7 U.S.C. § 6992 — National Appeals Division and Director

(a) The Secretary^* must establish and maintain an independent National Appeals Division^* within the Department^* to carry out this subchapter.

(b)(1) The Division^* is headed by a Director^* appointed by the Secretary from people with substantial administrative-law experience. The Secretary must consider both people outside government and government employees. (2) The Director serves 6 years and may be reappointed. The Director may be removed during the term only for a legally established cause. (3) The position may not be in the excepted service or filled by a noncareer appointee.

(c)(1)(A) Except for paragraph (2), the Director is free from direction or control by anyone other than the Secretary or Deputy Secretary of Agriculture. (B) Except on a reimbursable basis, the Division may receive administrative support only from the Office of the Secretary. (C) The Secretary may not delegate Division authority to another Department officer or employee except the Deputy Secretary or Director. (2) The Assistant Secretary for Administration may investigate, enforce, and implement laws, executive orders, and regulations generally concerning competitive and excepted-service jobs in the Division, including the Director’s job, and may delegate that authority to subordinate officials.

(d) If an agency^* officer, employee, or committee says a decision cannot be appealed and a participant appeals to the Director, the Director must decide whether it is adverse to that participant and appealable or generally applicable and not appealable. That decision is administratively final.

(e)(1) The Director recommends hearing officers to the Secretary as needed for hearings under section 6997 and appoints other needed Division employees. Division employees may have no duties beyond those needed for this subchapter. No Division position may be filled by a political appointee. (2) “Political appointee” means someone holding an Executive Schedule position; a noncareer Senior Executive Service position; a confidential or policy position under Schedule C; or a position excepted from competitive service because of its confidential, policy-determining, policy-making, or policy-advocating character.