Casework in a Congressional Office: Background, Rules, Laws, and Resources
Released: 2017-05-10T00:00:00

Introduction

Casework in a congressional office refers to the response or services that Members of Congress provide to constituents who request assistance. Casework appears to be one of the more enduring representational activities; Members of Congress have been providing such service since the early years of the American republic. In contemporary times, thousands of constituents seek assistance annually from Members of Congress, with requests ranging from the simple to the complex. Members and their staffs help individual constituents deal with administrative agencies by acting as facilitators, ombudsmen, and, in some cases, advocates. Typical casework requests include the following:

tracking a misdirected benefits payment; filling out a government form; applying for Social Security, veterans', education, and other federal benefits; explaining government activities or decisions; applying to a military service academy; seeking relief from a federal administrative decision; and seeking assistance for those immigrating to the United States or applying for U.S. citizenship.

In addition to providing services to individual constituents, some congressional offices also consider their liaison activities between the federal government and local governments or businesses concerned about the effects of federal legislation or regulation to be casework. Other congressional offices may include interactions with communities and nonprofit organizations seeking federal grants or other assistance as casework.

All congressional offices carry out some type of casework. As part of the process of determining how to carry out their congressional duties, Members of Congress determine the scope of their constituent service activities. As a consequence, the level and intensity of congressional casework may vary among Member offices. Casework is conducted for various reasons, including constituent demand and a broadly held understanding among Members and their staff that casework is integral to the representational duties of a Member of Congress. Others believe that casework activities can be part of an outreach strategy to build political support among constituents. Casework might also be seen by some as an evaluative stage of the legislative process. Some observers suggest that casework inquiries can provide Members of Congress with a micro-level view of executive agency activities, affording Members the opportunity to evaluate whether a program is functioning as Congress intended. Constituent inquiries about specific policies, programs, or benefits may also suggest areas in which programmatic or policy changes require additional institutional oversight, or further legislative consideration.

One challenge to congressional casework is the widely held public perception that Members of Congress can initiate a broad array of actions resulting in a speedy, favorable outcome. The rules of the House and Senate, and laws and regulations governing federal executive agency activities, however, closely limit the extent of an intervention made on behalf of a constituent. When conducting casework, congressional staff cannot force an agency to expedite a case or act in favor of a constituent. Congressional staff may intervene to facilitate the appropriate administrative processes involved, encourage an agency to give a case consideration, and sometimes advocate for a favorable outcome.

Subsequent sections of this report discuss House and Senate rules and guidelines, laws, and regulations affecting congressional casework, as well as the role of caseworkers. This report also provides sample outlines and document templates for establishing and managing congressional casework. Further casework materials are available at the CRS Casework Resources web page at http://crs.gov/resources/Pages/CS-Casework.aspx .

House and Senate Rules Governing Casework

Each chamber has rules and guidelines regarding its Members' casework activities. House rules regarding casework services are discussed in the House Ethics Manual . Senate Rule XLIII and the Senate Ethics Manual establish parameters for casework services in that chamber. In each chamber, at the request of a constituent or petitioner for assistance, a Member of Congress may do the following:

request information or a status report; urge prompt consideration; arrange for interviews or appointments; express judgments; call for reconsideration of an administrative response that the Member believes is not reasonably supported by statutes, regulations, or considerations of equity or public policy; or perform any other service of a similar nature consistent with the provisions of the rules of the House or Senate.

Senate Rule XLIII (3) prohibits the provision of casework assistance on the basis of contributions or services to organizations in which the Senator has a political, personal, or financial interest. Guidelines in the House Ethics Manual say that when contacting a federal agency on behalf of a constituent, a Member, officer, or employee of the House should not make prohibited, off the record comments, receive things of value for providing casework assistance, or improperly pressure agency officials.

Finally, federal statute prohibits Members of Congress, chamber officers, and congressional staff from representing anyone before the federal government, except in the performance of their official duties.

Casework and the Courts

Casework is generally not something that draws Members of Congress or their staff, acting in their official capacity, into a proceeding before the courts. The Senate Ethics Manual describes constituent service as something that occurs in the executive branch and is silent on service before the courts. Guidelines in the House Ethics Manual provide a range of options to Members who might choose to participate in judicial proceedings.

Caseworkers

Decisions regarding staff employment in congressional offices rest with each Member of Congress, subject to applicable law and chamber rules. Some chamber administrative materials, such as the Member's Handbook (for the House) or the U.S. Senate Handbook (for the Senate), provide guidelines regarding what procedures must be followed to provide compensation, credentials, and general benefits such as health care and retirement programs to House or Senate employees. Those documents provide no guidance on how a congressional hiring entity might determine the necessity of, or criteria for, a position, or the fitness of an applicant for employment. Experienced congressional staff and other observers suggest that a successful congressional caseworker is primarily a problem solver. One study of congressional staff states that a "constituent services representative/caseworker" typically carries out the following duties:

responds to casework inquiries from constituents; acts as a liaison with federal, state, and/or local agencies on behalf of constituents; acts as the grassroots representative for the Member within assigned areas of responsibility; and monitors and updates the Member and district director on district and local issues.

