If I am reading the budget documents correctly, the White House is calling for an appropriation for the 2026 fiscal year, which begins October 1st of this year, that is the same as for the current fiscal year. That is, in effect, a cut in funding when inflation is considered and inflation may be quite significant because of the Trump tariffs.
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We should be happy that the budget stays flat for SSA. Most other depts and agencies beside defense have their budgets cut.
The base funding is level, but there appears to be a proposed increase of $500 million in program integrity funding. So more CDRs and redeterminations and more OIG investigations and fraud prosecutions, but nothing more for service improvements. With the massive staff cuts, I’m not sure what this looks like in practice.
I hope soon-to-be-Commissioner Bisignano realizes the implications.
SSA is listed on p.42 at the bottom as flat, but with 7k less employees this reduces our concerns about further Rifs after we reach the 50k number. But, there I go thinking logically again…
It’s honestly kind of a relief that SSA isn’t being significantly cut like some other agencies. We can work with flat funding. Many areas have been dealing with that for several of the past years. More funding world be better, but at least we’re not being completely bled dry.
That’s how I read it too. I wonder if all of the staff losses will offset the normal regular staffing cost increases? Also, I’ve heard that SSA is considering reducing guards in offices with more than one. So some savings there. Not good…
This agency is flatlining and emergency paddles won’t be necessary. This administration requested a 13% increase in military spending and yet we lead the world by far in that department. It’s interesting that DOGE didn’t spend too much time in combating crime, waste and abuse in the most corrupt department.
Yep it’s flat - given then cuts everywhere perhaps not the worst thing
This is just a budget request by the orange god. I do not recall any Presidential budget being fully funded. Presidential budgets are DOA upon arrival to Congress.
It’s tough on Dems because if they don’t offer up at least that much then it will be on them.
Flat or not flat...it doesn't change the fact that we've experienced significant losses across the agency that will have consequences. POTUS should have started with an overhaul of the appraisal system. Instead DOGE ended up scaring off a lot of folks with decades of institutional knowledge as well. The folks that held stuff together before, and stayed, are now getting buried with work.
I’m assuming that means $500M has to be taken away from other areas to keep overall spending levels unchanged?
No. It means that the “base”, which doesn’t include the program integrity (PI) earmark, is level, and the PI earmark goes up by $500 M, from $1.6 to $2.1 billion. So, in the President’s proposal, overall funding increases, but the increase can only be spent on more PI work: CDRs, RZs, CDI units, and fraud prosecutions. Unless the President is also going to propose expanding the list of things that can be funded out of the PI earmark.
Do you understand that, as the minority party in both chambers of Congress, the Dems aren’t in a position to “offer up” anything?
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