I
103D CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 2586
To reorganize the Federal administrative law judiciary, and for other
purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JULY 1, 1993
Mr. GLICKMAN (for himself, Mr. GEKAS, and Mr. KANJORSKI) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
A BILL
To reorganize the Federal administrative law judiciary, 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 ‘‘Reorganization of the
Federal Administrative Judiciary Act’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds that—
(1) in order to promote efficiency, productivity,
the reduction of administrative functions, and to
provide economies of scale and better public service
and public trust in the administrative resolution of
disputes, Federal administrative law judges should
be organized in a unified corps;
(2) the dispersal of administrative law judges
appointed under section 3105 of title 5, United
States Code, in every Federal agency that requires
hearings to be conducted by administrative law
judges, underutilizes the potential of administrative
law judges to serve the public and assist the Federal
courts as special masters and finders of fact in spe-
cific instances to help reduce the backlog of cases in
Federal courts;
(3) the organization of administrative law
judges in a corps will best promote their assignment
to Federal agency needs as demand requires;
(4) a unified administrative law judge corps will
better promote the use of information technology in
serving the public; and
(5) an administrative law judge corps will,
through consolidation, eliminate unnecessary offices
and reduce travel and other related costs.
SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF ADMINISTRATIVE LAW JUDGE
CORPS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 5 of title 5, United
States Code, is amended by adding at the end thereof the
following new subchapter:
‘‘SUBCHAPTER VI—ADMINISTRATIVE LAW
JUDGE CORPS
‘‘§ 597. Definitions
‘‘For the purposes of this subchapter—
‘‘(1) ‘agency’ means an authority referred to in
section 551(1);
‘‘(2) ‘Corps’ means the Administrative Law
Judge Corps of the United States established under
section 598;
‘‘(3) ‘administrative law judge’ means an ad-
ministrative law judge appointed under section 3105
on or before the effective date of the Reorganization
of the Federal Administrative Judiciary Act or
under section 599c after such effective date;
‘‘(4) ‘chief judge’ means the chief administra-
tive law judge appointed and serving under section
599;
‘‘(5) ‘Council’ means the Council of the Admin-
istrative Law Judge Corps established under section
599b;
‘‘(6) ‘Board’, unless otherwise indicated, means
the Complaints Resolution Board established under
section 599e; and
‘‘(7) ‘division chief judge’ means the chief ad-
ministrative law judge of a division appointed and
serving under section 599a.
‘‘§ 598. Establishment; membership
‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established an Ad-
ministrative Law Judge Corps consisting of all adminis-
trative law judges, in accordance with the provisions of
subsection (b). Such Corps shall be administered in Wash-
ington, D.C.
‘‘(b) MEMBERSHIP.—An administrative law judge
serving as such on the date of the commencement of the
operation of the Corps shall be transferred to the Corps
as of that date. An administrative law judge who is ap-
pointed on or after the date of the commencement of the
operation of the Corps shall be a member of the Corps
as of the date of such appointment.
‘‘§ 599. Chief administrative law judge
‘‘(a) APPOINTMENT; TERM.—The chief administra-
tive law judge shall be the chief administrative officer of
the Corps and shall be the presiding judge of the Corps.
The chief judge shall be appointed by the President, by
and with the advice and consent of the Senate. The chief
judge shall be an administrative law judge who has served
as an administrative law judge for at least five years pre-
ceding the date of appointment as chief judge. The chief
judge shall serve for a term of five years or until a succes-
sor is appointed and qualifies to serve, whichever is earlier.
A chief judge may be reappointed upon the expiration of
his or her term, by and with the advice and consent of
the Senate.
‘‘(b) VACANCIES.—(1) If the office of chief judge is
vacant, the division chief judge who is senior in length of
service as a member of the Council shall serve as acting
chief judge until such vacancy is filled.
‘‘(2) If 2 or more division chief judges have the same
length of service as members of the Council, the division
chief judge who is senior in length of service as an admin-
istrative law judge shall serve as such acting chief judge.