To carry out their duties, congressional caseworkers typically

communicate clearly with constituents about what can and cannot be done on their behalf; learn the laws and regulations affecting a constituent's case; build relationships with federal agency personnel; and serve as a neutral facilitator between the constituent and agency.

No specialized training is required to become a congressional caseworker. Individuals who work as caseworkers come from a variety of backgrounds, including recently completed study or work experience in education, law, teaching, social work, political campaigns, government service, and the private sector. Observers suggest that most caseworkers enjoy working with people and have an interest in public service, but also note that the work can be challenging. Caseworkers typically learn the policies and procedures through which agencies operate to provide services or benefits, and work with constituents whose requests are sometimes made with a high level of personal and emotional engagement.

Case Management

Matters regarding the management of casework activities are at the discretion of individual congressional offices, subject to the rules of their respective chambers, relevant law, and the priorities of that office. Two laws, the Privacy Act of 1974 and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), affect casework. The Privacy Act affects all constituents with casework inquiries that require interaction with a federal agency. HIPAA may affect constituents with casework inquiries that involve medical or other health-care information. These laws prevent a federal agency from sharing an individual's personally identifiable information with a congressional office without the individual's express permission.

Setting Priorities

Each congressional office establishes its own policies and procedures regarding the provision of casework services. These are typically based on a number of factors, which may be weighed differently in each congressional office, and include

the demands or needs of constituents for casework services; the type and nature of cases; the manner in which an office defines casework; office strategy for outreach, including decisions regarding the solicitation of casework; and Member priorities.

The Privacy Act

Under the Privacy Act, each executive branch agency that maintains records containing an individual's personally identifiable information must have a release from that individual to share information with any other entity. In general, agencies cannot reply to a congressional inquiry without a Privacy Act release signed by the constituent requesting assistance. Most agencies will accept any signed document from a constituent stating that the constituent grants a Member of Congress access to any record held by an agency that will help resolve the constituent's inquiry. (Sample authorizations are included below.) Some agencies, however, issue their own forms and might prefer to have that form filed with them when a congressional office initiates a case inquiry. For example, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) typically requests that congressional caseworkers ask constituents to return a signed copy of IRS form 8821, Tax Information Authorization.

Constituent correspondence sent to a Member's office does not fall under the protections provided by the Privacy Act or any other statute safeguarding personally identifiable records. Nevertheless, due to the high probability of an expectation of privacy concerning these communications, and Member interest in maintaining the confidentiality of office activities, many congressional offices develop a policy for safeguarding the privacy of casework-related documents. Such a policy could include

safeguarding casework correspondence and documentation in the office's physical and electronic files; securing electronic files through password protection and automatic backup procedures; and limiting access to casework correspondence files, including working drafts of correspondence, to office personnel.

HIPAA

Rules promulgated under HIPAA give patients the right of access to their medical information and prohibit health plans and health-care providers from using or disclosing identifiable information to most individuals or entities without a patient's written authorization. Examples of constituent inquiries that might involve medical information include claims for benefits under the following programs:

Social Security disability; veterans' programs; Medicare; disaster relief; medical services to military members injured on active duty, or to military members, their dependents, and retirees through TRICARE; workmens' compensation; and immigration.

Some agencies have determined that congressional requests for medical information related to casework inquiries require a HIPAA release. HIPAA rules also require health plans and providers to give individuals the opportunity to object to the disclosure. Procedures for securing patient consent to release information or to provide information to third parties may vary from agency to agency. When medical or other health-care information must be released for a casework inquiry, the agency involved might accept a signed request from the constituent to the Member as a sufficient release, or it might forward a formal release form of its own design to the congressional office for endorsement by the constituent.

Establishing Procedures: A Casework Manual

Based on the priorities identified in individual congressional offices, many offices compile documentation to clarify policies related to casework. Such documentation could specify casework goals, management procedures, and expectations of staff. Having a manual or established protocol can help offices ensure consistency in their casework practices. This type of document is not required, and there is no congressional standard regarding its format or contents. All decisions regarding activities and operations in a Member's office are within the discretion of the Member, subject to chamber rules and relevant statute. Procedures are typically developed by modifying standardized outlines and protocols to a particular office, based on the priorities and goals of that office and the preferences and needs of the Member's constituents. The outline below suggests questions to help develop an office casework manual addressing those demands. Sample documents, which may be used in whole or in part, are also provided.

