University of 
Michigan Documents Center


CAMPAIGN FINANCE REFORM
Or Not?

American Political Parties - PS 483
Dr. Margaret Howard

BACKGROUND
Books | Campaign Finance Issues | Citations | Internet Search Engines
Journal Indexes | Journals/Full Text | News Media | Research Reports

INTEREST GROUPS
Lobby Influence | Lobby Opinion | Political Parties

STATISTICS
Comprehensive Sources | Campaign Finance
Elections | Public Opinion

FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
Bills | Congress | Committees | Courts | Debates | Hearings | Members
Executive Branch | Laws | President | Regulations
Elections

Citations | Policy Process Matrix

Directory Search

Last updated on July 14, 2006

UMich Only Web Links Available from Campus Ethernet Workstations and via Modem Using 489-2222

Books and Articles

MIRLYN

    • Connect via MIRLYN-Web
    • MCAT lists books within the University of Michigan Library system.
    • Which version to choose?
      • MIRLYN-Web better for printing, downloading, subject searching, and direct connection to web-based products
      • TN 3270 or Telnet
        • Has call number searching
        • Better for sophisticated keyword searching [e.g. k=campaign adj finance adj reform is possible in MIRLYN Classic; only campaign and finance and reform possible in MIRLYN-Web]
      • MIRLYN-Classic Guide
      • MIRLYN-Web Guide
    • Searchable by author, title, subject, keyword

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS SUBJECT HEADINGS

  • Controlled vocabulary
  • Used for
    • Foreign material
    • When too many common keywords
  • Find through
    • LC Subject List (Library)
    • Record retrieved through keyword searching

    • Library of Congress Subject Headings: By Subject
      • Campaign funds--United States
      • Democratic Party (U.S.)
      • Electioneering--United States
      • Lobbying--United States
      • Political action committees--United States
      • Political participation--United States
      • Presidents--United States--Election--1972
      • Pressure groups--United States
      • Republican Party (U.S. : 1854-)
      • United States--Elections
      • Voting--United States
      • In MIRLYN Web Advanced Searching, you don't need to know exact order (e.g. voting and united states or united states and voting)

Boolean Logic

    • Keyword Searching

IllustrationMIRLYN-ClassicMIRLYN-Web
PHRASE k=campaign adj finance campaign w finance
AND k=campaign adj finance and reform campaign w finance and reform
OR k=elections or voting elections or voting
COMPLEX SEARCHING k=campaign adj finance and (PAC or political adj action) reads incorrectly as
(campaign and finance and PAC) or political and action
TRUNCATION k=election? election?


Periodicals - Full Text [Web]

Comprehensive Sources

    • JSTOR (UMich Only)
      • Full text of major 20th Century historical and economic periodicals as well as the American Political Science Review through 1995
      • Most periodicals available from 1900-90
      • Index approaches by keyword, author, title, periodical
      • Printing and downloading requires application/tifflist or Adobe Acrobat

    • Political Information
      • Mega web index to public policy concerns
      • Indexes news, political parties, policy papers and interest group web sites

    • ProQuest (UMich Only)
      • Research Library indexes some 2300 journals in all fields since the 1980s and provides the full text of many since the 1990s (marked by a full-page symbol)
      • Includes popular and scholarly titles, such as the American Political Science Review and American Politics Quarterly
      • Journals indexed by author, title, keyword, periodical, and date
      • Sample searches
          "campaign finance reform"
          campaign finance and reform
          campaign finance and (reform or bills or legislation)
          campaign finance and (reform or bill? Or legislation)
      • Articles may be marked for downloading
      • Text in HTML and image formats
      • Replaces the Core Journals Project, which printed articles from MIRLYN on request

Individual Titles

    • Congressional Quarterly (UMich Only)
      • Weekly publication with non-partisan political analysis of Congress
      • Identifies major legislation, the issues, and players
      • Political party and election analysis
      • Web coverage begins in 1983 and is searchable
      • Separate index for roll call votes beginning 1995
      • Prior to 1983, use Congressional Quarterly Almanac, (Doc.Cen. JK 1 .C756--Ref.)
    • National Journal (UMich Only)
      • National Journal focuses on the politics of the Executive Branch with some reference to current legislation
      • Full text since 1994 available through the University of Michigan's campus license to Proquest

