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TITLE: The United States Government Manual

SCOPE:

"The official handbook of the Federal Government...provides comprehensive information on the agencies of the legislative, judicial, and executive branches," and less comprehensive information on "quasi-official agencies; international organizations in the United States participates; and boards, commissions, and committees."

"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. This last section provides information on consumer activities, contracts and grants, employment, publications, and many other ateas of public interest."

DATES: Aside from (limited) historical information, information is intended to be current as of year and date of issue.

CONTENTS: Legislative Branch (Congress; Capitol Architect; U.S. Botanic Garden; GAO; GPO; LoC; Office of Technology Assessment; Congressional Budget Office) -- Judicial Branch (Supreme Court; Lower Courts; Special Courts; Admin. Office of the U.S. Courts; Federal Judicial Center; U.S. Sentencing Commission) -- Executive Branch (President; White House Office; OMB, Council of Economic Advisers; [etc.]) -- Executive Agencies: Departments (Agriculture; Commerce; Defense; [etc.]) -- Executive Agencies: Independent Establishments and Government Corporations (Administrative Conference of the U.S.; African Development Foundation; CIA; Commodity Futures Trading Commission; [etc.]) -- Guide to Boards, Commissions, and Committees -- Quasi-Official Agencies (LSC; Smithsonian; State Justice Institute; U.S. Institute of Peace) -- Selected Multilateral Organizations -- Selected Bilateral Organizations -- Appendices.

AUTHORITY: Office of the Federal Register, National Archives and Record Administration (NARA). Issued as a special edition of the Federal Register.

INDEXES: Print versions contain indices by (1) Personal names (of office-holders), and (2) agency/subject index. Electronic versions may be searched in their full text, with the sophistication of the search depending on the search engine and interface employed.

SPECIAL FEATURES: Organizational charts lay out the chain of authority for the government as a whole, as well as (separately) for each major division and agency. Appendix A lists standard Federal Regions and executive boards (with maps); Appendix B provides a short list of common abbreviations and acronyms; Appendix C lists all Federal executive agencies "terminated, transferred, or changed in name after 4 March 1933"; and Appendix D very usefully cross-references all agencies having regulations in the CFR to the relevant title, subtitle, or xxx in the Code of Federal Regulations. Includes copies of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.

PURPOSE: The Government Manual is the first stop for anyone whose concern is with a specific agency or organization in the Federal government. For someone interested in (especially someone interested in addressing or employing the services of) a particular agency like "The Federal Judicial Center" or the "Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms," the Manual provides introductory descriptions of the agency, a good sense of its overall organization, the names of current office holders, addresses, phone numbers, contact information, the addresses of regional and divisional field offices, and usually some leads to further information. For someone interested in a small program within a large agency or detailed information of almost any sort, the Manual will prove inadequate--but should probably still be the place to start.

COMMENTS: May be supplemented by the full Federal Register as well as by other special editions of the Register, such as the CFR. Electronic versions lack charts, but are fully searchable and remotely accessible. Searching for small programs, however, often produces no results.