(a) Introduction. (1) The Railroad Retirement Board (hereinafter referenced as the “Board”) is an independent agency in the executive branch of the Federal Government and is administered by three members appointed by the President, with the advice and consent of the Senate. By law, one member is appointed upon recommendations made by railroad labor organizations, one upon recommendations of railroad employers, and the third member, the Chairman, is in effect independent of employees and employers and represents the public interest. The terms of office are five years and are arranged so as to expire in different calendar years.

(2) The primary function of the Board is the determination and payment of benefits under the retirement-survivor and unemployment-sickness programs. To this end, the Board must maintain lifetime earnings records for covered employees, a network of field offices to assist railroad personnel and their dependents in filing claims for benefits, and examiners to adjudicate the claims.

(3) The Board administers the Railroad Retirement Act and the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act. The Railroad Retirement Tax Act, which imposes employment taxes to fund the railroad retirement system, is administered by the Internal Revenue Service of the U.S. Department of Treasury. The Board also participates in the administration of the Federal Medicare health insurance program.

(4) The headquarters of the Board is in Chicago, Illinois, at 844 North Rush Street. The Board maintains numerous district offices across the country in localities easily accessible to large numbers of railroad workers.

(b) Internal organization. (1) Reporting directly to the Board Members is the seven member Executive Committee. The Executive Committee is comprised of the General Counsel, the Director of Administration, the Director of Programs, the Chief Financial Officer, the Chief Information Officer, and the Director of Field Service. The Chief Actuary is a non-voting member. The Board members will designate a member of the Executive Committee as Senior Executive Officer.

(2) The Executive Committee is responsible for the day to day operations of the agency. The Senior Executive Officer is responsible for the direction and oversight of the Executive Committee. The General Counsel is responsible for advising the Board Members on major issues, interpreting the Acts and regulations administered by the Board, drafting and analyzing legislation, representing the Board in litigation and administrative forums and planning, directing, and coordinating the work of the Office of General Counsel, the Office of Secretary to the Board, the Bureau of Hearings and Appeals, and the Office of Legislative Affairs through their respective directors. The Director of Programs is responsible for managing, coordinating, and controlling the program operations of the agency which carry out provisions of the Railroad Retirement and Railroad Unemployment Insurance Acts. The Director of Administration is responsible for managing, coordinating and controlling certain administrative operations of the Board including the Division of Acquisition Management, the Bureau of Human Resources, the Office of Public Affairs, and the Division of Real Property Management. The Chief Financial Officer is responsible for the financial management of the agency, and the Chief Information Officer is responsible for coordinating the agency's information resources management program. The Chief Actuary is responsible for the actuarial program of the Board, and for maintaining statistical and financial information. The Director of Field Services is responsible for the oversight of the agency's nationwide field offices.

(3) The Office of Equal Employment Opportunity is responsible for equal employment opportunity and affirmative employment programs.

(c) Office of Inspector General. The Railroad Retirement Solvency Act of 1983 established the Office of Inspector General within the Board to be governed by the Inspector General Act of 1978. As structured, the Inspector General reports directly to the Chairman. The Office of Inspector General is responsible for policy direction and conduct of audit, inspection, and investigation activities relating to program and operations of the Board; and maintaining liaison with other law enforcement agencies, the Department of Justice, and United States Attorneys on all matters relating to the detection and prevention of fraud and abuse. The Inspector General reports semi-annually to the Congress through the Chairman concerning fraud, abuses, other serious problems, and deficiencies of agency programs and operations; recommends corrective action; and, reports on progress made in implementing these actions.