Training Manual 


Office of Electronic Information Dissemination Services 

GPO Publication 500.8 July 2003 

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Table of Contents 


GPO Access.....................................................................................................................................................5


Legislative Mandate | GPO Access Objectives | Permanent Public Access | 

Copyright Information | Privacy Policy | Exit Pages 

GPO Access Interface.........................................................................................................................................7 

GPO Access Seal | Navigational Links | Buttons | Footer 

File Formats.............................................................................................................................................................9 

ASCII Text | HTML | PDF | Adobe Acrobat Tips 

Searching Strategies.......................................................................................................................................11 

Boolean Operators | Quotation Marks | Multiple Boolean Operators | Truncation | 

Stopwords | Maximum Responses | Relevance Ranking | Identification Codes | 

Query Report | 1,000-Point Documents | Search Interfaces | Searching Tips 

Resources on GPO Access.............................................................................................................................18 

GPO Access Applications 

Explanation of Format 

Executive Applications 

Budget of the United States Government | Code of Federal Regulations | 

Federal Register | List of CFR Sections Affected (LSA) | Public Papers of the 

Presidents of the U.S. | United States Government Manual | Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents 

Legislative Applications 

Congressional Bills | Congressional Directory | Congressional Hearings | 

Congressional Record | Congressional Record Index | Congressional Reports | 

GAO Reports | History of Bills | House Journal | Public Laws | United States Code 

Application Update Schedule 

Finding Aids..........................................................................................................................................................41 

Browse Topics | Catalog of U.S. Government Publications | Federal Bulletin Board | 


Federal Agency Internet Sites | Federal Web Sites Hosted by GPO Access |


Search the Federal Government Through FirstGov | Government Information 


Locator Service (GILS) | Locate a Federal Depository Library | New Electronic Titles 


(NET) 


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Table of Contents (continued) 


Relating GPO Access Applications..................................................................................................45 

Tracking Legislation | Tracking Regulations | Finding Government Publications 

U.S. Government Online Bookstore......................................................................................................57 

Finding a Product | Order Submission | Search Tips | Shopping Cart | 

Encryption and Privacy 

Ben’s Guide to U.S. Government for Kids..................................................................................61 

Introducing U.S. Government | U.S. Government Resources | Using Ben’s 

Guide as a Learning Tool 

User Support.............................................................................................................................................63 

Self Help Tools | GPO Access User Support Team | GPO Order and 

Information Desk | AskLPS | Federal Depository Libraries | User Feedback 

User Feedback..........................................................................................................................................64 

Exercises & Answers........................................................................................................................................65 

Index..........................................................................................................................................................................71 

Insert for FDLs on STAT-USA/Internet.....................................................................Special Insert A 

This training manual was produced by the Office of Electronic Information 

Disseminations Serivces (EIDS) of the U.S. Government Printing Office and is 

accurate as of July 2003. Updates to this manual may be found on the GPO Access help 

page at <www.gpoaccess.gov/help>. 

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GPO Access


GPO Access provides 

free public access to 

electronic information 

available from all three 

branches of the Federal 

government. 

✶✶✶ 

GPO Access was 

established by Public 

Law 103-40. 

✶✶✶ 

GPO has assumed 

responsibility for the 

provision of permanent 

access to Government 

information products 

residing on GPO Access 

servers. 

GPO Access is a service of the U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO) that provides 

free public access to electronic information 

products from the Federal Government. One 

of the few information systems established by 

law, it provides reliable, timely access to official information from all three branches of 

the Federal Government. 

GPO Access encompasses more than 2,900 

databases through more than 80 applications, 

such as the Federal Register and the Congressional Record. Many electronic documents 

appear on the day of publication exactly as 

they do in print, and are the official published 

version. 

the Congressional Record, the Federal Regi 

ster, and other appropriate publications, as 

determined by the Superintendent of 

Documents. 

✶ Operate an electronic storage facility for 

Federal electronic information. 

Senate Report 103-27 further required 

that GPO maintain the Federal Bulletin 

Board (FBB), which existed prior to Public 

Law 103-40. 

GPO Access Objectives 

✶ Improve access to official Federal Government information in electronic formats. 

✶ Provide well-designed, easy to use, publicly 

available online services. 

✶ Provide official and complete Federal 

information 

Legislative Mandate 

GPO Access was established by Public Law 

103-40, the Government Printing Office Electronic Information Access Enhancement Act of 

1993. Public Law 103-40 amended GPO’s 

traditional responsibilities to include provisions for enhancing public access to a wide 

range of Federal electronic information products. This legislation requires the 

Superintendent of Documents to do the 

following: 

✶ Maintain an electronic directory of Federal electronic information (Pathway 

Services). 

✶ Provide a system of online access to 

✶ Provide “Finding Aids” that assist users in 

searching and browsing for governmentwide information. 

✶ Ensure access to broadest audience possible, 

both directly and through Federal 

Depository libraries. 

✶ Ensure permanent public access. 

Permanent Public Access (PPA) 

Title 44 of the United States Code (44 

U.S.C. Section 1911) stipulates that public 

access to official Government information 

products disseminated through the Federal 

Depository Library Program (FDLP) must be 

maintained permanently in regional 

depository libraries, and by depository 

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The information 

provided online via 

GPO Access is 

uncopyrighted, unless 

otherwise noted. 

✶✶✶ 

The U.S. Government 

Printing Office is 

dedicated to user 

privacy and security. 

✶✶✶ 

Exit pages inform users 

that they are leaving 

GPO Access. GPO 

cannot account for the 

quality or accuracy of 

any information not 

located on GPO 

servers. 

libraries not served by a regional library. Since 

online products are not physically distributed 

to depository libraries for retention, GPO has 

assumed responsibility for the provision of 

permanent access to Government information products residing on GPO Access servers. 

GPO also meets its permanent public 

access commitment by bringing agencydisseminated Internet resources under the 

purview of GPO and incorporating them into 

a digital archive. GPO captures copies of 

agency electronic information products and 

creates PURLs (Persistent URLs) so that users will be automatically redirected to the 

archived products if the information is no 

longer accessible on the agency Web site. 

To learn more about GPO’s PPA efforts, 

go to <www.gpo.gov/ppa>. 

Copyright Information 

Privacy Policy 

GPO is dedicated to the privacy and security of GPO Access users. The minimal user 

information collected by the U.S. Government Printing Office is used for: 

✶ Statistical Purposes: This information is 

used to measure, enhance, and improve 

the services on GPO Access. 

✶ User Support: Personal information submitted by a user in a comment or question via phone, fax, or e-mail is used only 

to help that user and will not be distributed to parties outside of GPO. 

✶ Order Submission: Personal information 

that is supplied by a user when submitting 

an order via GPO Access, phone, fax, or email is used only for fulfilling the order. 

Furthermore, GPO does not employ 

cookies to gather information on its users. 

More information can be found at 

<www.gpoaccess.gov/about.html#privacy>. 

The information provided online via GPO 

Access is uncopyrighted government information, unless otherwise noted, and there are 

no restrictions on the republication or other 

reproduction of the material (17 U.S.C. Section 105). When copyrighted material appears 

in any of the databases, a copyright statement 

will accompany the specific document. 

Neither GPO nor the United States 

Government will be held liable for any 

damages resulting from the authorized or 

unauthorized use of the data and information offered through GPO Access. 

Exit Pages 

GPO Access contains numerous links to 

other Web sites. In most cases, when linking 

to another site, an exit page will appear. These 

pages inform users that they are leaving GPO 

Access and that GPO cannot account for the 

quality or accuracy of any information not 

on GPO’s servers. 

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GPO Access Interface 


Due to the size of 

GPO Access, some 

pages are still being 

converted to the new 

interface. 

✶✶✶ 

Navigational links 

allow users to navigate 

to the main divisions 

found on the GPO 

Access home page. 

In April 2003, in response to user feedback, 

GPO released a new interface for GPO Access. 

This interface introduced a consistent design 

and a means of navigating throughout the site. 

Due to the size of the site and interagency hosting policies, some areas of the site are still being 

converted. The following elements comprise 

the new design: 

✶ GPO Access seal 

✶ Top Navigation Bar 

✶ Side Navigation Bar 

✶ Standard footer 

GPO Access seal 

The GPO Access seal below can be found 

in the top left-hand corner of each page. 

Click on the logo to return to the GPO 

Access home page. 

TM 

Topic pull-down box contains links to pages 

that organize the resouces on GPO Access into 

the following topical areas: Business & 

Economy, Education, Environment, Food & 

Drugs, Grants & Awards, Health & Safety, 

Military & Security, Science & Technology, 

Social Programs, and Transportation. The 

GPO Access site search can be found in the 

upper right-hand corner of each page. 

Side Navigation Bar 

The side navigation bar, found on the lefthand column of pages, provides navigation 

within a section or highlights areas that relate 

to that section. 

Footer 

Marked by a horizontal line, the footer provides a link to the main GPO page, an e-mail 

link for the GPO Access User Support Team, 

other page specific e-mail links, the date the 

page was last updated, and the complete URL. 

GPO Access can now be found at the following URL: <www.gpoaccess.gov>. 

GPO Access is also still available at this 

alias <www.gpo.gov/gpoaccess>. 

New GPO Access URL 

Top Navigation Bar 

The links found in the navigation bar at the 

top of each page reflect the organizational structure of the resources on GPO Access. These 

links include: Legislative, Executive, Judicial, 

Help, About, Contact, A-Z Resource List, 

Locate a Federal Depository Library, and Buy 

Publications. The GPO Access Resources by 

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Example 1: The GPO Access home page as of June17, 2003. 

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The main format types 

on GPO Access are 

ASCII text, HTML, 

and Portable 

Document Format 

(PDF). 

✶✶✶ 

ASCII Text files 

contain only the raw 

data and no 

formatting. 

✶✶✶ 

HTML files can be 

presented with 

formatting, graphics, 

and links. 

✶✶✶ 

PDF files preserve a 

document’s original 

appearance. 

File Formats 


GPO Access offers a variety of file formats 

for viewing documents, with ASCII text, 

Hypertext Markup Language (HTML), and 

Adobe Acrobat Portable Document Format 

(PDF) being the most common types. Not 

all file formats are available for each database. 

More information can be found at 

<www.gpoaccess.gov/help/fileformats.html>. 

ASCII Text 

These documents contain only the raw data 

and no formatting. As a result, they do not 

have any special graphics or font formats, such 

as bold, underline, or italics. 

Summary files contain the given summary 

or the first 100 lines of the ASCII text document, and allow you to preview a document 

before viewing or saving the full version. 

Text Image File Format (TIFF) files are 

found mainly in the older databases on GPO 

Access. TIFF files provide the graphical content to supplement ASCII text files. Since 

1995, TIFF files have been replaced by PDF 

files. To view a TIFF file, you must have a 

graphics viewer associated with your Web 

browser. 

HTML 

A Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) 

file is the document that a Web browser 

receives from a Hypertext Transfer Protocol 

(HTTP) server. It is an ASCII text file with 

tags that signal how the browser should display the contents. HTML documents can be 

presented with formatting, graphics, and links. 

HTML links are being added on GPO Access to connect databases and add additional 

features to standard ASCII text files. For example, HTML files can currently be found 

in the Congressional Record Index (CRI), connecting references in the CRI to pages in the 

Congressional Record. In addition, Web and 

e-mail links may be found in the Federal Register. These links will continue to be added to 

databases in the future. 

PDF 

Documents in the Adobe Acrobat Portable 

Document Format (PDF) preserve a 

document’s original appearance. Their high 

aesthetic quality is achieved through the use 

of text, graphics, photos, and color. This format provides full-text search capabilities, 

allowing you to search and retrieve within the 

document. Files may contain HTML and email links. PDF files are independent of 

computer platform or distribution media and 

are available to all users who have the free 

Adobe Reader software. The Adobe Reader 

can be downloaded at <www.adobe.com>. 

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Adobe Reader Tips 


PDF files are a predominant file format 

on GPO Access. The following tips will be useful when using PDF files on GPO Access. 

Selecting One Column of Text 

Choose the text tool from the 

toolbar, hold down the <CONTROL> key and use the mouse 

to draw a box around a column 

of text. Copy the text into a word processing 

program by choosing “Copy” from the Edit 

menu in Adobe Reader and then choosing 

“Paste” in the Edit menu in the word processing program. Be aware, however, that any 

special formatting (e.g. special fonts, strikethrough text, columns) will be lost when 

pasting the text to another document. 

Saving PDF Files 

When a PDF file opens within a browser 

window, save the document by choosing 

“Save As” from the “File” menu. It will automatically save as a PDF file. To save a PDF 

file from an HTML link (such as a results 

list) do one of the following: 

Windows: 

✶ Right-click on the PDF link and choose 

“Save link as” or “Save target as” from the 

menu that appears. 

✶ Hold down the <SHIFT> key and left-click 

on the PDF link. 

Mac: 

✶ <CONTROL>-click on the PDF link and 

choose “Download Link to Disk” from the 

menu that appears. 

✶ Highlight the PDF link and drag it to the 

desktop. 

If the file name appears as waisgate, 

waisgate.cgi, get-doc.cgi, or get-cfr.cgi 

(found in the Code of Federal Regulations) in 

the “Save As” dialogue box, you must rename 

the file with a .pdf extension. Example: 

filename.pdf. If a PDF file is downloaded 

as *.cgi, simply rename it as a *.pdf. 

“Unknown File Type” or 

X-Application Error 

PDF files on GPO Access are set up as a plugin and a helper application. Plug-in PDF files 

appear within a browser window. Helper application PDF files launch Adobe Reader as a 

separate application. When an “unknown file 

type” error message is received, the helper application is trying to launch, only the file 

association has not yet been established. To 

set the association: 

1. Choose “browse” and locate the executable 

file for Adobe Reader on the hard drive (i.e. 

acroread32.exe). Select the file and choose 

“okay.” 

2. A dialogue box will appear with an option 

to open or save the file. Clicking on the “Do 

not show this screen again” check box makes 

the chosen option (save or open) the default. 

