[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 13]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 18171]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



 THE INTRODUCTION OF LEGISLATION TO CREATE AN ADMINISTRATIVE LAW JUDGE 
                    CONFERENCE OF THE UNITED STATES

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                          HON. GEORGE W. GEKAS

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 14, 2000

  Mr. GEKAS. Mr. Speaker, I am today introducing legislation to 
establish the Administrative Law Conference of the United States.
  America's administrative law judges occupy an important place in 
American government, adjudicating federal agency decisions that affect 
nearly every American. Administrative Law judges conduct formal 
proceedings, interpret federal and state law, apply agency regulations, 
and ensure the fair implementation of a broad range of federal agency 
policies. Since passage of the Administrative Procedure Act, the 
importance of administrative law judges and their impact on everyday 
life has steadily grown in conjunction with the increased scope and 
significance of modern regulation.
  Today, administrative law judges annually handle thousands of cases 
with economy, dispatch and uncommon professionalism. The creation of an 
Administrative Law Judge Conference will bring further economy and 
efficiency to the administrative legal process. It will do so by 
enhancing the judicial performance, status and legal training of 
administrative law judges by establishing recurrent education programs 
that will sharpen the legal focus of administrative law judges while 
enhancing understanding of broader administrative adjudicatory trends. 
The Conference will not be the sole repository of this knowledge, 
however. Rather, the bill requires the Conference to annually submit 
its findings to Congress, where representatives of the American people 
can review the findings of the Conference and formulate policy to 
ensure the optimal function of the administrative legal process.
  The creation of an Administrative Law Judge Conference will bring an 
increased measure of uniformity and efficiency to federal agency 
adjudication, enhance the status and performance of administrative law 
judges, and promote public confidence in the administrative legal 
process.
  I urge your support of the bill.

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