    • Policy.com
      • Daily periodical with current policy news, issue of the week, and in-depth analysis of 20 current policy issues
      • Virtual Congress features speeches and votes on topics
      • Includes a policy chat room

Periodical Indexes - No Full Text [Web and Library]

    • Public Affairs Information Service Bulletin (UMich Only)
      • Subject index to books, articles, and government documents on politics and economics since 1972 in Western European languages
      • This will cover the post-Watergate campaign finance reform debate
      • Government documents include United States, United Nations, League of Nations, and State Governments
      • There are also paper versions (English, 1915+, Z 7163 .P98 and foreign, 1968+, Z 7164 .E2 P96)

    • Social Sciences Citation Index 1956- (UMich Only)
      • Indexes current periodical articles by author, title/keyword, journal, and author's affiliation
      • Indexes cited authors by name, abbreviated title of book/journal and year
      • Results provide cross references between the cited author, the citating author, and related items
      • Social Sciences Citation Index Examples
      • Connect to MIRLYN-Web to identify library location and call number of book or article


News Media

Comprehensive Sources

    • Academic Universe/LEXIS [Full Text] (UMich Only)
      • Full text of U.S. and foreign newspapers for past several years
      • Access News/General News Topics or News/Transcripts
      • SAMPLE SEARCH:
            News/General News
            More Options
            mccain w/p feingold w/p campaign [in full text]
            major newspapers
            10/1/98 to 9/1/99
            sort by relevance
      • Academic Universe Search Guide

Individual Titles

    • ABC News [Full Text]
      • Requires JAVA script for viewing
      • Visible without Java if graphics turned off
    • AllPolitics [Full Text]
      • Daily Internet periodical sponsored by Time, CNN and Congressional Quarterly
      • Includes news and public opinion polls on political issues
    • Cable News Network (CNN) [Full Text]
      • News stories on current political issues, often with the full-text of relevant documents
      • Recent material and election coverage archived in subject groups
      • Summaries or full text of recent CNN political programs
      • Good Remote Alternative
    • Christian Science Monitor [Full Text]
      • Daily newspaper with the full text of lead articles (U.S., international, cultural, crossword)
      • Archive back to 1980 searchable by subject
    • Editor and Publisher On-Line Newspapers [Some Full Text]
      • Links to over 1000 newspapers worldwide
      • Arranged by continent and country; for the United States, subdivided by state
      • Annotations describe publication, provide links, and give pricing information when applicable
    • New York Times [Full Text]
      • Full text of today's New York Times and a searchable archive
      • Initial registration required
      • Registration currently free in the U.S. but organization reserves the right to charge
      • Also on Academic Universe with indexing since 1969 and full text since 1980
      • Complete edition in the Serials/Microform Room since 1851 (FILM X979)
    • Washington Post [Full Text]
      • Full text of current issue and searchable archive for two weeks only
      • International section has news and web links to individual countries
      • National section has new and web links to individual states
      • Searchable index creates maps for individual U.S. business establishments
      • Good Remote Alternative
      • Also on Academic Universe

Campaign Finance Issues

Brookings Institution

    • Proposals and issues before the 105th and 106th Congresses
    • Links to articles and opinion pieces
    • Campaign Finance Sourcebook brings together history, laws and court decisions; summary in HTML format and full version in Adobe Acrobat format

Campaign Finance Reform (EPN)

    • Text of analytical articles on campaign finance reform
    • Hot links to think tank and state government sites
    • Succint annotations

Campaign Finance Reform (Natl.Center for Policy Analysis)

    • Full text of several articles on both sides of the issue
    • Includes bills and think tank opinions
    • Among subjects are spending limits, PACs, disclosure, public financing, state laws, and union activities

Campaign Reform (Washington Post)

    • Summary of the issues
    • Links to bills before Congress
    • Presidential candidate opinions
    • Timeline of changes beginning 1971
    • Last updated September 1998

Common Cause

    • Citizen lobby group promoting campaign finance report
    • Project Independence petition drive for campaign reform
    • Articles and campaign finances of Congress