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Searching Strategies 


On GPO Access, the 

default Boolean 

operator is OR. 

✶✶✶ 

It is not necessary to 

capitalize the Boolean 

operators when using 

GPO Access via the 

World Wide Web, 

except when using 

the Sales Product 

Catalog (SPC). 

✶✶✶ 

Quotation marks have 

the same function as 

the ADJ Boolean 

operator. 

This section describes strategies to help narrow search queries to achieve more accurate 

results. This information can be found on 

GPO Access at <www.gpoaccess.gov/help/ 

searching.html>. 

Boolean Operators 

The Boolean operators (AND, OR, NOT, 

and ADJ) establish logical relationships among 

concepts expressed in a natural-language 

query. In other words, they are used to make 

searches more specific. The more specific a 

search is, the fewer number of extraneous hits 

are received. 

AND restricts a search when a particular pair of terms is known. The query 

weather AND aviation returns only the 

documents that contain both words. 

OR is the default operator for the WAIS 

server. The query transportation OR 

highway returns documents containing 

the word “transportation”, the word 

“highway”, or both. A higher relevance 

ranking is assigned to documents that 

contain both words. 

NOT rejects documents that contain 

specified words. The query education 

NOT secondary returns documents that 

contain the word “education”, but do 

not contain the word “secondary.” 

ADJ ensures that one word is followed by another in a document. 

The query lead ADJ paint returns 

documents that contain the phrase “lead 

paint”, or the word “paint” within 20 

characters after the word “lead.” The 

WAIS server will not change word order; therefore, lead ADJ paint is not the 

same as paint ADJ lead. 

You do not have to capitalize the Boolean 

operators when you are using GPO Access via 

the World Wide Web, except when using the 

Sales Product Catalog (SPC) database on the 

U.S. Government Online Bookstore. 

Quotation Marks 

Quotation marks have the same function 

as the ADJ Boolean operator within a search 

query. Thus, the queries “Government Printing Office” and Government ADJ Printing ADJ 

Office return the same results. It is also possible to use quotation marks in combination 

with Boolean language. 

Multiple Boolean Operators 

Complex queries may be constructed with 

multiple Boolean operators. For clarity, parentheses should be used to group sections of 

the query and to ensure that the WAIS server 

parses the query as intended. 

“Department of Education” AND 

(“bilingual education” OR “foreign 

language”) AND (grants OR “cooperative agreements”) 

If the above example lacked parentheses, 

the WAIS server would process the phrases 

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Truncation may only 

be used for suffixes, 

not prefixes. 

✶✶✶ 

Occurrences of the 

words “and”, “or”, 

and “not” are 

processed by the 

WAIS server as 

Boolean operators, 

unless used within 

quotation marks. 

✶✶✶ 

By default, the 

maximum responses 

for a query is 40, 

except in the Code of 

Federal Regulations, 

which is 120. 

first, the AND operators next, and the OR 

operators last. The resulting query would be 

read by the server as (“Department of Education” AND “bilingual education”) OR 

(“foreign language” AND grants) OR “cooperative agreements.” A test of these searches 

in the Federal Register database in June 1995 

retrieved 39 documents from the first query 

and 240 from the second. 

Truncation 

The asterisk (*) may be used to truncate 

words in a query in order to expand a search 

within a specified range. For example, a search 

for librar* will return documents that contain the word(s) “library”, “library’s”, “libraries”, 

“librarian”, etc. Using truncation saves time by 

eliminating the need to perform different 

searches for variations on a single word that 

differ only in their endings, or suffixes.When 

constructing a truncated query, include as 

many characters from the desired words (or 

phrases) as possible in order to reduce the number of irrelevant documents returned. 

Truncation may not be used for prefixes. 

Stopwords 

Stopwords, such as “the” and “it”, are words 

that occur so frequently in documents that 

they are not useful for distinguishing one 

document from another. Since they are not 

indexed, they cannot be used in searches. 

Therefore, stopwords that are included in queries are ignored by the system. For example, 

the query “National Council on Disability” returns the same documents as the query 

“National Council Disability.” 

Occurrences of the words “and”, “or”, and 

“not” are processed by the WAIS server as 

Boolean operators, unless used within quotation marks. For a complete list of 

stopwords, go to <www.gpoaccess.gov/help/ 

searching.html#stopwords>. 

Maximum Responses 

The maximum responses received from a 

query is set at a default of 50, except in the 

Code of Federal Regulations, which is 120. To 

locate a larger number of documents, you 

must change the setting. All of the GPO Access search pages provide a box in which to 

change the maximum number of returned 

documents up to a limit of 200. 

Generally, 50 responses should be adequate 

to retrieve the desired document. If a document is not listed within the default 50 results, 

try making the query more specific before 

expanding the number of returned documents. Increasing the number of documents 

to be retrieved increases the time that it takes 

to return the search results. 

Relevance Ranking 

Search results are displayed in an order 

determined by a system called relevance ranking. The most “relevant” document appears 

at the top of the results list with a score of 

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In a results list, the 

most “relevant” 

document appears at 

the top of the results 

list with a score of 

1,000; the least 

“relevant” appears at 

the bottom of the list 

with a score of one. 

✶✶✶ 

Identification codes 

are useful for 

differentiating among 

dates, sections of a 

single database, and, 

in the case of more 

complex searches, 

documents from 

multiple databases. 

1,000; the least “relevant” appears at the bottom of the list with a score of one. As a general 

rule, document scores should decrease gradually from the top to the bottom of the results 

list. Typically, documents with a score of less 

than 500 are not very “relevant” to a search 

and are not worth retrieving, unless the contents of the document are known. 

The WAIS server computes “relevance” 

based on the following five factors. A separate score for each of these factors is not 

available for any given document. 

1. Word weight is based on where a query 

term is located within a document. A word 

receives the highest rating if it appears in a 

headline or title.Within the text of a document, a word receives a higher rating if it 

appears in all capital letters or if the first 

letter of the word is capitalized than if it 

appears in all lowercase letters. 

2. Word density is based on a query term’s 

frequency of occurrence within a document 

in relation to the size of the document. If 

two documents contain the same number 

of occurrences of a particular query term, 

the smaller document will receive the 

higher rating. For this reason, it is important to take file size into account when you 

compare the relevance ranking of 

documents. 

3. Term weight is based on a query term’s 

frequency of occurrence throughout all 

documents in a database. Words that occur infrequently throughout a database receive a higher rating than words that appear frequently. Very common words are 

either ignored or devalued in the scoring. 

4. Phrase matching is based on the similarity between a query phrase and the 

corresponding phrase in a document. A 

document that contains a phrase that is identical to the query phrase receives the highest 

rating. For instance, when searching for “foreign import”, documents with the phrase 

“foreign import” would have a higher relevance ranking than documents with the 

phrase “foreign trade import.” 

5. Proximity relationship is based on the 

proximity of query terms to one another 

within a document. Query terms that are 

located close together in a document 

receive a higher rating than those that are 

located farther apart. Remember that the 

use of quotation marks and/or the Boolean operator ADJ in your query will 

retrieve documents that contain the query 

terms within 20 characters of one another. 

Thus, a search for “lead paint” will retrieve 

documents that contain the phrases “lead 

paint”, “lead-based paint,” and “lead-based 

type paint.” 

Identification Codes 

The WAIS server generates an identification code that is unique to each database on 

GPO Access. The sole purpose of this identification code is to identify the database from 

which a particular document is retrieved. 

Database identification codes are located to 

the left of a document’s title in a search 

results list. 

Since identification codes are not unique 

to each document, they are not useful search 

terms. However, identification codes can be 

used to differentiate document dates, sections 

of a single database, and documents from 

multiple databases (in more complex searches). 

The following example illustrates the 

different type of identification codes used in 

GPO Access databases: 

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A query report always 

appears as the final 

document with a score 

of one in the search 

results list and 

contains information 

on how a query was 

processed. 

✶✶✶ 

In addition to 

identifying the 

document most 

“relevant” to a search, 

1,000-point 

documents are used 

occasionally to explain 

structural database 

enhancements. 

Federal Register: fr31de98P 

In this code, “fr” stands for Federal Register, “31de98” identifies the issue date 

of December 31, 1998, and “P” indicates that the document was published 

in the Proposed Rules section. 

Congressional Record: cr14my98H 

In this code, “cr” stands for Congressional 

Record, “14my98” identifies the issue 

date of May 14, 1998, and “H” indicates that the document was published 

in the House pages. 

Congressional Bills: S. 1228 (rs) 

In this code, “S. 1228” is the bill number and “(rs)” indicates the status of the 

bill (reported in Senate). 

Query Report 

A query report always appears as the final 

document with a score of one in a search results list. This document contains information 

on how the query was processed, the fields and 

number of documents in the database searched, 

the number of words in the database that conformed to the search request, the total number 

of relevant documents identified, and the speed 

of retrieval. The query report will be cut off 

when searching multiple databases. 

results list, the first is an online message from 

GPO and the second is the 1,000-point document that relates to the query. These messages 

may give the status of periodic database upgrades and enhancements; announce new 

databases, applications, and features; state when 

a database is expected to be back online; or 

supply other important information. They do 

not interfere with the search results. 

Search Interfaces 

Not all the databases on GPO Access have 

fielded search pages, such as the Unified Agenda. 

Fielded searching for GPO Access datababases 

began in 1995. Documents in 1994 databases 

do not contain fields and therefore can only be 

searched using the multi-database search page 

<www.gpoaccess.gov/multidb.html>. A complete list of databases can be found at: 

<www.gpoaccess.gov/databases.html>. 

1,000-Point Documents 

Sometimes more than one 1,000-point 

document will appear in a results list. In 

addition to identifying the document most 

“relevant” to the search, 1,000-point documents are used occasionally to introduce 

structural database enhancements. Whenever 

two 1,000-point documents appear in a search 

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Example 2: The Multi-Database Search page as of June 17,2003. 

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Example 3: The Congressional Record Advanced search page as of June 17, 2003. 

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If a page contains the 

stem .cgi (as in 

waisgate.cgi) or if 

/cgi-bin/ appears in 

the URL, the page Searching Tips cannot be bookmarked 


and referenced at a 


later date. The following are some advanced search- Bookmarking GPO Access Pages


✶✶✶ ing tips to keep in mind while using GPO A “bookmark” is a feature of Web browsers 

Detailed instructions


for bookmarking are Access. These and other tips may be found at that allows users to save Web addresses for easy 


available at: <www. <www.gpoaccess.gov/help>. gpoaccess.gov/help/ retrieval later. Some files, however, cannot be

bookmarking.html>. 

Linking to Documents within bookmarked. Addresses that contain a cgi script 

GPO Access Databases cannot be bookmarked, since they are tempoWhen a search is conducted within a GPO 

Access database, the resulting documents are 

retrieved from the database using a cgi (or 

common gateway interface) script. If a page 

contains the stem .cgi (as in waisgate.cgi) or 

if /cgi-bin/ appears in the URL, the page cannot be bookmarked and referenced at a later 

date. 

Specific HTML coding is necessary to link 

directly to documents contained in the databases resident on GPO’s WAIS servers. The 

HTML string necessary to create a permanent link consists of three parts: 

✶ the URL of the cgi script which retrieves 

the document 

✶ the Database Name which contains the 

document being linked 

✶ the Document ID of the specific document 

being linked 

The procedures for linking documents vary 

between databases. Detailed instructions for 

specific databases are available at 

<www.gpo.gov/getdoc.html>. 

rary files. Bookmarking varies from browser to 

browser. Detailed instructions for bookmarking 

are available at: <www.gpoaccess.gov/help/ 

bookmarking.html>. 

Scrolling Option Boxes 

Depending on the type of computer and 

query, searches may be performed across databases on GPO Access using scrolling option 

boxes. 

Consecutive or Range of Databases 

(Mac and PC): Choose a range of items 

by choosing the first item and while 

holding the <SHIFT> key, choosing the 

last item. All items within this range will 

be selected. 

Non-consecutive databases (Mac): To 

choose non-contiguous items, hold 

down the <COMMAND> key and use 

the mouse to highlight individual databases. 

Non-consecutive databases (PC): To 

choose non-contiguous items, hold 

down the <CTRL> key and use the 

mouse (left-click) to highlight individual 

databases. 

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GPO Access Resources 


The following is a list of resources on GPO Access divided into branches of the Federal 

Government. The bolded applications are covered in detail in this section. In addition to 

the resources listed below, GPO hosts the main Web sites for 16 Federal agencies. Information on GPO hosted sites may be found on page 42. 

Budget of the United States Government 

Code of Federal Regulations 

Commerce Business Daily (CBDNet) 

Davis-Bacon Wage Determinations 

DOE GrayLIT Ne twork 


DOE Federal R&D Project Summaries 


DOE Information Bridge 


DOSFAN Electronic Research Collection


Department of Interior - Inspector General Reports 


Economic Report of the President 

Energy Citations Database 


Export Administration Regulations 


Federal Register 

List of CFR Sections Affected 

MEDLINE


Medical Subject Headings 


NLM LOCATORplus


Privacy Act Issuances 


Public Papers of the Presidents of the U.S.


PubSCIENCE, Department of Energy


Semiannual Regulatory Agenda (Unified Agenda) 


United States Government Manual


Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents


State of New York, ex rel. Eliot Spitzer, 

et al., v. Microsoft Corporation 

Supreme Court Decisions 

Cannon’s Precedents of the House of Representatives 

Congressional Bills 

Congressional Committee Prints 

Congressional Directory 

Congressional Documents 

Congressional Hearings 

Congressional Pictorial Directory 

Congressional Record 

Congressional Record Index 

Congressional Reports 

Deschler's Precedents of the U.S. House of Representatives 

Economic Indicators 

GAO Comptroller General Decisions 

GAO Reports 

Hinds' Precedents of the U.S. House of Representatives 

History of Bills 

History of Line Item Veto Notices 

House Calendars 

House Journal 

House Practice: A Guide to the Rules, Precedents and 

Procedures of the House 

House Rules and Manual 

House Ways and Means Committee Prints 

Miscellaneous House Publications and Committees 

Miscellaneous Senate Publications and Committees 

Public Laws 

Riddick’s Senate Procedure 

Senate Calendar of Business 

Senate Manual 

United States Code 

U.S. Constitution 

United States Government Policy and Supporting 

Positions (Plum Book) 

U.S. Government Printing Office Style Manual 

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GPO Access Applications 

GPO Access contains over 2,900 databases in more than 80 applications. An example of an 

application is the Federal Register. Applications may consist of multiple databases. 