A Sample Outline

Introduction to Casework

This section of the manual could be where congressional offices explain their approach to constituent service. Information might include a consideration of the role of representation, casework as micro-level oversight, and political issues related to casework. This section could also explain the role of casework in relation to broader office goals and the caseworker's role in meeting those goals. Questions that might be addressed in this section include the following:

What are the goals of the office? How does casework support or facilitate the achievement of those goals? Where does casework fit in terms of office priorities?

Office Organization

This section could provide an overview of office organization and operations. Questions that might be addressed in this section include the following:

What do caseworkers do? Will caseworkers work on specific agency/issue areas or will they all be generalists? Are caseworkers liaisons between the constituent and agency, or are they advocates for the constituent? Who supervises caseworkers? What is the extent of that supervision? To whom does that supervisor report? Where does casework fit in the office organization?

Casework Rules and Practices

This section could incorporate the rules and guidelines regarding casework of the House or Senate, as appropriate. Such documents could include Senate Rule XLIII and the Senate Ethics Manual , Chapter 8, "Constituent Services," available at http://ethics.senate.gov/downloads/pdffiles/manual.pdf , and the Ethics Manual for Members, Officers, and Employees of the U.S. House of Representatives ( House Ethics Manual ), Chapter 8, "Casework," available at http://ethics.house.gov/Media/PDF/2008_House_Ethics_Manual.pdf .

In addition, this section could detail rules or procedures specific to the particular congressional office. Questions that might be addressed in this section include

how to contact the Senate Ethics Committee or the House Ethics Committee, as appropriate; practices for storing casework records (paper-based and/or digital); a review of office security and personal safety procedures; and strategies for dealing with people who may be uncooperative, scared, angry, etc.

Step-by-Step Considerations of Casework Activities

Intake

Intake describes the process by which constituents request casework services and a congressional office prepares to respond. Intake procedures could define the information and materials needed from constituents, including the release of personal information under the Privacy Act of 1974 (sample forms below) and HIPAA, if necessary. Questions that might be addressed in developing procedures for the intake process include the following:

Office Procedures

Who is responsible in your office for intake (caseworkers, outreach or reception staff, everyone)? What training or protocols are necessary so that everyone charged with intake can do the job effectively? Will the office open a case file on the basis of a phone call, email, or a constituent visit to an office? How will case requests made during outreach and other public events be incorporated into the casework system?

Constituent Verification, Delegation, and Privacy

Does the office establish verification procedures to positively identify constituents? If so, what constitutes acceptable identification? What procedures must be established if constituents cannot produce appropriate documentation of their identity? What procedures might be necessary to obtain a privacy release from constituents who cannot read English or sign their own name? Will the office open a case on behalf of constituents represented by family members or other individuals who hold a power of attorney, or are legally appointed as a guardian to act on their behalf? Will the office open a case on behalf of a constituent represented by an attorney or other paid representative? If so, will the office work with the attorney, the constituent, or both? What procedures need to be in place to address potentially high-profile cases?

Case Management and Scheduling

How much time will the office allow between a constituent inquiry and a response by the office, such as an acknowledgment or a request for more information? How much time will the office allow for a constituent to reply to follow up? After that time has elapsed, will the office send a reminder letter or close the case file? How long will incomplete case files due to missing privacy release or other documentation from constituent remain active? What sort of casework/constituent correspondence management system (CMS) will be used? (Although a CMS likely has been chosen by the office, explain how it will be integrated, if at all, with casework management.) Who has access to the CMS for reviewing cases, updating records, and closing and archiving files?

Working with Constituents

Following the intake process, it is generally necessary to determine the scope of the constituent's case and to set expectations between the caseworker and the constituent. Questions that might be addressed in developing procedures for working with constituents include the following:

Will the office take original documents from constituents, or are copies sufficient? How will the office communicate with constituents? How will nonwritten contact be documented? How frequently will the office communicate with constituents to provide updates, status checks, or other information? How will the office communicate these expectations to the constituent? (See the samples below.)

Working with Agencies

At the end of the intake process, it is necessary to identify and contact the appropriate agency to address the constituent's concerns. Many congressional offices maintain lists of the executive branch agencies they work with. If such lists are not available, preliminary information on agencies with congressional liaison offices can be obtained from Congressional Liaison Offices , at http://www.crs.gov/resources/liaisonoffices/ . Questions that might be addressed in developing procedures for working with executive branch agencies include the following:

How much time will the office allow between establishing complete constituent information and contact with the agency? How much time will the office allow between initial agency contact and subsequent follow up? How much time will the office allow between receiving the agency's response and communicating the response to the constituent? What types of contacts (phone, email, written, face-to-face) are acceptable to make inquiries from the office and to receive responses from the agencies? Will individual caseworkers, a coordinator, or a supervisor maintain lists of agency contacts? In the event that the person responsible for maintaining those lists of contacts is not available, how will other staff contact the agencies? Is it necessary to establish specific protocols for working with individual agencies? (A list of agencies for which protocols might be developed is provided below.)

