NADE Newsletter

     The National Association of Disability Examiners (NADE), whose members work at state agencies making disability determinations at the initial and reconsideration levels for Social Security, has released its most current newsletter, concerning its National Training Conference in Oklahoma City in August. Presentations by John Owen, Associate Commissioner of the Office of Disability Determinations, Hope Grunberg, Associate Commissioner of the Office of Disability Policy (ODP), Ben Gurga, Deputy Associate Commissioner of ODP, Kasey Torres, Director of the Division of Disability Quality and Kevin Huse, Deputy Assistant Inspector General For Cooperative Disability Investigations are summarized.

Acting Inspector General

    An otherwise negligible report by Social Security's Office of Inspector General reveals a minor detail that may interest some of my readers. The new Acting Inspector General is Michelle L. Anderson, the Assistant Inspector General for Audit. Judging by her Linked In account, she's a long time federal employee.

Report On Ennis Raises Questions

     From  the the Integrity Committee of the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency (IC):This investigation began in May 2022. Why did it take them more than two years to finish this simple investigation?

The IC finds by a preponderance of the evidence that IG [Inspector General] Ennis abused her authority and engaged in conduct that undermined the integrity reasonably expected of an Inspector General. In pertinent part, the IC finds that IG Ennis made incomplete, misleading, and inaccurate representations about another OIG [Office of Inspector General] to various government entities; failed to retract, withdraw, or otherwise modify those representations when informed they were untrue; and then wrongfully obstructed the IC’s investigation of her and other SSA OIG executives. Rather than recusing herself from an investigation that concerned her own alleged misconduct due to the inherent conflict of interest, she participated personally and substantially in her official capacity in the SSA OIG’s decision-making regarding the IC’s investigation into her conduct, in clear violation of federal ethics requirements and despite being reminded by the IC in March 2024 of her obligation to recuse herself because the matter being investigated affected her personal interests.(footnotes omitted)

    This investigation began in May 2022. Why did it take them more than two years to finish this simple investigation? Why do they have no criticism or any real discussion of Ennis concerning the substantive allegations made against her? Why did they release this on Friday, July 5 in apparent hopes of burying the story? Why did they tip off Ennis in advance so she could quit her job just before this came out? Is no criminal referral warranted? Why was such a spectacularly unfit person allowed to stay in her job this long?

Ennis Finally Leaving

     Gail Ennis is finally resigning as Social Security’s Inspector General after an investigation determined that she tried to obstruct inquiries into her behavior.

Social Security's Inspector General Is A Disgrace

     From Lisa Rein at the Washington Post:

The Social Security Administration’s internal watchdog office failed to properly notify some poor and disabled Americans before levying huge fines on them, an investigation by an independent watchdog agency found.    

The two-year probe into a little-known anti-fraud program discovered particularly stark due process violations starting in 2018, with investigators finding no evidence that the government ever sent written notice to some of those hit with massive penalties, which at times reached more than $100,000. Even when the inspector general’s office, which runs the program, did send notification letters in previous years, investigators found it often failed to properly serve people with notice of the proposed fines. ...

[The investigators] took the unusual step of urging the Social Security Administration to review every penalty the government has issued under the Civil Monetary Penalty program since 1995, to notify claimants who were fined and to take “corrective action.” ...

Increase In Social Security Fraud

     From Newsweek:

The Social Security Administration (SSA) has issued a warning for Americans regarding scams that are stealing benefits from thousands of recipients each year. ...

According to the SSA's Office of the Inspector General, there was a 61.7 percent increase of reported scams between Q3 of the financial year in 2022 and the same period in 2023. In the former, just over 13,000 scams were reported, rising to 21,080 in the latter. ...

[T]hose under 50 were most likely to fall for scams ...

Overdue

    From Joe Davidson at the Washington Post:

The Democratic chairman of a powerful Senate committee on Wednesday called on President Biden to fire the lead watchdog for the Social Security Administration, pointing to stalled investigations and plunging staff morale.

In a letter sent Wednesday to the White House, Sen. Ron Wyden (Ore.), chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, said promises by Inspector General Gail Ennis to “establish a culture that welcomes debate, collaboration, and transparency … appear to have been hollow.”

“I urge you to remove her,” Wyden wrote. ...

New Allegations Against Social Security Inspector General

     From Federal News Network (emphasis added):

House Democrats are reigniting an investigation into Department of Homeland Security Inspector General Joseph Cuffari’s use of taxpayer dollars to settle claims of retaliation by his former top deputy.

