Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock () or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

January/February 2001Vol. 2, No. 12000 Green Book Offers Wealth of Information on Federal Social Programs

The 2000 Green Book, the recently published publication of the House Committee on Ways and Means, provides a detailed look at major entitlement programs and other activities within the Committee's jurisdiction.

For almost two decades the Green Book has been a standard reference tool for legislative branch staff, media representatives, scholars, policy analysts, and interested citizens. In its 17th edition, the book follows the format of describing programs governed by the House Committee on Ways and Means with a summary of the major social programs that are not under its jurisdiction. The appendices include information directly related to the programs under Committee jurisdiction.

Changes to this year's edition of the Green Book from the 1998 edition include:

  • updated data and legislative changes
  • reorganized and revised sections on Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Program, Social Security, and child protection
  • three new sections on Medicare+Choice Program, literature review on the effects of welfare reform, and an overview of historical trends in nonmarital births and Federal strategies to reduce nonmarital pregnancies.

The 2000 Green Book is available online at http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/index.html. On that page, click on "Site Search" from the menu on the left-hand side. Type in "Green Book" in the search box. Once you access the 2000 Green Book, type in "adoption assistance" in the search box to pull up Section 11, which has child abuse, foster care, and adoption information.