When Congress is delayed in passing appropriations bills, in the end, they always vote for continuing resolutions (CRs) that allow agencies to continue spending money at basically the same rate as in the just concluded FY.
House Republicans are working on a one month CR. The Washington Post reports that the CR they're working on would cut expenditures for FY 2024 by 1%. However, this pain would not be spread evenly. The Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs would be excluded from the 1% cut. After these exclusions, the cut for other agencies, including the Social Security Administration, would be 8%. That would result in massive layoffs at Social Security. The agency would be largely incapable of functioning.
It's not completely clear that the votes are there for this draft CR in the House. It would certainly not pass the Senate or be signed by the President. It's not even a starting point for negotiations.
We're likely to see a government shutdown at the end of the month. This is actually the result desired by the small group of ultra right wing Republicans holding up things in the House. If your mindset is basically anarchist -- that government is so evil that we would be better off with no government -- then government shutdowns are a good thing.
If there is a government shutdown at the beginning of next month, most of the Social Security Administration will continue to function. The field offices, teleservice centers, payment centers, OHO offices, and the Appeals Council will not be affected.
39 comments:
Honestly, bring the pain to SSA. Offer just the basic services, let the bullshit pile up. Nothing is going to change until the situation is seen as so drastic that something HAS to change. Close smaller rural offices, shorten office and phone hours, let backlogs grow, plenty of SSA recipients vote agains their own interest in hope of republicans hurting OTHER people. Reap what you sow.
To say that SSA will "continue to function" and "will not be affected" is an interesting take on a shutdown. Having been through these before, I can tell you that your characterization is not accurate. First, there is the mental toll on employees resulting in a loss of productivity. Second, there is a restriction on what kind of work can be processed. Finally, there is the general churn of misunderstanding and frustration from the public who do not understand what is going on. While the checks may go out, it is not accurate to say SSA will function and not be affected.
Some people actually vote for what they think is best for the country.
Since neither party has voted to change anything related to SSA for close to 40 years, not sure a vote for either party is against anyone's best interest right now.
Here is the plan from the 2013 shutdown: https://www.aila.org/File/Related/2013.10.1%20--%20SSA.pdf
And here is the plan if there is a shutdown in FY24: https://www.ssa.gov/agency/shutdown/materials/contingency-plan-08-14-23.pdf
Some FO and HO workloads will be discontinued.
10:44
But is only the Republicans that shut down the government. Lets not pretend both parties are equal offenders, although I will stipulate that management of the agency is essentially the same under both parties. But at least Dems are willing to vote to increase SSA's operating budget and not hold government agencies hostage every year.
Unfortunately, I agree with the first commenter. No politician will expend political capital to fix SSA until the agency is completely broken. Any intervention by the Dems will be weaponized by the GOP as a threat to current beneficiaries. But there is no defending Dems lack of interest in reforming the agency's operations side in less visible ways. The lack of a commissioner appointment until recently is a prime example.
As a front line employee the implications of cut back in any type of service will be cataclysmic. Imagine telling a caller we cannot process your retroactive payments as it does not meet current workload processing rules. WE CAN ONLY PAY CURRENT BENEFITS-see Windfall Offset
Shut it down and let it pile up. I’ll get back pay at the end of it anyway (RO employee).
And the employees who do the work of SSA DO NOT GET PAID, but have to go to work every day. Congress gets paid on time, even though they are not doing their job or working - just acting like children.
Yeah…we said that last time. They don’t have to understand or like it. We can’t do what we can’t do.
The whole thing sucks.
1:49, curious where in https://www.ssa.gov/agency/shutdown/materials/contingency-plan-08-14-23.pdf it says workloads related to retroactive payments and/or windfall offset would be discontinued? Not saying you are wrong, I just don't see it.
Don't understand why it isn't reported to the public that non-essential employees get a free vacation during a shutdown while essential employees are forced to work without pay and all leave canceled. Crazy that anyone would be for free vacations...every one gets paid the same after it is over.