‘‘(c) SPECIAL FUNCTIONS OF CHIEF JUDGE.—(1) In
addition to other duties conferred on the chief judge, the
chief judge shall be responsible for developing programs
and practices, in coordination with agencies using admin-
istrative law judges, which foster economy and efficiency
in the processing of cases heard by administrative law
judges. These programs and practices shall include, but
not be limited to—
‘‘(A) training of judges in more than one sub-
ject area;
‘‘(B) employment of computers and software
and other information technology for automated de-
cision preparation, case docketing, and research;
‘‘(C) consolidating hearing facilities and law li-
braries; and
‘‘(D) programs and practices to foster overall
efficient use of staff, personnel, equipment, and fa-
cilities.
‘‘(2) In order to minimize costs—
‘‘(A) all administrative law judges and support
personnel shall, for at least 1 year after the date of
the commencement of the operation of the Corps,
continue to use the office space and facilities, at the
agencies using such judges and personnel, available
before such date, and
‘‘(B) the chief judge shall phase in transfers of
administrative law judges and support personnel to
other facilities so that the cost of providing facilities
for the Corps shall not exceed the cost of maintain-
ing such judges and personnel in equivalent space
available at agencies using the Corps.
‘‘(d) REPORTS.—The chief judge shall, within 90
days after the end of each fiscal year, make a written re-
port to the President and the Congress concerning the
business of the Corps during the preceding fiscal year. The
report shall include information and recommendations of
the Council concerning the future personnel requirements
of the Corps.
‘‘(e) SERVICE AFTER TERM EXPIRES.—After serving
as chief judge, an individual may continue to serve as an
administrative law judge unless such individual has been
removed from office in accordance with section 599c.
‘‘§ 599a. Divisions of the Corps; division chief judges
‘‘(a) ASSIGNMENT TO DIVISIONS.—Each judge of the
Corps shall be assigned to a division by the Council, pur-
suant to section 599b. The assignment of a judge who was
an administrative law judge on the date of commencement
of the operation of the Corps shall be made after consider-
ation of the areas of specialization in which the judge has
served. Each division shall be headed by a division chief
judge who shall exercise administrative supervision over
such division.
‘‘(b) DIVISIONS.—The divisions of the Corps shall be
as follows:
‘‘(1) Division of Communications, Public Util-
ity, and Transportation Regulation.
‘‘(2) Division of Safety and Environmental Reg-
ulation.
‘‘(3) Division of Labor.
‘‘(4) Division of Labor Relations.
‘‘(5) Division of Health and Benefits Programs.
‘‘(6) Division of Securities, Commodities, and
Trade Regulation.
‘‘(7) Division of General Programs.
‘‘(8) Division of Financial Services Institutions.
‘‘(c) APPOINTMENT OF DIVISION CHIEF JUDGES.—
(1) The division chief judge of each division set forth in
subsection (b) shall be appointed by the President, by and
with the advice and consent of the Senate.
‘‘(2) To be eligible for appointment as a division chief
judge, an individual shall have served as an administrative
law judge for at least 5 years and should possess experi-
ence and expertise in the specialty of the division to which
such person is an appointee.
‘‘(3) Division chief judges shall be appointed for 5-
year terms, except that of those division chief judges first
appointed, the President shall designate 2 such individuals
to be appointed for 5-year terms, 3 for 4-year terms, and
2 for 3-year terms.
‘‘(4) Any division chief judge appointed to fill an
unexpired term shall be appointed only for the remainder
of such predecessor’s term, but may be reappointed as pro-
vided in paragraph (5).
‘‘(5) Any division chief judge may be reappointed
upon the expiration of his or her term.
‘‘(6) Any judge, after serving as division chief judge,
may continue to serve as an administrative law judge un-
less such individual has been removed from office in ac-
cordance with section 599e.
‘‘§ 599b. Council of the Corps
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The policymaking body of the
Corps shall be the Council of the Corps. The chief judge
and the division chief judges shall constitute the Council.
The chief judge shall preside over the Council. If the chief
judge is unable to be present at a meeting of the Council,
the division chief judge who is senior in length of service
as a member of such Council shall preside at the meeting.
