The Commissioner of Social Security, Martin O'Malley, visited Raleigh yesterday for an event at the Governor's Mansion to celebrate the 70th anniversary of North Carolina's Disability Determination Service (DDS). My partner and I received an invitation to the event. Here are a few pictures.
First, me with Commissioner O'Malley:
Second, a picture of my partner, Crystal Rouse, with the Commissioner:
Next, a picture of Rose Mary Buehler, the Regional Commissioner for the Atlanta Region, myself, Joseph Lytle, the Deputy Commissioner for Hearings Operations and Crystal.
Finally, a picture of the NC DDS employees in attendance.
The venue was not large enough to accommodate the entire workforce at NC DDS.
Is there a camera or video that O’Malley doesn’t like? Shouldn’t he be in an office trying to solve SSA recipients problems?
ReplyDeleteThe palpable jealousy and partisanship from you and everyone complaining about every photo and video of the Commissioner is obnoxious and out to be kept to yourself. Community outreach and efforts to celebrate and boost the programs’ notoriety are an important function of his job, as are efforts to improve morale and communication with his workforce and customers.
DeleteMore employees will do wonders for employee morale. I don’t understand how a photo op moves the needle.
DeleteI don’t understand stand why you spend so much time and effort attacking the guy trying to help the agency instead of using that time to contact your many congressional representatives doing nothing but try to destroy the agency and undermine its leadership.
DeleteNice pictures. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteYet O’Malley has time for photo ops?
ReplyDeleteThe Social Security Administration is similarly looking to slash overtime costs. Administrator Martin O’Malley has warned for months that the agency desperately requires additional funding and ongoing flat funding would require a hiring freeze and shedding staff that would lead to its smallest workforce in 50 years. O’Malley and the White House sought a funding boost for SSA as part of the CR that is now in effect, but Congress declined to provide one. The agency is only recently coming off a hiring freeze that it implemented in 2023.
For now, an agency spokesman told Government Executive, SSA “must operate conservatively” and “restrict hiring to critical targeted areas.” It is also reducing overtime to cut costs to historically low levels, meaning more customers waiting in lobbies and workloads going unfinished.
Nice to put a face to the name “Charles Hall.“ This seems like a good time to express gratitude for maintaining this extremely useful site for so many years. I start every workday at SSA by checking out this site to find out a little about what’s actually going on in SSA world.
ReplyDeleteStrong second.
Delete@1:53: He can’t hire boost staffing levels as long as Congress keeps refusing to give the agency enough funding to do that. And doing things like this to raise the agency’s profile and emphasize its importance are a great way to arouse the constituents who might actually persuade their congressman to change course.
ReplyDeleteWhat have you done this year to help SSA get the funding it so badly needs? I’ll bet not much of anything.
As an OHO worker, I thank you for showing up at this event. I'm sure you and Crystal gave valuable insight into to the Commissioner.
ReplyDeleteLooks like you and Crystal made it on his Twitter account as well.
ReplyDeletehttps://x.com/OMalleySSA/status/1849527622981636203
Anyone concerned about protecting SSA,the public or consumerS should strongly consider voting democrat. Mr Hall i always pictured you as having a grey beard.
ReplyDeleteLooking good.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing.
Who is the guy in the blue tie (and blue socks!) next to O’Malley?
Kody Kinsley, NC Secretary of Health and Human Services
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