Why should government documents should be cited?
Works of the U.S. federal government are generally automatically in the public domain and not protected by copyright. There are numerous exceptions and refinements to this rule for U.S. government works. Therefore, you still need to attribute or cite the source and author as part of your obligation to allow others to search for the content you cite. The followings are APA 7th edition Examples:
References Format
Author Surname, First Initial. Second Initial. OR Government Name. Name of Government Agency. (Year). Title: Subtitle (Report No. xxx [if available]). Publisher.
Federal or State Statute
Name of Act, Public Law No. (Year). URL
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Publ. L. No. 111-148, 124 Stat. 119 (2010). https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/PLAW-111publ148/pdf/PLAW-111publ148.pd
Report by individual authors or a Government Agency or Other Organization
Organization Name. (Year). Title of report. URL
United States Government Accountability Office. (2019). Performance and accountability report: Fiscal year 2019. https://www.gao.gov/assets/710/702715.pdf
Report by Individual Authors at Government Agency or Other Organization
Lastname, F. M., & Lastname, F. M. (Year). Title of report. Organization Name. URL
Palanker, D., Volk, J., Lucia, K., & Thomas, K. (2018). Mental health parity at risk: Deregulating the individual market and the impact on mental health coverage. National Alliance on Mental Illness. https://www.nami.org/About-NAMI/Publications-Reports/Public-Policy-Reports/Parity-at-Risk/ParityatRisk.pdf
In-Text Format
In-Text Citation (Paraphrase):
(Author Surname OR Name of Government Organization, Year)
In-Text Citation (Quotation):
(Author Surname OR Name of Government Organization, Year, page number)
In-Text citation (paraphrase):
(Palanker, D., Volk, J., Lucia, K., & Thomas, K., 2018)
In-Text Citation (Quotation):
Palanker, D., Volk, J., Lucia, K., & Thomas, K., 2018, p.2)
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