The Washington Post has a report on the departures of Glenn Sklar and James Borland from Social Security's Office of Disability Adjudication and Review (ODAR). The article refers to ODAR as a "slow-moving, unwieldy bureaucracy." LaVenia LaVelle, who is identified as a spokesperson for Social Security, is quoted as saying “This is not about an individual but about ensuring under Acting
Commissioner Colvin’s leadership the Agency is ready to continue its
world class customer service to the American public.”
Note that the article seems to put the blame for ODAR's backlogs on ODAR's leadership rather than on inadequate appropriations and that Social Security's spokesperson seems to endorse this view. If this is the case (and I don't believe it is) why has Carolyn Colvin allowed the backlogs to grow to this disgraceful level. She must not care. She's just another incompetent Obama appointee. There's probably something illegal here. When is President Obama going to fire this bumbling, heartless bureaucrat? We need a Congressional hearing to grill Colvin on this unbelievable situation. It's just like the VA!
Chuck is of course correct that appropriations are the main cause. Every year, Colvin's office submits proposed budgets to Congress projecting what will happen to the backlog if agency operations are not adequately funded. For years Congress ignored those warnings and projections and underfunded agency operations, resulting in substantial reductions in personnel. In other words, SSA leadership spotted the problem, warned of it, told Congress what was needed to address it, and Congress declined to provide what was needed. It's all a matter of record, and not reasonably disputable.
ReplyDeleteInterestingly enough, Colvin's office recently came out with similar projections about what would happen if the agency was again underfunded. The republican-proposed budget again underfunds SSA operations (scroll down a few posts, where Chuck covers that story), which will of course result in reduced hiring and even greater backlogs if adopted.
Pretty amazing that Colvin is putting Terrie Gruber in charge of ODAR. Terrie screwed up the second try of DCPS after the McKinsey report recommended changes. Under her leadership the second try at DCPS has been shutdown. All the contractors were fired and all the SSA staff are sitting around doing nothing. Great choice in moving her to ODAR to fix the backlog.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of DCPS, the Whitehouse Digital Services troops have landed and looking how they can help the third try at DCPS. Can you say Facebook, Tweeter, Linkedin? Disability case processing is not Healthcare.gov. They have around 12 months to get a complete system operational and accepted by the DDSs. After that this crowd of political appointees will disappear and we have to clean up their mess.
spot on, 11:22
ReplyDeleteWasn't there some big article, maybe the subject of a post on here, recently about how badly SSA has done with the DCPS project (aka 50-state single DDS system)?
Government senior execs are just like those from the Fortune 500--once you make it into the club, you are never expelled from it for performance reasons. The only way folks get jobs taken are for personal conduct issues, otherwise they just get shuffled into another cushy executive job every time they fail. But hey, at least in the government they aren't given huge stock buyouts or whatever when they are booted from a job.
The blame lies squarely on President Obama's shoulders because he has not supported Social Security as a program nor the Social Security Administration. It's so sad that a Democrat President would allow the weakening of SSA, which means so much to so many people. At least Michael Astrue had a plan and a vision, and ODAR was energized to fulfill it.
ReplyDeleteThe Trustees' Report said that administrative costs were .7%, I believe. No other insurance program has such low costs. Since these costs should be funded by the social security trust funds, there is no reason why Congress cannot fully fund sufficient staff -- except some are trying to do away with the program, i.e., "death by a thousand cuts".
BTW, immigrants will save social security and a lot of other programs, by working and paying taxes -- and by having babies who will grow up to work and pay taxes. I predict in 30 years that there will be a much better ratio of taxpayer to retiree. No other program in this country is solvent so far into the future. Even our Dept of Defense is only funded for the next fiscal year. And, when we have gone to war in the last 25 years, Congress has not fully funded the collateral issues such as VA care necessitated for our casualties. Now some in Congress want to take from social security to fund our highways?!!
"continuing its world-class public service"? What has the Washington Post been smoking. SSA cannot come close to providing that, and has not for decades.
ReplyDeletethey aren't smoking anything the post was quoting the agency
ReplyDeletereplacing Sklar with Gruber is just another example of Colvin's incompetence. The fact that she continues to run this agency is a disgrace. Affirmative action at its worst.
ReplyDeleteActing Commissioner Carolyn Colvin has done many things destructive to SSA and ODAR. Shuffling around the top SES'ers is merely demonstrative of the cataclysmic personnel actions she has taken and supported during her tenure at all employee levels throughout the hearing and field offices. Most of the actions she has taken have also overwhelmingly benefited African Americans and are suspect. Unfortunately, these colossal personnel stunts are only the top of the iceberg of problems she is responsible. There were serious issues as to why she was not confirmed Commissioner and not renominated by Obama. That she was allowed to remain Acting Commissioner was a grave error and has caused further decimation of the Agency and added to the backlog of disability cases. No wonder nothing ever changes and the insanity persists.
ReplyDeleteThe ship is burning folks and congress won't let us hook up hoses to fight the fire. Reps get paid while you can this program won't be around forever.
ReplyDeleteWhy doesn't someone look into the sinking ship called Ebb (Electronic Bench Book) that Sklar threw more millions into trying to make work... still not working properly and impossible to utilize in a timely manner for the hearing process - which Sklar knows little about or he would not have continued to spend money on this system that moves at the speed of a turtle with no legs... Wait until they mandate that in the hearing offices - you think backlog now, just wait until Ebb is the only processing tool. Maybe Terrie will have enough sense to discontinue this monstrosity created by people who have never tried to hold a hearing.
ReplyDeleteI have heard SSA bureaucrats for years and Sklar was one of the more honest ones. He freely admitted that ALJs were reacting to public pressure when they began decreasing allowances. He also leaned on the outlier ALJs taking them down a notch or two (at least talking about it, which must have intimated some). He was also approachable and far more knowledgeable about disability than Colvin. Perhaps that was threatening and she is shuffling in her minions before she is shown the door. I also agree with ANON 12:43 PM, July 24, 2015 -
ReplyDeleteObama has ultimately ignored SSA.
ReplyDeleteI work on the 9th floor at Woodlawn and have to watch this awful situation unfold, twist and turn everyday. I can assure you that Carolyn Colvin only cares about her image and putting as many of her close confidants in high positions as possible.
Now to ice the cake, she has removed the DC IT Systems, Bill Zilenski, right in the middle of the most important IT initiative this agency has ever undertaken: the IT migration from the NCC to the new NSC data center. Colvin seems determined to see this agency fail. Very sad.......
She is the worst.
ReplyDeleteThis agency has not had a confirmed DCOSS or COSS for years.
ReplyDeleteThe appointed DCOSS cant even get appointed/confirmed for 3 years already almost.
We were told in a meeting with the ACOSS she is out in 16 months.
I suspected this was chronisim. Ive also heard Carolyn Colvin is showing early signs of Alzheimers. Has anyone else heard this rumor?
ReplyDeleteHow would anyone tell if Colvin developed Alzheimer's? Seriously. I know this sounds cruel, but this woman has been the ultimate example of the Peter Principle for many, many years now.
ReplyDeleteWell she is not leaving for atleast another 16 months. This was stated clearly in meetings on the 9th floor.
ReplyDelete