Betty Holladay v. Otis Bowen, as Secretary of United States Department of Health and Human Services

CLARK, Circuit Judge:

In this case we must decide whether a regulation promulgated by the Secretary of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) conflicts impermissibly with his duty to ensure that determinations of an individual’s eligibility for Social Security Income (“SSI”) benefits are based on a fully and fairly developed record. We must also decide whether the Secretary committed reversible error in failing to secure the testimony of a vocational expert in denying SSI benefits on the basis of an applicant’s residual functional capacity. The district court affirmed the Secretary’s decision that…