§6992 National Appeals Division and Director

Summary

Creates and keeps an independent National Appeals Division inside the Department. The Secretary must pick a Director who has a lot of experience in administrative law and may consider people inside or outside government. The Director serves a 6-year term, can be reappointed, and can only be removed for cause under law. The Director’s job cannot be in the excepted service or be a noncareer appointment. The Division answers only to the Secretary or the Deputy Secretary. It can only get administrative help from the Office of the Secretary unless another agency is paid to help. The Secretary cannot give authority over the Division to anyone except the Deputy Secretary or the Director. The Assistant Secretary for Administration can enforce and delegate rules about hiring and job types in the Division. If an agency says a decision is not appealable and someone asks the Director to review it, the Director must decide whether the decision harms that person (and can be appealed) or is a general rule (and cannot). That decision is final within the agency. The Director recommends hearing officers to the Secretary and hires the needed staff. All Division staff must only work on Division duties and cannot be political appointees. "Political appointee" means one of: a position under sections 5312 through 5316 of title 5; a noncareer Senior Executive Service job under section 3132(a)(7) of title 5; a Schedule C confidential or policy job in part 213 of title 5, Code of Federal Regulations; or a job excepted from the competitive service for being confidential or policy-making.