Explanation of Format...................................................................................................................................20


Executive Applications


Budget of the United States Government........................................................................21 


Code of Federal Regulations............................................................................................22 


Federal Register..............................................................................................................23 


List of CFR Sections Affected (LSA).............................................................................24 


Public Papers of the Presidents of the U.S........................................................................25 


United States Government Manual................................................................................26 


Weekly Compliation of Presidential Documents................................................................27 


Legislative Applications


Congressional Bills..........................................................................................................28 


Congressional Directory...................................................................................................29 


Congressional Hearings...................................................................................................30


Congressional Record.......................................................................................................31


Congressional Record Index.............................................................................................32


Congressional Reports......................................................................................................33


GAO Reports .................................................................................................................34 


History of Bills.............................................................................................................35


House Journal................................................................................................................36


Public Laws...................................................................................................................37 


United States Code........................................................................................................38 


Application Updates Schedule.........................................................................................................39 


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Explanation of Format 

The following pages present GPO Access’ major applications and provide summaries of 

each application, their availablity, special features, and more. 

Application Name 

URL 


Summary 

Availability 

Special 

Features 

Unique Searching 

Instructions 

Branch of 

Government 

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Budget of the United


States Government


http://www.gpo.gov/usbudget 

Executive Applications


Issued by the Office of Management and Budget, the Budget of the United States Government is a collection of documents that contains the budget message of the President, information 

about the President's budget proposals for a given fiscal year, and other budgetary publications 

that have been issued throughout the fiscal year. The totals for the current and upcoming fiscal 

years are only projected amounts. Annual budget documents provide Congress, State and local 

governments, and the public with a complete description of the President's budget plans for 

the coming fiscal year. Other related and supporting budget publications, such as the Economic 

Report of the President, are included, which may vary from year to year. 

File Formats: ASCII text, PDF 

Availability: FY 1996 forward 

Search: FY 1997 forward 

Browse: None 

Special Features 

✶ Specialized search pages and direct downloading of budgetary documents are available for 

each fiscal year. Choose the “search selected documents on-line” link for the appropriate 

year from the main budget page. 

✶ Searching across multiple years of the budget is available from the multi-database search 

page at <www.gpoaccess.gov/multidb.html>. 

✶ Related and supporting budgetary documents, such as A Citizen's Guide to the Federal Budget, may be available in HTML format. 

✶ Many of the tables found in the Budget are be available for separate viewing and downloading as spreadsheets in WK4 and XLS formats. 

Unique Searching Instructions 

✶ To find the budget’s table of contents, enter “table of contents” in the search terms box. 

✶ For specific search examples, consult the helpful hints at <www.gpo.gov/gpoaccess/help/ 

hints/budget.html>. 

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Archival Copy
Code of Federal 

Regulations 

http://www.gpoaccess.gov/cfr 

Executive Applications


The Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) is the codification of the general and permanent 

rules published in the Federal Register by the executive departments and agencies of the Federal Government. It is divided into 50 titles that represent broad areas subject to Federal 

regulation. Each volume of the CFR is updated once each calendar year and is issued on a 

quarterly basis. Titles 1-16 are updated as of January 1st, Titles 17-27 as of April 1st, Titles 28-

41 as of July 1st, and Titles 42-50 as of October 1st. 

File Formats: ASCII text, PDF 

Availability: 1996 (partial) forward 

Search/Browse: 1996 (partial) forward 

Special Features 

✶ To search the current data, use the search box at <www.gpoaccess.gov/cfr>. 

✶ Searching or browsing a single or multiple CFR titles for a given year is available through the 

browse feature.While an entire title may not be retrieved due to its large file size, documents 

can be retrieved at the part, subpart, and section levels by entering a query or by following 

various links. 

✶ Due to the update schelule of the CFR, the List of Sections Affected (LSA) 

<www.gpoaccess.gov/lsa> provides a cumulative list of CFR sections that have been changed 

at any time since each CFR title was last updated. 

Unique Searching Instructions 

✶ When a CFR citation is known, use the “Retrieve a CFR by Citation” page at 

<www.gpoaccess.gov/cfr/retrieve.html>. The title, part, and section (or subpart) must be 

known. Or enter the citation, in quotes and without spaces in the search terms box at 

<www.gpo.gov/nara/cfr>. For example: “20CFR404.140”. 

✶ Appendices may be found at the end of a CFR part. To pull up an entire CFR part, go to the 

browse page for the desired title and enter “Part #” in the search terms box. The PDF 

version will display charts and tables. 

✶ For specific search examples, consult the helpful hints at <www.gpoaccess.gov/cfr/tips.html>. 

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Federal Register


http://www.gpoaccess.gov/fr 

Published by the Office of the Federal Register, National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), the Federal Register is the official daily publication for Rules, Proposed Rules, 

and Notices of Federal agencies and organizations, as well as Executive Orders and other Presidential documents. It is updated daily by 6 a.m. and is published Monday through Friday, 

except Federal holidays. 

Executive Applications


File Formats: ASCII text, PDF, HTML, and Summary 

Availability: 1994 (Volume 59) forward 

Fielded Search: 1995 forward 

Browse: Daily Table of Contents, 1998 forward 

Special Features 

✶ The browse feature allows you to view the entire table of contents from a single issue of the 

Federal Register from 1998 to the present. Separate links are provided for the current day’s 

issue and back issues. The current issue’s table of contents is available in PDF and HTML. 

The tables of contents from back issues are available through the browse feature only as 

HTML files. The HTML files for Federal Register tables of contents include links to both 

ASCII text and PDF versions of the individual documents. 

✶ The Federal Register 2000 database forward contains HTML documents with active Web 

and e-mail addresses referenced in the document text. 

Unique Searching Instructions 

✶ When searching by CFR part number, the word "part" must be included in the query in 

order to limit the search to the introductory material in each document that references 

the affected part. For example: “7 CFR Part 33”. This search returns documents from the 

Federal Register based on the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) part that they affect. 

✶ Since the 1994 databases on GPO Access do not contain fields, a fielded search page is not 

available for the 1994 Federal Register. To search the 1994 FR use the multi-database search 

page at <www.gpoaccess.gov/multidb.html>. 

✶ For specific search examples, consult the helpful hints at <www.gpoaccess.gov/fr/tips.html>. 

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List of CFR Sections 

Affected (LSA) 

http://www.gpoaccess.gov/lsa 

Executive Applications


Published by the Office of the Federal Register, National Archives and Records Administration, the List of CFR Sections Affected lists proposed, new, and amended Federal regulations 

that have been published in the Federal Register since the most recent revision date of a CFR 

title. Each LSA issue is cumulative and contains the CFR part and section numbers, a description of its status (e.g., amended, confirmed, revised), and the Federal Register page number 

where the change(s) may be found. The LSA is issued monthly; however, on GPO Access, the 

LSA also contains three supplemental services: the List of CFR Parts Affected Today, Current 

List of CFR Parts Affected, and Last Month’s List of CFR Parts Affected. 

File Formats: ASCII Text, PDF 

Availability: 1997 forward 

Search/Browse: 1997 forward 

Special Features 

✶ Federal Register page numbers are listed in ASCII Text and PDF as follows: 

ASCII Text: The Federal Register year (not volume) is listed with the page number. For example: 02-4906 refers to the 2002 Federal Register, page 4906. 

PDF: Federal Register page numbers from the previous year are listed in bold type. 

✶ The daily status of a CFR title, part, or subpart can be determined using the List of CFR 

Parts Affected Today <www.gpo.gov/nara/lsa/lsatoday.html>. 

✶ To expedite searches, a Federal Register page can be retrieved using the “Retrieve a Federal 

Register Page” feature at <www.gpoaccess.gov/fr/retrieve.html>. Page numbers can be retrieved from 1995 forward. Navigation tools are provided at the bottom of the page and 

provide access to additional pages. 

Unique Searching Instructions 

✶ When searching by CFR citation (21CFR520.905e), enter the title along with the part and 

section. The part and section number should be connected with the ADJ Boolean operator. 

For example: "title 21" AND (520 ADJ 905e). 

✶ Since the LSA is an index, subject searches cannot be performed. The CFR title and section 

must be known in order to use the search and browse features. 

✶ For specific search examples, consult the helpful hints at <www.gpoaccess.gov/lsa/tips.html>. 

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Public Papers of the

Presidents of the U.S. 

http://www.gpoaccess.gov/pubpapers 

Executive Applications


The Public Papers of the Presidents series began in 1957 in response to a recommendation of 

the National Historical Publications Commission. Noting the lack of uniform compilations 

of messages and papers of the Presidents before this time, the Commission recommended the 

establishment of an official series in which Presidential writings, addresses, and remarks of a 

public nature could be made available. Public Papers volumes are published approximately 

twice a year. 

File Formats: HTML, PDF 

Availability: 1993 forward 

Search/Browse: 1993 forward 

Special Features 

✶ Volumes covering the administrations of Presidents Hoover, Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, 

Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush, Clinton, and George W. Bush are included in 

the Public Papers series. Though not all available online at this time, previous administration’s 

Public Papers will be made available online via GPO Access. 

✶ A photographic portfolio contains photographs of the President at various events throughout the year. This can be found at <www.gpo.gov/nara/pubpaps/photoidx.html>. 

✶ The appendices to the Public Papers contain additional material that has been previously 

published in the Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents. Also included are lists of 

the President’s nominations submitted to the Senate, materials released by the Office of 

the Press Secretary that are not printed full-text in the print version, and proclamations, 

executive orders, and other Presidential documents released by the Office of the Press 

Secretary and published in the Federal Register. 

Unique Searching Instructions 

✶ Retrieve the appendices by performing a full-text search for the word appendix. Each 

appendix appears in the results list as a separate file. 

✶ To view the table of contents, enter contents in the search terms box, or choose “toc” from 

the browse feature. 

✶ For specific search examples, consult the helpful hints at <www.gpoaccess.gov/pubpapers/ 

tips.html>. 

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United States 

Government Manual 

http://www.gpoaccess.gov/gmanual 

Executive Applications


As the official handbook of the Federal Government, the United States Government Manual 

provides comprehensive information on the agencies of the legislative, judicial, and executive branches. It also includes information on quasi-official agencies, international organizations 

in which the United States participates, and boards, commissions, and committees. The Manual 

begins with reprints of the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution. 

File Formats: ASCII Text, PDF 

Availability: 1995-96 forward 

Search: 1995-96 forward 

Browse: 1997-98 forward 

Special Features 

✶ A typical agency description includes a list of principal officials, a summary statement of the 

agency's purpose and role in the Federal Government, a brief history of the agency, including 

its legislative or executive authority, a description of its programs and activities, and a “Sources 

of Information” section, which provides information on consumer activities, contracts and 

grants, employment, publications, and many other areas of public interest. 

✶ Appendices cover abolished and transferred agencies, abbreviations and acronyms, and agencies appearing in the Code of Federal Regulations. 

✶ Since the Manual is issued once a year, the URLs, phone numbers, and addresses included in 

the Manual may be out of date. For current information, consult GPO Access’ Federal Agency 

Internet Sites <www.gpo.gov/gpoaccess/locators/agency>. 

Unique Searching Instructions 

✶ To view the table of contents, enter contents in the search terms box, or choose “PREFACE, CONTENTS” from the browse feature. 

✶ For specific search examples, consult the helpful hints at <www.gpoaccess.gov/gmanual/ 

tips.html>. 

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Weekly Compilation of

Presidential Documents 

http://www.gpoaccess.gov/wcomp 

Executive Applications


The Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents began in 1965 to provide the public 

with a broader range of Presidential materials on a more timely basis. Published every Monday by the Office of the Federal Register, National Archives and Records Administration 

(NARA), the Weekly Compilation contains statements, messages, and other presidential materials released by the White House during the previous week. The Weekly Compilation also 

reprints speeches, remarks, and press conferences verbatim. 

File Formats: ASCII text, PDF 

Availability: 1993 forward 

Search: 1993 forward 

Browse: 2001 forward 

Special Features 

✶ Since 1977, the Public Papers of the Presidents <www.gpoaccess.gov/pubpapers> has incorporated all the material originally published in the Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents. 

Unique Searching Instructions 

✶ To search for the table of contents for a specific date, enter the word contents and a date in 

the search terms box. For example, contents AND “January 8, 2001”. When no date is 

specified, the table of contents for every issue of the Weekly Compilation of Presidential 

Documents in the database(s) will be retrieved. 

✶ When searching for an executive order, enter the words “executive order” followed by the 

number in quotes. For example, “executive order 13094”. To retrieve a string of executive 

orders, truncate the number with an asterix (*). For example, “executive order 1309*”. 

✶ For specific search examples, consult the helpful hints at <www.gpoaccess.gov/pubpapers/ 

tips.html>. 

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Congressional Bills


http://www.gpoaccess.gov/bills 

Congressional Bills contains all published versions of each bill of Congress. The database for 

the current Congress is updated by 6 a.m. when bills are published and approved for release. 

Legislative Applications


File Formats: ASCII text, PDF, and summary 

Availability: 103rd Congress (1993-94) forward 

Fielded Search: 103rd Congress forward 

Browse: Catalog of Available Bills, 103rd Congress forward 

Special Features 

✶ In a results list, each bill is displayed with the bill number and the initial words of the bill’s 

name. The specific version of the bill is identified by the abbreviation in parentheses that 

follows the bill number; the explanation of this abbreviation appears in brackets following 

the name of the bill. 

