Social Sciences

Learn how to activate your subscription to the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Washington Post, and how to access a digital version of the Army Times.

govinfo provides free public access to official publications from all three branches of the Federal Government. Very useful for acquiring primary sources by researching federal government documents.

Congress.gov is the official website for U.S. federal legislative information, providing timely information for Members of Congress and the public. Additionally, roll call votes are provided for both the House and Senate from 1989 to the present.

Provides detailed information about Senators, committees, legislation and records, including recent roll call votes.

Provides detailed information about individual Representatives, leadership, committees, and legislative activities.

Provides information on current President's administration and public policies from the perspective of the President.

Provides information on the U. S. Supreme Court, including cases, arguments, and other documents.

Website tracking money in U.S. politics and its effect on elections and public policy. Compiled by a nonprofit nonpartisan group.

Website that publishes profiles of the various influencers of public policy issues. This is a project of the Capital Research Center which is a nonprofit conservative organization.

The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act provides changes to gun safety laws, the mental health system, and school safety programs. The act makes changes to federal firearms laws, including to expand background check requirements, broaden the scope of existing restrictions, and establish new criminal offenses. It also authorizes and supports various programs, grants, and activities to promote access to behavioral and mental health services, enhance school safety and security initiatives, and address gun violence in communities.

On June 25, 2022, the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (BSCA, P.L. 117-159) was signed into law. The BSCA was enacted in the aftermath of mass shootings in Uvalde, TX, and Buffalo, NY. The law includes provisions related to mental health, firearms, education, and Medicaid and Medicare. It also includes appropriations for related programs operated by the Departments of Justice (DOJ), Education (ED), and Health and Human Services (HHS). This report describes each of the provisions in the BSCA, along with the appropriations provided in Division B of the BSCA.

The Respect for Marriage Act replaces provisions that define, for purposes of federal law, marriage as between a man and a woman and spouse as a person of the opposite sex with provisions that recognize any marriage between two individuals that is valid under state law. The act also replaces provisions that do not require states to recognize same-sex marriages from other states with provisions that prohibit the denial of full faith and credit or any right or claim relating to out-of-state marriages on the basis of sex, race, ethnicity, or national origin.

This article from the database Opposing Viewpoints argues that, though the passage of the Respect for Marriage Act represents an important victory for marriage equality, the legislation has several important limitations. The author notes that President Joe Biden signed the act into law, codifying both same-sex marriage and interracial marriage at the federal level, in December 2022. the author asserts that its shortcomings have not received significant attention.

President Biden's Executive Order on police reform including Improving data collection, revising use-of-force standards, limiting the use of no-knock entries, limiting the militarization of law enforcement, and improving crisis response to include alternatives.

Associated Press article on the President Biden’s May 2022 signing of Executive Order on Policing and Criminal Justice Practices. The AP, a secondary source, provides neutral reporting on the events leading to the decision to issue this Order, its limitations, and the reactions of advocacy groups and other commentators.

President Biden's Executive Order that authorizes the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Homeland Security to order to active duty such units and individual members of the Ready Reserve to address the threat posed by posed by international drug trafficking.

Article on President Biden’s May 2023 signing of an Executive Order authorizing active-duty armed forces reservists to be called up to address international drug trafficking at the southern border of the United States.

Dobbs v. Jackson's Women's Health Organization determined that the U.S. Constitution does not confer a right to abortion, overturning Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey.

An article from Issues & Controversies provides a detailed history and overview of abortion and the arguments opposing and supporting its availability. After almost 50 years after the Supreme Court in Roe v. Wade (1973) decided that women have a Constitutional right to abortion, with Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, the Court overturned its previous decision stating that it had fundamentally erred when it ruled in 1973.

The Supreme Court ruled that Congress did not grant the Environmental Protection Agency in Section 111(d) of the Clean Air Act the authority to devise emissions caps based on the generation shifting approach the agency took in the Clean Power Plan.

An article from Issues & Controversies provides a historic overview of efforts by the United States government to protect the environment. Opponents argue that such efforts will be detrimental to the economy and workers' livelihood and argue that the government should play a minimal role.