I
107TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 3827
To amend the Department of Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 relating
to the National Appeals Division to ensure that agricultural producers
and other persons appealing adverse agency decisions of the Department
of Agriculture receive fair and equitable treatment, and for other pur-
poses.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
FEBRUARY 28, 2002
Mr. MORAN of Kansas (for himself and Mr. BERRY) introduced the following
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture
A BILL
To amend the Department of Agriculture Reorganization
Act of 1994 relating to the National Appeals Division
to ensure that agricultural producers and other persons
appealing adverse agency decisions of the Department
of Agriculture receive fair and equitable treatment, and
for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘National Appeals Divi-
sion Reform Act of 2001’’.
SEC. 2. NATIONAL APPEALS DIVISION REFORM.
(a) ANNUAL REPORT REGARDING DIRECTOR DETER-
MINATIONS AND REQUESTS FOR EQUITABLE RELIEF.—
Section 278 of the Department of Agriculture Reorganiza-
tion Act of 1994 (7 U.S.C. 6998) is amended by adding
at the end the following new subsection:
‘‘(f) ANNUAL REPORT.—The Director shall submit to
Congress an annual report describing all final determina-
tion notices issued by the Director at the national level
during the preceding year, including whether the deter-
mination was in favor of the appellant or the agency. The
report shall indicate whether the request of an appellant
for Director review included a request for equitable relief,
as authorized by subsection (d), the type of equitable relief
requested, and whether the Secretary granted or declined
to grant such relief as part of the final determination no-
tice.’’.
(b) DE MINIMUS EXEMPTION.—Section 275 of the
Department of Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 (7
U.S.C. 6995) is amended—
(1) by inserting ‘‘(a) AVAILABILITY.—’’ before
‘‘If an officer’’; and
(2) by adding at the end the following new sub-
section:
‘‘(b) NONAPPEALABILITY
OF CERTAIN INFORMAL
HEARING DECISIONS AGAINST AGENCY.—If an adverse
decision for which a request for an agency informal hear-
ing is made involves a claim of less than $5,000 by the
participant, and the final decision upon the agency review
is in favor of the participant, the head of the agency may
not request review of the decision by the Division.’’.
(c) FINALITY OF HEARING OFFICER DETERMINA-
TIONS AGAINST AGENCY.—Section 278(a) of the Depart-
ment of Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 (7 U.S.C.
6998(a)) is amended by striking paragraph (2) and insert-
ing the following new paragraph:
‘‘(2) PROHIBITION ON AGENCY REQUESTS FOR
DIRECTOR REVIEW.—If the appellant prevails in the
determination issued by a hearing officer under sec-
tion 277(d), the head of the agency may not request
Director review of the determination under this sec-
tion.’’.
(d) DEPARTMENT ASSISTANCE FOR APPELLANTS.—
Section 274 of the Department of Agriculture Reorganiza-
tion Act of 1994 (7 U.S.C. 6994) is amended—
(1) by inserting ‘‘(a) NOTICE; CONTENTS.—’’
before ‘‘Not later than’’; and
(2) by adding at the end the following new sub-
section:
‘‘(b) AVAILABILITY OF AGENCY ASSISTANCE.—Not-
withstanding that an appeal involves an adverse decision
of an agency, employees of the agency or another agency
may, at the request of the appellant, provide technical as-
sistance to the appellant or the authorized representative
of the appellant to prepare the request for review of the
adverse decision, understand the facts and issues involved
in the adverse decision, and prepare for any hearing on
the adverse decision. The provision of such assistance at
the request of the appellant shall not be considered as evi-
dence of unacceptable performance by the employee.’’.
Æ