‘‘(b) QUORUM; VOTING.—One half of all of the mem-
bers of the Council shall constitute a quorum for the pur-
pose of transacting business. The affirmative vote by a
majority of all the members of the Council shall be re-
quired to approve a matter on behalf of the Council. Each
member of the Council shall have one vote.
‘‘(c) MEETINGS.—Meetings of the Council shall be
held at least once a month at the call of the chief judge
or by the call of one-third or more of the members of the
Council.
‘‘(d) POWERS.—The Council is authorized—
‘‘(1) to assign judges to divisions and transfer
or reassign judges from one division to another, sub-
ject to the provisions of section 599c;
‘‘(2) to appoint persons as administrative law
judges under section 599c;
‘‘(3) to file charges seeking adverse action
against an administrative law judge under section
599e;
‘‘(4) subject to the provisions of subsection (e),
to prescribe, after providing an opportunity for no-
tice and comment, the rules of practice and proce-
dure for the conduct of proceedings before the
Corps, except that, with respect to a category of pro-
ceedings adjudicated by an agency before the effec-
tive date of the Reorganization of the Federal Ad-
ministrative Judiciary Act, the Council may not
amend or revise the rules of practice and procedure
prescribed by that agency during the two years fol-
lowing such effective date without the approval of
that agency, and any amendments or revisions made
to such rules shall not affect or be applied to any
pending action;
‘‘(5) to issue such rules and regulations as may
be appropriate for the efficient conduct of the busi-
ness of the Corps and the implementation of this
subchapter, including the assignment of cases to ad-
ministrative law judges;
‘‘(6) subject to the civil service and classifica-
tion laws and regulations—
‘‘(A) to select, appoint, employ, and fix the
compensation of the employees (other than ad-
ministrative law judges) that the Council deems
necessary to carry out the functions, powers,
and duties of the Corps; and
‘‘(B) to prescribe the authority and duties
of such employees;
‘‘(7) to establish, abolish, alter, consolidate, and
maintain such regional, district, and other field of-
fices as are necessary to carry out the functions,
powers, and duties of the Corps and to assign and
reassign employees to such field offices;
‘‘(8) to procure temporary and intermittent
services under section 3109;
‘‘(9) to enter into, to the extent or in such
amounts as are authorized in appropriation Acts,
without regard to section 3709 of the Revised Stat-
utes of the United States (41 U.S.C. 5), contracts,
leases, cooperative agreements, or other transactions
that may be necessary to conduct the business of the
Corps;
‘‘(10) to delegate any of the chief judge’s func-
tions or powers with the consent of the chief judge,
or whenever the office of such chief judge is vacant,
to one or more division chief judges or other employ-
ees of the Corps, and to authorize the redelegation
of any of those functions or powers;
‘‘(11) to establish, after consulting with an
agency, initial and continuing educational programs
to assure that each administrative law judge as-
signed to hear cases of that agency has the nec-
essary training in the specialized field of law of that
agency;
‘‘(12) to make suitable arrangements for con-
tinuing education and training of other employees of
the Corps, so that the level of expertise in the divi-
sions of the Corps will be maintained and enhanced;
and
‘‘(13) to determine all other matters of general
policy of the Corps.
‘‘(e) OFFICIAL SEAL.—The Council shall select an of-
ficial seal for the Corps which shall be judicially noticed.
‘‘§ 599c. Appointment and transfer of administrative
law judges
‘‘(a) APPOINTMENT.—After the initial establishment
of the Corps, the Council shall appoint new or additional
judges as may be necessary for the efficient and expedi-
tious conduct of the business of the Corps. Appointments
shall be made from a register maintained by the Office
of Personnel Management under subchapter I of chapter
33 of this title. Upon request by the chief judge, the Office
of Personnel Management shall certify enough names from
the top of such register to enable the Council to consider
five names for each vacancy. Notwithstanding section
3318, a vacancy in the Corps may be filled from the high-
est five eligible individuals available for appointment on
the certificate furnished by the Office of Personnel Man-
agement.
‘‘(b) LIMITATION ON JUDGE’S DUTIES.—A judge of
the Corps may not perform or be assigned to perform du-
ties inconsistent with the duties and responsibilities of an
administrative law judge.
