Q. I need to find a federal government publication.

For specific types of government publications (tax forms, laws, hearings, etc.) you might want to search this LibAnswers system  Try the Topic: Government Information.  But if that doesn't help...

Do we own it?

OneSearch

Available from the federal government?

Govinfo Free access to official government publications

MetaLib A federated search engine for many government databases

USA.gov The government's own search engine for federal, state, and local websites.

Catalog of U.S. Government Publications  A searchable list (rather than database) of government publications.  Some  links to full-text.

A non-government source with hundreds of thousands of government publications

Hathitrust