✶ The Congressional Bills glossary, available at <www.gpoaccess.gov/bills/glossary.html>, 

provides short definitions of the different types of Congressional Bills, such as House 

Bill or Joint Resolution, as well as the different versions of bills, such as the introduced 

version or the reported version. 

✶ ASCII text files include tags to mark added and deleted text within a bill. 

Added text is enclosed in quotation marks. These quotes should not be confused 

with the quotation marks that are part of the text of the bill. When multiple 

paragraphs have been added, the quotation marks appear at the beginning of each 

affected paragraph and at the end of the last paragraph in the series. 

Deleted text is preceded by a <DELETED> tag and followed by a </DELETED> 

tag. 

Unique Searching Instructions 

✶ When searching by bill number, “S” is used to indicate Senate bills, while “H.R.” is used 

for House bills. The bill number may be typed with or without punctuation. If no punctuation is used, you must leave a space between the “h” and the “r” for bills in the House. 

For example, for House bill number 2137, enter either “h.r. 2137” or “h r 2137”. For 

Senate bill number 486, enter either “s. 486” or “s 486”. 

✶ For specific search examples, consult the helpful hints at <www.gpoaccess.gov/bills/tips.html>. 

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Congressional Directory 

http://www.gpoaccess.gov/cdirectory 

The Congressional Directory is the official directory of the U.S. Congress, prepared by 

the Joint Committee on Printing (JCP). It presents short biographies of each member of 

the Senate and House, listed by state or district, and additional data, such as committee 

memberships, terms of service, administrative assistants and/or secretaries, and room and 

telephone numbers. It also lists officials of the courts, military establishments, and other 

Federal departments and agencies, including D.C. government officials, governors of states 

and territories, foreign diplomats, and members of the press, radio, and television galleries. 

The Congressional Directory for the current Congress is updated irregularly, as changes are 

provided by the JCP. 

Legislative Applications


File Formats: ASCII text, PDF, and Summary 

Availability: 104th Congress (1995-96) forward 

Search: 104th Congress forward 

Browse: 105th Congress forward 

Special Features 

✶ For photographs of House and Senate Members, officials of the Capitol, President, 

Vice President and more, consult the Congressional Pictorial Directory 

<www.gpoaccess.gov/pictorial>. 

Unique Searching Instructions 

✶ A Member of Congress’ name may not be consistent throughout the directory since Members may choose how they want their name to appear from year to year. Search for known 

variations of a Member’s name in order to receive a comprehensive results list. For example, (Robert OR Bob) ADJ Dole. 

✶ Maps of each state’s Congressional district(s) are available by entering the state name and 

the phrase “Congressional district*” in the search terms box and choosing the PDF version. Truncate the word district since there may be more than one Congressional district in 

the state. For example, Pennsylvania AND “Congressional District*”. 

✶ For specific search examples, consult the helpful hints at <www.gpoaccess.gov/cdirectory/ 

tips.html>. 

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✶ 

✶ 

Congressional Hearings 

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

Congressional hearings are meetings of a committee or subcommittee to take testimony in 

order to gather information and opinions on proposed legislation, conduct an investigation, 

or review the operation or other aspects of a Federal agency or program. These meetings are 

generally open to the public. GPO Access contains selected House and Senate hearings in 

their entirety. 

Legislative Applications


File Formats: ASCII text and PDF 

Availability: 105th Congress (1997-98) forward 

Fielded Search: 105th Congress forward 

Browse: None 

Special Features 

✶ To view a current catalog of House and Senate hearings available via GPO Access, click on 

the “submit” button on the search page without entering any query terms, then select the 

appropriate document from the results list. For example: Search produced no result. 

Here's the Catalog for database: 106_house_hearings. 

✶ In addition to making hearings available on GPO Access, some committees make hearings 

available on their Web sites. GPO Access maintains a list of House committees 

<www.gpo.gov/congress/house/index.html#house_committees> and Senate committees 

<www.gpo.gov/congress/senate/index.html#senate_committees>. These lists provide links 

to a committee’s Web site, membership; jurisdiction; rules; and publications processed by 

the committee that are available on GPO Access. 

Unique Searching Instructions 

✶ When searching by bill number, “S” is used to indicate Senate bills, while “H.R.” is used 

for House bills. The bill number may be typed with or without punctuation. If no punctuation is used, you must leave a space between the “h” and the “r” for bills in the House. 

For example, for House bill number 2137, enter either “h.r. 2137” or “h r 2137”. For 

Senate bill number 486, enter either “s. 486” or “s 486”. 

✶ 	In transcription, laughter is noted in brackets. Since Congressional hearings not only 

provide facts and opinions, but also jokes and laughter, it is possible to search for laughter 

by enclosing the laughter in brackets and in quotes. For example: “[laughter]”. 

✶ For specific search examples, consult the helpful hints at <www.gpo.gov/gpoaccess/help/ 

hints/chearings.html>. 

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Congressional Record


http://www.gpoaccess.gov/crecord 

Legislative Applications


Published daily when Congress is in session, the Congressional Record is the official record of 

the debates and proceedings of the House and Senate. The current year’s Congressional Record is 

updated by 11 a.m., except when late adjournment delays production. 

The Congressional Record consists of four sections: the Daily Digest, the House section, the 

Senate section, and the Extensions of Remarks. The Daily Digest serves as a table of contents 

for each issue. The House and Senate sections contain the proceedings for the separate chambers of Congress. Finally, Extensions of Remarks include tributes, statements, and other 

information that supplements statements made on the Congressional floor. 

File Formats: ASCII text, PDF, and Summary 

Availability: Volume 140 (1994) forward 

Fielded Search: Volume 141 forward 

Browse: None 

Special Application Features 

✶ The Retrieve a Congressional Record page option at <www.gpoaccess.gov/crecord/retrieve.html> 

retrieves a single page by entering a page number. This feature is available from volume 141 

(1995) forward, in PDF only. 

✶ Since the Congressional Record is the verbatim record of the proceedings and debates of Congress, the date of the publication refers to the date the proceedings were recorded, not the day 

of delivery. 

Unique Searching Instructions 

✶ Members of Congress are not referred to as Senator or Representative in the Congressional 

Record, but as Mr., Mrs., or Ms. The name will appear in all capital letters and be positioned flush left when a Member is speaking. 

✶ Page numbers in the Congressional Record are marked by either the letter “S” for Senate 

pages, “H” for House pages, “D” for Daily Digest pages, and “E” for Extension of Remarks pages. When performing a page search in the Congressional Record, include the 

word “page”, the section, and page number. For example: “page H1234”. 

✶ Since the 1994 databases on GPO Access do not contain fields, a fielded search page is not 

available for the 1994 Congressional Record. To search the 1994 CR use the multi-database 

search page at <www.gpoaccess.gov/multidb.html>. 

✶ For specific searches, consult the helpful hints at <www.gpoaccess.gov/crecord/tips.html>. 

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Congressional


Record Index


http://www.gpoaccess.gov/cri 

Legislative Applications


The Congressional Record Index (CRI) serves as the index to the Congressional Record. When 

Congress is in session, the Joint Committee on Printing publishes the Congressional Record 

Index biweekly. In print, the Congressional Record Index contains both the index and the History of Bills and Resolutions. However, on GPO Access, the two parts of the print index are 

two separate applications. 

File Formats: ASCII text, HTML (1998 only) 

Availability: 1983 forward 

Fielded Search: 1983 forward 

Browse: None 

Special Application Features 

✶ Entries in the 1998 Congressional Record Index are available in HTML format. Each reference to a Congressional Record page is a hyperlink that will retrieve that single page of the 

Congressional Record. Once a PDF file is open, Navigational tools at the bottom of the 

screen allow you to view the previous page, next page, or a page number that you enter in 

the "Go to page" box. 

Unique Searching Instructions 

✶ Members of Congress are listed alphabetically by last name in the Congressional Record 

Index. Thus, users must search for individuals by entering the last name before the first 

name. Additionally, users should include all forms of an individual’s first name, since 

Members of Congress may choose how they want their name to appear in the Congressional Record. For instance, in the 1991 Congressional Record Index, Bob Dole is listed as both 

“Dole, Bob” and “Dole, Robert”. 

✶ For specific searches, consult the helpful hints at <www.gpoaccess.gov/cri/tips.html>. 

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Congressional Reports


http://www.gpoaccess.gov/serialset/creports 

Legislative Applications


Congressional Reports contains House, Senate, and executive reports. The current databases 

are updated irregularly, as reports become available. Congressional reports originate from congressional committees and deal with proposed legislation and issues under investigation. There 

are two types of reports—House Senate Reports and Senate Executive Reports. House Senate 

Reports are reports from congressional committees concerning proposed legislation and/or contain findings on matters under investigation. Senate Executive Reports are reports from the 

Committee on Foreign Relations relating to Treaties between the United States and foreign 

nations which have been submitted to the U.S. Senate for ratification, or are reports of various 

Senate Committees regarding nomination of individuals. 

File Formats: ASCII text, and PDF 

Availability: 104th Congress (1995-96) forward 

Fielded Search: 104th Congress forward 

Browse: None 

Special Application Features 

✶ A“List of Reports available online” appears as the first hit in every results list and lists by 

report number all of the Congressional reports that are available via GPO Access. 

✶ To view a current list of Congressional reports available via GPO Access for a given Congress, 

click on the “SUBMIT” button from the search page without entering any query terms. 

Next, select the appropriate ASCII text document from the results list. For example: Search 

produced no result. Here's the Catalog for database: 106_cong_reports. 

Unique Searching Instructions 

✶ To search by report number, enclose the report number in quotes. For example: when searching 

for House Report 105-22, enter “105-22”. The returned documents may be reports that 

bear the number you have entered as a query, or they may reference the report number in 

their title or text, as in a regular subject search. 

✶ For specific searches, consult the helpful hints at <www.gpoaccess.gov/serialset/creports/ 

tips.html>. 

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GAO Reports


http://www.gpoaccess.gov/gaoreports 

GAO Reports contain reports (“blue books”) on audits, surveys, investigations, and evaluations of Federal programs conducted by the General Accounting Office (GAO). Most reports 

are done at the request of members of Congress — often committee chairpersons and ranking minority members. All published reports are included, with the exception of correspondence 

and reports that are restricted or classified. The current year’s database is updated within two 

business days of a report’s release. 

Legislative Applications


File Formats: ASCII text, PDF 

Availability: 1993 forward 

Fielded Search: 1993 forward 

Browse: None 

Special Features 

✶ Each GAO Report is assigned a report number. Prior to FY01, report numbers included the 

GAO division or office that performed that analysis (e.g. HEHS-00-198R). Since FY01, all 

issuing division or office information was removed from the report number and report numbers instead begin with “GAO” (e.g. GAO-02-833T). 

✶ Report numbers that end in “R” are correspondence reports (e.g. GAO-01-391R). 

✶ “T” indicates that a report consists of testimony before the U.S. Senate (e.g. GAO-02-

873T). 

✶ Report Series Abbreviations indicate the GAO division or office that performed the analysis. 

For example: RCED stands for Resources, Community, and Economic Development 

Division. A list can be found at <www.gpoaccess.gov/gaoreports/tips.html#abbreviations>. 

Unique Searching Instructions 

✶ A report number should be enclosed in quotation marks and entered in the report-number 

search box. For example: “GAO-03-164”. 

✶ To identify all reports in a report series, enter only the initial letters of the report number in 

the report-number search box. For example: HEHS. 

✶ GAO control numbers (e.g., B-285272) are not searchable in the report-number field. However, a control number does appear on the cover letter that accompanies each report and, 

therefore, can be used as a query in the full-text search box. 

✶ For specific searches, consult the helpful hints at <www.gpoaccess.gov/gaoreports/tips.html>. 

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History of Bills 


http://www.gpoaccess.gov/hob 

Legislative Applications


The History of Bills lists legislative actions on bills that are reported in the Congressional 

Record. In print, it is part of the Congressional Record Index, the biweekly publication from 

the Joint Committee on Printing, but on GPO Access it is a separate application. 

A typical HOB entry includes a bill number, title, summary, names of sponsors and cosponsors, and a chronological list of actions on the bill. Each action references a Congressional 

Record page number and the date when the action was reported in the format “S5798 [9JN]” 

(page 5798 in the Senate section from the June 9 issue for that year). 

File Formats: ASCII text 

Availability: 1983 forward 

Fielded Search: 1983 forward 

Browse: None 

Special Application Features 

✶ To view a catalog of History of Bills documents available via GPO Access for a particular 

year, choose a year(s) from the scroll box and click on the "submit" button on the search 

page without entering any query terms. Next, select the appropriate ASCII text document 

from the results list. A catalog will be retrieved for any year of the History of Bills that is 

highlighted in the scroll box on the search page. For example: Search produced no result. 

Here's the Catalog for database: 1999_hob. 

Unique Searching Instructions 

✶ When searching by report number, the word “report” should be abbreviated as “rept.”. The 

report number may be typed with or without punctuation. If no punctuation is used, you 

must leave a space between the “h” or “s” and “rept.” for reports in the House or Senate, 

respectively. For example: “s. rept. 106-340” or “s rept 106-340”. 

✶ When searching by public law number, the phrase “public law” should not be abbreviated. 

For example, “public law 103-40”. 

✶ For specific searches, consult the helpful hints at <www.gpoaccess.gov/hob/tips.html>. 

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House Journal


http://www.gpo.gov/congress/cong018.html 

Legislative Applications


The House Journal is the official record of proceedings of each legislative day in the House of 

Representatives. It can include material such as corrections to the Congressional Record, when 

members have unanimously decided to expunge remarks or extraneous matter from the permanent edition of the Record. Certified copies of the House Journal are admissible in judicial 

proceedings (28 USC Sec. 1736). Publication of the Journal is required by the Constitution, 

except when the proceedings may require secrecy. The database is updated irregularly as the 

House provides information to GPO. Meanwhile, the print version is published and distributed at the close of each session of Congress. 