Casework Records

A common concern regarding casework records is their maintenance while cases are open, and their disposition when cases are concluded. The House and Senate consider the records generated in a Member's office to be the personal property of the Member. As a consequence, policies regarding casework records are at the discretion of individual Member offices. The House Records Management Manual for Members notes that to "safeguard personal information, most Members will not transfer case files to a repository." The Manual notes that offices could keep permanently "reports summarizing the types of casework generated by the office as long as they contain no personal information about constituents (e.g., names or Social Security numbers)." When individual casework files are removed from office files, they "should be destroyed in a secure manner." In the Senate, records management guidelines suggest that all documents pertaining to a case should be kept together. Routine cases could be kept in the office as long as they are open, and for two years after they are closed, after which they may be destroyed. Cases that might be kept permanently include those with bearing on agency oversight or matters of interest to the Senator or state. Those records could be retained in the office as long as they are open, and for one year after they are closed, after which they may be transferred to an archival repository.

Reference Materials

For Each Caseworker

Office casework manual. Chamber-appropriate ethics manual chapter on casework. Congressional Liaison Offices , at http://www.crs.gov/resources/liaisonoffices . Casework manuals and constituent services guides issued by the agencies for which the caseworker is responsible. Office-developed contact lists.

For Each Field Office Location

Casework intake protocols. Instructions for accessing casework materials in physical or electronic files. Caseworker contact information. General agency contact information.

Agencies and Potential Categories for Which Specific Casework/Constituent Service Protocols Could Be Developed

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Bankruptcy Child Support Consumer Credit Matters Copyright Information—Library of Congress Copyright Office Customs Department of Agriculture (USDA) Department of Commerce Department of Education (ED) Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Department of Justice (DOJ) Department of Labor (DOL) Department of State (DOS) Department of the Interior (DOI) Department of Transportation (DOT) Department of the Treasury (Treasury) Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Environment Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Flag Requests General Services Administration (GSA) Government Auctions Grants Greetings, Anniversary Greetings, Birthday Greetings, Marking Achievement Healthcare Healthcare, Military, Tricare Healthcare, Veterans' Home Mortgages Homeland Security/Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Homeland Security/Military, Coast Guard Housing Immigration Immigration, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS) Immigration, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Information Requests, general Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Legal Issues Legislation, Constituent Opinion Legislation, Constituent Proposals Medicare Medicare Part A Medicare Part B Medicare, Part D, Prescription Drug Coverage Military/Homeland Security, Coast Guard Military/National Guard, Air Force Military/National Guard, Army Military/National Guard, Navy Military/Marine Corps Mortgages National Forests Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Passports Patent Information Patent and Trademark Office Post Office Prisons Rural Development Scheduling Service Academy Appointments Service Academy Appointments, U.S. Air Force Academy (Colorado Springs) Service Academy Appointments, U.S. Coast Guard Academy (New London) Service Academy Appointments, U.S. Merchant Marine Academy (King's Point) Service Academy Appointments, U.S. Military Academy (West Point) Service Academy Appointments, U.S. Naval Academy (Annapolis) Small Business Administration (SBA) Social Programs Social Security Student Education Financing Student Loans Travel Tricare U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS) U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Unemployment United States Forest Service Veterans' Clinic Veterans' Hospitals Veterans' Services Veterans' Service Organizations (VSO) Visas/Entry Permits, Education Visas/Entry Permits, Emergency Visas/Entry Permits, Work Washington Visitors

CRS Resources

CRS In Focus IF10503, Constituent Services: Overview and Resources

Congressi onal Liaison Offices , at http://www.crs.gov/resources/liaisonoffices

CRS Video WVB00093, Introduction to Congressional Casework

CRS Report RL33209, Casework in a Congressional Office: Background, Rules, Laws, and Resources

CRS Report R44696, Casework in Congressional Offices: Frequently Asked Questions

CRS Report CASEWORK, Constituent Services: Casework , Webpage, available at http://www.crs.gov

CRS Report RL32113, Congressional Intervention in the Administrative Process: Legal and Ethical Considerations

CRS Report RL33213, Congressional Nominations to U.S. Service Academies: An Overview and Resources for Outreach and Management

CRS Report RS20500, Medical Records Privacy: Questions and Answers on the HIPAA Rule

CRS Report RS22450, Procedural Analysis of Private Laws Enacted: 1986-2015

Sample Documents and Release Forms

Sample Constituent Guide/Newsletter Piece/Outreach Handout

Initial Correspondence with Constituents Opening a Case

Simple Privacy Act Release Form

Sample Privacy Act and HIPAA Release Form

Case Information and Privacy Act Release Form

Response Correspondence 1: Completed Response from Agency

Response Correspondence 2: Partial/Interim Response from Agency