Online resources for Washington watchdog reporting from near or far
Compiled by @TomBruneDC and Deb Nelson
Table of Contents
- Basics
- White House
- Congress | Campaign contributions, conflicts of interest, lobbying
- Legislation & regulation
- Federal agencies | Directories, FOIA, spending, data
- Federal investigations
- Federal courts and prisons
- Washington watchdog organizations
- National data on states
ONE-STOP SHOPPING
Federal
- USA.gov Links to federal, state, local and tribal government websites.
- Federal Digital System Government Publishing Office search engine now allows full-text and name searches of a vast storehouse of federally published reports, including the congressional record.
- Proquest Congressional Executive branch and congressional record, reports, histories and other documents. (Available with a lib.umd.edu account.)
State
- NCSL State Legislature Website Directory has links for finding bills, statutes, testimony
- OpenStates allows tracking of state legislation and legislators
- Legiscan National search of state legislation
- Local elections: American local government elections database | Scientific Data
BASICS
US Government Manual Official handbook of the Federal Government with comprehensive information on agencies of the legislative, judicial, and executive branches. Also includes information on quasi-official agencies, international organizations in which the United States participates, boards, commissions, and committees. Also: Back copies to 95-96
Data.gov The Home of the U.S. Government’s Open Data
FOIA.GOV Where/how to file public records requests by agency + more
WHITE HOUSE
- Staff list, salaries and financial disclosure requests
- Ethics pledge waivers
- OMB
- Visitor log
- Plum Book list of presidentially-appointed positions and the Senate’s list of nominees past and present
CONGRESS
DIRECTORIES
Congressional Directory Searchable by name and location. Provides brief bios, contact information, and sponsorship of legislation.
Proquest Congressional (available through many university libraries with sign-in)
GPO Member Guide
Congressional staff directories
- House phone directory
- Senate press contacts and broadcast contacts
- Legistorm
- Every member of Congress since 1789 (database)
CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS
OpenSecrets FEC data made searchable by industry group, employer, individual donor, member of Congress, committee, PACs, 527s
Federal Elections Commission Campaign filings on money raised, spent, loaned. Downloadable and searchable by state, district, election, industry, individual, committee, etc.
FEC Notify allows you to subscribe for notification by email of new/ amended electronic reports and filings submitted to the agency by filers, including candidate, political party and political action committees.
The Campaign Legal Center Legal resource on conflict of interest and campaign contribution laws and regulations
Political Moneyline CQ/Roll Call (some free resources but subscription-only for deep dives)
Followthemoney.org State-level contributions This organization is merging into OpenSecrets.org
FINANCIAL DISCLOSURES & CONFLICTS of INTEREST
Open House Official U.S. House public disclosure site, including personal financial disclosure, foreign travel, legal fund disclosure, post-House employment reports, etc.
Senate Disclosures Official US Senate public disclosure site, including personal financial disclosure, foreign travel, post-Senate employment reports, etc.
Legistorm Congressional data (some free resources but subscription-only for deep dives) Financial disclosures | Staff salary data
Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives – Foreign Travel Reports
Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives – Gift Travel Filings
LOBBYING
Senate disclosure database (SOPR) Searchable/downloadable SOPR records on lobbying, contributions, etc.
House disclosure database Searchable/downloadable lobbying records by lobbyist, client, country and more.
Political Moneyline CQ/Roll Call (some free resources but subscription-only for deep dives)
- Lobbying by industry, lobbyist, client, year, expenditures, special interests
- Revolving door database
- MAPLight (combines OpenSecrets lobbying data with Govtrack legislation data)
- Downloadable data
- Foreign lobbying reports
National Institute on Money in State Politics State lobbying data This org is merging into OpenSecrets.org
LEGISLATION & REGULATIONS
LEGISLATION
GovTrack.us Searchable and trackable from introduction through enactment, by topic, name, congressional sponsor
Congress.gov Member directory, Congressional Record, committees and legislation sponsored or co-sponsored by member
House disbursements and receipts (formerly Green Book)
Senate site for active legislation
Senate disbursements and receipts
Earmarks spreadsheet by Bipartisan Policy Center
NCSL State Legislature Website Directory has links for finding state bills, statutes, testimony
Legiscan for national search of state legislation
Subsidy Tracker and Tax Break Tracker both searchable by company, type and jurisdiction
REGULATIONS
Quick search Regulations.gov
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.
Government Printing Office – Federal Digital System Access to information resources produced by the federal government.
