Two House Members On Social Security Backlogs

From the Kansas City Star:

We read with grave concern The Star’s article (3/23, Moneywise, “Entitled and exhausted”) on the severe disability case backlog now plaguing the Social Security Administration.

Fifteen thousand Kansans are awaiting court hearings to determine their eligibility for disability benefits. Many of those 15,000 have suffered severe injuries or illnesses. Many are enduring a terminal disease or debilitating pain. At this time, when they are most vulnerable, they cannot afford bureaucratic delays.

In Kansas, the average Social Security disability appeal has stretched to 21 months — the longest delay in the nation. It is intolerable that anyone must wait nearly two years before receiving the benefits they deserve.

Today’s backlog crisis has many roots. Two decades ago, SSA employed more than 80,000 staffers to process benefit applications. Now, that number has fallen to 60,000, even as the rate of applications has risen sharply.

For six years, SSA has submitted its annual funding request only to the president — not to Congress, as it is legally authorized to do.

As members of the House, we have sponsored legislation to require SSA to submit its funding request directly to Congress each year. Once the legislative branch finally knows how much funding is required to eliminate the backlogs, Congress can at last respond with the resources necessary.

Kansans deserve nothing less.

U.S. Rep. Dennis Moore
Lenexa
U.S. Rep. Nancy Boyda
Topeka