the agency name and end with record source categories. Each entry displays an identification code in the results list followed by the initial words of the title. The identification code for the Privacy Act database lists the database name (Privacy Act) the system number (if any) and the truncated words in the title. For example, Privacy Act [OJP-005] Financial Management or Privacy Act: Under the Privacy Act of 1974...

Special features/notes: Helpful hints provide instructions for searching these databases.

URL: http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/aces/PrivacyAct.shtml

Database Source Information:
Database Name: PrivacyAct and 1997_privacy_act
Host: frwais.access.gpo.gov (162.140.64.25)
Port: 210

Public Laws Online (104th Congress forward)

Content: The Public Laws database is a collection of laws enacted during the 104th Congress (1995-1996) forward. The header of each section indicates when a recent Public Law affects that particular section but the text remains unchanged until the annual revision cycle. Prepared and published by the Office of the Federal Register (OFR), National Archives and Records Administration, each law is first published as a slip law and then later compiled into a volume of the Statutes at Large. The Public Laws database contains the text of each law enacted, and is updated irregularly as the publication of a slip law is authorized by the OFR.

Database Structure: The database files are provided in ASCII text, and each law also has a corresponding Adobe Acrobat Portable Document Format (PDF) The header of each section indicates when a recent Public Law affects that particular section but the text remains unchanged until the annual revision cycle. The header of each section indicates when a recent Public Law affects that particular section but the text remains unchanged until the annual revision cycle.

Special features/notes: The Acrobat PDF files display and print the typeset slip laws, including all side notes, exactly as they appear in the printed form. In the ASCII text files side notes appear in the text within double angle brackets. For example, in Public Law 104-1, the short title appears as a side note in the right margin adjacent to the end of the "Be it enacted" clause. In the ASCII text file it appears immediately following the "Be it enacted" clause, in the following format:

<<NOTE: Congressional Accountability Act of 1995.>>

Helpful hints provide instructions for searching the database.

URL: http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/nara005.html

Database Source Information:
Database Name: 106_cong_public_laws
Host: wais.access.gpo.gov (162.140.64.21)
Port: 210

Public Papers of the Presidents of the U.S.

Database Structure: Documents are available as ASCII text and Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) files.

Special Features/Notes: Helpful hints provide instructions for searching this database.

A service of the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office.
Questions or comments: gpoaccess@gpo.gov.