Response to Congressional Inquiries

United States Department of the Interior
BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT
Wyoming State Office
P.O. Box 1828
IN REPLY REFER TO: Cheyenne, Wyoming 82009-1828
1120 (912) P
September 5, 2008
EMS TRANSMISSION: September 9, 2008
Instruction Memorandum No. WY-2008-0048
Expires: 09/30/09
To: Field Managers and Deputy State Directors
From: State Director
Subject: Response to Congressional Inquiries
This memorandum serves to restate policy and guidelines for processing responses to
Congressional controlled correspondence. This includes letters from Wyoming’s U.S. Senators
and U.S. Representative or their staffs, and Members of Congress from other States.
The Wyoming State Office of Communications (OC) is responsible for coordinating responses
to Congressional inquiries in collaboration with Field Office Public Affairs Specialists (PASs).
The State Director signs all written correspondence to ensure a consistent message. The process
is the same whether the letter is signed by the Congressional or one of the Field
Representatives.
Whether received in a Field Office or the State Office, the State Director’s staff will log and
assign a control number to a Congressional inquiry. The inquiry will then be directed to the
appropriate Deputy State Director for preparation of the draft response. After the response is in
draft -- and BEFORE it is finalized -- OC will review and edit as needed. Once the OC review
is completed, the Division Administrative Assistant will finalize the response and route it
through OC and other appropriate Divisions for surnaming before presenting it to the State
Director for signature. The attached flow chart diagrams the Congressional response process.
When written correspondence is directed to a Field Manager (FM), the correspondence needs to
be FAXed to the State Director’s staff (307-775-6003) where it will be handled in the same
manner as detailed in the previous paragraph. The FM will work with the Field PAS and
appropriate State Office specialists to prepare a draft response. The draft will then be routed
through OC and appropriate State Office Division(s) before presenting it to the State Director
for signature.
If a phone call or personal visit from a Congressional Field Representative is directed to a Field
Office, the FM, in coordination with the Field PAS, will provide verbal answers to their
questions. Should the PAS not be present during the verbal response, the FM will notify the
Field PAS of the contact. However, all sensitive or controversial subject matter inquiries will
still need to be prepared for State Director signature.
The OC shall be notified of all incoming Congressional inquiries by recipients as to the name of
the Congressional member and the subject matter.
All Congressional inquiries will be replied to within seven (7) days. If a response cannot be
made within that period, an interim reply must be sent.
Please direct questions regarding Congressional inquiries to Teresa Howes, Chief, Office of
Communications, (307) 775-6015.
Signed by: Authenticated by:
Donald A. Simpson Pamela D. Hernandez
Acting State Director Wyoming Central Files
1 Attachment:
1 – Controlled Correspondence flow chart (1 p.)