Congressional Research Service

Policy.Com

    • Campaign reform was the issue of the week for March 15, 1999
    • Summary of the issues: hard v. soft money, role of PACS and issue ads
    • Proposed legislation for the 106th Congress

SEE ALSO Campaign Finance Reports

Interest Groups

Lobby Group Influence

    • Background Information [Web and Library]
      • Use to identify politics of legislation in the headlines
    • Bills [Web]
      • Which Members of Congress have introduced bills promoted by lobby groups
    • Campaign Finances [Web and Library]
      • Campaign contributions of lobby groups to Members of Congress
      • Note whether Member is on a committee which has jurisdiction over a subject of interest to the lobby group
    • Congressional Hearings [Library]
      • Testimony of lobby groups
    • Floor Votes
      • Which Members of Congress have voted in the best interests of a particular lobby group?
    • Lobby Group Ratings (UMich) [Web and Library]
      • Annotated list of web sites and printed sources
    • Lobby Group Web Sites
      • Opinions and sometimes testimony are included on lobby group web sites

Lobby Group Opinion

Political Parties

Printed Encyclopedias and Background

    • Encyclopedia of the Democratic Party by George Thomas Kurian, 1997 (Ref. Room JK 2312 .E551)
      • Broad articles on the history and ideology of the party
      • Democratic Party positions on campaign finance, drugs, big government, health care, Social Security
      • Party platforms, 1840-1992
      • Biographies of winning and losing Presidential candidates
    • Encyclopedia of the Republican Party by George Thomas Kurian, 1997 (Ref. Room JK 2352 .E561)
      • Broad articles on the history and ideology of the party
      • Broad articles on the history and ideology of the party
      • Republican Party positions on campaign finance, drugs, big government, health care, Social Security
      • Party platforms, 1856-1992
      • Biographies of winning and losing Presidential candidates

    • Encyclopedia of Third Parties in the United States by Earl Kruschke, 1991 (Ref. Room JK 2261 .K781 1991)
      • Brief history of historic third parties in the United States, including American Independent Party, Black Panthers, Populists and Socialist
      • Does not include Reform or Green Parties

    • Political Parties and Elections in the United States; An Encyclopedia by L. Sandy Maisel, 1991 (Ref. Room JK 2261 .P6331)
      • Two-volume work with scholarly analyses of political parties, issues, and people throughout U.S. history
      • Sample headings include: Caucuses, Elite Theory, Reconstruction, Republican Party
      • Campaign Finance and the Constitution includes constitutional theory and continuing problems
      • Articles supplemented by a bibliography for further research
      • Appendices include Republican and Democratic National Committee chairmen through 1991; women, blacks and Hispanics in Congress

Party Web Sites

Party Platforms and Agendas


Statistics

Comprehensive Sources | Campaign Finance | Elections | Public Opinion

Comprehensive Statistical Indexes

    • Statistical Resources on the Web
      • Annotated links to over 20 categories of government and non-government statistics
      • Large sections on demographics, economics, and health
      • Optional cumulative frames index

    • Statistical Universe (UMich Only)
      • Indexes and abstracts all published federal government statistics since 1974, business and state governments since 1980, and international agencies since 1983
      • Begin search with Statistical Sources
        • Choose Subject Search or Comparative Data (e.g. breakdowns by geography, economics, or demographics)
        • Comparative Example: By Individual, Company or Institution and campaign contributions
      • Results list indicates of web links to data (i.e. full text attachments) available
      • If full text not available, search MIRLYN by title, come to the Documents Center with the microfiche number (e.g. ASI 1998 4142-1), or search the Federal Web Directory for the agency web site
      • See Statistical Universe Guide and the Statistical Universe Slide Show for additional details


Campaign Finance Data

    • Campaign Money
      • Searchable data base of campaign contributions for Presidential and Congressional candidates beginning in 2000
      • Access by candidate, political action committee, or 527 organization
      • Information is cross-listed in several ways

    • Center for Responsive Politics
      • Non-partisan research group monitoring campaign reform
      • Congressional campaign finance filings
      • Open Secrets
        • Lobby group campaign contributions to Members of Congress arranged by industry and separately by member
        • Web version in Adobe Acrobat format corresponds to paper version in Documents Center (JK 1991 .M261)

