What Happens To Federal Courts Under Barnhart Plan?

Below is SSA's response to complaints about the effects on the federal courts of the Commissioner's plan. This appears in the statement to be published in the Federal Register on Friday. This may be the most insurmountable problem with the plan and this response is not reassuring.

Many commenters, including the Administrative Office of United States Courts, thought that the shift of the Appeals Council’s functions to the DRB would have an adverse effect on the Federal court system and would result in an increase in the number of cases appealed to the Federal courts. To address these concerns, we plan a gradual rollout to minimize the impact on the judiciary. We plan to begin implementation of the new process in the Boston region, which is one of our smallest regions. Because we are beginning in a small region, we will be able to have the DRB initially review all or most of the administrative law judge decisions that are issued in the Boston region. At the same time, we will be fine-tuning the screening tools for selecting cases for DRB review in those regions where we cannot review every decision. In addition, the DRB will monitor administrative law judge decisions in order to identify trends or developments that we need to address. Lastly, we believe that comparing DSI with the process it is replacing fails to consider the many positive changes outlined in today’s rule.