File Formats: ASCII text and PDF 

Availability: 102nd (1991-92) to 105th (1997-98) Congresses 

Search: 102nd to 105th Congresses 

Browse: 102nd to 105th Congresses 

Special Application Features 

✶ Instead of merely retrieving a single page or portion of a document, a search by page number 

will retrieve the entire daily issue containing the specified page. 

✶ In the table of sections, click on a particular year for the Index section to get a comprehensive 

alphabetical listing of subjects, agencies, committees, Members of Congress, popular names 

of bills, and more. The listing includes abbreviated references to issue dates. A particular issue 

can be accessed by entering the full issue date in quotation marks in the Search Terms box 

(For example: “January 28, 1998”). 

✶ More information about the House Journal and related House publications is available 

from Cannon’s Precedents of the House of Representatives <www.gpoaccess.gov/precedents/cannon>, Deschler's Precedents of the United States House of Representatives 

<www.gpoaccess.gov/precedents/deschler> and/or Hinds' Precedents of the House of Representatives <www.gpoaccess.gov/precedents/hinds>. 

Unique Searching Instructions 

✶ To find roll-call votes, enter a subject in the search terms box and then either yeas or nays. 

Enter the name of a Member of Congress to futher narrow the search results. 

✶ For specific searches, consult the helpful hints at <www.gpo.gov/gpoaccess/help/hints/ 

hjournal.html>. 

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Public Laws


http://www.gpoaccess.gov/plaws 

Public Laws contain laws signed by the president. Laws signed by the president become 

known as “slip laws”. More specifically, they can either be public or private laws. At the end of 

every session of Congress “slip laws” are compiled into the Statutes at Large and are known as 

“session laws”. Every six years, the session laws are incorporated into the United States Code, the 

codification of all general and permanent laws of the United States. 

Legislative Applications


File Formats: ASCII text and PDF 

Availability: 104th Congress (1995-96) forward 

Fielded Search: 104th Congress forward 

Browse: 104th Congress forward 

Special Application Features 

✶ To browse a current catalog of public laws available via GPO Access, choose the appropriate 

Congress from <www.gpoaccess.gov/plaws/browse.html>. If a public law is not listed in the 

catalog, it is not available electronically via GPO Access at that time. 

✶ In the PDF files of the public laws online via GPO Access, the slip laws are displayed exactly 

as they appear in the official printed version. Therefore, all side notes appear in the margins 

in their original format. In the ASCII text files, however, the side notes appear in double 

angle brackets within the body of the text. For example: <<NOTE: District of Columbia 

Management Restoration Act of 1999.>>. 

Unique Searching Instructions 

✶ When searching by public law number, the phrase “public law” should not be abbreviated. 

For example: “public law 107-1”. 

✶ When searching by Statutes at Large citation, include the volume number, the abbreviation “stat”, and the number of that particular law as assigned in the Statutes at Large. For 

example: “110 stat 1345”. 

✶ When searching by U.S. Code citation, include the title number, abbreviation “usc”, and 

section number. For example: “15 USC 1024”. 

✶ For specific searches, consult the helpful hints at <www.gpoaccess.gov/plaws/tips.html>. 

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United States Code


http://www.gpoaccess.gov/uscode 

The United States Code is the codification by subject matter of the general and permanent 

laws of the United States. The Office of the Law Revision Counsel, House of Representatives, publishes the U.S. Code every six years. The most recent publication was in 1994. To 

present the most current information, the Office of the Law Revision Counsel also releases 

an annual supplement to the Code. Following each printed edition, GPO Access provides 

access to 5 full supplements of the U.S. Code. 

Legislative Applications


File Formats: ASCII text 

Availability: 2000 and 1994 editions plus yearly supplements 

Fielded Search: 1994 forward 

Browse: Latest edition/supplement 

Special Application Features 

✶ A list of U.S. Code titles based on broad subject terms is available in the helpful hints at 

<www.gpoaccess.gov/uscode/browse.html>. 

Unique Searching Instructions 

✶ When searching by U.S. Code citation, include the title number, the abbreviation “usc”, and 

a section number. For example: “42usc1204”. 

✶ When searching by public law number, the phrase "public law" should be abbreviated. For 

example: “pub. l. 104-45” or “pub l 104-45”. 

✶ When searching by Statutes at Large citation, include the volume number, the abbreviation “stat,” and the number of that particular law as assigned in the Statutes at Large. For 

example: “110 stat 1345”. 

✶ In print, the U.S. Code includes the Popular Names Index. The index lists acts by their 

short title and the public law numbers that the act was assigned. To search by popular 

name, include the phrase “popular name” and a keyword. For example, to find the Brady 

Handgun Violence Prevention Act, enter “popular name” and brady. 

✶ To search for U.S. Code subsections, use an asterisk (*) with the citation. For example: 

2USC661*. 

✶ For specific searches, consult the helpful hints at <www.gpoaccess.gov/uscode/tips.html>. 

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Application Update

Schedule 

The applications on GPO Access are updated at various times. The following chart 

simplifies the schedule. 

* When Congress is in session 

** In addition to future administrations, Public Papers from previous administrations will also be made available. 

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The following were made available online as complete applications: 

✶ Cannon’s Precedents of the House of Representatives 

✶ Constitution of the United States of America 

✶ Deschler’s Precedents of the U.S. House of Representatives 

✶ Department of the Interior - Inspector General Reports 

✶ Hinds’ Precedents of the U.S. House of Representatives 

✶	 House Practice: A Guide to the Rules, Precedents and Procedures 

of the House 

✶ House Rules and Manual 

✶ Riddick’s Senate Procedure 

✶ Senate Manual 

✶ United States Government Printing Office Style Manual 

Information on GPO Access typically dates back to 1994. 

1994 is not available online since the information does not exist in electronic 

format. In order for GPO to disseminate this information, the information would 

need to be rekeyed (typos and all), proofread, and would be expensive to produce. 

GPO will continue to produce an online version of future Federal information. 

To obtain information prior to 1994, consult a Federal depository library. To find 

a Federal depository library, go to <www.gpoaccess.gov/libraries.html>. 

How far back does the information on GPO Access go? 

Information prior to 

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Browse Topics classifies 

Federal Goverment 

Web sites based on 

general or broad 

subject areas. 

✶✶✶ 

The Catalog of United 

States Government 

Publications (CGP) 

indexes print and 

electronic Government 

information products 

created by Federal 

agencies. Use it to link 

to Federal agency 

online resources or 

identify materials 

distributed to Federal 

depository libraries. 

Finding Aids 


GPO Access provides a number of finding 

aids to assist in searching or browsing for 

Government information. A complete list 

of Finding Aids can be found at 

<www.gpoaccess.gov/help>. 

Browse Topics 

Browse Topics <www.library.okstate.edu/ 

govdocs/browsetopics/> organizes official 

Government and military Internet sites (as well 

as selected educational and commercial sites) 

under approximately 170 subjects, based on 

the subject terms used in GPO's Subject Bibliographies. Topics are arranged alphabetically 

and include birds, citizenship, health care, robotics, solar energy, women, and congressional 

information. 

Each topic under Browse Topics lists the most 

relevant and/or most specific government, 

military, or cooperative Web sites on that 

topic. Links are arranged alphabetically, and 

in order to give users an idea of the site's content, short descriptions (or annotations) are 

provided. Within these descriptions, further 

sub-links may be found for a given site. 

Browse Topics is maintained by volunteer 

government information librarians and is updated quarterly. This service is made possible 

by the University of Central Oklahoma 

Chambers Library, in partnership with the 

Federal Depository Library Program. 

Users should note that agencies or organizations may change the content or structure of 

their Web site before the quarterly update of 

the topics. 

Catalog of U.S. Government 

Publications 

The Catalog of United States Government 

Publications (CGP) <www.gpoaccess.gov/ 

cgp> indexes print and electronic Government 

information products created by Federal agencies. Use it to link to Federal agency online 

resources or to identify materials distributed 

to Federal depository libraries. The CGP data 

set contains authoritative bibliographic records 

generated since January 1994, and is updated 

daily. 

For indexing prior to 1994, consult 

the print version of this index, 

Monthly Catalog of United States 

Government Publications (MOCAT), 

which dates from the passage of the 

Printing Act of 1895 and is available 

at most depository libraries. 

Specific fields are available for searching: keyword, title, SuDocs class number, depository 

item number, GPO stock number, and/or 

publication date. Each entry in your results results list allows you to view a short or full 

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Federal agencies use 

the Federal Bulletin 

Board as a means to 

distribute electronic 

files in various file 

formats to the public. 

✶✶✶ 

The server capacity 

and bandwidth put in 

place for GPO Access 

has allowed the U.S. 

Government Printing 

Office to offer Web 

development and 

hosting services to 

other agencies of the 

Federal Government. 

record. Many records for Government information products available from agency Web 

sites are included, with direct links to the electronic text of the document. 

The Short Record provides a user-friendly 

display with the basic information needed 

to locate or cite a source. 

The Full Record provides the complete 

and detailed MARC (Machine-Readable 

Cataloging) record for the publication. 

Federal Bulletin Board 

The Federal Bulletin Board (FBB) 

<fedbbs.access.gpo.gov> electronic bulletin 

board service has been operational since 

1992. The FBB enables Federal agencies 

and offices within GPO to provide public 

access to Federal information in a variety 

of electronic formats. The FBB is available 

via the Web, FTP, and Telnet. 

A few Federal agencies, such as the Office of Foreign Assets Control, continue to 

use the FBB as a means to distribute electronic files to the public. GPO also 

continues to add files to the FBB relating 

to the Federal Depository Library Program 

and GPO Access, including depository shipping lists and GPO Access source files and 

reports. 

Users can access archival information 

from the White House and Executive 

Branch, as well as independent agencies such 

as the Merit Systems Protection Board and 

the Federal Labor Relations Authority. Supreme Court opinions and files are also 

available from the 1992 to 2000 terms. 

Federal Agency Internet Sites 

Federal Agency Internet Sites <www. 

lib.lsu.edu/gov/fedgov.html> is a service of 

Louisiana State University Libraries in partnership with the Federal Depository Library 

Program. It allows users to search for or 

browse a list of Federal agency Web sites 

based on the government structure in The 

United States Government Manual. In the 

browse feature, Federal Agencies are divided 

into six categories: executive; judicial; legislative; independent; boards, commissions, 

and committees; and quasi-official. 

Federal Web Sites Hosted 

by GPO Access 

The server capacity and bandwidth put 

in place for GPO Access has allowed the 

U.S. Government Printing Office to offer Web development and hosting 

services to other agencies of the Federal 

Government. GPO currently hosts the 

main Web sites of 16 agencies, as well 

as a number of discrete online Federal 

publications. Recent additions include 

the Web sites of the National Mediation 

Board, the Supreme Court of the United 

States, and the U.S.–China Security Review Commission. A complete list of 

hosted sites may be found at 

<www.gpoaccess.gov/hosted.html>. 

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There are two types of 

GILS records on GPO 

Access: Agency 

Records and Pointer 

Records. 

✶✶✶ 

Federal depository 

libraries provide free 

public access to a wide 

variety of Federal 

government 

information and have 

expert staff available to 

assist users. To find a 

Federal depository 

library, search by state 

abbreviation, area 

code, or congressional 

district. 

Search the Federal Government 

Through FirstGov 

In order to find information on Federal 

agency Web sites or only on GPO Access, 

Search the Federal Government Through 

FirstGov provides a search engine that uses 

the FirstGov index. A Simple search option 

can be found in the top right corner of each 

GPO Access page. The advanced search page 

<www.gpoaccess.gov/advancedsearch.html>, 

allows users to search the Federal Government, 

all of GPO, GPO Access, the U.S. Government Online Bookstore, or Ben’s Guide to 

U.S. Government. When using this search engine, users may leave GPO’s servers. The U.S. 

Government Printing Office is not responsible 

for the content of the sites not on its servers. 

Government Information 

Locator Service (GILS) 

GILS record may or may not be available 

in electronic format. When referencing a 

Web-based product, an HTML GILS 

record should contain a direct link to that 

product. There are two types of GILS 

records on GPO Access: 

Agency Records: A collection of 

agency GILS records (created by those 

agencies or by GPO) maintained on 

GPO Access that describe a wide variety of information products and 

resources available from Federal agencies. 

Pointer Records: Pointer GILS 

records provide a hypertext link to an 

agency's collection of GILS records 

mounted on non-GPO Access servers. 

Some agencies prefer to host their own 

GILS records. Therefore, GPO Access includes Pointer records to those agencies 

whenever possible. In addition, not all 

The Government Information Locator 

Service (GILS) <www.gpo.gov/gpoaccess/ 

gils> databases contain records that identify public information resources 

throughout the Federal Government, describe information available in those 

sources, and provide assistance in obtaining information on those sources. 

GILS records can represent different 

levels of information, from the macro to 

the micro, (i.e. from an agency's Web site 

to a single product, (such as a publication, 

artifact, meeting, electronic database, et 

cetera). The information contained in a 

agencies have created GILS records to date. 

Both simple and fielded search pages, as 

well as a browse feature, are provided for 

GILS. Using the scroll box on either the 

simple or fielded search page, you may 

choose to search all GILS records, Pointer 

records, or the records of a specific agency 

hosted on GPO Access. 

Locate a Federal Depository Library 

There are approximately 1,300 Federal 

depository libraries throughout the United 

States and its territories, with at least one in 

almost every congressional district. All provide 

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Each week, New 

Electronic Titles 

(NET) contain a list of 

online Federal 

information products 

recently added to the 

FDLP Electronic 

collection, such as 

unique titles, 

periodicals, databases, 

and Web sites. 

free public access to a wide variety of Federal 

Government information in both tangible 

and electronic formats, and have expert staff 

available to assist users. 

To find a Federal depository library 

<www.gpoaccess.gov/libraries.html>, enter either a state abbreviation, area code, or 

Congressional district in the search terms box. 

Up to five states and three area codes may be 

searched at one time. Only one Congressional 

district may be searched at a time. 

