As President Roosevelt had observed during the decade-long process of negotiating the APA, to entrust federal agencies with legislative, executive, and judicial powers was also to risk corrupting these powers, and “to develop a fourth branch of government for which there is no sanction in the Constitution.”
The Administrative Procedure Act authorizes and standardizes the procedures of 55 federal agencies responsible for implementing and enforcing federal laws. A manual for governance, APA requires transparency in agency rulemaking, opportunity for citizen participation, and protection of individual privacy.
Further buttressing the foundation of American civil rights, these among many provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act require that:
- Agencies shall “give interested persons an opportunity to participate in the rule making…”
- Agencies shall “maintain no record describing how any individual exercises rights guaranteed by the First Amendment unless expressly authorized.”
- Agencies shall “establish appropriate administrative, technical, and physical safeguards to insure the security and confidentiality of records…”
- Whenever any agency fails to comply…in such a way as to have an adverse effect on an individual, the individual may bring a civil action against the agency…”
- A person compelled to appear in person before an agency or representative thereof is entitled to be accompanied, represented, and advised by counsel…”
Under authority of Section 102 of the 2005 REAL ID Act, The Administrative Procedure Act is now waived by the Department of Homeland Security for border wall construction.
Nat Stone
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