Astrue On Upcoming CBS Report On Backlogs

An e-mail distributed to Social Security employees:

^Commissioner Broadcast
Monday, January 14, 2008 12:36 PM
COMMISSIONER'S BROADCAST--01/14/08

A Message To All SSA And DDS employees

Disability Story

I wanted all of you to know that the CBS Evening News is doing a two-part investigative series on the disability backlog tonight and tomorrow night.

Part of what CBS will report is precisely what I told Congress in May of last year. I testified, "The length of time many people wait for their final disability decision is unacceptable. Further I said, "For some, the long wait for their day in court leads to homelessness and the loss of family and friends. Sadly, people have died waiting for a hearing."

It appears from their promotional materials that the stories will focus heavily on the problems -- as you might expect from an investigative report. What is less clear is whether they will report on the solutions we have already started implementing.

Let me assure you we did our best to convey to CBS that we are attacking the problems with urgency and that we have made real progress in the past year despite declining resources and increasing demands. As I told CBS, we have dedicated employees who are doing their best to address these problems.