Government Documents and Microforms

How a Bill Becomes a Law and Various Other Sources

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Presidential Action

If the president supports or opposes major legislation, the sources outlined in How to Choose a Particular Bill or Law (e.g., CQ Weekly Report) will follow any statements or legislative efforts originating from his office.
Once a law passes both chambers, the president will either sign or veto the measure.
These sources will list his “official statements."

Title & Dates of Coverage	Location	Frequency & Indexing	Description
Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents	Middleton Reference (Gov Docs Ref) AE 2.109: 1965- FDsys 1993-	Issued each Monday. Indexed by subject and name.	Includes the text of proclamations and executive orders, addresses and remarks, communications to Congress (including veto messages), letters, messages, telegrams, and news conferences. Includes acts approved by the president, nominations submitted to the Senate, a digest of other White House announcements, and a checklist of White House press releases.
A Compilation of the Messages and Papers of the Presidents, 1789- 1917	Middleton J 81 B96g		George Washington through Woodrow Wilson.
Public Papers of the President 1929-	Middleton Reference (Gov Docs Ref) AE 2.114:	Indexed by subject and categories for type of presidential activity (e.g., press conference) or document (e.g., press release).	Prior to 1977, this was an edited version of Weekly Compilation. Current volumes include complete text of Weekly Compilation arranged in chronological order.

Texts of vetoes will also be issued as House or Senate Documents.

To locate, use CIS Index and Abstracts (KF 49 C62, Middleton Reference) or the online catalog (word or phrase search using the terms "president" and "veto").

Reprints in the Congressional Record can be found in the index under “President of the United States.”