If AFGE had any sense they’d tell FO employees to call out sick. Yes, technically leave is cancelled but a few people did it and got made whole in the end of course. Everyone should stage a mass call out to stick it to congress and show the public what a true shutdown looks like
Republicans in Congress can eliminate the free vacations simply by amending the anti-deficiency act so the government won't shut down when the budget lapses, but won't, because the dysfunction is the point.
Shutting down SSA is an inconvenience for a very small number of claimants. Many things like claims are processed. It's irksome that some things can't be done but for the vast majority of claimants, the shutdown is not an issue.
I think most people probably think the shutdown means the government is saving money instead of paying some people to stay home.
Essential workers have always been guaranteed to be paid after the furlough is over.
The change in recent years is that nonessential workers who don't work during a furlough, are now also guaranteed to be paid once the furlough is over.
We only did initial claims, SSN cards and benefit verifications. The only post entitlement work I remember being able to do was changes of address or direct deposit…not much else if anything.
I do know back pay was not something we were allowed to work on. Most things we were not even allowed to discuss much less take action.
I was on vacation and they attempted to recall me. I said no. Nothing happened.
9:59, that is so weird because I was a claimant's rep during a prior shutdown and I accompanied one client to a PERC during the 2013 shutdown and distinctly recall they weren't doing benefit verification letters, because there was a VERY upset woman who needed it for housing assistance. The FO staff ultimately had security remove the woman, but they were explaining to her that they wanted to do it and they knew it would be faster to do it than to keep talking to her, but they couldn't because of the shutdown. But my client did have his PERC. I don't remember if he got put into pay during the shutdown, but it didn't seem slower than other cases I worked on.
The 2013 shutdown memo linked above says replacement and new cards and benefit verifications were among the discontinued FO workloads. Were you at a card center or something? Or was it a different shutdown?
Those that care about career don't call out, managers and those making promotion decisions remember those things.
It's not fair to employees to have their scheduled leave cancelled. That provision should be changed. I have a week off scheduled the first week of October and I need those days to take care of some things.
Some employees have use or lose leave. If their October leave is cancelled, they could go over the 240 hour limit at the end of the year and lose their leave.
Employees have the opportunity to take a voluntary furlough in order to keep their vacation plans. It's actually a boon for those employees, because they end up saving the leave time and still get compensated for the furlough period (aka vacation) when the government reopens.
An employer that cares about retaining their staff shouldn't expect employees to show up for work without pay. Sorry an "IOU" (possibly months in the future) doesn't count. When the government shuts down, it should truly shut down. If that was the case, the GOP wouldn't dare play this stupid game. Expecting civil servants to work for an IOU (which may not be paid for months) is insanity. Try that in the private industry and see where it gets you!
Just once, truly truly shut down the federal government - no air traffic controllers and ground every single flight; no SSA and stop the checks; no OPM and stop paychecks to Congress first; no USPS and stop the mail; stop stop stop. It would last maybe a week.
By continuing to work during a "shutdown" the federal government is actually enabling this kind of foolishness by Congress, because it does not hurt. By calling what is about to happen a "shutdown" everyone is misleading the public and actually encouraging the public to vote against its own interests.
Either shut it down for real, or call it something else, like "service interruption" or "budget impasse" or "momentary inconvenience".
My two cents.
Unfortunately being essential really just sucks...prior to 2019, it took away the worry of what if they don't pay the non-essential employees at the end of it. Now it is just being forced to work without pay until it ends while coworkers enjoy a free vacation on the tax payers. Essential employees really get the shaft here, especially the Leave cancelation on top of it.
