7 U.S.C. § 6994 — Notice and opportunity for hearing

Page 1950 TITLE 7—AGRICULTURE § 6993 1 See References in Text note below. other than the Deputy Secretary of Agri- culture or the Director, the authority of the Secretary with respect to the Division. (2) Exception The Assistant Secretary for Administration is authorized to investigate, enforce, and im- plement the provisions in law, Executive order, or regulations that relate in general to competitive and excepted service positions and employment within the Division, including the position of Director, and such authority may be further delegated to subordinate offi- cials. (d) Determination of appealability of agency de- cisions If an officer, employee, or committee of an agency determines that a decision is not appeal- able and a participant appeals the decision to the Director, the Director shall determine whether the decision is adverse to the individual participant and thus appealable or is a matter of general applicability and thus not subject to ap- peal. The determination of the Director as to whether a decision is appealable shall be admin- istratively final. (e) Division personnel (1) In general The Director shall recommend to the Sec- retary persons for appointment as hearing of- ficers as are necessary for the conduct of hear- ings under section 6997 of this title. The Direc- tor shall appoint such other employees as are necessary for the administration of the Divi- sion. A hearing officer or other employee of the Division shall have no duties other than those that are necessary to carry out this sub- chapter. Each position of the Division shall be filled by an individual who is not a political appointee. (2) Political appointee In this subsection, the term ‘‘political ap- pointee’’ means an individual occupying— (A) a position described under sections 5312 through 5316 of title 5 (relating to the Execu- tive Schedule); (B) a noncareer position in the Senior Ex- ecutive Service, as described under section 3132(a)(7) of that title; (C) a position in the executive branch of the Government of a confidential or policy- determining character under schedule C of subpart C of part 213 of title 5, Code of Fed- eral Regulations; or (D) a position which has been excepted from the competitive service by reason of its confidential, policy-determining, policy- making, or policy-advocating character. (Pub. L. 103–354, title II, § 272, Oct. 13, 1994, 108 Stat. 3229; Pub. L. 113–79, title I, § 1610(a), Feb. 7, 2014, 128 Stat. 709; Pub. L. 115–334, title XII, § 12412, Dec. 20, 2018, 132 Stat. 4980.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT This subchapter, referred to in subsec. (e), was in the original ‘‘this subtitle’’, meaning subtitle H (§§ 271–283) of title II of Pub. L. 103–354, Oct. 13, 1994, 108 Stat. 3228, which enacted this subchapter, amended sections 2006 and 5101 to 5106 of this title and section 2202e of Title 12, Banks and Banking, and repealed sections 1433e and 1983b of this title. AMENDMENTS 2018—Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 115–334 amended subsec. (e) generally. Prior to amendment, text read as follows: ‘‘The Director shall appoint such hearing officers and other employees as are necessary for the administra- tion of the Division. A hearing officer or other em- ployee of the Division shall have no duties other than those that are necessary to carry out this subchapter.’’ 2014—Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 113–79 added subsec. (c) and struck out former subsec. (c). Prior to amendment, text read as follows: ‘‘The Director shall be free from the di- rection and control of any person other than the Sec- retary. The Division shall not receive administrative support (except on a reimbursable basis) from any agency other than the Office of the Secretary. The Sec- retary may not delegate to any other officer or em- ployee of the Department, other than the Director, the authority of the Secretary with respect to the Divi- sion.’’ § 6993. Transfer of functions There are transferred to the Division all func- tions exercised and all administrative appeals pending before the effective date of this sub- chapter (including all related functions of any officer or employee) of or relating to— (1) the National Appeals Division established by section 1433e(c) 1 of this title (as in effect on the day before October 13, 1994); (2) the National Appeals Division established by subsections (d) through (g) of section 1983b 1 of this title (as in effect on the day before Oc- tober 13, 1994); (3) appeals of decisions made by the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation; and (4) appeals of decisions made by the Soil Conservation Service (as in effect on the day before October 13, 1994). (Pub. L. 103–354, title II, § 273, Oct. 13, 1994, 108 Stat. 3230.