Each results list includes the library’s depository number, address, phone, fax, and Web 

address (if available). Some libraries are indicated in the search results as a “REGIONAL” 

library. There are currently fifty-three Regional 

libraries. All states have or are covered by a Regional library. Regional libraries receive all 

materials distributed through the Federal DeThe Federal Depository Library Program 

(FDLP) logo, shown above, indicates that a 

library is a Federal depository for U.S. 

Government documents. Public access to the 

Government documents collection is 

guaranteed by public law. (Title 44, United 

States Code) 

pository Library Program. Other libraries select materials according to the needs of their 

communities. 

New Electronic Titles (NET) 

New Electronic Titles (NET) <www.gpo.gov/ 

gpoaccess/locators/net> was released in July 

2000 and replaced Browse Electronic Titles 

(BET). Each week NET contains a list of 

online U.S. Government information products recently added to the Superintendent of 

Documents, Federal Depository Library Electronic Collection (FDLP/EC). These 

publications may be new to the online environment, and may be available on GPO Access, 

Federal agency Web sites, FDLP partnerships, 

and/or the FDLP/EC archive. Entries link to 

a variety of online resources, including unique 

titles, periodicals, databases, and Web sites. 

The NET main page provides links to the 

four most recent weekly additions to the NET. 

After four weeks, lists move to the NET 

archive. 

Full bibliographic information for NET 

and former BET entries is available in 

the Catalog of U.S. Government Publications (CGP). 

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Relating GPO Access 

Applications 

Many of the applications on GPO Access can be used in conjunction with one another. For 

example, the Congressional Bills, History of Bills, Congressional Record, Public Laws, and United 

States Code applications can all be used to obtain a detailed history of a bill. The following 

sections demonstrate how various applications relate to each other. 

Tracking Legislation..............................................................................................47 

Tracking Regulations........................................................................................52 

Finding Government Publications....................................................................55 

These examples are performed in archived databases in order to show you the necessary 

steps involved in relating GPO Access databases. Due to the changing nature of the databases 

on GPO Access, these searches may not work exactly the same in the future. 

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The Legislative Process 


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Tracking Legislation 


This section illustrates how to use GPO 

Access to obtain to detailed history of a bill or 

to track legislation currently proposed in Congress. The various applications used are as 

follows: 

1. Congressional Bills 

2. History of Bills 

3. Congressional Record 

4. Public Laws 

5. United States Code 

Stamp Out Breast Cancer Act 

(H.R. 1585), 105th Congress 

This act allowed the U.S. Postal Service to produce $0.40 stamps. When 

purchased, the extra $0.08 goes towards 

breast cancer research. Within 5 days, 

both the Senate and the House introduced bills that would establish the 

breast cancer research stamps (S. 726 

and H.R. 1585 respectively). Eventually, the Senate bill died and the House 

bill went on to become a law. 

Congressional Bills 

This application contains all published versions of every Congressional bill from the 103rd 

Congress forward. To find the Stamp Out 

Breast Cancer Act: 

1. Go to the Congressional Bills page 

at <www.gpoaccess.gov/bills>. 

2. Select the 105th Congress from the 

scroll box. 

3. Enter “stamp out breast cancer” 

in the search terms box. 

The result list will contain every published version of H.R. 1585 (the short title 

of which is the Stamp Out Breast Cancer 

Act). However, none of the documents will 

explain the history of the bill or allow you 

to read the proceedings of Congress when 

they discussed it. 

History of Bills 

History of Bills is actually an index to the 

Congressional Record. Its entries chronologically list the various actions taken on a bill, 

and include the pages of the Congressional 

Record where the proceedings can be found. 

To find H.R. 1585: 

1. Go to the History of Bills page at 

<www.gpoaccess.gov/hob>. 

2. Select the 1997 and 1998 History 

of Bills in the scroll box. Since the 

105th Congress spanned both 1997 

and 1998, both years should be selected to ensure that this information is located. 

3. Enter “h.r. 1585” in the search 

terms box. 

The results list will include an entry from 

the 1997 History of Bills, along with a hit 

reading “Search produced no result. Here’s 

the catalog for database: 1998_hob”. Because 

H.R. 1585 was passed in 1997, it does not 

have an entry for 1998. However, continue to 

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Congressional Record Issue 

Year 

Public Law Number 

Example 4:The 1997 History of Bills entry for H.R. 1585. 

Page number in the Congressional Record 

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check both years of a Congressional session to 

ensure that you get all the information pertinent to your search. 

The 1997 entry lists the history of H.R. 

1585 (see example 4). For each step along 

the path of the bill, the entry lists the date 

and page number of the Congressional Record 

document in which the proceedings are 

found. In addition, the entry shows the date 

that the President signed H.R. 1585, and 

provides the bill’s public law number: Public Law 105-41. 

The short title or popular name of a 

bill, such as The Stamp Out Breast Cancer Act, does not appear in History of 

Bills entries and therefore cannot be 

used as a search in this application. 

Congressional Record 

The Congressional Record contains the official record of the proceedings and debates of 

Congress. Use the page numbers from the 

History of Bills entry for H.R. 1585 to find 

the Congressional proceedings in which the bill 

was discussed. For example, page H5521 of 

the 1997 Congressional Record contains the text 

of a debate about the bill. To find those proceedings: 

1. Go to the Congressional Record page 

at <www.gpoaccess.gov/crecord>. 

2. Select the 1997 Congressional 

Record. 

3. Enter “page h5521” in the search 

terms box. 

This search results in two Congressional 

Record documents: “Regarding Interference of 

European Commission in Merger of Boeing 

Co.,” which ends on page H5521, and Stamp 

Out Breast Cancer Act, which begins on the 

same page. 

Public Laws 

Contains the text of public laws. When the 

President signs an act, it becomes known as a 

“slip law”, named for the slip of paper on 

which it is printed. The text of a public law is 

identical to that of an enrolled bill. An enrolled bill is the version that has been passed 

by both chambers of Congress and is waiting 

for the President’s signature. 

There are several ways to find a document 

in GPO Access’ Public Laws application; however, this exercise focuses on searching by public 

law number. To find H.R. 1585: 

1. Go to the Public Laws page at: 

<www.gpoaccess.gov/plaws>. 

2. Select the 105th Congress public 

laws in the scroll box. 

3. Enter “public law 105-41” in the 

search terms box. 

The text of Public Law 105-41 is identical 

to the enrolled version of H.R. 1585; however, the public law contains one piece of 

additional information. At the top right corner of the public law, the Statutes at Large 

citation for that legislation appears. The Statutes at Large is a compilation of all the slip 

laws from a session of Congress. 

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United States Code 

After it went through all of the above mentioned steps, H.R. 1585 became part of the 

United States Code, the codification of the 

general and permanent laws of the U.S. The 

text of the Stamp Out Breast Cancer Act did 

not enter the U.S. Code verbatim; rather it 

was comprised of amended pre-existent language. 

To find the amended language, follow 

these steps in the U.S. Code: 

1. Go to the U.S. Code <www. 

gpoaccess.gov/uscode>. 

2. Enter “pub. l. 105-41” in the 

search terms box. 

The format for searching by public law 

number in the United States Code differs from the Public Laws application. 

Example 5: An act affected by a public law in the U.S. Code. 

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The Regulatory Process 


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Tracking Regulations 


GPO Access has a number of resources for 

tracking rules and regulations set by Federal 

agencies. The various applications used are as 

follows: 

1. Code of Federal Regulations 

2. List of CFR Sections Affected 

3. Federal Register 

49 CFR 571.208 

Standard No.208; 

Occupant Crash Protection 

49 CFR 571.208 specifies standard performance requirements for the protection 

of vehicle occupants in crashes 

Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 

To find regulations Federal motor vehicle 

occupant crash protection, begin with the 

CFR. To retrieve the pertinent rules: 

1. Go to the “Search the entire set of 

CFR databases by keyword” page 

<http://www.gpoaccess.gov/cfr>. 

2. Enter “crash protection” in the 

search terms box. 

The CFR results list will include 

49CFR571.208-- Sec. 571.208 Standard 

No. 208; Occupant crash protection. Since 

each title of the CFR is updated only once a 

year, there is a chance that the information in 

this document is outdated. The List of CFR 

Sections Affected provides a cumulative list of 

CFR sections that have been changed at any 

time since each CFR title was last updated. 

List of CFR Sections Affected (LSA) 

The LSA lists the sections of the CFR that 

have been changed since the last update to each 

title and displays the page in the Federal Register on which the rules that made those changes 

begin. To find the most current LSA entry for 

Title 49 of the CFR: 

1. Go to the LSA page <www. 

gpoaccess.gov/lsa>. 

2. Select the link in the left margin 

that reads Browse LSA or choose 

the link in the moddle of the page 

under “1986 through 2003” that 

reads Browse (1997 forward). 

3. Select the most current issue of the 

LSA, in this case May 2003. 

4. Scroll to Title 49 and select either 

Text or PDF. 

That document will list the sections of Title 

49 that have been changed since the last update. Part 571 indicates that section 571.208 

has changed. The listing shows that changes 

can be found on pages 79439, 23617, 513, 

and 4965 of the 2003 Federal Register. 

However, because the LSA appears 

monthly and the Federal Register daily, 

the information can still be outdated. 

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the “Current List of CFR Parts Affected” and 

“Last Month’s List of CFR Parts Affected” to 

see if your part has been changed since the most 

recent issue of the LSA. 

Federal Register (FR) 

Using the page number found in the LSA, 

check the Federal Register to find the most 

current language in the regulations concerning sea turtle conservation. To find the 

document that begins on that page of the FR. 

1. Go to the Federal Register 

advanded search page <www.gpo 

access.gov/fr/advanced.html>. 

2. Search the 2003 Federal Register 

(the default for the Federal 

Register is the current year). 

3. In the search terms box enter “page 

23617”. 

The result list contains one document, 

fr05my03R Federal Motor Vehicle Safety 

Standards; Occupant Crash Protection. 

This search may also be performed using 

the LSA’s Supplemental Services. 

1. In the list of Supplemental Services, 

select “Retrieve a Federal Register Page (PDF)”. 

2. Select the 2003 Federal Register. 

3. In the search terms box, enter 23617. 

This search will retrieve page 23617 of the 

2003 Federal Register. When a page is retrieved, only the first page, not the entire 

document will be retrieved. If the notice 

spans onto more than one page, use the 

link at the lower right of the page that reads 

“Next Page” and continue until the end of 

the notice. 

Example 6: Find updates to 49CFR571.208 in the List of Sections Affected (LSA). 

CFR Part 	 FR page 

number 

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Finding Government Publications 


Interpreting CGP Search Results 

View title Find a depository View basic information View the full 

online library near you (author, pages, and stock no.) MARC record 

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The short record of 

the CGP lists basic 

bibliographic 

information, 

including ordering 

information. 

Finding Government 

Publications 

The Catalog of U.S. Government Publications (CGP), Locate a Federal Depository 

Library, and the U.S. Government Online 

Bookstore can be used in conjunction with 

one another to: 

1. Find Federal publications in print 

and electronic formats; 

2. Locate which libraries in a particular area carry that publication; 

3. Purchase the publication from the 

U.S. Government Online Bookstore. 

The following example illustrates how to 

identify, locate, and purchase documents relating to the threat posed to the United States 

by the Soviet Union during the early years of 

the Cold War. 

Catalog of U.S. Government 

Publications (CGP) 

Each record in the results list will have the 

following: Locate Libraries, Short Record, and 

Full Record. 

✶ � The short record lists the basic bibliographic information and ordering information, such as the price 

and Superintendent of Documents 

stock number. 

✶ � The full record contains the complete MARC record. 

✶ � “Locate Libraries” enables users to 

find exactly what libraries in their 

area carry that particular publication. 

When a title is available online, a URL 

will be provided. Assessing 

the Soviet Threat: The Early Cold War 

Years is available at <purl.access. 

gpo.gov/GPO/LPS2757>. 

In this case, 

The CGP indexes all publications in the 

Federal Depository Library Program. To find 

a publication on the Soviet threat posed during the early Cold War years: 

1. Go to the Catalog of U.S. Government Publications <www. 

gpoaccess.gov/cgp>. 

2. In the “Keyword Search” field, 

enter soviet AND “Cold War”. 

In the search results, find Assessing the 

Soviet Threat: The Early Cold War Years. 

Locate Libraries 

To find libraries in a specific area that 

carry this publication, follow these steps: 

1. Click on the “Locate Libraries” 

link that appears in the search 

results list in the CGP. 

2. Enter either a state abbreviation, such as KS, or an area 

code, such as 316. 

Clicking “ALL” rather than “SUBMIT” will 

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provide a list of every Federal depository library that carries that publication, regardless 

of state or area code. 

U.S. Government Online Bookstore 

Since CGP records may provide purchasing 

information, such as the GPO stock number, 

it is easy to determine if the publication is available for purchase through the U.S. 

Government Bookstore. To find the publication, Assessing the Soviet Threat: The Early 

Cold War Years, mentioned above: 

1. Go to the U.S. Government Online 

Bookstore at <bookstore.gpo.gov>. 

2. In the search terms box, enter the 

reports stock number: “041-015-

00191-4”. 

Because this search is so specific, it returns 

only the record for that particular publication. 

The text link provides a brief abstract of the 

publication and the “Add to Cart” icon leads to 

GPO’s online order function. For an explanation of GPO’s online ordering process, go to 

<bookstore.gpo.gov/support>. 

Example 8: A short record from the Catalog of U.S. Government Publications. 

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U.S. Government 

Online Bookstore 

Updated daily, the 

Sales Product Catalog 

(SPC) allows users to 

search for and order 

Government 

information products. 

✶✶✶ 

Available media 

include print 

publications, CDROMs, diskettes, 

microfiche, 

videotapes, and more. 

The U.S. Government Online Bookstore 

<bookstore.gpo.gov> enables users to search, 

browse, and order U.S. Government publications available from GPO. 

Finding a Product 

The Sales Product Catalog (SPC), the U.S. 

