Revised June 1, 2004 Raymond A. Mosley, Director of the Federal Register. John W. Carlin, Archivist of the United States. On the cover: The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is proud The Electoral College system was established under Article II (section 1) and Prior to the general election, the OFR sends an informational package to each In this Presidential election year, the cover of the book shows a representation of For more information on the Electoral College, visit NARA's Web site at: http:// Our thanks are extended to Creative Services at the U.S. Government Printing For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office ISBN 0-16-051455-X Preface As the official handbook of the Federal Government, The United States Government Manual provides comprehensive information on the agencies of the legislative, judicial, and executive branches. The Manual also includes information on quasiofficial agencies; international organizations in which the United States participates; and boards, commissions, and committees. A typical agency description includes a list of principal officials, a summary statement of the agency's purpose and role in the Federal Government, a brief history of the agency, including its legislative or executive authority, a description of its programs and activities, and a "Sources of Information" section. This last section provides information on consumer activities, contracts and grants, employment, publications, and many other areas of public interest. The 2004/2005 Manual was prepared by the Presidential and Legislative Publications Unit, Office of the Federal Register, under the supervision of Gwendolyn J. Henderson. Alfred W. Jones was Managing Editor; Stephen J. Frattini was Chief Editor, assisted by Stacey A. Mulligan and Maxine L. Hill." THE FEDERAL REGISTER AND ITS SPECIAL EDITIONS The Manual is published as a special edition of the Federal Register (see 1 CFR 9.1). Its focus is on programs and activities. Persons interested in detailed organizational structure, the regulatory documents of an agency, or Presidential documents should refer to the Federal Register or one of its other special editions, described below. Issued each Federal working day, the Federal Register provides a uniform system for publishing Presidential documents, regulatory documents with general applicability and legal effect, proposed rules, notices, and documents required to be published by statute. The Code of Federal Regulations is an annual codification of the general and permanent rules published in the Federal Register. The Code is divided into 50 titles that represent broad areas subject to Federal regulation. The Code is kept up to date by the individual issues of the Federal Register. The Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents serves as a timely, up-to-date reference source for the public policies and activities of the President. It contains remarks, news conferences, messages, statements, and other Presidential material of a public nature issued by the White House during the week reported. A companion publication to the Weekly Compilation is the Public Papers of the Presidents, which contains public Presidential documents and speeches in convenient book form. Volumes of the Public Papers have been published for every President since Herbert Hoover, with the exception of Franklin D. Roosevelt, whose papers were published privately. OTHER OFFICE OF THE FEDERAL REGISTER PUBLICATIONS The Office of the Federal Register publishes slip laws, which are pamphlet prints of each public and private law enacted by Congress. Slip laws are compiled annually as the United States Statutes at Large. The Statutes volumes contain all public and private laws and concurrent resolutions enacted during a session of Congress; recommendations for executive, legislative, and judicial salaries; reorganization plans; proposed and ratified amendments to the Constitution; and Presidential proclamations. Included with many of these documents are sidenotes, U.S. Code and statutes citations, and a summary of their legislative histories. PUBLICATION AVAILABILITY The publications of the Office of the Federal Register are available for sale by writing to the following address: Superintendent of Documents P.O. Box 371954 Pittsburgh, PA 15250-7954 Publications are also available for sale through the Government Printing Office online bookstore at http://bookstore.gpo.gov, the Government Printing Office bookstore located in Washington, DC, and the retail sales outlet in Laurel, MD. Telephone inquiries should be directed to 202-512-1800. ELECTRONIC SERVICES The Office of the Federal Register maintains an Internet site for public law numbers, the Federal Register's public inspection list, and information on the Office and its activities at www.archives.gov/federal_register. This site also contains links to the texts of The United States Government Manual, Public Laws, the Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents, the Federal Register, and the Code of Federal Regulations (both as officially published on a quarterly basis and a new unofficial, daily updated version, the e-CFR) in electronic format through GPO Access. For more information about these online publications, contact the Electronic Information Dissemination Services, U.S. Government Printing Office. Phone, 202512-1530, or 888-293-6498 (toll free). Internet, www.gpoaccess.gov. E-mail, gpoaccess@gpo.gov. FURTHER INFORMATION Information on The United States Government Manual and other publications of the Office of the Federal Register may be obtained by writing to the following address: Office of the Federal Register National Archives and Records Administration Washington, DC 20408 Inquiries should be directed by phone to 202-741-6000, faxed to 202-741-6012, or e-mailed to fedreg.info@nara.gov. |