I Think She's Got A Point

     From a letter from Congresswoman Gwen Moore (D-Wis) to Social Security's Acting Inspector General (although, for the same reason that there's no Acting Commissioner of Social Security I think there's no Acting Inspector General):

I am writing regarding the anticipated closing of the “Mitchell St.” Social Security Administration (SSA) Field Office at 1710 S. 7th St. Ste. 200, Milwaukee, WI 53204.
My office was first notified that the Mitchell St. Field Office would be closing on January 9, 2018. It was explained to my staff that the current office location had numerous health and safety concerns which necessitated closing the office....

As noted in SSA policies and procedures for closing and consolidating field offices, “At least 180 days prior to the proposed consolidation date, we will notify the public about any field office consolidation proposal and include a 30 day comment period.” As stated above my office was first notified on January 9, 2018, less than two months prior to the anticipated consolidation. Based on information received from SSA and the General Services Administration (GSA), SSA began the process of looking for an alternative site in late 2015; over two years ago. Per the above requirements, SSA had both the ability and the opportunity to notify my office and the public at large of its anticipated actions. ...

They Knew It Would Be An Unpopular Decision

     From the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel (warning: you'll have to put up with numerous popup ads if you click on the link):

U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore (D-Milwaukee) and Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett on Wednesday denounced plans by the Social Security Administration to close its Mitchell St. field office on the city's south side. ...

At a news conference outside the former Forest Home Library, Barrett said he did not hear about the agency's decision to close the Mitchell St. office until January and that the city has offered the former library at 1432 W. Forest Home Ave. for a location. ...

Moore, whose district includes the area served by the office, said the proposal would disperse its Spanish-speaking employees currently serving the poor and largely Hispanic residents of the neighborhood to offices that are hard to reach by bus.

She also said the agency has not made serious attempts to find suitable replacement locations and that she and other public officials were not notified of the closure until the decision had already been made.

"They did not include me or other city officials in the decision," Moore said.

"It seems like they contacted us after they had already made this decision." ...

Jessica LaPointe of the American Federation of Government employees read a statement she said was from employees at the Mitchell St. office saying they were "blindsided" by news of the closure and told to keep quiet about it. ...

Many Field Offices Closed By Weather

     Below is a list of Social Security field offices that will be closed today due to hurricanes. I have not seen any list of ODAR office closures:

Alabama

• Alabama ADO
• Alexander City
• Andalusia
• Anniston
• Bessemer
• Birmingham Downtown
• Birmingham East
• Birmingham Mega TSC
• Dothan
• Montgomery
• Opelika
• Selma
• SEPSC PC3
• Talladega

Florida

• Allapattah
• Belle Glade
• Bradenton
• Carrollwood
• Clearwater
• Cocoa
• Dade City
• Deland
• Ft. Lauderdale East
• Ft. Lauderdale TSC
• Ft. Lauderdale West
• Ft. Walton Beach
• Ft. Myers
• Gainesville
• Hialeah
• Jackson Memorial Hospital
• Jacksonville North
• Jacksonville South
• Key West Resident Station
• Kissimmee
• Lake City
• Lake Mary
• Lakeland
• Leesburg
• Little Havana
• Little River
• Marianna
• Melbourne
• Miami Beach
• Miami North
• Miami South
• Naples
• New Port Richey
• North Broward
• Ocala
• Orlando
• Orlando SSCC
• Panama City
• Perrine
• Pensacola
• Port Orange
• Port St. Lucie
• Pt. Charlotte
• Sarasota
• Sebring
• South Broward
• South Palm Beach
• St. Augustine
• St. Petersburg
• Tallahassee
• Tampa Downtown
• Tampa TSC
• Tampa WSU
• Valrico
• Venice
• Vero Beach
• West Palm Beach
• Winter Haven 

Georgia

• Albany
• Athens
• Atlanta Downtown
• Atlanta RO
• Atlanta West
• Augusta
• Blue Ridge CS
• Brunswick
• Columbus
• Cordele
• Covington
• Dalton
• Decatur
• Dublin
• Gainesville
• Georgia ADO
• Griffin
• Gwinnett
• LaGrange
• Macon
• Marietta
• Milledgeville
• Morrow (Southlake)
• Newnan
• Rome
• Savannah
• Statesboro
• Savannah DDS
• Thomasville DDS
• Tifton
• Toccoa
• Valdosta
• Vidalia
• Villa Rica
• Warner Robins
• Waycross
• Winder

Puerto Rico

 

All offices are closed in Puerto Rico

South Carolina

 

• Beaufort
• Charleston
• Columbia
• Walterboro

Texas

• Beaumont
• Port Arthur

Virgin Islands

 

 All offices are closed in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Meadows East Building Closed Today

     The Meadows East Building that is part of Social Security's central offices in the Baltimore area is closed today due to "facilities issues."  As of two years ago Meadows East housed 275 agency employees. The building was closed for a time last summer due to HVAC problems.

