Astrue Timeline

     Below is a timeline I have compiled on Michael Astrue's term as Commissioner of Social Security. Perhaps more important than any of the items on the timeline is Social Security's budget situation but that does not lend itself to a timeline. The budget situation during Astrue's term can be broken down into three two-year time periods:

• 2007-2008 -- George W. Bush is President and resurgent Democrats control Congress. Despite serious funding needs and despite the fact that his agency has officially asked for more money than the amount the White House is asking for, Astrue tells a somewhat skeptical Congress that he only wants for his agency what the White House is asking for. This is still far better than what Social Security had been receiving before the 2006 Congressional elections when Republicans controlled both the White House and Congress and were unwilling to give the agency what President Bush had asked for.
• 2009-2010 -- Barack Obama is President and Democrats control Congress. Social Security receives far better appropriations than it has received in many, many years. Social Security hires some employees but relies heavily upon overtime to dramatically work down backlogs. Astrue makes spending on information technology an extremely high priority. This includes construction of a new National Computing Center, which seems to be Astrue's highest priority.
• 2011-2012 -- Barack Obama is President. Democrats have a majority in the Senate. Highly confrontational tea party Republicans control the House of Representatives. Appropriations become the primary focus of a running battle between the President and House Republicans. Social Security's appropriations suffer badly. How hard Astrue fights for appropriations is hard to gauge. Certainly, he could have been more public about the fight. The agency's workforce, which had never increased that much even between 2009 and 2010, begins to dwindle. Overtime becomes scarce. Backlogs begin to creep up. As Astrue prepares to leave office, overtime has almost disappeared and backlogs are worsening dramatically.

     And here's the more traditional sort of timeline for Astrue's term as Commissioner:

• September 14, 2006 -- Astrue nominated to become Social Security Commissioner by President George W. Bush.
• January 24, 2007 -- Hearing on Astrue nomination. Astrue promises to reduce the hearing backlog. Astrue testifies that he believes that "brute force" in the form of additional manpower will be needed to deal with backlogs. Astrue promises to meet with employee union leaders. Astrue promises to meet with employee union leaders.
• February 2, 2007 -- Astrue confirmed as Commissioner.
• March 2007 (not sure of exact date) -- Astrue fires Martin Gerry, a key aide to former Commissioner Barnhart, who had tried to hang onto his job. Astrue has Gerry escorted out of the building by a security guard.
• May 29, 2007 -- Astrue announces plan to reduce hearing backlog.
• July 18, 2007 -- Astrue appoints Dr. David Gray as Deputy Commissioner for Disability and Income Security Programs. 
• July 31, 2007 -- Social Security announces compassionate allowance program.
• August 2, 2007 -- Dr. Gray resigns.
• August 2007 -- AFGE, the union that represents most Social Security employees, is already complaining that Astrue's staff is refusing to meet with union leaders.
• August 15, 2007 -- Astrue suspends new cases going to former Commissioner Barnhart's Disability Service Improvement plan.
• October 10, 2007 -- Astrue has a very unfriendly meeting with the head of the Association of Administrative Law Judges.
• October 29, 2007 -- Astrue has proposed regulations published that would limit Appeals Council remands in Social Security disability cases to a closed period only.
• November 29, 2007 -- Astrue's staff sends out "high priority" e-mails to staff telling them to never use "impact" as a verb regarding people. 
• January 22, 2008 -- Social Security releases report calling for an ALJ quality assurance program.
• January 29, 2008 -- Bowing to Congressional pressure, Astrue suspends the proposed regulations that would limit Appeals Council remands to a closed period only.
• July 9, 2008 -- Office of Management and Budget clears proposed mental impairment listings for Social Security. The proposal is never published in the Federal Register. No doubt they would have been published had McCain been elected President and no doubt they would have been very unfavorable to claimants with mental illness.
• September 8, 2008 -- Social Security publishes proposed regulations on the recognition of law firms and other entities as representing Social Security claimants. The proposal is incomprehensible and clearly unworkable.
• October 11-13, 2008 -- Social Security online systems shut down for maintenance, hindering voter registration efforts shortly before the election. Democrats are upset. Astrue refuses to delay the maintenance.
• November 4, 2008 -- Barack Obama elected President.
• December 11, 2008 -- Astrue says he's staying as Commissioner despite the election of Barack Obama as President. Most had expected him to leave. Obama had wanted him to leave. 
• February 5, 2009 -- AFGE, frustrated that Astrue is hanging on as Commissioner, runs full page ad in the Baltimore Sun calling on Astrue to resign.
• March 24, 2009 -- Members appointed to Occupational Information Development Advisory Panel (OIDAP) which is supposed to work on creating an occupational information system to replace the Dictionary of Occupational Titles (DOT), a key element in disability determination. 
• July 16, 2009 -- ABC runs story on lavish Social Security management conference in Phoenix. 
• August 12, 2009 -- Class action on fugitive felons settled. $500 million in back benefits paid to 80,000 recipients.
• September 14, 2009 -- Astrue criticizes the "callous Kumbaya attitude" behind states having financial problems furloughing personnel making disability determinations for Social Security even though all salaries and costs for these employees are borne by Social Security.
• October 15, 2009 -- Astrue issues statement supporting President Obama's plan for $250 payments to Social Security beneficiaries.
• March 17, 2010 -- Astrue revealed to be a poet who has published under the pen name of A.M. Juster, an anagram of M.J. Astrue.
• July 11, 2010 -- New York Times reports on rift between Commissioner and Chief Actuary Stephen Goss.
• August 19, 2010 -- Social Security publishes proposed revisions to its mental impairment Listings. In the proposal, the word "or" in “Maintaining concentration, persistence, or pace" are changed to "and" making the listing far harder to meet. Social Security tries to maintain that no substantive difference was intended. No one believes this. The proposal is harshly criticized in many quarters. The proposal remains pending as Astrue leaves office.
• November 2, 2010 -- Republicans win big in midterm elections, retaking control of the House of Representatives.
• May 19, 2011 -- ALJ in West Virginia who rarely denies disability claims featured in Wall Street Journal article.
• May 28, 2011 -- Astrue says that his agency's budget situation is enough to induce "sheer panic."
• June 5, 2011 -- Astrue refers to critics of the agency's child SSI disability policies as “old-line left-wingers’’ with “a ’60s mentality.’’
• July 19, 2011 -- Social Security's Chief Information Officer abruptly resigns after Astrue removes most of his responsibilities in a major shakeup of information technology at Social Security.
• December 14, 2011 -- Astrue decides to begin withholding the identity of the ALJ scheduled to hold a hearing.
• May 15, 2012 -- Astrue revealed to be a big fan of Elvis.
• May 17, 2012 -- Astrue testifies before Senate Finance Committee that attorneys representing Social Security claimants have no legal obligation to submit adverse evidence on their clients.
• June 6, 2012 -- OIDAP ends.
• August 8, 2012 -- OIDAP issues final report that repeatedly calls for transparency, something that critics have said has been sorely lacking with OIDAP itself and generally with Social Security's project to create an occupational information system.
• September 28, 2012 -- Social Security signs agreement with the Department of Labor (DOL) to begin a process for the DOL to produce an updated occupational information system for Social Security, marking the end of the Commissioner's go it alone plan.
• October 31, 2012 -- The ARC [formerly Association for Retarded Citizens] awards Astrue its President's Award. This award amazes those familiar with Social Security's policies on mental retardation during Astrue's term as Commissioner.
• December 18, 2012 -- Astrue's "secret ALJ" policy crumbling as agency is forced to settle a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit on the issue.