The House Appropriations Committee has released a draft appropriations bill for fiscal year 2017, which begins on October 1, 2016, covering Social Security's administrative budget. Here's the summary:
The bill provides $11.9 billion to administer SSA activities – a decrease of $250 million from the fiscal year 2016 enacted level – to ensure those served by the program receive efficient and timely assistance and services. One‑time costs for building renovations provided in fiscal year 2016 make up a majority of the decrease.
I'm all in favor of reducing the appropriation for the building renovation. The appropriation for the current year included an exorbitant amount of money for the renovation of one office building at Social Security's central offices. This had not been requested by the agency or the President. It was added to get the support of Senator Barbara Mikulski of Maryland, where the money would be spent. However, the agency as a whole is in dire straits and needs a significant increase in operating funds.
4 comments:
paying for that building reno was such a waste and diverted nearly all of this year's OT, which could have been used to process some of the million plus cases
Why give ODAR more money? If an increase were targeted to field offices, that would be fine. But throwing more money at ODAR would be a gross waste of public funds. Look at the way ODAR burned through its share of the supposedly one-time Recovery Act money (the gift that kept on giving) - it hired thousands of attorneys and still ended up with a backlog.
As much as the Operations field needs more bodies, probably more than ODAR does, it would be foolish to not give ODAR what it takes to improve its productivity. And that largely means more bodies. The only way ODAR's huge disability pending goes down is if we issue more decisions and dismissals. I imagine that Operations getting bigger and faster would not only not help ODAR and DDS, but may worsen their situations all other things staying equal since it would be blowing through more and more claims more quickly.
The Field Office in which I work has just been 'blessed' with a new 'upgraded, security enhanced' front-end interviewing set up. No employee and client must virtually shout at each other through the Plexiglas, no provision for heard of hearing, the hall and interviewing windows are too close together, no provision for keeping private information (PII) private. It does have some advantages, but the disadvantages far, far out-weigh the advantages. The agency is SO paranoid about PII in every other way. But not this. The concept was generally OK in some ways, but very poorly designed and carried out. (Same can be said for computer 'enhancements' as well). No end in sight unless someone sues SSA over the lack of privacy and lack of accommodations for hearing impaired and others with disabilities. The local management is also under heavy pressure to force people to used the 'Self-help' computers...even when it is clear that the client not capable of using it effectively. Aw well, Congress would rather take a pay cut and contract out services than hire a Field Office employee.
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