    • Color of Money
      • Ranks and lists states, counties, and the largest cities by percent of people of color
      • Tables list the number and amount of political campaign contributions, per capita contributions, and income
      • Does not provide data on the candidates to whom money was contributed

    • FECInfo (Tony Raymond)
      • Presidential campaign contributions searchable by name, state, or Political Action Committee since 1991 and Congressional since 1993
      • Hard and soft money
      • Current campaign reports
      • User-friendly interface

    • Federal Election Commission
      • List of all Senate, House candidates, and Presidential candidates
      • Summary of their receipts and disbursements since 1992

    • Federal PACs Directory (Doc. Cen. JK 1991 .C66 - Ref.)
      • Lists over 2400 Political Action Committees
      • Brief paragraphs describe their ideology and special interests
      • Provides total contributions by party, incumbent v. challenger, winners and losers

    • Michigan Campaign Finance Reporting System (Secy. of State)
      • Indexes receipts and expenditures for gubernatorial, ballot, State and Congressional offices beginning 1998
      • All files are indexed by candidate name, party, committee, date, and amount
      • Receipts indexed by donor and location; expenditures by type

    • Open Secrets
      • Detailed campaign finances for 1988, 1990, and 1992 elections
      • Doc.Cen. JK 1991 .M621

    • Project Vote Smart
      • Extensive annotated links to other sources of Presidential and Congressional campaign finance information
      • Campaign finance data found under "Elected Officials" could be a little old

    • For material during the 1970's
      • Almanac of American Politcs, 1974+ ( JK 1012 .A44 )
      • Statistical Universe
        • Once you identify the title, search it in MIRLYN
        • If not in MIRLYN, bring the microfiche number to the Documents Center


Election Statistics

    • ABC News
      • One of the few archived elections sites for the 1998 elections
      • Detailed vote counts for candidates and percentages
      • Arranged by Congressional chamber or state

    • America Votes (Richard Scammon)
      • Votes for President and Governor by state and county beginning 1952
      • Votes for Members of Congress by Congressional District beginning 1946
      • Only available in paper copy: Reference Room JK 1967 .A1 A68
      • Two-year time lag between the general elections and publication date; latest is 1996
      • Presidential votes, 1920-1992, also appear in America at the Polls (Ref. Room JK 524 .G72)

    • Clerk of the House
      • Directories of the 104th Congress to present, biographies of speakers since the first Congress
      • List of Senate and House nominees for the 1996 elections
      • Historical data includes national electoral college results since the 1st Congress, Presidential and Senatorial election results by state and House by district since 1920
      • Data on the political divisions in Congress since the 34th Congress

    • David Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections
      • Maps and tables with Presidential votes since 1860
        • Maps outline state electoral votes
        • Tables show major and independent presidential and vice presidential candidates, popular and electoral votes, and percentages for both
      • County election data for 1912, 1968, and 1980-2000
      • County map of 2000 Presidential election popular vote
      • This is truly wonderful!

    • Michigan Election Results (MI State Dept.)
      • Statewide general and primary election data by district beginning with 1994
      • Data by district and county when applicable

    • National Election Studies
      • Prepared by the Center for Political Studies
      • Documentation on voting, public opinion, and political participation studies
      • Studies beginning 1994 are available via ftp for use with SAS or SPSS
      • Documentation in Word Perfect format
      • Its Guide to Public Opinion and Electoral Behavior provides summary data on social, economic, partisanship, and public opinion, 1952 to present
      • American National Election Study(UC-Berkeley)
      • American National Election Studies CD-ROM also available in the Documents Center

    • Presidents of the United States (IPL/Summers)
      • Extensive web site with pages for each President, Washington to Clinton
      • Includes election results

    • State Legislatures (NCSL)
      • Partisan composition and number of women in state legislatures
      • Data arranged by state

    • Turnout Files (Roll Call)
      • National voter registration and turnout for the 1992-96 elections by age, gender, ethnicity, education, and labor force status
      • Articles on voter turnout issues in future elections

