President Biden has issued his Administration's budget proposal for FY 2023 (which begins on October 1, 2022). It calls for an administrative budget for Social Security of $14.998 billion, up 13% from $13.284 billion in FY 2022. Under the law, the Commissioner of Social Security issues their own proposed budget for the agency. The Acting Commissioner's proposed budget is $15.55 billion.
These are only proposals. Congress decides. It has been obvious in recent years, particularly the current year, that Social Security is a disfavored agency that is unable to get enough additional funds to even cover inflation. I like to think that the lines that will form before dawn once Social Security field offices reopen may change Congressional perspective but I'm not sure. As long as payments keep going out to retirees, Congress seems unconcerned about problems that mostly affect disabled people and poor SSI claimants.
Below is a table prepared by Government Executive showing comparisons to what is proposed for other agencies. I have no idea how they get a figure of $10.1 billion in the President's proposed budget or $8.9 billion in the current year's for Social Security. Maybe they're excluding the Office of Inspector General and the funds earmarked for program security? But I don't know if that gets you to their numbers. In any case, this gives us a good comparison to other agencies. Obviously, Social Security didn't do bad but could have done better. It's not just Congress that discounts the need for additional funding for the Social Security Administration.
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Well maybe this is why the numbers look different:
ReplyDeleteFunding from the Hospital Insurance and Supplementary Medical Insurance trust funds for administrative expenses incurred by the Social Security Administration that support the Medicare program are included in the Health and Human Services total and not in the Social Security Administration total.