And lawmakers are also probing whether the Social Security Administration’s inspector general inappropriately referred Cuffari to her former law firm in connection with the retaliation investigation. A spokeswoman for the SSA IG called the assertions “blatantly inaccurate.” ...

DHS OIG spent $1.4 million on a 2020 contract with law firm WilmerHale to conduct an investigation into allegations of misconduct by Costello and other former employees. The investigation ultimately did not substantiate any allegations of illegal misconduct.

[Jamie] Raskin [House Oversight and and Accountability Ranking Member] is now investigating the role SSA Inspector General Gail Ennis may have played in the DHS OIG’s decision to contract with WilmerHale. Ennis was a partner at WilmerHale before becoming SSA IG in January 2019.

In deposition before the Merit Systems Protection Board, Cuffari said he asked Ennis to have her office conduct the investigation. Ennis declined to take it on due to the high workload, Cuffari said.

Raskin is probing whether she had a role in advising Cuffari to select WilmerHale for the investigation.

“If true, this would appear to violate your ethics agreement, which shows that you were a partner at WilmerHale and continue to have an ongoing financial stake in the firm’s profitability,” Raskin wrote in a letter to Ennis today. “As a result, your referral to your former employer WilmerHale potentially represents a financial conflict of interest.”

 A spokeswoman for the SSA OIG told Federal News Network that “Inspector General Ennis looks forward to the opportunity to respond to Ranking Member Raskin to correct the blatantly inaccurate assertions made in the letter.” ...

OIG Report To Congress

     This is from the Semiannual Report to Congress prepared by Social Security's Office of Inspector General. Note that 143,816 total allegations of fraud were received but there were only 228 indictments or criminal informations issued. That's a pretty low ratio. Note also the vast number of imposter scam allegations received. This is where the real fraud problem is at Social Security. (I received a call earlier this week from a former client who was the recent victim of imposter fraud. How long will it take before his benefits are restored?)

Click on image to view full size

    Also, why is Gail Ennis still the Inspector General?

SSA Hiring And Training Issues

     From The Social Security Administration’s Major Management and Performance Challenges During Fiscal Year 2023, a report by the Office of Inspector General at Social Security:

... As of September 23, 2023, SSA had increased its staff size from 56,423 full-time permanent staff in FY 2022 to 59,591 in FY 2023. FY 2023 hiring helped SSA reverse the recent trend of declining employees in more recent years ...

SSA curtailed additional anticipated hiring in June 2023 in response to the passing of the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 (Pub. L. No. 118-5). SSA lowered each of its component’s allocation of employees because it did not want to hire employees whose salaries future budgets may not support given that the Act limits non-Defense funding in FY 2024. ...

While it hired many new employees, SSA reported it still had challenges recruiting and retaining employees because its positions are complex and require more training compared to similar positions in private industry. SSA’s Office of Operations acknowledged its self-online-training model is less engaging than in-person training and does not work well with all new hires. Also, SSA cannot offer its frontline employees some workplace flexibilities other agencies can, such as full-time remote work. Employees who separate from SSA reported they were leaving to take higher-paying jobs or because they felt overworked at SSA. ...

OIG Chief Counsel Files Personal Suit Alleging Defamation, Tortious Interference, and False Light Invasion Of Privacy

     Michelle Murray, Chief Counsel of Social Security's Office of Inspector General (OIG), has filed suit on her own behalf pro se (meaning she is representing herself) in federal court in Pennsylvania against Debbie Shaw (Supervisory Attorney at the Office of the Counsel for Investigations and Enforcement -- or OCIE -- at OIG), Joscelyn Funnie (Senior Executive at OCIE), Lisa Rein (a reporter at the Washington Post), WP Company (which owns the Washington Post -- identified in the complaint as "left-centered"), Faith Williams (Director of the Effective and Accountable Government Program at the Project on Government Oversight) and the Project on Government Oversight. The complaint alleges defamation, tortious interference, and false light invasion of privacy. My name is mentioned but not as a defendant.

    There's probably a better way I don't know about but if you want to download this complaint you'll have to wait until I approve your request. I'll approve every request but I can't do it instantly.

    I'll say that as a general matter this sort of suit is difficult to win. I'd also say that if you're going to bring this sort of action your hands better be squeaky clean.

    Query: Do Debbie Shaw and Joscelyn Funnie qualify for government legal representation? I'd think so but I don't know the rules on this sort of thing.