Government Online Bookstore’s main search 

feature, contains abstracts of every item available for purchase, with the option of buying 

most items online. Use the SPC to find forthcoming material, as well as titles that have 

been recently superseded or have gone out of 

print. Available media include print publications, CD-ROMs, diskettes, microfiche, 

videotapes, maps, posters, and more. The 

SPC is updated daily. 

Users can perform a simple or fielded 

search of the SPC. The simple search appears 

on the U.S. Government Online Bookstore 

homepage. The fielded search can be found 

at <bookstore.gpo.gov/prf/prffield.html>. 

Browse features are also available for more 

generalized shopping. Choose a category from 

the pull-down menu on the homepage to view 

a list of products. Browse features are also 

available for various special collections, such 

as CD-ROMs, Bestsellers, Subscriptions, Electronic Products, and the What’s New list. 

New Titles By Topic E-mail Alert Service 

This free service, known 

as the New Titles By Topic 

E-mail Alert Service, allows 

users to receive convenient and timely e-mail 

updates of selected new Federal publications 

available for purchase from the Superintendent 

of Documents. Sign up for any or all of the 

notification lists covering some of our most 

popular subject areas and receive updates on 

new titles as soon as they are available for purchase. For more information or to sign up, go 

to <bookstore.gpo.gov/alertservice.html>. 

Order Submission 

Customers may submit orders to the Government Printing Office via the Internet, 

phone, fax, teletype, or postal mail. 

Payment in U.S. dollars must accompany 

all orders. Payment methods accepted by the 

Government Printing Office include checks, 

major credit cards, Superintendent of Documents (SOD) deposit accounts, and 

international postal money orders. 

More information is available at 

<bookstore.gpo.gov/support>. 

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Example 9: The U.S.Government Online Bookstore home page as of June 17, 2003. 

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Boolean operators must Search Tips
 be capitalized when 


using the SPC. 


✶✶✶ ✶ Enclose any phrases, including stock numOnly items currently bers, in quotation marks (“ ”). 

available for sale have a ✶ Each entry has a “TEXT” link. Click on “Secure Order” icon. 

Click on the icon to this link for a detailed description of each 

add an item to the product. 

shopping cart. 

✶ Only items currently available for sale ✶✶✶ have a icon. To add an item to 

You may order up to 

twenty publications at the shopping cart, click on the icon. 

one time using the


shopping cart feature. ✶ Boolean operators must be capitalized when 


using the Sales Product Catalog (SPC) or 

they will be treated as stopwords. 

All prices include shipping costs. At this 

time, the price entered on the shopping cart is 

the domestic price. Foreign orders are subject 

to a 40% price increase. 

After selecting “Finalize Order”, users are 

asked to enter their name, method of payment, 

and any other relevant information. Orders 

may be changed at any time prior to clicking 

on the “Send Order” button. When ready, submit the order online, print the order form and 

then fax or mail the form to GPO, or teleShopping Cart phone the GPO Order and Information Desk. 

Publications selected for purchase are added 

to a shopping cart. The shopping cart displays 

the quantity, an item's stock number, title, 

price, and provides the total cost. Up to twenty 

publications may be ordered at one time using 

the shopping cart feature. 

Once an item has been added to the shopping 

cart, a GPO order number is automatically 

assigned (e.g. GPO Order No: 200111270000). 

This number should be used as a point of reference 

when inquiring on the status of an online order. 

Additional items may may be added to the 

shopping cart through the various search and 

browse features. Choose “Perform a New 

Search” or the browser’s back button to return 

to the homepage or a previously visited page. 

Choose a icon to add additional 

items to the cart. To remove an item from the 

shopping cart, enter a quantity of zero and hit 

“Apply Changes”. 

A detailed transaction receipt is provided 

with each online order. Please keep a copy of 

this receipt. The option to have the transaction receipt sent via e-mail is available on the 

order form. 

Encryption and Privacy 

GPO Access features an encryption service 

that ensures private, secure transactions for customers who submit electronic orders by credit 

card or SOD deposit account through the U.S. 

Government Online Bookstore. 

Personal information supplied by a user 

when submitting an order via phone, fax, or email is used for fulfilling that order. This 

information may be used to notify customers 

of new products that may be of interest to 

them. GPO only provides names and addresses, 

upon request, to the publishing agency of the 

specific product purchased. 

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Example 10: The U.S. Government Online Bookstore shopping cart. 

If you change the quantity for an item, be When finished, choose “Finalize Order”to 

sure to hit “Apply Changes” to recalculate enter your billing and shipping 

the total price. information. 

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Ben’s Guide to U.S. 

Government for Kids 

Ben’s Guide serves as 

the educational 

component of GPO 

Access. 

✶✶✶ 

Ben’s Guide links 

students to ageappropriate, official 

Federal Web sites that 

provide further 

information on a 

subject. 

Ben’s Guide <bensguide.gpo.gov> serves as 

the educational component of GPO Access by 

providing learning tools for K-12 students, 

parents, and educators. With Benjamin 

Franklin as a guide, the site teaches how the 

Federal Government works, explains the use 

of the primary source materials available on 

GPO Access, and shows how to use GPO Access to carry out civic responsibilities. 

Introducing U.S. Government 

The topics on Ben’s Guide are written to reflect the reading level and curriculum of each 

grade range. For instance, the topics in the K2 grade range are written in a larger font, with 

graphics to supplement the easy-to-read text. 

Topics in this section include: 

Our Nation


Our Government 


Your Neighborhood 


Ben’s ABCs


Symbols of U.S. Government 


As students progress through the grade 

ranges, a standard set of topics emerge. 

They include: 

Historical Documents 


Branches of Government 


How Laws Are Made


National versus State Government 


Election Process 


Citizenship 


The depth and complexity of these topics 

progresses through the grade ranges. For example, “How Laws Are Made” starts with an 

explanation of a law, who makes laws, and 

how they are passed. In the 6-8 grade range, 

the International Dolphin Conservation Act is 

tracked with links to the official documents 

on GPO Access. Finally, the 9-12 grade range 

teaches students how to search for the documents and track the bill using the resources 

on GPO Access. 

In addition to the lessons on Ben’s Guide, 

print and online games and activities are 

provided to reinforce the topics. Meanwhile, the site also provides a unique section 

for parents and educators, complete with 

curriculum information, child-oriented 

Federal products available for purchase 

through the U.S Government Online 

Bookstore via GPO Access, and more. 

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Using Ben’s Guide as a 

Learning Tool 

The information on Ben’s Guide is in the 

public domain and may be used without restriction. While trademarks are pending on 

the Ben graphics and the title, they may be 

used for educational purposes. More information may be found at <bensguide.gpo.gov 

/pt/learning.html>. 

U.S. Government Resources 

Ben’s Guide links to official Federal sites that 

provide further information on a subject. 

Wherever possible, links are provided to the 

grade-specific version of this information. And, 

just as GPO Access provides locator services to 

U.S. Government Web sites, Ben’s Guide provides a similar service, linking to U.S. 

Government Web sites developed for kids. 

AskBen 

Questions or suggestions may be sent to Ben 

at <askBen@gpo.gov>. Replies are received 

within 24 hours, except on weekends and Federal holidays. 

Example 11:The Grades 3-5 chalkboard on Ben’s Guide as of June 17, 2003. 

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User Support 


Choose the “Help” link from the navigation bar to access a collection of help features, 

including user feedback. GPO relies heavily 

on user feedback to improve its services. 

Self Help Tools 

The information presented in this training 

book is based on information that can be found 

in the “Help” feature at <www.gpoaccess.gov/ 

help>. The “Help” page is available through 

the navigational links found at the top of GPO 

Access pages. The Site Search and A-Z Resource 

List are additional sources for locating information on GPO Access and throughout the 

Federal Government. 

Updates to this training manual may be 

downloaded from the “Help” page at 

<www.gpoaccess.gov/help/manual.html>. 

GPO Access User Support Team 

Questions and comments regarding GPO 

Access can be directed to the GPO Access User 

Support Team, available Monday through 

Friday, 7:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. EST, except 

Federal holidays. 

Toll-free: 1-888-293-6498 

DC Area: 202-512-1530 

Fax: 202-512-1262 

E-mail: gpoaccess@gpo.gov 

GPO Order and Information Desk 

For assistance with print publications and/ 

or CD-ROM orders contact the GPO Order 

and Information Desk, available Monday 

through Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. EST, 

except Federal holidays. Please wait at least 

one week before inquiring about the status 

of an order. 

Toll-free: 1-866-512-1800 

DC Area: 202-512-1800 

Fax: 202-512-2250 

E-mail: orders@gpo.gov 

AskLPS 

For questions pertaining to the policy and 

procedures of the Federal Depository Library 

Program (FDLP), including issues related to 

the selection and acquisition of Federal Government information, please contact 

askLPS@gpo.gov. 

Federal Depository Libraries 

For additional help researching Federal information, contact a Federal depository library. 

These libraries provide free public access to a 

wide variety of Federal Government information in both print and electronic formats, and 

have expert staff available to assist users. To 

find a Federal depository library, go to 

<www.gpoaccess.gov/libraries.html>. 

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User Feedback 

GPO is constantly working to improve its services, and values the feedback received from 

users. Questions and comments may be sent to <gpoaccess@gpo.gov> or via the Web at 

<www.gpoaccess.gov/contactform.asp>. 

Example 12: The GPO Access User Support Team Online Contact Form as of June 17, 2003. 

When using this form, the Web page last visited will appear as well as a 

user’s browser information to assist the GPO Access User Support Team. 

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Exercises 

Below are some practice exercises to assist you in learning how to find official Federal 

Government information using GPO Access. 

1. Public Law 104-145 amends the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act 

of 1994 to require the release of relevant information to protect the public from violent 

offenders. Retrieve the public law. 

a. What is the short title of this piece of legislation? 

b. Who introduced this bill and what is the bill number? 

c. 	Which committee reported on this bill and what was the date of the full 

committee mark-up? 

d. What was the final vote on the bill and when was it signed into law? 

e. Find the citation to this law in the U.S. Code. 

2. Unauthorized cable TV reception is stipulated in 47 USC 553 (a)(1). Retrieve this 

USC citation. 

a. What is the popular name for this act? 

b. What is the public law number? 

c. 	Is this public law available on GPO Access? If so, retrieve the public law. If 

not, why? 

3. Federal Aviation Adminstration regulations state that smoking is prohibited in 

aircraft lavatories. Retrieve the regulation. 

a. What is the CFR citation for this regulation? 

b. What is the fine for tampering with lavatory smoke detectors? 

c. 	Has this regulation been affected by a final rule in the Federal Register since 

this CFR title was last published? 

4. Part 668 of CFR Title 34 deals with general provisions for student financial assistance programs in postsecondary education. Pull up this entire part in PDF or text 

format. 

a. 	 Part 668 is further divided into subparts. Pull up the text of Subpart B, 

which is entitled “Standards for Participation in Title IV, HEA Programs.” 

b. This subpart mentions that a sample default management plan is included 

in Appendix H to this part. What are two different ways to access the text 

of Appendix H? 

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5. In January 2001, President Clinton issued an executive order prohibiting 


the importation of diamonds from Sierra Leone. 


a. What is the executive order number? 


b. When did this order go into effect? 


6. Using the U.S. Goverment Manual, find:


a. 	the phone number for the Office of Public Affairs, Department of Veterans


Affairs; 


b. the complete diagram of the branches of the U.S. Government; 


c. the names of the quasi-official agencies of the U.S. Government; 


d. 	the name of the Secretary of State. Is this the current Secretary? If not,


find the current Secretary of State.


7. Find the testimony report for Free Trade Area of the Americas. 


8. Using the U.S. Government Online Bookstore, find the Pocket Guide to Chemical


Hazards, and do the following: 


a. Note the number of pages and publisher. 


b. Add this item to the shopping cart and order three copies. 


c. Add the 2000 edition of the Emergency Response Guidebook to the


shopping cart.


d. Fill in the order form, but do not submit the order. 


9. Find the publication Acid rain and our nation's capital: a guide to effects on


buildings and monuments, and answer the following: 


a. Is this title available online? 


b. Which library in the 610 area code has this publication? 


c. Is this title available for purchase? If so, at what cost? If not, why? 


10. Find what Senator Richard Durbin has said about oil and gas exploration with 


regard to the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge during 2002. 


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Answers 


Please keep in mind that the answers provided in this book are not necessarily the only 

way to locate this information on GPO Access. 

1. Public Law 104-145 amends the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act 

of 1994 to require the release of relevant information to protect the public from violent 

offenders. Retrieve the public law. 

Search Public Laws <www.gpoaccess.gov/plaws/search.html> for “pub. l. 

104-145”. Pull up Pub.L. 104-145 To amend the Violent Crime Control 

and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 to require the release of relevant 

information to protect the public from sexually violent offenders. (See page 

37) 

a. Megan’s Law 

b. Zimmer, Dunn, and Deal* -- H.R. 2137 

c. Committee on the Judiciary 

d. House: 418-0/Senate: Unanimous -- May 17, 1996** 

e. 42USC13701 

*Search History of Bills <www.gpoaccess.gov/hob/search.html> for “h.r. 

2137” to find who introduced the bill and when it was signed into law. Pull 

up hob96 H.R. 2137--A bill to amend the Violent Crime Control and Law. 

(See page 35) 

**Search Congressional Reports <www.gpoaccess.gov/serialset/creports> for 

“h. rept. 104-555” to find the results of the final vote. Pull up H.Rpt.104-

879 REPORT ON THE ACTIVITIES OF THE COMMITTEE ON 

THE JUDICIARY. 

2. Unauthorized cable TV reception is stipulated in 47 USC 553 (a)(1). Retrieve this 

USC citation. 

Search U.S. Code for 47USC553 and pull up 47USC Sec. 553. 

