Elliptical Answers

Commissioner Astrue testified before the House Social Security Subcommittee back in March. He later provided some written responses to the Subcommittee which have now been posted online. There is much that I find of interest. Here are a couple of important questions and answers. Would you say that the Commissioner was completely forthcoming?

You stated in your testimony that by the end of the current year, the ALJ-to-staff ratio in SSA’s hearing offices will be 4.5 to 1. However, some have suggested that the ratio should be higher – as high as 5.25 to 1 – especially given the importance of working down the backlog quickly. Do you agree that hearing office productivity could be increased if the ALJ-to-staff ratio were higher than 4.5 to 1?

Because of the economic downturn, we are seeing an increase in the number of initial disability applications filed, which will ultimately lead to more requests for hearings. In addition to improving our business process and productivity, we will need more administrative law judges (ALJs) and staff to support them to process the projected increase in receipts.

However, it is not simply the number of staff in a hearing office that determines the most efficient hearing office composition, it is also the mix of employees in the particular office. We believe that, as long as we can provide the right combination of job functions, a ratio of 4.5 support staff – such as case pullers and decision writers – for each ALJ will allow us to continue reducing the backlog. Our goal for this year and into the next is to ensure that all offices have the most efficient mix of staff needed to support the ALJs. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funding will help us hire these critical additional support staff.

With the right mix of critical support staff and the addition of 148 new ALJs whom we are hiring this month, we anticipate seeing an accelerating decrease in the disability hearings backlog. The number of pending hearings has dropped five months in a row and is down for the year, and we should be able to continue to make progress even in the face of the current economic downturn.

Your timely support of the President's FY 2010 budget will enable us to hire ALJs and hearing office support staff earlier in the fiscal year, which will allow these new employees to complete training and become productive in processing workloads earlier in the fiscal year. ...

How many full-time equivalents (FTEs), in addition to current staffing levels, would be required in the Field Offices to address all their responsibilities? To reach these staffing levels how many more FTEs would the Field Offices require above the level of hiring that you are planning for FY 2009? How many hires above replacement level would the Field Offices receive if SSA is funded at the full FY 2010 President’s Budget request of $11.6 billion? Will you be able to place additional employees in every Field Office nationwide?

In FY 2009, we will hire over 6,000 new employees between March and the end of this fiscal year, replacing all staffing losses and adding critical new positions. We will assign the majority of these new employees to our front-line operations, where they will directly assist the American public. Although these new employees will help us improve the overall level of service, we will have a backlog of approximately 900 work years in post-entitlement work in FY 2009, i.e., actions we take after a claimant is awarded such as changes of address, stewardship reviews, etc.

If we are funded at the full FY 2010 President’s Budget, we will hire approximately 5,800 employees in FY 2010, replacing all staffing losses and filling 1,300 new positions, with the majority of the hires working in front-line positions. We will add 600 new workers in the DDSs and add about 700 new employees in the hearings offices. We will place these employees in the offices with the greatest need. Most field offices have received or will be adding additional staff, but not all will, due to changes in workloads, real estate constraints, and other issues.

There is more from the Commissioner in his answers to the Minority members and staff of the Subcommittee.