    • U.S. Election Map Bank
      • Maps of Presidential election winners for 1988 and 1992 by state and county
      • Maps of popular vote winners by state, 1960-92
      • Extensive links for the 1996 Presidential campaign
      • The University of Virginia has mapped popular vote totals by state, 1948-92

    • Voting and Registration Data (Census Bureau)
      • Sociodemographic characteristics of voters (age, race, sex, employment, and education status) since 1964
      • Does not include who people voted for


Public Opinion

    • AllPolitics (Time/CNN)
      • Excellent coverage of elections and public opinion polls
      • Use search engine and type "poll"
      • Separate archive for 1996 Election Polls

    • American Public Opinion Index
      • Most comprehensive source for public opinion polls
      • Ref. Room HM 261 .A4631
      • Corresponding microfiche in Serials/Microforms as MICRO-F X423

    • Gallup Organization
      • Summary results of most current public opinion polls
      • Gallup Poll, 1935 to present, also available in the Graduate Library Reference Room as HN 90.P9 .G18

    • General Social Survey (ICPSR, NORC, UC-Berkeley)
      • Annual survey since 1972 of public opinion and lifestyle
      • Covers poverty, religion, contraceptive use, opinion on foreign affairs
      • ICPSR site provides background on survey as well as printed publications resulting from the survey
      • Primary data extraction available from ICPSR and UC-Berkeley
      • Computer-Assisted Survey (UC-Berkeley)
        • Data may be manipulated on-line
        • Quick start instructions for the initiate:
          • Choose Demonstration Survey Data Archive
          • Choose the survey you would like and the "browse" option; start
          • Choose "Alphabetical Variable List"
          • Choose your variables and write down their corresponding code names
          • Go back to the original screen and choose "run crosstabulations;" start
          • Imagine the output as a spreadsheet and type in the desired vertical and horizontal code names; also choose output as statistics or percentages
        • Example of General Social Survey
          • Percentage of Protestants who strongly agree with death penalty
          • In "run crosstabulations," type in "deathpen" as vertical and "relig" as horizontal; check off percentaging as vertical; run the table
          • Example of American National Election Studies

    • Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies
      • Non-profit organization providing public policy information on issues affecting black Americans
      • Summaries of selected papers include public opinion polls on such topics as race relations, children, black participation in the Republican Party
      • Full text of annual report

    • Kaiser Family Foundation Surveys
      • Surveys on American values, sex, health care issues, politics, and morals
      • Full text since 1996
      • Most in pdf format

    • Louis Harris Associates
      • Public opinion results of last two months
      • Primarily government and economic questions

    • National Opinion Research Center (U-Chicago)
      • Home of the General Social Survey with links to data at ICPSR
      • Studies describes its economic, education, social, and health statistics programs
      • Studies and data on a variety of topics (guns, stress, abortion, smoking) appear in the Library section of the menu

    • Pew Research Center
      • Text and statistics of U.S. public opinion polls on politics, public policy, and the press
      • Issues covered since 1995 include the Presidential elections, TV news viewership, Medicare reforms, campaign financing, churches, and the death of Princess Diana
      • Data on the public's attention to major news stories beginning 1986
      • Archive of files since 1985 available upon request

    • Polling Report
      • Biweekly periodical with public opinion polls on politics, business, and culture
      • Examples include favorite actor of all time, the President's approval rating
      • Includes articles on public opinion trends by opinion analysts, pollsters and academics

    • Presidential Job Performance (Roper Center)
      • Public opinion polls on President Clinton's job
      • Separate charts from Gallup, Yankelovich, ABC, NBC, and CBS rate the President several times per year since 1993
      • Gallup ratings include begin with 1938 and rate president's since FDR

    • Public Agenda
      • Nonpartisan, issue-oriented think tank
      • Presents eighteen issues, including abortion, crime, gambling, immigration, internet privacy, social security, and welfare
      • For each issue provides background, links to lobby groups, a digest of news stories, basic statistics, and a variety of state laws
      • Numerous public opinion polls

    • Public Opinion Quarterly (UMich Only)
      • Full text of scholarly journal analyzing public opinion worldwide
      • Searchable by keyword, author, journal, date
      • Part of JSTOR project
      • Public Opinion Quarterly Index is a free index, 1937+
      • Full text also in Graduate Library as HM 261 .A1 P98 with a backup on microfilm as FILM X375

