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Constituent Services

  • Constituent Services

    Step 1 -- Introduction to Casework
    How Can I Help You?

    Providing assistance to my constituents is one of my most important duties as your representative in Congress, and I am always happy to provide you with casework service. Typical requests for casework involve lost documents or a federal agency dragging its feet in getting you the help you need.

    Before contacting me for aid, it is important that you first try to work with the federal agency you are having trouble with. These agencies are helpful and responsive, and most issues can be solved by contacting them in writing. However, if you find that contacting them does not yield results, I would be happy to advocate on your behalf.

    To determine whether I can help you with your situation or if you need to find assistance elsewhere, please proceed to the next step "Casework Determination."

    As always, if you have any additional questions, please do not hesitate to contact my office.

    Step 2 -- Determining How I Can Help
    Is this casework or not?

    I am able to assist you with a casework request as long as it deals with a federal agency, or one that reports to the executive branch. Some examples of federal agencies:

    • Social Security Administration
    • Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
    • Department of Homeland Security
    • Department of Veteran's Affairs (VA)
    • U.S. Postal Service

    I am only authorized to help you with issues involving these federal agencies after you have tried handling the issue through the agency first. Most federal agencies are helpful and responsive and would be happy to provide the aid you need. However, if after you have contacted them in writing you still do not get results, I would be glad to provide the help you need.

    And although I will try my best to help you in any way I can, the federal agency with whom you are dealing always has the final say in the matter. Please also keep in mind that I am unable to provide you with legal assistance or act as your legal counselor or representative. Because of the constitutional separation of powers, I do not have the authority to intervene in judicial matters such as criminal court proceedings, civil disputes, or deportation hearings.

    Local and State Issues

    There are many issues affecting constituents that cannot be solved at the national level, but can be solved at the local level. If you are having trouble with a state agency, you should contact your representative in the New York State Senate or Assembly or your local representative. Some examples of local or state issues:

    • Child support
    • Criminal and police investigations
    • Worker's compensation
    • Housing or rent issues
    • Lost or stolen driver's licenses or other important state documentation

    To find your State Senator by ZIP code, click here. To find your State Assembly member by ZIP code, click here.

    Step 3 -- How to Open a Case
    Once you contact me, I can begin to assist you

    After you have determined that your request is something we can help you with, fill out a request form and fax or mail it to one of my district offices, or deliver it in person. The Privacy Act of 1974 does not allow our office to assist you until you have filled out this form which releases information to our office from the agency with which you are having trouble. Be sure to attach a brief description of the problem and any documents you have pertaining to your case. This may include medical documentation, financial records, letters of support, and recent correspondence with the agency. Click here for a PDF version of the casework request and authorization form.

    Casework is typically handled at my district offices in the Bronx, Westchester, or Rockland. To put in a casework request, contact the district office that is closest to you and be sure to provide as much information as possible so we can help you as quickly and as effectively as we can. You can do this by either calling the office or filling out the Casework Authorization Form and faxing it or bringing it into one of my offices.

    Bronx District Office
    3655 Johnson Ave.
    Bronx, NY 10463
    Phone: (718) 769-9700
    Fax: (718) 796-5134

    Rockland District Office
    261 West Nyack Road
    West Nyack, NY 10994
    Phone: (845) 735-1000
    Fax: (845) 735-1963

    Westchester District Office
    6 Gramatan Ave., Suite 205
    Mount Vernon, NY 10550
    Phone: (914) 699-4100
    Fax: (914) 699-3646

    It is a privilege to serve you and help you get the federal aid you need. Once we receive the document, please allow a few days for my office to contact you about your request, and we can begin addressing your concern as quickly as possible.

    Sincerely,

    Congressman Eliot L. Engel

Shelly Parver's Internship Experience

Congress, to a Bethesda native, holds little of the mystique it has for most Americans. Instead it is that massive nebulous body around which the careers of all the adults I know in the area, including my parents, revolve. With little of the glamour of the early Congresses of Jefferson and Adams, in the modern world it is simply the focus of our local newspaper—which happens to be The Washington Post. So for a jaded veteran of the Washington area like myself, the prospect of spending the summer between my junior and senior years of college interning in Congressman Engel’s office on Capitol Hill promised to be that of the quintessential office job: staid, boring, stifling.

But my, how wrong I was. From the first time I walked the halls of the Rayburn House Office Building I could almost feel the heartbeat of the nation’s democratic core beneath my feet as I was swept up in the bustle of staffers, interns, lobbyists, and members of Congress striding purposefully to committee hearings and votes. The sense of debate and progress was as palpable as the excitement preceding a particularly contentious Judiciary hearing or the rush of sharing an elevator with a presidential candidate, both of which I experienced in short order after starting work. The allure of this world became instantly clear and I, like the hundreds of college students who come through the Hill as interns every year, became hooked.

The staffers in Congressman Engel’s office showed me a warm welcome, assuring me that I would never be bored for want of projects—once I got my bearings, of course. This was an important distinction, for the first few days were bewildering; between learning my way around the House Office Buildings, the Capitol, and introductions to various office systems and procedures it was a challenge to accustom myself to it all. By the end of the first week I was confident enough in the routine that staffers began assigning me projects ranging from quick updates to Dear Colleague letters, to compiling extensive legislative histories to use in proposing upcoming legislation. While there was also data entry, giving tours of the Capitol to constituents, and the phones to keep busy on quiet days, staffers could almost always use the interns’ help if we asked.

Interning for Congressman Engel’s office is what you, the intern, make of it. Staffers are particularly inclined to award the most interesting projects to the most proactive interns; the timid may find themselves working that boring office job instead of getting the full Capitol Hill experience that has attracted young people to the federal government since the birth of the country. Those who are motivated and enthusiastic, however, may be so drawn to the Hill that a summer internship could be the start of a long and fulfilling career in the federal government.