‘‘(c) REASSIGNMENTS; DETAILS.—A judge or staff
member of the Corps on the date of commencement of the
operation of the Corps, and all new judges and staff mem-
bers appointed by the Council, may not thereafter be invol-
untarily reassigned to a new permanent duty station if
such station is beyond the commuting area of the duty
station which is the judge’s permanent duty station on
that date. A judge or staff member of the Corps may be
temporarily detailed, once in a 24-month period, to a new
duty station at any location, for a period of not more than
120 days.
‘‘§ 599d. Jurisdiction
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Any case, claim, action, or pro-
ceeding authorized to be heard before an administrative
law judge on the day before the effective date of the Reor-
ganization of the Federal Administrative Judiciary Act
shall, on or after such date, be referred to the Corps for
adjudication on the record after an opportunity for a hear-
ing.
‘‘(b) TYPES OF CASES.—An administrative law judge
who is a member of the Corps shall hear and render a
decision upon—
‘‘(1) every case of adjudication subject to the
provisions of section 553, 554, or 556;
‘‘(2) every case in which hearings are required
by law to be held in accordance with sections 553,
554, or section 556;
‘‘(3) every other case referred to the Corps by
an agency in which a determination is to be made
on the record after an opportunity for a hearing;
and
‘‘(4) every case referred to the Corps by a court
for an administrative law judge to act as a special
master or to otherwise making findings of fact on
behalf of the referring court, which shall continue to
have exclusive and undiminished jurisdiction over
the case.
‘‘(c) REFERRAL OF CASES.—When a case under sub-
section (b) arises, it shall be referred to the Corps. Under
regulations issued by the Council, the case shall be as-
signed to a division. The appropriate division chief shall
assign cases to judges, taking into consideration speciali-
zation, training, workload, and conflicts of interest.
‘‘(d) REFERRALS
BY AGENCIES
AND COURTS.—
Agencies are authorized to refer any appropriate case to
the Corps. Courts are authorized to refer, subject to the
approval of the majority of the Council, those cases in
which they seek an administrative law judge either to act
as a special master pursuant to the provisions of Rule
53(a) of the Federal Rules of Procedure or otherwise seek
an administrative law judge to make findings of fact in
a case on behalf of the referring court, which shall con-
tinue to have exclusive and undiminished jurisdiction over
the case.
‘‘(e) SATISFACTION
OF OTHER PROCEDURAL RE-
QUIREMENTS.—Compliance with this subchapter shall sat-
isfy all requirements imposed under section 916 of the Fi-
nancial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement
Act of 1989.
‘‘§ 599e. Removal and discipline
‘‘(a) Except as provided in subsection (b)—
‘‘(1) an administrative law judge may not be re-
moved, suspended, reprimanded, or disciplined ex-
cept for misconduct or neglect of duty, but may be
removed for physical or mental disability (consistent
with prohibitions on discrimination otherwise im-
posed by law); and
‘‘(2) an action specified in paragraph (1) of this
subsection may be taken against an administrative
law judge only after the Council has filed with the
Merit Systems Protection Board a notice of adverse
action against the administrative law judge and the
Merit Systems Protection Board has determined, on
the record after an opportunity for a hearing before
the Board, that there is good cause to take such ac-
tion.
‘‘(b) Subsection (a) does not apply to an action initi-
ated under section 1215.
‘‘(c) COMPLAINTS RESOLUTION BOARD.—Under reg-
ulations issued by the Council, a Complaints Resolution
Board shall be established within the Corps to consider
and to recommend appropriate action to be taken when
a complaint is made concerning the official conduct of a
judge of the Corps. Such complaint may be made by any
interested person, including parties, practitioners, the
chief judge, and agencies.
‘‘(d) COMPOSITION
OF
THE BOARD.—The Board
shall consist of 2 judges from each division of the Corps,
who shall be appointed by the Council. The chief judge
and the division chief judges may not serve on the Board.