Unauthorized reception of cable service. 

a. Cable Communications Policy Act of 1984* 

b. Public Law 98-549* 

c. This public law will not be available on GPO Access. Information on 

GPO Access typically dates back to 1994. (See page 40) 

*Search U.S. Code for “popular name” AND cable. Pull up POPNAM 

Cable Communications Policy Act of 1984. (See page 38) 

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-- 

3. Federal Aviation Adminstration regulations state that smoking is prohibited in 

aircraft lavatories. Retrieve the regulation. 

Choose Title 14 (Aeronautics and Space) from the CFR browse table 

<www.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/cfr-table-search.html>. Deselect Title 14, select the 

check boxes pertaining to the Federal Aviation Administration, and search 

for smoking AND lavatory. Choose the document, 14CFR135.127--

Sec. 135.127 Passenger information requirements and smoking 

prohibitions. (See page 22) 

a. 14CFR135.127 

b. A penalty of up to $2,000. 

c. No (as of April 2001)* 

*Browse the List of Sections Affected (LSA) <http://www.gpoaccess.gov/ 

lsa> to find 14CFR135.127. If this citation does not appear, then this 

regulation has not been affected since the title’s last update. If it does appear, 

a reference to the Federal Register page affecting this regulation will be 

provided. (See page 22) 

4. Part 668 of CFR Title 34 deals with general provisions for student financial assistance programs in postsecondary education. Pull up this entire part in PDF or text 

format. 

Go to the Code of Federal Regulations browse page for Title 34 and enter 

"part 668" in the search terms box. Pull up 34CFR668-- PART 668--

STUDENT ASSISTANCE GENERAL PROVISIONS. (See page 22) 

a. Go to Title 34, deselect Title 34, check Volume 3, and enter “part 

668”AND “subpart b” in the search terms box. Pull up 34CFR668-

- Subpart B--Standards for Participation in Title IV, HEA Programs. 

b. Either pull up the entire part or use the browse table to go down to 

34CFR668 and pull up the last document, which is 668.175 

Alternative standards and requirements. Appendix H 

5. In January 2001, President Clinton issued an executive order prohibiting 

the importation of diamonds from Sierra Leone. 

Go to the Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents <www.gpoaccess.gov/ 

wcomp>. Search the 2001 database for “Sierra Leone”. Pull up pd22ja01 

Executive Order 13194--Prohibiting the Importation of Rough Diamonds. 

(See page 27) 

a. Executive Order 13194 

b. January 19, 2001, 12:01 a.m. EST 

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6. Using the U.S. Goverment Manual, find: 

Use the browse featue for the U.S. Government Manual 

<www.gpoaccess.gov/gmanual>. (See page 26) 

a. 202–273–5700 

b. Browse the Manual to pull up Chart: The Government Of The United 

States. 

c. Legal Services Corporation, Smithsonian Institution, State Justice 

Institute, and United States Institute of Peace. 

d. 	Madeleine K. Albright. No, the current Secretary of State is Colin L. 

Powell. <HINT: Use Federal Agency Internet Sites> 

7. Find the testimony report for Free Trade Area of the Americas. 

Search GAO Reports <www.gpoaccess.gov/gaoreports> for “free trade area 

of the americas”. Pull up [GAO-01-706T ] Free Trade Area of the Americas: 

April 2001 Meetings Set Stage for Hard Bargaining to Begin. (See page 34) 

8. Using the U.S. Government Online Bookstore, find the Pocket Guide to Chemical 

Hazards, and do the following: 

Search the Sales Product Catalog on the U.S. Government Online 

Bookstore <bookstore.gpo.gov> for “Pocket Guide to Chemical 

Hazards”. Pull up the text link for NIOSH Pocket Guide to Chemical 

Hazards. (See page 57) 

a. Health and Human Services Dept., Public Health Service, Centers for 

Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational 

Safety and Health -- 480 pages 

b, c, and d: The shopping cart should look like this: 

This exercise 

demonstrates the 

ordering process 

of the U.S. 

Government 

Online Bookstore. 

It is not necessary 

to submit the 

order to complete 

this exercise. 

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9. Find the publication Acid rain and our nation's capital: a guide to effects on 

buildings and monuments, and answer the following: 

Search the Catalog of U.S. Government Publications <www.gpoaccess.gov/ 

cgp> for “acid rain” AND capital. Pull up: Acid rain and our nation's 

capital: a guide to effects on buildings and monuments. [1997] Geological 

Survey (U.S.) I 19.2:AC 4. (See page 55) 

a. Yes <pubs.usgs.gov/gip/acidrain/> 

b. One example: McCabe Library, Swarthmore College, PA 

c. 	This title is out of print and therefore no longer available through the 

U.S. Government Online Bookstore. 

10. Find what Senator Richard Durbin has said about oil and gas exploration with 

regard to the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge during 2002. 

Use the Congressional Record Index (CRI) <www.gpoaccess.gov/cri> to search 

for Durbin ADJ Richard in the “Current Congressional Record Index” (2002). 

Pull up: cri02 DURBIN, RICHARD J. (a Senator from Illinois) and scroll 

down to the remarks section. Senator Durbin made two remarks concerning 

oil and gas exploration in the Artic National Wildlife Refuge on March 5, 

2002.* (See page 32) 

The full-text of Senator Durbin’s remarks may be found in the March 5, 

2002 edition of the Congressional Record. Search the 2002 Congressional 

Record <www.gpoaccess.gov/crecord> for S1525. Since the page numbers 

starts with an “S”, the search can be limited to the Senate by checking the 

“Section Section” box. Pull up: cr05mr02S NATIONAL LABORATORIES 

PARTNERSHIP IMPROVEMENT ACT OF 2001—Continued. (See page 

31) 

* As of March 14, 2002. 

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Index 

1,000 Point Documents, 14


Adobe Acrobat Reader, 9-10 


ASCII Text, 9 


Availability of GPO Access information, 40


Ben’s Guide to U.S. Government for Kids, 61-


62; Screen Shot, 62


Blue Books, see GAO Reports 

Bookmarking GPO Access pages, 17 


Bookstore, see U.S. Government Online 

Bookstore 

Boolean Operators, 11, 12, 59 


Browse Electronic Titles (BET), 44 


Browse Topics, 41 


Budget of the United States Government, 18,


19, 21, 39 


Catalog of U.S. Government Publications


(CGP): 39, 41-42, 44, 55-56; Monthly 


Catalog of U.S. Government Publications 


(MOCAT), 41; Screen Shot, 56 


Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), 12, 18, 19, 


22, 24, 26, 39, 51-52 


Committees, Congressional, 30 


Congressional Bills, 14, 18, 19, 28, 39, 45, 47


Congressional Calendars, 39 


Congressional Committee Prints, 18, 39 


Congressional Directory, 18, 19, 29, 39 


Congressional Documents, 18, 39


Congressional Hearings, 18, 19, 30 


Congressional Pictorial Directory, 18, 29


Congressional Record (CR), 5, 14, 16, 18, 19, 


31, 32, 35, 36, 39, 45, 47-49; Screen 


Shot, 16


Congressional Record Index (CRI), 18, 19, 32, 


35, 39 


Congressional Reports, 18, 19, 33, 39 


Contracting Opportunities, Finding, 53 


Copyright Information, 6 


Davis-Bacon Wage Determinations, 18, 39 


Declaration of Independence, 26


Department of Energy (DOE): Federal R&D 


Project Summaries, 18; GrayLit Network, 


18; Information Bridge, 18; PubScience, 


18


Department of Interior: Inspector General 


Reports, 40 


Department of State: Foreign Affairs Net-


work, 18 


Deschler’s Precedents of the U.S. House of Rep­


resentatives, 18, 36, 40


Economic Indicators, 18, 39 


Economic Report of the President, 18, 21, 39 


Education, see Ben’s Guide 

Executive Applications, 18, 19, 21-27 


Executive Orders, see Federal Register, Public 

Papers of the Presidents of the U.S., Weekly 

Compiliation of Presidential Documents 

Executive Reports, see House, Senate, & Executive Reports 

Exit Pages, 6


Export Administration Regulations, 18 


Federal Agency Internet Sites, 42 


Federal Agency Search Engines, 43 


Federal Bulletin Board, 5, 42 


Federal depository libraries: 5, 40, 41; Locat­


ing, 43-44, 55-56, 63 


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Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP):


5, 44, 55, 63; AskLPS, 64; Electronic Col­


lection (FDLP/EC), 44 


Federal Register (FR), 5, 14, 18, 19, 22, 23,


24, 25, 39, 51-52


Federal Web Sites Hosted by GPO Access, 42 


File Formats (ASCII Text, HTML, PDF, Sum­


mary, TIFF), 9 


Finding Aids, 5, 7, 41-44 


GAO Comptroller Decisions, 39 


GAO Reports, 18, 19, 34, 39


GetDoc, see Linking to GPO Access documents 

Government Information Locator Service 


(GILS), 43


Government Printing Office Electronic Access


Enhancement Act of 1993 (Public Law 103-


40), 5 


Government Publications, Finding, 55 


GPO Access: 5-6; Ben’s Guide to U.S. Gov­


ernment for Kids, 61-62; Interface, 7-8; 


Alias, 7; Applications, 19-38; Applications


Update Schedule, 39-40; Executive Ap­


plications, 21-27; Judicial Applications,


18; Legislative Applications, 28-38; Pri­


vacy Policy, 6; Resources, 18; Screen Shot, 


8; Searching, 11-17 


GPO Access User Support Team: 63-64; 


AskBen, 62; Contact Information, 7, 63; 


Privacy, 6 


GPO Order and Information Desk, 63


Help (AskLPS, Federal depository libraries, 


GPO Access User Support Team, GPO Or­


der and Information Desk, Self-Help 


Tools), 63 


Hinds’ Precedents of the U.S. House of Repre­


sentatives, 18, 36 


History of Bills, 18, 19, 32, 35, 39, 45, 47-49 


History of Line Item Veto Notices, 18


House Calendar, 18, 39 


House Journal, 18, 19, 36, 39 


House Rules and Manual, 40 


House, Senate, & Executive Reports, 18, 33, 


39


House, Senate, & Treaty Documents, 18, 39 


Hypertext Markup Language (HTML), 9 


Idenification Codes, 13-14


Judicial Applications, 18


Kids, see Ben’s Guide 

Legislation, Tracking, 47 


Legislative Applications, 18, 19, 28-38


Legislative Process, 46 


Library Services, see Federal Depository Library Program 

Linking to GPO Access documents, 17 


List of CFR Sections Affected (LSA), 18, 22, 


24, 39, 51-52; Screen Shot, 52 


Maximum Responses, 12 


Miscellaneous House and Senate Publications 


and Committees, 18, 30


Monthly Catalog of U.S. Government Pub­


lications (MOCAT), 41


Multi-Database Search Page, 14-15, 21, 24, 


31; Screen Shot, 15 


New Electronic Titles (NET): 44; Browse 


Electronic Titles (BET), 44


Office of Foreign Assets Control Documents, 


18


Permanent Public Access, 5-6


Portable Document Format (PDF): 9-10;


Saving PDF files, 10; Tips, 10; Trouble-


shooting, 10


Persistent URLs (PURLs), 6, 55 


Presidential Documents, see Federal Register, 

Public Papers of the Presidents of the U.S., 

Weekly Compiliation of Presidential Documents 

72


Archival Copy
Privacy Act Issuances, 18, 39 


Privacy Policy, 6, 7 


Procurement Notices, see Commerce Business 

Daily 

Public Law 103-40, see Government Printing


Office Electronic Access Enhancement Act


of 1993


Public Laws, 18, 19, 37, 39, 45, 47-50 


Public Papers of the Presidents of the U.S., 18, 


19, 25, 27, 39 


Query Report, 14 


Quotation Marks, 11, 59 


Regulations, Tracking, 51 


Relating GPO Access Applications: 45; Find­


ing Contracting Opportunities, 53; Find­


ing Government Publications, 55; Track­


ing Legislation, 47; Tracking Regulations, 


51


Relevance Ranking, 12-13 


Roll-Call Votes, Finding, 36 


Sales Product Catalog (SPC), 11, 39, 57, 59


Sales Program, see U.S. Government Online 

Bookstore 

Screen Shots, 8, 15, 16, 48, 50, 52, 54, 56, 


58, 60, 62, 64 


Search the Federal Government Through 


FirstGov, 43 


Searching: 11-17; Boolean Operators, 11-12; 


Identification Codes, 13-14; Maximum 


Responses, 12; Query Report, 14; Quo­


tation Marks, 11; Relevance Ranking, 12-


13; Search Interfaces, 14-16; Stopwords, 


12; Truncation, 12 


Semiannual Regulatory Agenda (Unified 


Agenda), 18, 39 


Senate Calendar, 18, 39 


Senate Manual, 40


Senate Report 103-27, see Government Printing Office Electronic Access Enhancement Act 

of 1993 

Senate Reports, see House, Senate, & Executive Reports 

Stamp Out Breast Cancer Act (H.R. 1585), 


47


State of New York, ex rel. Eliot Spitzer, et al, 

v. Microsoft Corporation, 18


Statutes at Large Citations, 37-38, 50 


Summary Files, 9 


Supreme Court Decisions, 18


Stopwords, 12 


Text Image File Format (TIFF), 9 


Training Manual: Exercises, 65-66; Exercise 


Answers, 67-70; Updates, 4, 63 


Truncation, 12


Unified Agenda (Semiannual Regulatory


Agenda), 18, 39 


United States Code (USC), 18, 19, 37, 38, 39, 


45, 47, 50 


U.S. Constitution, 18, 26, 40 


United States Government Manual, 18, 19, 26, 


39, 42 


U.S. Government Online Bookstore: 7, 11, 


22, 57-60; Children’s Publications, 61;


Encryption, 59; Finding Government 


Publications, 55-56; GPO Order and In-


formation Desk, 63; Locations, 57; Or­


der Submission, 57; Privacy, 6, 59; Screen 


Shots, 58, 60; Search Tips, 59; Shopping 


Cart, 59-60 


United States Government Printing Office Style


Manual, 40


User Feedback, 64


User Support, see GPO Access User Support 

Team 

Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents, 


18, 19, 25, 27, 39 


73


Archival Copy