There is precious little that Social Security Commissioner Martin O’Malley can do before Inauguration Day that could not be quickly undone by the incoming Trump Administration. One exception would be finally putting an end to the Eric Conn cases. There have been reports that O’Malley has planned to do something to terminate most of the Conn cases. Why not just end them all? Apart from the Chief Counsel, no one at the agency seems to have any appetite to go after these claimants any further. The politicians in Kentucky are pushing for relief for these claimants. Does anyone in Congress still want this group punished? It's time to clear this matter off the agency’s plate.
Having worked on these cases since October 2015 I heartily agree. Many of my clients are now on other types of benefits (e.g., RIB or survivor) and with the blanket waiver of any Conn overpayments their redetermination cases should just be dismissed. Anyone else should be just dropped at this point, maybe put into CDRs in the regular course of business, and call it a day.
ReplyDeleteExcellent suggestion Annie42. Conn and the OHO office were the criminals, not the claimants. I'm willing to bet that the majority of them were disabled though maybe not able to prove it without additional help.
DeleteI don't think Commissioner O'Malley will leave when Trump takes over on Inauguration Day . There will still be time for O'Malley to push his initiatives afterwards.
ReplyDeleteOf course he's leaving. He may resign before being fired.
DeleteHe already brought back Carolyn Colvin. Likely as Acting COSS until Congress approves yet another COSS. No matter what you think of Colvin, at least she has Agency experience.
It is an indictment on SSA that these cases are still unresolved in 2024. Apart from O'Malley, leadership at SSA has been completely feckless and risk adverse the last 10 years. It is not just a funding issue, its a cultural problem. SSA has lost sight of its original mission/purpose.
ReplyDeleteIs O’Malley leaving as SSA Commissioner? I thought he had a 6-yr term?
ReplyDeleteBiden fired Saul. Its reasonable to assume Trump will fire O’Malley with little recourse.
DeleteSaul was somewhat overbearing, inflexible, and didn't have the experience needed to lead a large government agency.
DeleteTotally different situation from O'Malley, who has the experience and knowledge.
Trump should keep him on as commissioner, as a gesture towards bipartisanship.
The 6 year terms have fixed dates. O’Malley was nominated to essentially finish the balance of the term that Saul was in. His term ends in January regardless of any political situation.
DeleteIt's my belief that they serve at the pleasure of the president.
DeleteUnder the Act, O’Malley can carry over as Commissioner after the end of his term in January, but I expect he would resign rather than serve under Trump. And if he does, Trump could appoint an Acting Commissioner, or allow the existing Order of Succession to kick in. If that happens, I think Michelle King as Deputy Commissioner for Operations would become Acting Commissioner.
DeletePrepare his employees for the new administration.
ReplyDeleteElon Musk says Americans need economic 'hardship' as he plans to cut agencies under Trump.
When is Saul coming back?
DeleteO’Malley needs to tighten the budget since mass deportations of undocumented workers will deplete the already shaky SSA trust fund.
ReplyDeleteThe operating budget has no bearing on the trust fund. Please turn off the fake news and learn about your own government before you attempt to make recommendations about how it should be run.
DeleteWrong! All of Social Security’s payroll taxes and other earmarked income are deposited in the trust funds, and all of Social Security’s benefits and administrative expenses are paid from the trust funds.
DeleteMartin J. O’Malley was sworn in today by Senator Ben Cardin as Commissioner of Social Security to a term that expires on January 19, 2025. So O'Malley is a GONER. Trump would be nuts to keep him on as he has done an appalling job.
ReplyDeleteO'Malley has lost the friendship of unions and workers alike. If he wants any chance at getting it back, he should rescind all the RTO and restore full-time telework to eligible employees. Then let Trump deal with it. And Trump has bigger fish to fry, so workers would get a huge benefit. If O'Malley did that, he might restore some respect from workers.
Restore full time telework to SSA employees? You must have missed the election results. Republicans want employees back in the offices ASAP.
DeleteWhat political reality are you living in? Republicans have explicitly stated they intend to end ALL telework for federal workers. They also intend to cut all federal agency budgets and fire thousands of federal workers.
DeleteAnd how has O'malley done a bad job? Because from the perspective of claimant attorneys, he has done more in the last 10 months then the last two commissioners combined.
Mmm, 8:54pm, I’d say that a lot of workers in the field see he is making intense, concerted effort to bring about change. No one loves everything he is doing, but we’ve never had someone so motivated to get to the bottom of our problems. Sorry 🤷♀️
ReplyDeleteSpeak for yourself 10:12. We in the field see right through his faux humility and fake efforts. Did he ever close FO on Wednesdays? NOPE! The most dangerous place in Baltimore is no longer Fairfield but getting in between O'Malley and a camera. Can't wait until those idiotic videos stop.
ReplyDeleteI don’t believe I ever mentioned the videos being a celebrated part of his leadership? He has done deep dives into many of our issues and is trying to fix a wide breadth of issues. Much more than anyone else as ever done. He is attempting to fix our broken training model, he has tightened up the RA process, which is a huge benefit to many employees with disabilities. He had made strides in bringing back collateral estoppel, and actually cares enough to try and understand why our some of our offices are struggling more than others. And he has very competently advocated for us to Congress. I could go on and on. As much as anyone would love a Wed PM closure, it isnt the single fix to our issues. Of course this isn’t a perfect situation but to not acknowledge the lightning pace at which he has worked to understand the agency and help it should be acknowledged.
ReplyDelete