I "*‘—€"-T~fi*::'-1-t~. I--‘:7-:1-:'34~ Q 1.. ‘j-.-,: :13 :;*- ~-I‘ '3: ‘‘~.:’ 2: ggfx. 5'11 J7; .-"', ..- p . . . -. ~ - .. . ,. .- F3; 3: . _’ I -.o, '7' . ~ .5 _ ‘.1 0 3 “I 5": Vgffi J. .\ _ _'\ u; I .5 - ' » Q . .7’ ‘v 1 L 7-*7 L’ 3. 1': '1: :1, CASEWORK IN A CONGRESSIONAL OFFICE Judy Carlile Analyst in American National Government 1 . , , 0. ‘L— " I " !._; :. J __L' .- ’x:”“"r.-. ~ ~~—.‘—.——~ .~—.~._.—, "1 f1 ‘ ’l 'r‘. ‘.4 1 «*4 E’: T ; A ""7" ‘1 I ?\ 7 3 9‘ -5‘ [I ’ ‘4 , I l _ 4 1 H Li -—: u.._‘.l1'.‘ ;;;:; I \:.:»1-;: :.:;.~ :;--A —- May 12, 1981 JK 1052 H Universitfl|’c]|1mMi sour: cm I m HWWLWW 4 010-1038601 5 a . The Congressional Research Service works exclusively for the Congress, conducting research, analyzing legislation, and providing information at the request of committees, Mem- bers, and their staffs. The Service makes such research available, without parti- san bias, in many forms including studies, reports, compila- tions, digests, and background briefings. Upon request, CRS assists committees in analyzing legislative proposals and issues, and in assessing the possible effects of these proposals and their alternatives. The Service’s senior specialists and subject analysts are also available for personal consultations in their respective fields of expertise. ABSTRACT Casework can be defined as assistance provided by a Member of Congress to his or her constituents in their dealings with Federal departments and agencies. This paper presents a general overview of the procedures associated with handling casework in a congressional office. It discusses options for assisting Members’ constituents, and the role of staffs and Members in providing casework services. This report is based upon a report originally prepared by Marc Yacker, October, 1977. CASEWORK IN A CONGRESSIONAL OFFICE Casework can be defined as assistance provided by a Member of Congress to his or her constituents in their dealings with Federal departments and agencies. Casework usually involves individuals or groups of individuals, but, in some cases may involve State or local governmental units, or, occasionally, a private organization. It is closely related to, but different from, project work, which usually concerns local governmental units or organized groups of people (corporations, universities, consulting firms, etc.) who are competing for money from the Federal government in the form of contracts, grants, and other disbursements. Some congressional offices, however, combine these functions and call them "constituent services," or "case-project services." Virtually every Member performs the casework function to some degree. Normally, a Member of Congress will have at least one staff member designated as caseworker. A few offices now utilize a "pooling" approach. E] In an increasing number of offices, caseworkers are located in the District and State offices. Most cases involve problems regarding military service, social security, immigration, and veterans’ benefits, although the tYPeS Of requests FeCeiV€d by each congressional office will vary according to the constituency. Thus, L] In these instances, two offices agree to share staff resources and each caseworker is assigned specific subject areas. 8-8°: h°U3in8. immi8rati°n: €tC°. for which he/she handles all cases for cooperating Memberso Letters to constituents and agencies are sent over the signature °f the Member who received the inquiry. A few Senators from the same State have adopted a "pooling" approach to casework in their State offices using basically the same system. CRS-2 a rural District or State office will have more agricultural cases while an urban constituency may have more housing problems. Senate office Casework operations will obviously be involved with a greater range of issues than will House offices because of the greater diversity of population, workforce, and economic issues within a State. Some legislators feel that Congress has three major roles in the American system of governing, (1) it is a representative body, and should express the needs and desires of the American people, especially their constituents, (2) it is a deliberative body, judging legislations proposed by its Members and others. and (3) is a supervising body, evaluating the activities of the executive agencies, in particular, (oversight) which could lead to corrective legislation or changes in administrative procedures. 3/ Most casework is handled routinely, at least in the beginning. It is rarely self-initiated. A caseworker receives (in either the Washington, District or State office) a constituent's letter and determines which Federal (or other) agency has jurisdiction. The caseworker then decides whether or not the case can best be handled via telephone, Written C0mmUniC3ti°ns Or in the case of military, civil service, and veterans’ cases, in person, Since the responsible agencies in these instances have liaison offices in the House Office Buildings. Members of Congress in increasing numbers seem to be receiving inquiries from constituents dealing with subjects or programs within the jurisdiction of State or local governments. In such instances, the Member Office must decide upon an appropriate response to the constituent inqUirY- Most 2] Olson, Kenneth G. The Service Function of the United Stgtgs C;§8reSS- In Twelve Studies of the Organization of Congress’ washinfggg’ ' ‘$38 e American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research’ ' P’ ' CRS-3 Member offices routinely respond to these local government constituent inquiries by referring the matter to local officials. However, some Senate and House Members have directed their district office staff to work in conjunctialwith State legislative staff and local government staffs as a means toward more efficient constituent services at the State and Federal levels. If the case lends itself to being handled on the phone-that is, a question to be answered that does not entail substantial agency research-- a call is placed to the appropriate agency's congressional liaison office. If the case is to be handled by letter, the caseworker photocopies the constituent letter and forwards it to the appropriate agency, sometimes with a personally written letter over the Member's signature, but more often with an appropriate inquiring "buck slip." If casework is handled in the State or District office, the caseworker might call the regional or district office of the department or agency to determine to which office the inquiry would be best addressed. A letter is sent to the constituent over the Member's signature assuring the correspondent that the Member is looking into the matter. When the case is handled in person, the procedure is much like those handled by letter. The liaison office will make a copy of the constituent letter and the process is under way. It should be noted that some congressional offices may prefer not to deal with certain liaison offices; for example, with regard to military cases, some offices prefer to send a constituent inquiry directly to the commanding officer of the military base or installation involved. The primary advantage of bypassing a congressional liaison office is that the recipient of the letter receives the inquiry directly. Accordingly, CRS-4 the case might be processed more quickly. However, bYP3SSiU8 the congressional liaison office can also result in misdirection and slower response time. In most cases, the executive branch department can be expected to respond to a case within a week or two, and a copy of that response is forwarded to the constitutent with observations, suggestions, or sentiments as fit the circumstances. In some instances, a caseworker may find that the response received to a case may seem unjustified, unduly brash, or contrary to either the letter or spirit of the law involved. The caseworker then has to decide upon which of various options to pursue. Simplest, and least responsive to such cases, is to routinely forward the departmental response to the constituent. If the constituent does not ask for additional action, the case is closed. If the constituent does seek further Member action, another option can be pursued- The caseworker could either call or write the appropriate department, over the Member's signature, citing either deficiencies in the department's response, the exigencies of this particular situation, or whatever is appropriate. Executive departments and agencies do make mistakes, and sometimes additional congressional intervention is needed to rectify these errors. One infrequent practice in casework, dealing primarily with immi8r3ti°n cases, is the introduction of a private bill. Although Private bills have dealt with claims against the Government, patents, military affairs» and other matters, most have concerned one aspect or another of immi8fati0n- The major categories of private imigration legislation are: 1) permitting aliens residing abroad to immigrate to the United States when otherwise theY could not do so; 2) permitting aliens in the United States t0 remain in the CRS-5 U.S. despite legal requirements to the contrary; and 3) granting citizenship to aliens who would not otherwise be eligible. Private bills can be enacted for the benefit of one person or for a number of persons. In the House, according to an agreement with the Immigration and Naturalization Service, deportation proceedings will "not be stayed upon the introduction of a private bill . . . unless the House Committee on the Judiciary addresses some formal communication to the service to stay proceedings." This arrangement with respect to private immigration bills in the House does not hold for Senate bills of the same type. Introduction of a private immigration bill in the Senate does stop deportation proceedings pending legislative resolution. In other complicated cases, additional staff members can be called upon for consultation. A legislative assistant, for example, might provide helpful information on the legalities in question. A committee staff person might assist a with statute's legislative history, so its intent can be better determined, or some other aspect of a complex case. The Member's administrative assistant might be called upon for guidance as to the office's and caseworker's appropriate degree of involvement and also whether or not to bring the Member into the case personally. Some Members believe that their personal involvement in cases increases their effectiveness, as illustrated in one Member's comment: Your effectiveness in cases where Y0“ Y0UrSe1f Pick up the phone and talk to a responsible official at the government agency concerned is a good deal higher than in those which get a routine handling in your Office- If the official knows you have some personal knowledge of the case and are checking on it, you are more likely to get favorable action. g] g] Clapp, Charles L. The Congressman; His Work as He Sees It. Washington, The Brookings Institution, 1963., p. 80- CRS-6 However, this is not the norm; rather, "most Members avoid becoming too personally involved." 