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT The effective date of this subchapter, referred to in text, probably means the date of enactment of Pub. L. 103–354, which was approved Oct. 13, 1994. Section 1433e of this title, referred to in par. (1), was repealed by Pub. L. 103–354, title II, § 281(b), Oct. 13, 1994, 108 Stat. 3233. Section 1983b of this title, referred to in par. (2), was repealed by Pub. L. 103–354, title II, § 281(c), Oct. 13, 1994, 108 Stat. 3233. § 6994. Notice and opportunity for hearing Not later than 10 working days after an ad- verse decision is made that affects the partici- pant, the Secretary shall provide the participant with written notice of such adverse decision and the rights available to the participant under this subchapter or other law for the review of such adverse decision. (Pub. L. 103–354, title II, § 274, Oct. 13, 1994, 108 Stat. 3230.) Page 1951 TITLE 7—AGRICULTURE § 6997 § 6995. Informal hearings (a) In general If an officer, employee, or committee of an agency makes an adverse decision, the agency shall hold, at the request of the participant, an informal hearing on the decision. (b) Farm Service Agency With respect to programs carried out through the Farm Service Agency (or other office, agen- cy, or administrative unit of the Department as- signed to carry out the programs authorized for the Farm Service Agency under section 6932 of this title), the Secretary shall maintain the in- formal appeals process applicable to such pro- grams, as in effect on October 13, 1994. (c) Mediation If a mediation program is available under title V of the Agricultural Credit Act of 1987 (7 U.S.C. 5101 et seq.) as a part of the informal hearing process, the participant shall— (1) be offered the right to choose such medi- ation; and (2) to the maximum extent practicable, be allowed to use both informal agency review and mediation to resolve disputes under that title. (Pub. L. 103–354, title II, § 275, Oct. 13, 1994, 108 Stat. 3230; Pub. L. 110–234, title XII, § 12032, May 22, 2008, 122 Stat. 1391; Pub. L. 110–246, § 4(a), title XII, § 12032, June 18, 2008, 122 Stat. 1664, 2153; Pub. L. 115–334, title XII, § 12404(b)(3), Dec. 20, 2018, 132 Stat. 4975.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT The Agricultural Credit Act of 1987, referred to in subsec. (c), is Pub. L. 100–233, Jan. 6, 1988, 101 Stat. 1568. Title V of the Act is classified principally to chapter 82 (§ 5101 et seq.) of this title. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title of 1988 Amend- ments note set out under section 2001 of Title 12, Banks and Banking, and Tables. CODIFICATION Pub. L. 110–234 and Pub. L. 110–246 made identical amendments to this section. The amendments by Pub. L. 110–234 were repealed by section 4(a) of Pub. L. 110–246. AMENDMENTS 2018—Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 115–334 substituted ‘‘Farm’’ for ‘‘Consolidated Farm’’ in two places. 2008—Pub. L. 110–246, § 12032, designated the three sen- tences of existing provisions as subsecs. (a) to (c), re- spectively, inserted headings, and in subsec. (c) des- ignated part of existing provisions as par. (1) and added par. (2). Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE OF 2008 AMENDMENT Amendment of this section and repeal of Pub. L. 110–234 by Pub. L. 110–246 effective May 22, 2008, the date of enactment of Pub. L. 110–234, see section 4 of Pub. L. 110–246, set out as an Effective Date note under section 8701 of this title. § 6996. Right of participants to Division hearing (a) Appeal to Division for hearing Subject to subsection (b), a participant shall have the right to appeal an adverse decision to the Division for an evidentiary hearing by a hearing officer consistent with section 6997 of this title. (b) Time for appeal To be entitled to a hearing under section 6997 of this title, a participant shall request the hearing not later than 30 days after the date on which the participant first received notice of the adverse decision. (Pub. L. 103–354, title II, § 276, Oct. 13, 1994, 108 Stat. 3230.) § 6997. Division hearings (a) General powers of Director and hearing offi- cers (1) Access to case record The Director and hearing officer shall have access to the case record of any adverse deci- sion appealed to the Division for a hearing. (2) Administrative procedures The Director and hearing officer shall have the authority to require the attendance of wit- nesses, and the production of evidence, by sub- poena and to administer oaths and affirma- tions. Except to the extent required for the disposition of ex parte matters as authorized by law— (A) an interested person outside the Divi- sion shall not make or knowingly cause to be made to the Director or a hearing officer who is or may reasonably be expected to be involved in the evidentiary hearing or re- view of an adverse decision, an ex parte com- munication (as defined in section 551(14) of title 5) relevant to the merits of the pro- ceeding; (B) the Director and such hearing officer shall not make or knowingly cause to be made to any interested person outside the Division an ex parte communication rel- evant to the merits of the proceeding. (b) Time for hearing Upon a timely request for a hearing under sec- tion 6996(b) of this title, an appellant shall have the right to have a hearing by the Division on the adverse decision within 45 days after the date of the receipt of the request for the hear- ing. (c) Location and elements of hearing (1) Location A hearing on an adverse decision shall be held in the State of residence of the appellant or at a location that is otherwise convenient to the appellant and the Division. (2) Evidentiary hearing The evidentiary hearing before a hearing of- ficer shall be in person, unless the appellant agrees to a hearing by telephone or by a re- view of the case record. The hearing officer shall not be bound by previous findings of fact by the agency in making a determination. (3) Information at hearing The hearing officer shall consider informa- tion presented at the hearing without regard to whether the evidence was known to the