    • Pulse (Epinet)
      • Bimonthy web magazine focusing on one issue
      • Provides context to the public opinion polls and links to in-depth articles
      • As of May 1999, one issue devoted to Social Security

    • Roper Center/Public Opinion
      • Primarily information about the Center
      • Searchable catalogs of its public opinion polls, the Latin American Survey Data Bank and the Japanese Survey Data Bank
      • Roper polls can also be searched in Academic Universe (UMich Only) in the Reference/Polls and Surveys section

    • Washington Post
      • Public opinion polls on public affairs since January 1997
      • Subjects include Presidential popularity, sanctions toward Iraq, violence in schools
      • Descriptions supplemented by statistical tables


Internet Search Engines

AltaVista

    • Extensive keyword index to the text of individual web pages

Excite

    • Extremely fast index to the text of individual web pages
    • Provides a relevancy ranking

Google's Uncle Sam

    • Keyword index to federal government web sites with a .gov or .mil extension

HotBot

    • Advanced Searching permits Boolean combination of words with a .gov or .mil extension
    • Sample: prescription drugs [Boolean phrase] and .mil or .gov [domain]

Yahoo

    • Comprehensive classified subject list of world-wide web sites

Federal Government

Bills | Congress | Committees | Courts | Debates | Hearings | Members
Executive Branch | Laws | Legislative Process | President | Regulations
Federal Elections

Executive Branch

Comprehensive Listings

    • United States Government Manual, 1995/96+ (National Archives)
      • Directory of agencies and officials, primarily in the Executive Branch
      • Describes agency activity and cites legislative authority
      • Searchable by keyword and browsable since 1997/98
      • The paper copy is located at the Documents Desk as JK 421 .A3 and in most U.S. libraries

    • Federal Agency Web Sites (LSU)
      • Cleancut alphabetical listing of federal agency web sites
      • Includes search engine

    • Federal Information A-Z (Duke University)
      • Alphabetical list of agencies, titles, and subjects available on the web
      • Focus is on federal government but includes foreign and international agencies

    • Government by Sterby
      • Comprehensive links to all branches of the federal government
      • Especially good for independent and quasi-governmental agencies

Indexes

    • Google's Uncle Sam
      • Keyword index to federal government web sites with a .gov or .mil extension

    • HotBot
      • Advanced Searching permits Boolean combination of words with a .gov or .mil extension
      • Sample: prescription drugs [Boolean phrase] and .mil or .gov [domain]



President



Congress

Legislative Process

    • Public Policy Matrix
      • Outline of the policy change process from a legislative and executive perspective
      • Includes influences on the decision
      • Links to related materials available on the web at the University of Michigan

    • Enactment of a Law
      • Senate description of the legislative process
      • Includes information unique to the Senate, including ratification of treaties and executive (closed) meetings
    • How Our Laws Are Made
      • Extensive House of Representatives guide to the legislative process with definitions and explanations of each step
    • Summary version
    • Legislative Histories Tutorial
      • Step-by-step guide to University of Michigan Library materials on legislation

Directories and Biographies of Congress

    • Almanac of American Politics [Library]
      • Biennial biographical directory of Members of Congress
      • Lengthy information about the politics of the Congressional District
      • Brief campaign finances, lobby group ratings, and key roll call votes
      • Documents Center JK 1012 .A44 with current in Graduate Library Stacks

    • Congress Watch (ABC News)
      • Political biographies of current Senators and Representatives
      • This week's Congressional news

    • Contacting the Congress
      • Most updated directory of Members of Congress
      • Includes committee and subcommittee assignments

    • House of Representatives
      • Calendars and daily floor schedules
      • Links to Member web sites

    • Politics in America
      • Identify Member of Congress by State, zip code, or name
      • Profile section includes biographical, district, and election information; lobby group ratings; key roll call votes
      • Percent of votes with party and percent with President
      • Documents Center as JK 1010.P76-Ref.

