CONSTITUENT SERVICES :
Casework
In today's world of automated answering machines and confusing procedures, the federal government
can often seem like a frustrating maze. One of my most important duties is
to cut through the red tape and ensure that the
federal government is working for you. I'm happy to have a constituent services representative
in one of my district offices assist you with a problem related to a federal government
service.
Please note that because I hold a federal office, I do not have the direct jurisdiction to assist you in matters involving state or local government. To receive assistance in these matters, please contact your appropriate elected official at the state or local level.
My district staff specializes in assisting constituents with a wide variety of issues.
Constituents frequently ask questions regarding Social Security, Medicare, the Internal Revenue
Service, Immigration and Nationalization Services or other agencies. Caseworkers may be able to
assist you over the phone by directing you to the appropriate office, providing necessary
instructions, phone numbers or materials, and/or find out the status of an application. If your
situation requires, the caseworker may initiate a Congressional inquiry on behalf of a constituent
in the form of a phone call to an agency or a letter from my
office to the
appropriate agency official.
While a caseworker is available to obtain information regarding the status of a constituent’s
application or claim, my office does not have the authority to expedite
a request or to move one person’s application ahead of others who are also
waiting. However, if an emergency situation develops, a caseworker will
communicate the circumstances to the agency and request that the agency take the appropriate actions.
Occasionally, a constituent will request that I use my influence to overturn a
decision made by a federal agency. A caseworker is happy to assist constituents by forwarding
information to the appropriate sources for consideration during the adjudication process.
My office, however, does not have the authority to instruct a federal agency to
approve or deny an application.
To open a case you should follow the steps listed below to help my staff and
me assist you more efficiently.
1) Complete a privacy release authorization and describe your problem - Pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act and Privacy Act, I will need your written permission before I can contact any agency on your behalf. To
view the privacy release form you must have Adobe Reader on your
computer. Click here to
download Adobe PDF Reader.
2) Gather Necessary Supporting Documents - Be sure to locate all necessary documents which can support your case and make copies of them for my office. These can include letters from the agency, applicable case numbers, and other forms and correspondence relating to your problem.
3) Send all documents to the closest district
office.
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