Background

This transmittal amends chapter I-1-6 of the Hearings, Appeals and Litigation Law (HALLEX) manual to update instructions relating to congressional inquiries. We added two new sections and made formatting and editorial changes in one existing section.

Explanation of Content and Changes

This transmittal revises chapter I-1-6 as follows:

I-1-6-5 – We added a new section titled “Congressional Inquiries at the Appeals Council.” This section provides basic information about the Congressional and Public Affairs Branch (CPAB) in the Office of Appellate Operations (OAO), and explains how OAO branch staff handle direct telephone calls and written inquiries from Members of Congress or their staffs. This section also explains how CPAB interacts with OAO branch staff to communicate interim and final actions in cases involving a congressional inquiry.

I-1-6-10 – We retitled the section “Congressional Inquiries Received at Office of Disability Adjudication and Review (ODAR) Headquarters” and updated the information in the section. We moved specific CPAB processing instructions to new HALLEX I-1-6-15.

I-1-6-15 – We added a new section titled “Congressional and Public Affairs Branch (CPAB) Congressional Response Instructions.” We incorporated information previously in HALLEX I-1-6-10 and updated the instructions to reflect current procedures and systems information.

Date: January 22, 2015