Evidence Submission Restrictions Coming

Here is an excerpt from the September 13 Astrue letter that deserves special attention:

We plan to include many of the hearing level procedures implemented under DSI and now in place for disability cases in the Boston Region into parts 404 and 416 of our rules to reduce the hearing backlog, including time frames for submitting evidence to the ALJ and closing the evidentiary record at the time of the ALJ decision. These changes will expand those rules nation-wide and apply them to hearings on both disability and non-disability matters.

I have seen no evidence that these rule changes will reduce hearing backlogs.