Environmental and Energy Policy: U.S. Government and Climate or Environment Topics

Environmental Politics and Energy

Researching with Government Documents

For more see the Government Information portal at Columbia. If you are unfamiliar with how the American Government is set up (it's confusing!) please consult this fabulous set of resources from U.S.A.Gov

Some useful places to begin:

  • Congressional Publications: Access to hearings, committee prints, CRS reports, legislative histories, the Congressional Record, federal regulations, and the U.S. Congressional Serial Set. Many documents are in full text and cover the years 1789 to the present; others are citations that are available in full text in print or microform in the library.
  • Congressional Research Service Reports: CRS, a branch of the Library of Congress, prepares research reports at the request of members of Congress, their staff, and Congressional committees.
  • Government Accountability Office (GAO) : Known as "the investigative arm of Congress" and "the congressional watchdog." GAO supports the Congress in meeting its constitutional responsibilities and helps improve the performance and accountability of the federal government for the benefit of the American people.

  • US Trade Representatives Office Topics: USTR is an agency with decades of specialized experience in trade issues and regions of the world. It negotiates directly with foreign governments to create trade agreements, to resolve disputes, and to participate in global trade policy organizations.

15 U.S. Departments Under the Executive Branch

  1. U.S. Department of Agriculture 
  2. U.S. Department of Commerce 
  3. U.S Department of Defense
  4. U.S. Department of Education 
  5. Department of Energy: The Department of Energy has four distinct missions: Energy, Defense, Cleanup and Waste Management, and Science, Technology and the National Labs.
  6. U.S. Department of Health & Human ServicesOversees the following agencies, among others:
    • Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation: The principal advisor to the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on policy development, and is responsible for major activities in policy coordination, legislation development, strategic planning, policy research, evaluation, and economic analysis.
    • Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) administers the Medicare and Medicaid programs, which provide health care to America's aged and indigent populations. CMS also administers the new Children's Health Insurance Program through approved state plans that cover more than 2.2 million children.
  7. U.S. Department of Homeland Security
  8. U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
  9. U.S. Department of Justice
  10. U.S. Department of Labor
  11. Department of StateThe Department of State is the primary source of foreign affairs information for the U.S. Government and is responsible for implementing the President's foreign policies.
    • Don't forget that the State Department has had many versions of their website that can be accessed at their web-archive. 
    • Background Notes - U.S. Department of State: Brief profiles of most countries of the world. Includes information on government type and structure, names of major government officials, and an overview of foreign relations.
  12. ​​U.S. Department of the Interior
  13. U.S. Department of the Treasury 
  14. U.S. Department of Transportation 
  15. U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

Climate Change

Environmental Topics

 

International Government Information