Business Law Resource Guide: Federal Government Websites

The Library of Congress provides the renowned Thomas Legislative Information service. Thomas includes full-text of bills and public laws from the 93rd Congress to the present Congress; the Congressional Record from the 101st Congress to the present Congress; Committee Reports from the 104th Congress to the present Congress; and selected government links.

The Federal Government's new website (fdsys) provides free access to official, published information produced by the Federal Government. Some of the databases included are:
Code of Federal Regulations from 1996
Federal Register from 1994
Public Laws from the 104th Congress
U.S. Code from 1994

Provided by the Library of Congress, this site provides vast annotated links which offer full texts of laws, regulations, and court decisions, along with commentary from lawyers. Covers international, multinational, U.S. federal, and state legal information.

Business.gov provides guidance with government rules and regulations and provides access to services and resources to help the user develop a business. Links to state and federal laws and regulations, statistics (business, trade, marketing, and country), employment issues and laws, and tax information.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) protects investors and regulates the securities markets. Included in this website, are laws and regulations, rules, staff interpretations, litigation releases, and public statements. Also, offers searching and downloading of public company SEC filings

The Internal Revenue Service is the tax collection agency for the United States Government. It administers the Internal Revenue Code. This website contains a massive amount of tax-related resources, including Pronouncements, the Internal Revenue Bulletin, laws, regulations, news, and court rulings.

The Bureau "formulates and carries out U.S. foreign economic policy, integrating U.S. economic interests with our foreign policy goals so that U.S. firms and investors can compete on an equal basis with their counterparts overseas."

The Antitrust Division promotes the competitive process through the enforcement of the antitrust laws. The website provides texts of cases, appellate briefs, policy documents, speeches, and congressional testimony.

The FTC enforces federal antitrust and consumer protection laws by investigating complaints against companies initiated by consumers, businesses, or congressional inquiries. The commission seeks to ensure competitive markets by eliminating unfair or deceptive practices. The website offers texts of congressional hearings, federal rules, staff opinions, and decisions, orders and complaints.

BIS's activities include regulating the export of sensitive goods and technologies, “enforcing export control, antiboycott, and public safety laws, cooperating with and assisting other countries on export control and strategic trade, [and] assisting U.S. industry to comply with international arms control agreements..." The website offers export compliance information, texts of advisory opinions, an overview of policies and regulations, and program information.

"Census Bureau economic programs produce, summarize, and analyze data for virtually all U.S. businesses and government entities," including producing complete censuses of the U.S. economy every 5 years, for years ending in "2" and "7." Currently includes 125 current survey and administrative data programs as well as compilations of official export, import, and trade deficit statistics.

The Copyright Office provides expert assistance to Congress on intellectual property matters. It is the office where claims to copyright are registered and where documents relating to copyright are recorded. The website offers informational circulars; application forms for copyright registration; links to the copyright law, and news. It includes congressional testimony and press releases; latest federal regulations; a link to online copyright records cataloged since 1978; and more.

This is the starting point for accessing the Department of Labor agency websites. Includes statistics, research, news, and statutory and regulatory information on labor-related issues.

The OSHA site provides laws, regulations, and decisions covering the health and safety of workers and Elaws for employment law assistance for workers and small businesses.

The role of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is processing patent and trademark applications and disseminating patent and trademark information. The website allows full-text searching of patents since 1976 and searching of full-page images since 1790. In addition, the user may use TESS (Trademark Electronic Search System) for searching trademark applications and registration information.

This is the federal government's portal to exporting and trade. In addition to export news, the site offers export basics, market research, pricing, and shipping information. Trade Information Center provides referrals on federal export assistance programs, international market research and trade leads, advice on export licenses, import tariffs/taxes and customs procedures, and lists of best prospects for U.S. companies. Material is generally provided in full-text format as reports, or databases

Produced by the Regulatory Information Service Center, this site assists users who want to have current information about federal, state, and local regulation. Includes searchable recent and prior Unified Agenda and Regulatory Plans. Regulatory Plans contain the most important regulatory actions that each agency expects to issue in the current fiscal year or thereafter.