    • Senate
      • Directory of Members and Committees

Background Information

    • CQ Weekly Report (UMich Only)
      • Non-partisan summary of legislation before Congress
      • Identifies most important bills, lobbying, and politics
      • Full text of CQ since 1983; separate search engines for articles and roll call votes
      • Separate section for CQ Researcher which provides briefing reports on public policy issues
      • Corresponding paper copy of the Weekly Report in Doc.Cen. JK 1.C12--Ref. with older issues in Grad Library Stacks
      • Some articles also appear in All Politics
    • Congressional Quarterly Almanac [Library]
      • Browse annual table of contents or index
      • Usually published six months after end of previous year
      • Doc.Cen. JK 1 .C756--Ref.
    • Congress and the Nation [Library]
      • Cumulative summary of the CQ Almanac, 1945-
      • Doc.Cen. JK 1001 .C75
    • National Journal (UMich Only)
      • Weekly periodical on government agencies; includes major legislative issues
      • Archived and searchable since 1977 via Congressional Universe
      • Choose Inside Washington from the main menu
      • JK 1. N28 with current issues in Documents Center--Docs.Ref.

    • Policy.com
      • Daily periodical with current policy news, issue of the week, and in-depth analysis of 20 current policy issues
      • Virtual Congress features speeches and votes on topics
      • Includes a policy chat room

Bill Indexes/Texts/Status

    • THOMAS
      • Indexes Congressional bills since 1973 by subject, sponsor, committee, and status of legislation
      • Best public source for keyword indexing of bills
      • Includes text of all bill versions
      • In the 107th Congress, the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (Shays/Meehan) is H.R. 2356; became Public Law 107-155 in 2002
      • In the 106th Congress, the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (Shays/Meehan) was H.R. 417
        • Passed by House on September 14, 1999
        • Bans soft money and dues of non-union members for supporting candidates
      • The corresponding Senate Bills (McCain/Feingold) are S. 26 and S. 1593
      • In the 105th Congress, the Shays/Meehan bill was H.R. 2183 and the McCain/Feingold bill was S.25
        • Died due to Republican filibuster in Senate
      • The 104th equivalent was S. 1219

    • Congressional Universe (UMich Only)
      • Indexes Congressional bills since 1989 by subject, keyword, sponsor and date
      • Provides the full text and legislative status

Committee Publications

    • Includes hearings (testimony), committee prints (research reports), reports (recommendations on bills), and documents (Executive Branch communiques)

    • Hearings and Committee Prints
      • Congressional Universe (UMich Only)
        • Search under Congressional Publications
        • Indexes published hearings (1970+), committee prints (1993+), and reports (1989+) by subject, keyword, committee, and date
        • Provides an abstract of publications located in the Documents Center in paper and/or microfiche format
        • Includes the full text of selected testimony beginning 1988; linked from abstract and separately searchable under Testimony

      • Campaign Finance Reform Hearing - 1995
        • Full text of House Oversight Committee hearing on November 16, 1995
        • Available from GPO Access via the University of California at San Diego
        • Choose hearing from menu and then search by keyword
        • Phrases should be enclosed in parentheses and Boolean operators (AND, OR) should be capitalized
        • Table of Contents lists individual segments of the hearing; the overall Table of Contents is listed as Campaign Finance Reform Legislation (9439 bytes)

      • Democratic Fund-Raising Hearing
        • Senator Fred Thompson held hearings in 1997 on fund-raising in the 1996 Presidential elections
        • AllPolitics provides detailed summaries of the investigation and results

    • Reports and Documents
      • Congressional Universe (UMich Only)
        • Search under Congressional Publications
        • Indexes committee reports by subject, keyword, bill number, and date
        • Provides the full text of reports since 1989
      • Thomas
        • Full text of committee reports (i.e. recommendations) since 1993 searchable by keyword, bill number, report number, and committee
        • Reports segmented into easily viewable segments
        • Links to the full text of the legislation in question and legislative status

Floor Debates

    • Congressional Universe (UMich Only)
      • Search under Congressional Publications
      • Full text of Congressional Record since 1985
      • Searchable by keyword, speaker, and date

    • THOMAS
      • Congressional bills and Congressional Record, 1993+
      • Best public source for keyword indexing of bills and Congressional Record due to proximity searching
      • Best source for text of the Congressional Record
      • Includes text of all bill versions
      • Prior to 1993, available in the Graduate Library stacks with issues beginning 1985 in the Documents Center as J 11.R