‘‘(e) PROCEDURAL REQUIREMENTS.—A complaint of
misconduct by an administrative law judge shall be made
in writing. The complaint shall be filed with the chief
judge, or it may be originated by the chief judge on his
own motion. The chief judge shall refer the complaint to
a panel consisting of three members of the Board selected
by the Council, none of whom may be serving in the same
division as the administrative law judge who is the subject
of the complaint. The administrative law judge who is the
subject of the complaint shall be given notice of the com-
plaint and the composition of the panel. The administra-
tive law judge may challenge peremptorily not more than
two members of the panel. The Council shall replace a
challenged member with another member of the Board
who is eligible to serve on such panel.
‘‘(f) INQUIRY AND REPORT BY PANEL.—The panel
shall inquire into the complaint and shall render a report
thereon to the Council. A copy of the report shall be pro-
vided concurrently to the administrative law judge who is
the subject of the complaint. The report shall be advisory
only.
‘‘(g) CONFIDENTIALITY.—The proceedings, delibera-
tions, and reports of the Board and the contents of com-
plaints under this section shall be treated as privileged and
confidential. Documents considered by the Board and re-
ports of the Board under this section are exempt from dis-
closure or publication under section 552. Section 552b
does not apply to the Board.’’.
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of sec-
tions for chapter 5 of title 5, United States Code, is
amended by adding at the end thereof the following:
‘‘SUBCHAPTER VI—ADMINISTRATIVE LAW
JUDGE CORPS
‘‘Sec.
‘‘597. Definitions.
‘‘598. Establishment; membership.
‘‘599. Chief administrative law judge.
‘‘599a. Divisions of the Corps; division chief judges.
‘‘599b. Council of the Corps.
‘‘599c. Appointment and transfer of administrative law judges.
‘‘599d. Jurisdiction.
‘‘599e. Removal and discipline.’’.
SEC. 4. AGENCY REVIEW STUDY AND REPORT.
(a) STUDY.—The chief administrative law judge of
the Administrative Law Judge Corps of the United States
shall conduct a study of the various types and levels of
agency review to which decisions of administrative law
judges are subject. A separate study shall be conducted
for each division of the Corps. The studies shall include
monitoring and evaluating data and shall be conducted in
consultation with the division chief judges, the Chairman
of the Administrative Conference of the United States,
and the agencies that review the decisions of administra-
tive law judges.
(b) REPORT.—(1) Not later than two years after the
effective date of this Act, the Council shall report to the
President and the Congress on the findings and rec-
ommendations resulting from the studies conducted under
subsection (a).
(2) The report under paragraph (1) shall include rec-
ommendations, including recommendations for new legis-
lation, for any reforms that may be appropriate to make
review of administrative law judges’ decisions more effi-
cient and meaningful and to accord greater finality to such
decisions, except that all decisions subject, before the ef-
fective date of this Act, to review pursuant to section
205(g) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 405(g)) shall
continue to be subject to such review pursuant to such
section.
(3) The report under paragraph (1) shall also include
recommendations for using staff more efficiently to de-
crease backlogs, especially in the area of social security
disability cases.
SEC. 5. TRANSITION AND SAVINGS PROVISIONS.
(a) TRANSFER OF FUNCTIONS.—There are trans-
ferred to the administrative law judges of the Administra-
tive Law Judge Corps established by section 598 of title
5, United States Code (as added by section 3 of this Act),
all functions authorized to be performed on the day before
the effective date of this Act by the administrative law
judges appointed under section 3105 of such title before
the effective date of this Act.
(b) USE OF AGENCY FACILITIES AND PERSONNEL.—
With the consent of the agencies concerned, the Adminis-
trative Law Judge Corps of the United States may use
the facilities and the services of officers, employees, and
other personnel of agencies from which functions and du-
ties are transferred to the Corps for so long as may be
needed to facilitate the orderly transfer of those functions
and duties under this Act.
(c) INCIDENTAL TRANSFERS.—The personnel, assets,
liabilities, contracts, property, records, and unexpended
balances of appropriations, authorizations, allocations,
and other funds employed, held, used, arising from, avail-
able or to be made available, in connection with the func-
tions transferred by this Act, are, subject to section 1531
of title 31, United States Code, transferred to the Corps
for appropriate allocation.