The continuing resolution recently passed by Congress contained a pay raise for federal employees, but no relief for the beleaguered Social Security Administration. Here is a little something on the situation from Brittany Ballenstedt at Federal Executive:
"I applaud Congress for approving a fair and adequate pay raise for federal employees in 2009," said Darryl Perkinson, president of the Federal Managers Association. "The 3.9 percent raise sends the message that the work they do for our nation is to be valued and rewarded."
Perkinson added, however, that the passage of the stopgap spending measure would force the Social Security Administration, which provides benefits to 60 million people, to operate on fiscal 2008 funding levels. With a backlog of more than 767,000 requests for disability hearings, he said, an increase in funding is necessary to hire additional staff and bring processing times to less than 500 days.
"The ongoing lack of adequate staffing levels and resources have directly contributed to the backlog," Perkinson said. "For the next six months, and possibly the remainder of fiscal year 2009, SSA will be forced to take a step backwards, instead of moving forward. Simply put, the American people deserve better service."
2 comments:
$ 700 billion dollars for the bailout, not one cent for SSA. How many foreclosed homes could have been saved if people got the benefits due them on time? Every day I see piles of cases not being worked, unable to be worked, because there is literally no one to work them. The SSA train wreck is underway, has been underway, and now is virtually unstoppable.
"$700 billion dollars for the bailout, not one cent for SSA."
Most of those bozos in DC need to go, especially the two that have there gruby fingerprints all over the mortgage mess, Senator Christopher Dodd and Comgressman Barney Frank.
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