Related Political Information

    • Policy Process Matrix
      • Lists various types of influences on Congress (e.g. political party, committee chairman, campaign finances)
      • Links to the best internet source
    • Committee Information
      • Jurisdiction and membership
      • Committee calendars
      • Press releases
      • Determine who is committee chairperson and look at their campaign finances
    • Elections
      • Web sites of Presidential candidates for 2000
      • Articles from key web monitoring services
      • Electioneering services
    • Member Information
      • Directories and biographies
      • Opinions
      • Campaign finances and lobby group ratings
      • Votes
      • Look at campaign finances and then the bills sponsored
    • Public Opinion on Legislative Issues
      • Lobby groups and lobby group ratings
      • Statements in Congressional hearings
      • Public opinion polls
    • Legislative Histories
      • Detailed step-by-step guide to tracing federal legislation

Current Laws

    • United States Code
      • Text of all laws in force
      • United States Code (via Congressional Universe)
        • Search under Bills, Laws and Regulations
        • Full text of all laws updated monthly to incorporate newly-passed laws
      • United States Code (via Cornell Law School)
        • Text of all laws in force as of 1997/98
        • Searchable by popular title of law, title and section of the U.S. Code, or keyword
        • Currently the best interface
        • Title 2, Paragraph 431ff governs Congressional campaign disclosures; Title 26, Paragraph 9001ff. governs matching funds for Presidential elections
        • Paper copy of U.S. Code in Doc.Cen. KF 62 .A2
    • Federal Election Campaign Act
      • Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 = Public Law 92-225 (S. 382, 92nd Congress)
        • Limits on media expenditures
        • Some reporting requirements
      • Amendments of 1974 = Public Law 93-443 (S. 3044, 93rd Congress)
        • Overall expenditure limits with media limits repealed
        • Campaign committees and Federal Election Commission
        • Provides matching funds for Presidential primaries
      • Amendments of 1976 = Public Law 94-283 (S. 3065, 94th Congress)
        • Appointment of Federal Election Commission
        • Reflects Buckley v. Valeo
      • Amendments of 1977 = Public Law 95=127 (S. 1435, 95th Congress)
        • Extends appropriations
      • Amendments of 1979 = Public Law 95-187 (H.R. 5010, 96th Congress)
        • Reduces reporting requirements
      • Bipartisan Campaign Finance Reform Act of 2002
        • H.R.2356 became law under McCain/Feingold sponsorship
        • Another copy

Current Regulations

Court Decisions

    • Buckley v. Valeo
      • 1976 Supreme Court decision ruling that campaign finance limits for individuals are constitutional
      • 424 U.S. 1 (United States Reports Citation)
    • Colorado Republican Federal Campaign Committee v. Federal Election Commission
      • Ruling on the use of soft money in 1996
    • McConnell v. FEC
      • Text of order and ruling given by three-judge panel on May 2, 2003
      • Rules the soft money ban and some of the issue ad bans in the 2002 Bipartisan Campaign Finance Reform Act of 2002 are unconstitutional
      • Includes the text of the act and the complaint lodged by the Republican National Committee
      • McConnell v. FEC decision by Supreme Court on December 10, 2003 upheld the legality of the soft money ban
    • Shrink Missouri Govt. PAC v. Adams
      • Ruling by the 8th Court of Appeals declaring campaign limits for state offices in Missouri is unconstitutional
      • To be reviewed by Supreme Court in 1999/2000 under name NIXON V. SHRINK MISSOURI GOVT. PAC
    • Academic Universe
      • Legal section has the full text of federal and state court decisions and law reviews
      • Law Reviews section may be especially good for interpreting court decisions

Reference Tools

Citations

Reference Tools

    • Writing guides, dictionaries, acronyms, thesauri
    • Associations, travel information

Navigation Map


Grace York, Coordinator, Documents Center
The University of Michigan Library
Send comments and suggestions to govdocs@umich.edu

http://www.lib.umich.edu/govdocs/campfin.html

Since September 11, 1999 this page has been accessed


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