Building Closed Due To Water Main Break

     The Security West Building at Social Security's central offices in the Baltimore area is closed today due to a water main break.

Central Offices Closed By Snowstorm

     Social Security's central offices in the Baltimore area will be closed today due to the snowstorm hitting the Northeast today.

Report On Field Office Closures

     Social Security's Office of Inspector General (OIG) had released a study on field office closures. This was in response to a Senate Special Committee on Aging investigation. The OIG study showes that Social Security's documentation of the office closures included the "primary factors" required by agency policy but not all the information required by agency policy. Social Security plans to update its office closure process.

     This isn't going to satisfy members of Congress who have office closures in their district. Their problem isn't Social Security's process or its documentation. It's the fact that an office is being closed in their district.

     Anyway, below is a table showing a list of Social Security field offices "consolidated", meaning closed, in fiscal year 2014. Why were no offices closed in the Midwest or Mountain states?

Hope This Works

     Maybe my complaint about Social Security's ineffective process for notifying the public of office closings did some good. Here's an e-mail I received from the agency:

You are subscribed to the Social Security Administration’s Office Closings and Emergency Information page. 

Now you can sign up to receive email or text messages when Social Security offices in your state or territory close down or open late because of severe weather or emergencies. 

To sign up for your state or territory, go to www.socialsecurity.gov/agency/emergency and click on this button:

 

Senator Wants Public Notice And Comment On Office Closures

     From The Hill:

A bill awaiting Congress when it returns from its August recess would attempt to slow field office closures at the Social Security Administration, an agency that has shuttered more than 60 facilities in recent years.

The 2014 Social Security Access Act, introduced by Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., aims to bring more community input into the closure process. The bill would require SSA to provide 180 days’ notice to “all individuals residing in areas serviced” by any field office subject to any “reduction in access.” ...

Schumer’s bill would create a public comment period and require SSA to hold at least one public hearing a month after disseminating information to constituents about an upcoming closure. The agency would have to post online and provide in writing to local members of Congress and other elected officials a range of information about the decision, including the number of SSA employees affected, the number of people who visit the office, Internet access in the region, transportation options to the next closest facility, projected cost savings and the estimated cost of co-locating with another federal agency instead of the proposed closure.

The SSA commissioner would also have to submit a report to Congress justifying the closure, and findings made as a result of the public comments or meeting.

West Palm Beach Employees Suing Building Owner

     The bizarre West Palm Beach saga continues. From the local television station:

Almost two dozen employees of the West Palm Beach Social Security Administration’s office are suing the building’s owner.

CBS 12 News has obtained a copy of a lawsuit filed last year in which 22 employees and a security guard claim the building made them sick.

As CBS-12 News was first to report, staff at the West Palm Beach SSA branch are being dispatched to other SSA offices as the agency looks for a new building to house their operation.

The move stems from what the SSA alleges are problems with the building which is leased to the government by Carnegie Management and Development Corporation.

In the 118 page complaint filed last year, the staff members allege the building had substantial water leaks causing extensive water intrusion; that in 2009, mold, mildew and fungus were discovered inside the building; and that staffers suffered damages including mental pain and suffering, permanent injury and loss of earnings.

Carnegie Management and Development CEO Dr. Rustom Khouri says the claims are absolutely bogus.

West Palm Beach Office Closes

     From WPEC:

If you need to get anything done at the West Palm Beach branch of the local Social Security Administration (SSA) office, you might have to go elsewhere for services.

It's the latest twist in an ongoing CBS 12 News investigation that began after we exposed long wait times at the West Palm Beach office.

An SSA spokesperson says the SSA is scaling back services at this branch because of recurring maintenance and HVAC issues with the building. ...

CBS-12 News first began investigating issues at the West Palm Beach SSA last week after folks told us they were being forced to wait two, three, and sometimes four hours in the hot sun and rain.

