"Boondoggle" At Social Security

     A story from ABC (update: actually, this is an AP story which ABC didn't properly attribute) bearing the title "Social Security Spent $300M on 'IT Boondoggle'"

Six years ago the Social Security Administration embarked on an aggressive plan to replace outdated computer systems overwhelmed by a growing flood of disability claims. Nearly $300 million later, the new system is nowhere near ready and agency officials are struggling to salvage a project racked by delays and mismanagement, according to an internal report commissioned by the agency.

In 2008, Social Security said the project was about two to three years from completion. Five years later, it was still two to three years from being done, according to the report by McKinsey and Co., a management consulting firm.

Today, with the project still in the testing phase, the agency can't say when it will be completed or how much it will cost. ...

As a result, agency leaders have decided to "reset" the program in an effort to save it, the report said. As part of that effort, Social Security brought in the outside consultants from McKinsey to figure out what went wrong.

They found a massive technology initiative with no one in charge — no single person responsible for completing the project. They issued their report in June, though it was not publicly released.

As part of McKinsey's recommendations, acting Social Security Commissioner Carolyn Colvin appointed Terrie Gruber to oversee the project last month. Gruber had been an assistant deputy commissioner. ...

The revelations come at an awkward time for Colvin. President Barack Obama nominated Colvin to a full six-year term in June, and she now faces confirmation by the Senate. Colvin was deputy commissioner for 3½ years before becoming acting commissioner in February 2013.

The House Oversight Committee is also looking into the program, and whether Social Security officials tried to bury the McKinsey report. In a letter to Colvin on Wednesday, committee leaders requested all documents and communications about the computer project since March 1. ...

The troubled computer project is known at the Disability Case Processing System, or DCPS. It was supposed to replace 54 separate, antiquated computer systems used by state Social Security offices to process disability claims. As envisioned, workers across the country would be able to use the system to process claims and track them as benefits are awarded or denied, and claims are appealed.

But as of April, the system couldn't even process all new claims, let alone accurately track them as they wound their way through the system, the report said. In all, more than 380 problems were still outstanding, and users hadn't even started testing the ability of the system to handle applications from children. ...

Maryland-based Lockheed Martin was selected in 2011 as the prime contractor on the project. At the time, the company valued the contract at up to $200 million, according to a press release.

McKinsey's report does not specifically fault Lockheed but raises the possibility of changing vendors, and says Social Security officials need to better manage the project.

Gruber said Social Security will continue to work with Lockheed "to make sure that we are successful in the delivery of this program."

      This project is a genuine problem and a serious one which deserves Congressional scrutiny but this piece reads almost as if it had been written by Darrell Issa's staff. How could this be an obstacle to Carolyn Colvin's confirmation as Social Security Commissioner? She didn't begin this project and wasn't in charge until late in the game. She's taken action to try to right the ship. How's this her fault? This piece doesn't mention the name of Michael Astrue, the Republican who was Commissioner of Social Security until last year. If you're going to put the blame on anyone, and I'm not sure you should, Astrue would be the top candidate. The name of the contractor, Lockheed Martin, which has excellent Republican connections, isn't mentioned until the 16th paragraph. Did Issa's staff write this piece? ABC shouldn't allow the mindless partisanship of Darrell Issa to infect its reporting.