272
Opinion of Scalia, J.
(LHWCA). § 921(b)(3). The Board's disposition of those appeals is not subject to review by the Secretary of Labor in his capacity as head of the Department, but must be appealed to the courts pursuant to the review provision quoted above.
Despite the clarity of the statute, the Court concludes that it is "in reality" an order of the Department that is under review in the courts of appeals. Ante, at 267-270. It offers two arguments in support of this proposition. First, it says—relying upon a regulation promulgated by the Secretary, 20 CFR § 801.1 (1996), and upon a statement in the House Report on the LHWCA Amendments of 1972, 86 Stat. 1251—that the Board is "a subdivision of the Department of Labor." Ante, at 269. But of course neither a Secretary's regulation nor a House Committee's report has the power to transform a statutory entity into something it is not. While the Board may be a "subdivision" of the Department of Labor—and thereby subject to the Secretary's authority— for certain purposes, see, e. g., 33 U. S. C. § 921(b)(1) (Secretary appoints Board members); § 939(a) ("Except as otherwise specifically provided, the Secretary shall administer the provisions of" the LHWCA); 20 CFR § 802.101 et seq. (1996) (regulations of Secretary establishing rules of procedure for Board), the Court expressly acknowledges that the Board is not a subdivision in the sense that the Secretary, as head of the Department, can direct or override its decisions. Ante, at 268. But that sense is the one relevant to the question whether an order of the Board is "in reality" an order of the Department, ibid. Insofar as vindication of the order is concerned, there is no "necessary identity of interest" between the Board and the Department or the Director as its chosen delegate. Shahady v. Atlas Tile & Marble Co., 673 F. 2d 479, 485 (CADC 1982) (emphasis deleted). Indeed, the Department through its delegate may well be hoping to see the Board's order overturned in the court of appeals. See, e. g., Parker v. Director, Office of Workers' Compensation
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