The Battle Over Service
From
Reuters:
The loudest battles over Social
Security are about potential benefit cuts like the recently vanquished
"chained CPI" proposal. But another, less noticed fight has been going
on for years. It's aimed at undermining Social Security through
systematic budget cutting by Congress of the operating budget of the
SSA, the agency charged with providing customer service to the public.
The
SSA has received less than its budget request in 14 of the past 16
years. In fiscal 2012, for example, SSA operated with 88 percent of the
amount requested ($11.4 billion).
"It's
part of a raging fight by conservatives to get rid of the government's
footprint wherever possible," says Nancy Altman, co-director of
Strengthen Social Security, an advocacy group. ...
The cutbacks have sparked a broad deterioration of services as demand rises with the aging of the population. ...
Budget cuts have forced sharp
reductions in SSA staff and field service offices. Nationwide, staff is
down to 62,000 from a peak of 70,000 in the 1990s. Since fiscal 2010,
the agency has consolidated 92 field offices into 46 offices and has
closed 521 contact stations (mobile floating service facilities that set
up shop in other government offices).
Visitors
to field offices waited more than 30 percent longer in fiscal 2013 than
in 2012. Busy signals on the SSA's toll-free customer assistance line
(800-772-1213) doubled in fiscal 2013 over the previous year. ...
Altman argues that the SSA has an obligation to provide paper-based and one-on-one services to customers who want them.
"The
Social Security population still has a significant percentage that
likes to get paper checks, and to be able to go in and talk to someone.
They're not that comfortable putting their financial information on
Internet. Our view is that people are paying for these services and
should be able to get them."
6 comments:
During at least two of those years, the Democrats had total control of the House, the Senate, and the President. They could have done anything. They could have increased the budget of SSA by ten fold if desired. Instead, they baled out GMC and Solar companies that have now failed. Amazing, Ford did not get a bail out and is still successful. The fact that SSA did not get taken care of is that the Democrats care even less than the Republicans, but give lip service to anything to stay elected because the American people are idiots and elect them. Hope and change? SSA didn't see it. Perhaps the American people get what they deserve?? Quit blaming the Republicans when you had the keys to the cookie jar all by yourself for two years.
Budget cutbacks, yet the agency flies a third of the ALJ workforce to Baltimore every year for "training" that could be done at a fraction of the cost in time and money by utilizing existing video resources.
Wouldn't that defeat the purpose of all of the real estate and personnel in Baltimore? One must protect one's turf..
When the Dems controlled both the House and the White House, SSA got more money. They also got funds to hire more ALJs in the Recovery Act. That's what "14 out of 16" means.
The agency is well funded to hire enough staff in the field but instead it chooses to pad headquarters with hundreds of attorneys in the Appeals Council to review all the mistakes made by the underfunded field and hearing offices!
Ref: Last paragraph about 'paper checks.' Talk to Treasury. It is that department that is trying its best to get out of 'paper check' business. I don't think that SSA really cares. . . .
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