Violation Tracker has a database of federal regulatory violations that searchable by company, type of offense and agency.
FEDERAL AGENCIES
Official U.S. Executive Branch Web Sites Library of Congress
The Plum Book (U.S. Government Policy and Supporting Positions) Listing of all presidentially appointed positions within the federal government. It is published every four years following a presidential election. Senate’s list of nominees past and present.
USA.gov Links to federal, state and local government websites
GovEngine.com Links to federal, state and local government websites
US EPA Facility Registry System for info on every site and facility regulated by EPA
FREEDOM of INFORMATION ACT
FOIA.GOV Where/how to file public records requests by agency + more
FOIAonline to search FOIA requests and documents released in response to those requests. Searchable by agency and/or text.
Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press Open Government Guide
FOI: A Guide to Freeing Data & Documents
State and local public records
RCFP Open Government Guide to state public records laws
Backgroundchecks.org/public records links to state and local online portals
PHONE DIRECTORIES
DOI: USGS | EPA | HHS: See also CBER CDC CDRH FDA regional directors, NIH/search by name, IGNET (Inspectors General) | USDA: USDA service center employee directory Employee locator: (202) 720-8732, USFS
REGULATIONS
See Legislation & Regulations above
SPENDING & CONTRACTING
USASpending.gov Search and download by contract, contractor, agency, year etc
Sam.gov for federal contracting data, certifications, bid requests, rfps. Searchable by agency, keyword, date and more
Sam.gov/reports/awards/static for top 100 contractors
Federal Procurement Data System
FedSpending.org 2000-2015 by the Project on Government Oversight (POGO)
Federal judgment fund US Treasury. Judgment and settlement payouts, searchable by agency
GOVERNMENT DATA
Data.gov The Home of the U.S. Government’s Open Data
USA Facts Extensive collection of data and stats from federal, state, local governments
Data is Plural Archive of fed, state, local, international and open data
Army Corps national levees database (searchable by zip code) and national inventory of dams
Education Department Title IX sexual assault reports – Chronicle of Higher Education
HHS National Practitioner Databank
Justice: Bureau of Justice Statistics
Local elections: American local government elections database | Scientific Data
NOAA
GOVERNMENT INVESTIGATIONS & REPORTS
INVESTIGATIONS & AUDITS
Government Accountability Office
REPORTS & RESEARCH
Government Printing Office – Federal Digital System Access to information resources produced by the federal government.
Congressional Research Service (202) 707-5000 CRS reports are not official released or subject to FOI. They are available through various outside aggregators:
Science.gov Links to authoritative scientific documents, reports and position papers from a variety of federal agencies.
FEDERAL COURTS & PENAL SYSTEM
- Install the RECAP extension on Chrome and Firefox and get many PACER documents for free.
Courtreference Links to all 50 states’ courts and, for each state, what kinds of cases are filed where. (Note that many states don’t have statewide searches available; you have to search county by county.)
Google Scholar (all federal court decisions; for state courts, only appellate and supreme court opinions)
Scotusblog Informed commentary on Supreme Court decision
Online merits briefs at the ABA
Legal Information Institute at Cornell Legal resources and opinions
U.S. Tax Court filings
Hall of Justice – Sunlight Foundation compilation of national and state criminal justice datasets (not being updated)
Federal Judicial Center – Provides bio, demographic data on all current and past judges and justices. (Structured data)
PRISONS
Federal inmate search 1982-present
Vinelink.com local and federal custody status, criminal case information
GOVERNMENT WATCHDOGS
POGO Project on Government Oversight
CREW Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Government in Washington
Good Jobs First has searchable databases on subsidies, tax breaks, violations, COVID stimulus
STATE GOVERNMENT
USA.gov state, tribal and local government directory
NCSL State Legislature Website Directory has links for finding bills, statutes, testimony
OpenStates allows tracking of state legislation and legislators
Legiscan National search of state legislation
Followthemoney.org State-level campaign contributions This organization is merging into OpenSecrets.org
USA Facts Extensive collection of data and stats from state, local (and federal) governments
Data is Plural Archive of state, local, (federal and international) data
Backgroundchecks.org/public records links to state and local online portals
RCFP Open Government Guide to state public records laws
Vinelink.com local and federal custody status, criminal case information
Google Scholar state appellate and supreme court opinions (and all federal opinions)
Subsidy Tracker and Tax Break Tracker both searchable by company, type and jurisdiction
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