After U.S. Members of Congress who learned of our story demanded the SSA address the issue of long wait times, the office suddenly closed Thursday then reopened.

The SSA tells us they're looking to relocate the West Palm Beach office.

CBS-12 has learned that some staff members are suing the buildings' owner Carnegie Management & Development Corp and alleging the building is making them sick.

     OK, if it was ventilation problems that closed the office, why was it that the closure happened almost immediately after a TV station broadcast pictures of lines of people waiting outside the office? Also, why did it take the agency so long to tell the TV station why the office was closed?

Senator Collins Wants To Keep Field Offices Open

     Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) has authored an op ed for a Maine newspaper opposing office closings and the elimination of face to face contact at Social Security. However, she doesn't say anything about additional appropriations for the agency. Reading the piece, you get the impression that the only problem is foolish decisions made at the Social Security Administration. Republicans either actively deny that there's a link between appropriations and agency operations or they just ignore the issue altogether.

Today's Office Closure News

     Local officials in Northern Erie County, NY are so upset by the closing of Social Security's Amherst, NY field office that they're setting up a link to the nearest Social Security field office via Skype at a local government site. The site will only be open a few hours, one or two days a week but locals it's better than nothing. The Amherst field office had served 36,000 people a year.

     Meanwhile, the Salem News wonders why it is that Social Security gets more money each year and claims to be getting more efficient but is still closing field offices. They conclude that no one should be surprised because "It is the federal government, after all." The Salem News misses a few points. Social Security's budget hasn't been going up each year. It's been going down when you consider inflation even though the agency's workload has gone up dramatically because of the aging of the baby boom population but, hey, what are a few details like that?

Tea Party Don't Care

     Social Security field office closes. Tea Party Republican representing the District in Congress doesn't seem to care. Why should he? He wants to close down virtually the entire government. Anyway, that part of his District has mostly Democratic voters. He's got the Koch brothers on his side, so no problem. (By the way, I know that Social Security doesn't base field office closures on political clout and has taken a pretty hard line recently when those with political clout have tried to influence field office closures. Somebody's ox is going to get gored. The agency may as well use objective criteria when selecting whose ox it is. The point here is that the Congressman made no effort to keep that field office open. Most people would consider making that effort to be part of his job description.)
     Update: The Tea Party member of Congress wrote a letter to the Acting Commissioner of Social Security about the office closure. So, is the Congressman representing his district or just being a hypocrite? That's the problem with being a Tea Party member of Congress. You want to close down government but your constituents like a lot of what the government does for them.

Barstow Field Office To Close

     The Barstow, CA Social Security field office is to close next week. It will be a 70 mile round trip to the nearest Social Security office. 

     The comments to the article are exactly the sort of thing seen in comments on this blog. All budget cuts that cause pain are President Obama's fault. That's ridiculous since austerity has been forced upon the country by Republicans in the House of Representatives. If pressed, those who post these comments say that Democrats control the White House and the Senate so everything bad must be Obama's fault. The logic is absurd, of course, but the consistency of these comments is amazing. It's the same thing everywhere you look. I don't think this is an accident. Someone is paying a lot of money to services that spread this sort of thing.

They Want A Meeting

     Senator Charles Schumer and Congressman Brian Higgins have requested a meeting with Acting Social Security Commissioner Carolyn Colvin to discuss the closing of Social Security's Amherst, NY field office.

Another NY Field Office To Close

     Social Security plans to close its office in Ulster County, NY even though 39% of the county's population receives either Social Security or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits. Local politicians are unhappy. These office closures are an inevitable consequence of the limited funding being given to the agency.

Another Field Office Closure

     The Amherst, NY Social Security field office is to close. Local politicians aren't happy.

What's The Matter, Kansas? You Got What You Voted For

     The residents of Pittsburg, Kansas are up in arms that they're losing their local Social Security field office. Social Security management explains to them that they have to close offices because of lack of funding. Pittsburgers complain that they weren't consulted. Social Security management doesn't give the obvious answer so I'll give it. Kansas is a solidly Republican state, giving 60% of its vote to Romney over Obama and electing only Republicans to Congress. You were consulted on this and other cuts you don't like, Pittsburg, and you voted for them, so shut up.

ESPN Hometown Takes A Hit

     Social Security's field office in Bristol, CT is to be closed in January. Local politicians will try to get the decision reversed. ESPN is headquartered in Bristol.