Feb 5, 2007

Social Security's Operating Budget -- Is It Lockheed Martin Versus Having Enough Employees To Get The Work Done?

President Bush's budget for fiscal year (FY) 2008 is due out today. This may be a good time to look back at President Bush's budget for (FY) 2006, which was never enacted. It called for a 4.2% increase in Social Security's funding, which is above the rate of inflation, yet that budget called for a decrease in the number of full time equivalent (FTEs) employees at Social Security from 63,998 to 62,036, a 3% decrease. If Social Security was to get more money even after inflation, why would they have to cut the workforce significantly?

A possible explanation for a budget increase but a staff decrease might be the five year $124 million contract awarded to Lockheed Martin for scanning documents and the $525 million contract awarded to Lockheed Martin for information technology (IT) modernization, as well as contracts awarded to other corporations. If there is another explanation, I would be interested in hearing it.

The actual budget that Social Security is getting in FY 2007 is a good deal less than what the President had proposed, but that does not mean that the contractors get less. Apparently, it just means a greater reduction in staff for Social Security. That is why Social Security is in the midst of a year long hiring freeze and was under the threat of a staff furlough until recently.

I do not mean to suggest that Social Security did not computer system modernization. They did and still do, but if your trains are not running on time, in addition to looking at how your trains are scheduled, you have to look at the basic question of whether you have enough trains. Spending gobs of money on fancy software will not make your trains run on time if there are not enough trains to begin with.

In considering the FY 2008 budget, Congress will have to consider not merely the gross amount of Social Security's operating budget, but how that money is to be spent. This should include some serious hearings about the value added by outside contractors and how much staffing Social Security needs to get its work done.

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