By Far The Most Read Post Ever On This Blog

     From this blog on May 22, 2022:

“Serious Concerns” About IG

      From the Washington Post:

… The acting commissioner [of Social Security] “has very serious concerns about the issues raised by The Washington Post about the inspector general’s oversight of this program,” Scott Frey, chief of staff to Kilolo Kijakazi, said in an interview. Kijakazi has scheduled a meeting with her senior staff on Monday “to discuss how to proceed,” Frey said. …

A spokesman for the Senate Finance Committee, which also has jurisdiction over Social Security, said the committee is “evaluating a number of steps” in response to the article. …

     An extreme reduction in productivity has been signaling for months that something is wrong at OIG.

 

 

    And, of course, that Inspector General is still on the job.

What's Going On With The Investigation Of The IG?

     Faith Williams, Director of the Effective and Accountable Government Program at the Project on Government Oversight (POGO), has spoken with Federal News Network about the situation with Social Security's Inspector General. It's a bad situation. There's also a written report.

    When are we going to get some resolution? The investigation of the IG is going on and on. How many people are there to interview? How many documents have to be reviewed? Why is this taking so long?

Why Is Gail Ennis Still In Office?

Gail Ennis

     From the Washington Post:

A top Senate Democrat is demanding answers from Social Security’s embattled watchdog about allegations of low productivity, poor morale and retaliation against whistleblowers in her office.

In an 11-page letter sent this week, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) said his committee had received complaints from current and former employees in the watchdog division of a hostile work environment, hiring abuses, misuse of federal money and “falling productivity.”

“I write to express my concerns regarding your performance as Inspector General,” Wyden wrote. “It is paramount that the Office of Inspector General cultivates and maintains a workplace free of harassment, intimidation, or retaliation.” ...

Dropped Calls

    From The Social Security Administration’s Telephone Service Disruptions, a report by Social Security's Office of Inspector General (OIG):

 

Average Speed Of Telephone Answer

     From The Social Security Administration’s Telephone Service Disruptions, a report by Social Security's Office of Inspector General (OIG):

Click on image to view full size. Yes, it’s a confusing way to present the data. What were they thinking?

 

Telephone Service Disruptions In 2021 And 2022

    From The Social Security Administration’s Telephone Service Disruptions, a report by Social Security's Office of Inspector General (OIG):

Click to view full size

Nothing Has Happened?

     This appeared in the Washington Post a year ago yesterday:

… The acting commissioner [of Social Security] “has very serious concerns about the issues raised by The Washington Post about the inspector general’s oversight of this program,” Scott Frey, chief of staff to Kilolo Kijakazi, said in an interview. Kijakazi has scheduled a meeting with her senior staff on Monday “to discuss how to proceed,” Frey said. …

A spokesman for the Senate Finance Committee, which also has jurisdiction over Social Security, said the committee is “evaluating a number of steps” in response to the article. …

    Update: This post has received multiple confused comments blaming the Acting Commissioner for not firing the Inspector General. I have mostly deleted those misleading comments. The Inspector General doesn't work for the Acting Commissioner. The Inspector General was confirmed by the Senate for a five year term. She can only be fired by the President, for cause. Blame the President but assign even more blame to the Council of Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency which has been investigating Social Security's Inspector General.

Rolls Royce Service For OIG; Little Service For The Public

     Social Security's Office of Inspector General (OIG) operates its own hotline for the public to use in reporting waste or fraud. Think about that. Why does OIG have its own separate hotline? Why not use Social Security's regular 800 number? The teleservice center employees are certainly capable of taking down basic information and forwarding it to OIG. I think we know the reason. The crappy service on the general 800 number would be unacceptable for OIG.

    At the moment, OIG is advertising the availability of a contract for handling its hotline. Here's one of the criteria that OIG expects a contractor to meet: "At a minimum, the contractor’s systems must handle all incoming calls, and the contractor must achieve at least an average 95% answer rate for all calls offered and a maximum average wait time of one (1) minute after call offer." The OIG contractor has to be able to "handle all incoming calls"? The agency's general 800 number certainly can't do that. A 95% answer rate? Not imaginable for the general 800 number. A maximum average wait time of one minute? Are you kidding me? It's more like 15-20 minutes for the general 800 number. 

    Why are we funding excellent call center services for OIG but those needing to file a claim or to talk with someone about their pending case get horrific service? I'm all in favor of getting fraud reports from the public but I'm also in favor of the public getting decent service from the Social Security Administration.

What's Going On At OIG?

     The leadership of Social Security's Office of Inspector General (OIG), primarily the Inspector General, Gail Ennis, has come under fire recently. 

    It's far from all that OIG does but they issue various reports, mostly about audits they have conducted. Here are the number of audits for recent years:

• 2020 -- 55
• 2021 -- 47
• 2022 -- 38
• 2023 (so far) -- 1