I did not have a chance to watch the Social Security Subcommittee hearing today. I have started reading the prepared statements.
Commissioner Astrue's statement surprises me.
There is widespread agreement that the Social Security Administration is not going to improve upon the dismal service it is giving the public without increasing its workforce significantly. Social Security has been given far greater appropriations for the current fiscal year than in the prior years. Large appropriations are also likely for the foreseeable future. Congress expects better service and soon. Questions have been raised about how much hiring Social Security will do. In reviewing Commissioner Astrue's lengthy written statement to the Committee, I looked hard for all the references to hiring plans. Here they are (emphasis in original):
Commissioner Astrue's statement surprises me.
There is widespread agreement that the Social Security Administration is not going to improve upon the dismal service it is giving the public without increasing its workforce significantly. Social Security has been given far greater appropriations for the current fiscal year than in the prior years. Large appropriations are also likely for the foreseeable future. Congress expects better service and soon. Questions have been raised about how much hiring Social Security will do. In reviewing Commissioner Astrue's lengthy written statement to the Committee, I looked hard for all the references to hiring plans. Here they are (emphasis in original):
We have already hired 140 new support staff in our hearing offices so far this year, and expect to hire over 700 additional support staff. ...
Our current estimate is that we will need 1,400 to 1,450 ALJs to achieve our goals, and we are expanding our physical infrastructure, to the extent we can, so that we can reach that level. ...
In FY 2009, we expect to add a total of 135 new staff at the Appeals Council, while replacing losses due to attrition. ...
Our full year appropriation, which supplies $126.5 million more than was included in President’s FY 2009 budget, as well as the additional funding in the ARRA, will allow us to invest in information technology, to hire 5,000 to 6,000 new employees before the end of the year, and to allot additional overtime to process critical workloads. In addition to replacing all of our losses in FY 2009, we will assign new employees to our front-line operations where they will have the greatest impact – approximately 1,200 employees to our field offices, 900 employees to our hearings offices, and 600 employees to State DDSs.
I am struck by how little of Astrue's statement dealt with hiring. I get the impression that hiring is not all that important to Michael Astrue. Management plans seem a lot more important to him. I also get the impression that when Commissioner Astrue talks of hiring 5,000 to 6,000 new employees he is talking about hires to replace employees who are leaving as well as hires to add to Social Security's workforce and that he is talking about state Disability Determination Services as well as the Social Security Administration itself. Social Security needs to hire several thousand people each year just to replace employees who are departing. I think it would be best that Commissioner Astrue not use that figure of 5,000 to 6,000 new employees again without making it clear what he means. As a Republican holdover in a Democratic Administration he needs to be careful not to say anything that could be interpreted as misleading.
Astrue's hiring plans seem puny to me. I have to wonder where all the additional money is going if Social Security will not be adding that many new employees. I also wonder what kind of appropriations it would take to induce Social Security to go on a real hiring binge, which is what I think is clearly indicated.
Astrue's hiring plans seem puny to me. I have to wonder where all the additional money is going if Social Security will not be adding that many new employees. I also wonder what kind of appropriations it would take to induce Social Security to go on a real hiring binge, which is what I think is clearly indicated.
