In addition to overseeing individual cases for constituents, I am also pushing for improvements in Social Security on the national level. I have met with Michael Astrue, Commissioner of Social Security Administration, on multiple occasions to raise my concerns about the backlog of claims and the long delays in scheduling hearings throughout Ohio. In fact, Commissioner Astrue attended my roundtable in Ohio last year, where he sat down with the managers of all the Hearing Offices in the state.
I am particularly pleased that Commissioner Astrue has recognized the significance of the problem in Ohio and -- since January -- has hired 13 new administrative law judges. He assured me that the Social Security Administration expects to see further improvements when the automated case writing system and template is deployed.
Unbelievable how some people still cling to the demented notion that hiring the necessary staff, which costs money, can be avoided if things are just reorganized or streamlined or whatever. It's just that darned bureaucracy. The U.S Congress consists of 535 Senators and representatives. Imagine how that could be streamlined if a competency test could be administered to all of them.
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