3/ In fact, one source cites a Member who has "gone to bat on [only] two cases in ten years, on a personal basis." 2] Contrarily, there are other Members who have testified before Federal departments and agencies or have acted as legal counsel on behalf of constituents. The success rate in casework is difficult to calculate because there is little empirical data on the number of times a constituent's complaint and accompanying congressional inquiry actually effect a change in case status. More often than not, the agency in question will simply include in its response a recitation of the facts and regulations governing its handling of the constituent's problem. One study found a success rate of 37.3 percent. The respondents in this study (through interviews and questionnaires) answered the question, "what proportion of cases result in decisions favorable to the constitutents?" The mean response from 198 Members and aides was 37.3 percent. g] It should be noted, however, that seventeen years ago at least some Members claimed a success rate of only one-fifth to one-third. 1/ One reason for the disparity may be the measurement of success. In some cases, the Federal agency, upon Member's request, will grant the complainant 4/ Tacheron, Donald C., and Morris K. Udall. The Job of the Congressman- 2d. ed. New York, The Bobbs-Merrill Company 1970. p. 71- éj Clapp, p. 81. 6/ Johannes, John R. Congressional caseworkers: Attitudes Orientations, and Operations, Midwest Political Science Association. 1978. Prepared for delivery at the 1978 meeting of the Midwest Political Science Association, Chicago, Ilinois, p. 26. Z] Clapp, p. 78. CRS-7 an additional interview and explain in greater detail why the particular claim must be disallowed. Although not a total success, it is a plus for the Member and often the constituent is satisfied. An important--and often overlooked--aspect of casework is the linkage between the problems of individual constitutents as portrayed in the cases and poor program implementation which the Member, as a legislator, might be able to remedy. Casework correspondence can be a starting point for effective congressional oversight, as evidenced by one Congressman's comment: I would emphasize that the best watchdogs We have are not the committees but our constituents who in their letters bring to our attention things which require looking into. We get plenty of warnings of real significance in our mail which are extremely helpful in assisting us to carry out our responsibilities. §/ It is asserted that, as a practical matter, casework rarely leads to meaningful oversight. One analyst described it as follows: Since triumph is its usual goal, casework tends to go no further than the case at hand, leaving untouched the problems that generated it. Ordinarily, investigation is superficial. Implications, if not altogether unperceived, are in any event likely to be ignored. So long as the present case has an appropriately happy Outcome: t°m°rr°W'S case is left to its own devices; anyway, it may inV°1Ve some other congressman's constituent. Always pressed for time and almost always untrained generalists in a world of trained specialists, congressmen pass on to other things -- and so do the administrators. ~Unless the congressmen is pertinaciously reform-minded, casework comes and goes without greatly improving the conduct of public affairs. 2/ However, when casework correspondence is used as a tool of congressional oversight, it can be most effective, as the following Statement illustrates‘ §_/ Ibid., p. 80. 2/ Gellhorn, Walter. When Americans Complain; G0Vernment31 Grievance Procedures. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Press. 1965- P- 128- CRS-8 Congressional interference [casework] in administration, to put it boldly, is one of the best things Congress does. It is the American equivalent of the Swedish Ombudsman and the British question in Parliament. If it is "errand running," the errand is keeping the bureaucracy accountable and open to all the people and preserving decentralization of power in the American Federal System. lQ/ In order for casework to be useful in this manner, it is advisable for caseworkers to keep abreast of pertinent legislative issues and to be aware of how legislation, properly drafted, might alleviate the problems about which constituents have written. Cooperation and coordination with other staff members, particularly the administrative and legislative assistants, is necessary. With regard to casework correspondence, some feel that it is a self- perpetuating operation--one case, successfully completed, leads to two or three more from the same correspondent, relatives, friends, and so forth; consequently more and more time is necessary to process the cases in a congressional office. Most Members believe that casework produces satisfied constituents, and that satisfied constituents are votes assured at the next election; however, an overextended staff might produce dissatisfied constituents, which can result instead in lost votes. .lQ/ Gray, Kenneth E. Congressional Interference in Administration. In Daniel J. Elazer et. al., eds. Cooperation and conflict; Readings in American Federalism. Itasca, Illinois, F. E. Peacock Publishers, 1959- p. 542. JC/mld LIBRARY wA$Hu~4 2?:-;'%'oN% % mo. OF