Senior Staffers Added At Social Security

      From Politico(emphasis added):

The Biden administration is racing to rebuild senior agency roles depleted by the previous president, hiring at the fastest rate in decades, a POLITICO analysis found.

In the first three months of 2021, the Biden administration hired more than twice as many senior government executives than Donald Trump did in the same timeframe, a staffing spree aimed at rebuilding agencies rocked by turmoil during Trump’s war on the so-called “deep state.”

All told, Biden hired at least 319 senior executives in his first three months. The biggest beneficiaries? The Department of Housing and Urban Development tops the list, with Biden increasing senior staffing by 6 percent from Trump’s September 2020 levels. That’s followed by the Social Security Administration and the Treasury Department, with 4 percent and 3 percent bumps respectively. ...

 

Updated Organizational Chart

     Social Security has posted an updated organizational chart. There's lots of people in acting positions.

AFGE Newsletter Critical Of Social Security Management

Council 220 of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), a union which represents most Social Security employees has issued its July 2009 newsletter. Here is a little excerpt from one article:

Nepotism is alive and well at Social Security -- and Union officials believe some managers are using the Federal Career Intern Program (FCIP) as a way to bring their family members and friends into the agency.

I do not have a dog in the fight over FCIP. However, my gut feeling based upon only limited knowledge of the program is that Social Security management needs to think about whether extensive use of FCIP is a good idea. Council 220 goes over the top at times, but that does not mean that they are always wrong.

And there is also this information in the newsletter:

Senior Executive Service (SES) Performance Awards were given on December 24, 2006 (Christmas Eve) to the following individuals. They are considered 2007 awards:

• Linda McMahon, Deputy Commissioner for Operations $25,000
• Milt Beever, Associate Commissioner, Office of Labor- Management and Employee Relations (OLMER) $8,000]

Regional Commissioners:

• Paul Barnes (Atlanta) $22,000
• Nancy Berryhill (Denver) $14,000
• Beatrice M. Disman (New York) $25,000
• Michael Grochowski (Kansas City) $10,000
• James F. Martin (Chicago) $12,000
• Carl L. Rabun (Seattle) $10,000
• Ramona Schuenemeyer (Dallas) $8,000
• Manuel J. Vaz (Boston) $20,000
• Laurie B. Watkins (Philadelphia) $20,000

More award money was also given throughout 2008. Most of them were SES Performance Awards and were announced on March 14 (except where noted).

• Paul Barnes $22,000
• Milt Beever $12,500
• Nancy Berryhill $17,500
• Beatrice Disman $26,150
• Michael Grochowski $13,500
• James F. Martin $12,000
• Linda McMahon $26,150
• Ramona Schuenemeyer (SES Rank Award; Sept. 30) $32,975
• Ramona Schuenemyer $21,750
• Pete Spencer (San Francisco Regional Commissioner) $26,150
• Manuel J. Vaz (SES Rank Award; Sept. 30) $59,897
• Manuel J. Vaz $23,375
• Laurie Watkins $21,250

TOTAL for both years: $489,197

Social Security Scores Well On President Bush's Management Scorecard

Social Security scored exceptionally well on President Bush's last Management Scorecard, being one of only two agencies with "green" across the main board. The categories are Human Capital, Commercial Services Management, Financial Performance, E-Government, and Performance Improvement. Not all was quite so good. Social Security got only a Yellow in Eliminating Improper Payments, which is a little weird, since Social Security is almost certainly making vastly more improper payments than any other agency. What does it take to get a red?

Social Security In Top Ten

The federal government's Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has released its Human Capital Survey. According to FedBlog, Social Security ranks 10th in Leadership and Knowledge Management and 7th in Job Satisfaction. Social Security did not rank in the top ten in the other six categories. Of course, there are dozens of federal agencies, so reaching top ten in any canegory is an achievement.