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Federal Branches of Government: Executive Branch

Constitution of the United States, Article II, Section 1, "The executive Power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America."

The executive branch consists of the President and his Cabinet and various administrative agencies. the primary purpose of the executive branch is to implement and enforce the laws passed by Congress. The departments and agencies within the executive branch create rules and regulations that inform the public how to comply with the law.

Executive Branch from USA.gov - The U. S. government's official web portal to government information

The Executive Branch from whitehouse.gov

Additional Resources

Almanac of American Presidents: From 1789 to the Present: An Original compendium of Facts and Anecdotes about Politics and the Presidency in the United States of America. Edited by Thomas L. Connelly and Michael D. Senecal, New York: Facts on File, 1991.

The Cabinet. Sam Wellman, Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr., senior consulting editor. Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishers, c. 2001 (Juvenile Literature).

Congressional Quarterly's Desk Reference on the Presidency. Bruce Wetterau. Washington, D. C.: CQ Press, 2000.

Encyclopedia of the American Presidency. Editors: Leonard W. Levy and Louis Fisher. New York: Macmillan Reference U. S. A. 

Executive Orders and Other Presidential Documents: Sources and Explanations, Law Librarians' Society of Washington D. C.

Federal Register: What it is and How to use it

Inaugural Addresses of the Presidents of the United States

The Presidency. Kevin J. McNamara. Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishers, c. 2000 (Juvenile Literature).

The Presidency A-Z: A Ready Reference Encyclopedia. Rev. ed. Michael Nelson, advisory editor. Congressional Quarterly. Washington, D. C. 1996.

A Research Guide to the Federal Register and the Code of Federal Regulations, Law Librarians' Society of Washington, D. C.

The Vice Presidency. Marilyn D. Anderson and Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr., senior consulting editor. Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishers, c. 2001 (Juvenile Literature)

Federal Depository Library Program - LibGuide on Presidential Documents, etc.

The Presidency

Official Whitehouse Website

Presidential Actions - From Whitehouse.gov

Executive Orders - From Federal Register (William J. Clinton to Donald Trump)

Compilation of Presidential Documents - 1992 forward

Budget of the United States Government

Economic Indicators

Economic Report of the President

Presidential Libraries - National Archives

State of the Union Addresses - FDsys

American Presidency Project - University of California, Santa Barbara

Avalon Project - Papers of the Presidents

Federal Agencies

A-Z Index of U.S. Government Departments and Agencies

U. S. Government Manual - The official handbook of the Federal Government providing information on the agencies of the three branches of government.

  1. Current
  2. Previous Years - Beginning with 1935

Code of Federal Regulations - The codification of the general and permanent rules published in the Federal Register by the executive departments and agencies of the Federal Government.

  1. FDsys Federal Regulations - 1996 - current
  2. e-CFR - National Archives, Office of the Federal Register, The Electronic Code of Federal Regulations (e-CFR) is updated daily. It is not an official legal edition of the CFR, but the information is more current than other sites.
  3. Legal Information Institute - Cornell Law School

List of CFR Sections Affected (LSA) - Issued monthly and lists proposed, new, and amended federal regulation published since the most recent update of the CFR.

  1.  FDsys List of CFR Sections Affected - 1997 to current

Federal Register - The official daily publication for rules, proposed rules, and notices of Federal agencies and organizations, as well as executive orders and other presidential documents.

  1. National Archives

Freedom of Information Act

The records of all executive branch agencies and departments are subject to FOIA, however, the law doesn't apply to those of Congress, the federal courts, the president and his immediate staff, and the vice president.

Freedom of Information Act - Place within Executive Branch

The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)

The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) was enacted in 1966 and provides any person the right to obtain access to Federal agency records, with the exception of those records protected from public disclosure. Congress, the President, and the Supreme Court acknowledge FOIA to be a vital part of our democracy.

A FOIA request can be sent to a Federal agency for any Federal agency record. Requests should be sent to the appropriate agency, and each agency's website contains information about the type of records it holds, allowing the public to determine to whom to make a FOIA request.

FOIA applies to Federal agencies only, so  the act does not apply to the Judicial Branch and the Courts, the Legislative Branch and Congress, or State Governments and Courts.

 Freedom of Information Act (FOIA): Your Right to Federal Records