8:50 and 9:04
These two posts are exactly right. Over the past few weeks, whenever I have read articles about possible shutdowns, the comment section can be quite discouraging. Many MANY people in the public welcome a shutdown because "the last time a government shutdown happened, everything still ran fine! So what's the big deal!" Well, the big deal is that a good portion of government workers ARE STILL WORKING, that's why crucial services stayed running and most people didn't notice. Biggest issue is that those government workers that keep the wheels moving, aren't getting paid while they are there, that's the big difference! If we want to see this circus bullshit stop every September, have a REAL shutdown. No SSA, no IRS, no CBP, no Air Traffic Control... have a real shutdown of services and we'll see how quickly this bullshit gets resolved/avoided.
I stand corrected on the cards and beve’s. You’re correct there. I am CS and at that time I didn’t work FEI much at all as we had nearly 23 people in the FO. Right now we have 7.
My mistake. PERCs are initial claims actions. Getting people into pay is a priority. Processing of back pay is never a priority unfortunately.
No they don’t. They don’t care. I didn’t call off and got nothing for it while other coworkers did and got paid. You’re just a fool for the government when you play their games. Lesson learned.
Correct, I did that during the first shutdown.
Just sign the furlough agreement…be off and get paid like everyone else.
9:07, if every federal employee voted with this in mind, that it is the Republicans creating the disruption, things might change. I do not believe that is happening now.
So you want the military to stop working as well??
Yup. You know why? Because shutdowns would NEVER happen if they were all or nothing affairs.
Some people love disruption and chaos so that will never happen
I am reading now that some experts expect this shutdown to last more than three months.
It's great and all that it will ensure the GOP will be trounced in the 2024 elections, but it is still going to be horrible for civil servants and the American people in general. Once all of the thousands of new employees at SSA, who aren't even vested in the pension system, learn they will be forced to work without pay for months on end, they will resign en masse. The same will be true at all other federal agencies.
Something tells me that the MAGA wing of the GOP knows all of this and it is their intended goal, in keeping with Grover Norquist's dream of shrinking the Federal government to a size where he could "drown it in a bath tub." They aren't worried about re-election, because their districts are so deep red/gerrymandered they know they won't lose and/or know that if they go lose they will be richly compensated by the Heritage Foundations of the world.
This is what the "Supreme" Court's despicable Citizens United and Shelby County decisions have wrought.
It will have absolutely no impact whatsoever for me, so I dont care, and guess what, this is also the vast majority of the country. Yawn.
Do you have money invested in stocks and/or bonds? Do you not think that your balances will be negatively impacted by the markets being roiled and the country's credit rating being further downgraded? Wait for this to drag into 2024 and get back to us.
Also, this attitude is common and the reason why gov't shutdowns should be all or nothing affairs. 4,000,000 federal civil servants and their families (probably 3%-5% of the US population) plus folks who rely on the services that are discontinued during shutdowns (requests for SSA benefit verification letters for instance) feel the pain caused by chaos-loving legislatures who (shocker) get paid while the rest of the civil service is forced into temporary indentured servitude.
Anyone with an ounce of empathy should, at a bare minimum, care.
These fiscal conservatives screaming about how we must cut spending, live within our means, etc. don't appreciate that this lack of basic governing and forcing shutdowns makes our credit rating worse and thus causes us to pay higher interest. That's money being paid that's not benefiting anyone. A cartoon of the negotiating table where one side had a highchair pushed up to the table looked accurate to me.
It looks like SSA is going to be excepting a lot of functions based on "necessary implication." I love how paying employees to DO these functions is somehow not a "necessary implication".
I remember the last government shut down. Employees were in tears who could not afford the cost of commuting to the office (in a downtown large city) I.e. gas and parking. Those who were able brought in food pantry staples and left them on the table in the break room for others to take home. While direct gifts more than $10 are prohibited by government ethics rules, there were gift cards left anonymously on the break room table for grocery stores and for CVS so people could afford to buy food for their kids and pick up their prescriptions. Living paycheck-to-paycheck isn't an ideal financial plan but it is a reality for many employees. It's a reminder that, like many claimants, we are all but one medical diagnosis, natural disaster, or change in work circumstances away from financial catastrophe.
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