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Feb 13, 2009

$1 Billion For Social Security

The text of the economic stimulus bill (page 178) that is nearly certain to be adopted today is finally available. The part that is relevant to Social Security is below. Many thanks to the White House, Congress and everyone who lobbied for this. We have a long way to go, but this is a great start on cleaning up the mess at Social Security.
SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION LIMITATION ON ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES(INCLUDING TRANSFER OF FUNDS)

For an additional amount for "Limitation on Administrative Expenses", $1,000,000,000 shall be available as follows:

1) $500,000,000 shall remain available until expended for necessary expenses of the replacement of the National Computer Center and the information technology costs associated with such Center: Provided, That the Commissioner of Social Security shall notify the Committees on Appropriations of' the House of Representatives and the Senate not later than 10 days prior to each public notice soliciting bids related to site selection and construction and prior to the lease or purchase of such site: Provided further, that the construction plan and site selection for such center shall be subject to review and approval by the Office of Management and Budget: Provided further, That such center shall continue to be a government-operated facility; and

(2) $500,000,000' for processing disability and retirement workloads, including information technology acquisitions and research in support of such activities: Provided, That up to $40,000,000 may be used by the Commissioner of Social Security for health information technology research and activities to facilitate the adoption of electronic medical records in disability claims, including the transfer of funds to "Supplemental Security Income Program" to carry out activities under section 1110 of the Social Security Act.

OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL
For an additional amount for the "Office of Inspector General", $2,000,000, which shall remain available through September 30, 2012, salaries and expenses necessary for oversight and audit of programs, projects, and activities funded in this Act

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4 comments:

  1. Anonymous12:07 PM, February 13, 2009

    "Many thanks to the White House, Congress and everyone who lobbied for this."

    Yes, and what about Astrue? He is the one who started this ball rolling, and who has been working on the budget supplemental for months, including preparing all the budget justifications that the Congress used to justify the additional funds. The $500 million for a new computer center, for example, was entirely his idea and his request. It did not come from Congress or the White House.

    So even when Astrue does what you want him to do, you pretend he had nothing to do with it. No wonder you can so consistently criticize him.

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  2. Anonymous4:30 PM, February 13, 2009

    I think they should have saved the money that they allocated for OIG. A bit of a waste of money in my opinion.

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  3. Anonymous12:10 PM, February 14, 2009

    Boy, what a squeaker. The money for Operations is a real surprise. After all these years of drought, looks like SSA will get some decent rain. I never thought I'd live to see it. :)

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  4. Anonymous9:14 PM, February 14, 2009

    Sure, Nancy, but $500 mil. for claims processing, compared to $14.2 billion giveaway in stimulus payments(based on what I read this morning). We will welcome the funding, but think what we could have accomplished if Obama and others had their priorities straight

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