Section 4 Generally

• Library: Administrative Law 2011

“[A]gency” is defined in 5 U.S.C. § 551(1) broadly to include “each authority of the Government . . . .” The courts have interpreted “agency” to include subunits of the agency under the APA (Administrative Procedure Act), 5 U.S.C. §§ 551–706. Section 551(1); White v. Henman, 977 F.2d 292 (7^th Cir. 1992) (Bureau of Prisons is an “agency” subject to the APA because it is a part of the Department of Justice). But the APA statutory definition of “agency” excludes several governmental institutions and agencies from coverage; these include:

(A) the Congress;

(B) the courts of the United States;

(C) the governments of the territories or possessions of the United States;

(D) the government of the District of Columbia;

or except as to [Freedom of Information Act requirements]—

(E) agencies composed of representatives of the parties or of representatives of organizations of the parties to the disputes determined by them;

(F) courts martial and military commissions;

(G) military authority exercised in the field in time of war or in occupied territory; or

(H) [Other miscellaneous] functions [of government conferred by statutes].

Section 551(1)(A)–(H).

The APA exemptions for the courts and Congress are broad. While the precise extent of the exception for “the courts of the United States” has been questioned, at least one court has observed that “it is clear that Congress intended the entire judicial branch of the Government to be excluded from the provisions of the” APA. In re Fid. Mortgage...