The House Appropriations Committee voted along party lines Wednesday to advance appropriations legislation that would cut the Social Security Administration’s administrative budget by $450 million next fiscal year.
O'Malley's legacy will be a drab one. He came in with a lot of energy but then squandered it, and his efforts will amount to no more than smoke and mirrors. He temporarily alleviated the 1-800 number by pulling employees from other components; yet those components then built up backlogs. He begged Congress for money with some irrelevant "1% of benefits" statistic; yet wasted millions on forcing employees back into the office and cratered morale. He produced a number of slickly edited videos; but no changes lasted past his short tenure and most will be undone with a new Commissioner. Sad. He could have done so much better.
I've yet to hear him talk about getting help for field offices. Who does all 2.8 million redeterminations for SSI. The FO's. Who deals with the public all day. The FO's. Does he even know that the FO's answer calls too? Short answer is the little fixes that have happened are irrelevant to the fact that the FO's have been bled dry. No hiring. No overtime....
As an employee, I sense his energy and urgency to make changes with so much negative press around SSA in recent months. He has made what changes he can at his level. Unfortunately, many of the changes that employees suggest must be done through an act of Congress with amendments to legislation. He was encouraging all employees to participate in the Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey (FEVS) from which the metrics are used to determine the "Best Places to Work" results. Our agency completed the survey at a 60% or higher rate which is the highest ever since the survey was released. This shows that more employees are engaged and want the leadership to listen to our concerns. Hiring should be priority #1 if Congress allows a budget for it. We will see in the coming months if any of our feedback from this survey is used to make any drastic changes internally. I like the Commish and hope he stays. The former Commissioners did nothing in their tenure to show engagement or that they were listening to employees or fighting for us in Congressional meetings.
The House Appropriations Committee voted along party lines Wednesday to advance appropriations legislation that would cut the Social Security Administration’s administrative budget by $450 million next fiscal year.
ReplyDeleteI think O’Malley is doing a fabulous job.
O'Malley's legacy will be a drab one. He came in with a lot of energy but then squandered it, and his efforts will amount to no more than smoke and mirrors. He temporarily alleviated the 1-800 number by pulling employees from other components; yet those components then built up backlogs. He begged Congress for money with some irrelevant "1% of benefits" statistic; yet wasted millions on forcing employees back into the office and cratered morale. He produced a number of slickly edited videos; but no changes lasted past his short tenure and most will be undone with a new Commissioner. Sad. He could have done so much better.
ReplyDeleteI've yet to hear him talk about getting help for field offices. Who does all 2.8 million redeterminations for SSI. The FO's. Who deals with the public all day. The FO's. Does he even know that the FO's answer calls too? Short answer is the little fixes that have happened are irrelevant to the fact that the FO's have been bled dry. No hiring. No overtime....
ReplyDeleteEither B or D.
ReplyDeleteAs an employee, I sense his energy and urgency to make changes with so much negative press around SSA in recent months. He has made what changes he can at his level. Unfortunately, many of the changes that employees suggest must be done through an act of Congress with amendments to legislation. He was encouraging all employees to participate in the Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey (FEVS) from which the metrics are used to determine the "Best Places to Work" results. Our agency completed the survey at a 60% or higher rate which is the highest ever since the survey was released. This shows that more employees are engaged and want the leadership to listen to our concerns. Hiring should be priority #1 if Congress allows a budget for it. We will see in the coming months if any of our feedback from this survey is used to make any drastic changes internally. I like the Commish and hope he stays. The former Commissioners did nothing in their tenure to show engagement or that they were listening to employees or fighting for us in Congressional meetings.
ReplyDelete