Congress Passes SSI Extension For Elderly And Disabled Refugees

From the Capitol Insider, put out by the Disability Policy Collaboration:

The SSI Extension for Elderly and Disabled Refugees Act, H.R. 2608, cleared the House on September 17 by a voice vote. The next step is signature by the President. The House had originally passed the bill in July 2007, but the Senate passed an amended bill August 1, 2008. The House acted last week to pass the Senate version, clearing it for final enactment. The bill would temporarily extend the 7-year SSI eligibility period for refugees, asylees, and certain other humanitarian immigrants (including victims of human trafficking) to 9 years for the period October 1, 2008 through September 30, 2011. In order to qualify for the extension, certain noncitizens would be required to sign a declaration indicating that they have made a good faith effort to pursue U. S. citizenship. The 2-year extension would also apply retroactively to those noncitizens whose SSI had previously ceased due to the expiration of the 7-year period. The legislation would be effective October 1, 2008, with the 9-year eligibility period reverting back to a 7-year period after September 30, 2011. A more detailed summary of the bill is available on the Social Security Administration’s website:

http://www.ssa.gov/legislation/legis_bulletin_080108.html

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Obama Plan For The Bureaucracy

Some excerpts from a blueprint for change in the bureaucracy issued by the Obama for President campaign:

• Move Workers from Bloated Bureaucracies to the Frontlines: In many areas of the federal government there is too much Washington bureaucracy – too many layers of managers, and too much paperwork that does not contribute directly to improving the lives of the American people. At the same time, there are too few workers on the front lines in local offices across the country. We need more resources and better tools for food inspectors at the Food and Drug Administration, for nurses at VA hospitals, for air traffic controllers and baggage screeners, and for immigration border control agents. Barack Obama will thin the ranks of Washington middle managers, freeing up resources both for deficit reduction and for increasing the number of frontline workers.
• Cut Federal Spending on Contractors by at Least 10 Percent: Barack Obama will reform federal contracting and reduce the number of contractors, saving $40 billion a year.
• End Abusive No-Bid Contracts and Minimize the Use of Cost-Plus Contracts: In 2006, the federal government spent $206.9 billion on contracts awarded without full and open competition, up from $67.5 billion in 2000. Barack Obama will require each federal agency to defend each of its noncompetitive contracts to the Office of Management and Budget. In addition, cost-plus contracts have increased more than 75 percent under the Bush administration. These contracts are vulnerable to waste because they provide no incentive to control costs. Obama will encourage the use of fixed-cost or incentive-based contracts and when cost-plus contracts are necessary, force agencies to use mitigating procedures like incentives tied to performance goals and cost savings.

Contract For SoBran

From a press release:

SoBran, Inc., a leader in advanced warehousing support and services, today was awarded a multi-million dollar contract by the Social Security Administration (SSA), to manage three Maryland warehousing facilities -- shipping, receiving, inventory, distribution and administrative services for millions of pieces of critical information, spread throughout. ...

Using an innovative Radio Beacon Warehouse Management System (WMS), radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags and readers, scan tunnels and portals, hand held wireless bar code scanners and related technologies, the team will oversee the movement and storage of benefit payment and services forms, publications and other information serving millions of Americans.

The SSA stores much of these materials and other assets in its main Supply Building warehouse, an 80,000-square-foot building at SSA headquarters in Baltimore, MD, and in two nearby supporting warehouses, a total of 380,000 square feet and more than 25,000 bin locations. The three locations process approximately 100,000 to 130,000 line items each year with an average daily volume of approximately 416 line items.

Things Are Very Different At The RRB

The New York Times is reporting that the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) is approving 98% of the disability claims they review. The definition of disability is different, but still, that is stunning. I guess that is why I virtually never get a call asking for representation on an RRB case.

Benefit Eligibility Screening Tool

The Social Security Administration has created an online benefit eligibility screening tool. I have not checked it out exhaustively, but it was able to identify the possibility of a disabled adult child claim for an older widow or widower, a possibility that would be missed by the average Social Security employee (no offense, guys -- I was looking for something that would be hard to catch).

SSI Stats Released

The Social Security Administration has released its monthly statistical package for the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program.

Obama Ad On Social Security

Congress Passes ADA Restoration Act

The New York Times reports that Congress has passed and sent to the President the Americans with Disability Act (ADA) Restoration Act. The Act explicitly overturns several Supreme Court decisions. The Act says that "Nothing in this Act alters the standards for determining eligibility for benefits under State worker’s compensation laws or under State and Federal disability benefit programs." I remain concerned about the long term effects of the ADARestoration Act upon the Social Security disability programs, particularly when the Social Security Administration finally deals with the obsolesence of the Dictionary of Occupational Titles (DOT). There may be an effect even if all involved deny that there was an effect. There is a fair amount of hypocrisy in the world and even more self-delusion.

Pressure Works

From the St. Petersburg (FL) Times:

The head of the Social Security Administration has announced new steps to reduce the backlog of disability claims cases in the Tampa Bay area.

The South Florida office will serve some areas formerly handled by Tampa but are closer to Fort Lauderdale. In-person and video hearings will continue to be offered at the agency's Fort Myers and West Palm Beach remote sites.

Social Security Commissioner Michael J. Astrue outlined the new procedures in a letter to Rep. Kathy Castor, a Tampa Democrat who introduced a bill on July 14 to address the national backlog of disability claims.

The bill would require that a hearing be held within 60 and 75 days from the date of the request, and that a final verdict be given no more than 15 days after a hearing. Rep. C.W. Bill Young is among the co-sponsors.

Indecent Exposure At Social Security Office

From the Rocky Mountain News:

Federal security officers responding to reports of a man exposing himself to a woman and her daughter in a Social Security office in Denver on Wednesday arrested an ex-convict on parole for attempted murder.

Federal Protective Service officers were alerted at the Social Security office near 16th and Champa streets about 1:05 p.m., said Carl Rusnok, a spokesman for Immigration and Customs Enforcement. ICE oversees the protective service.

Officers took into custody Herbert L. Towery, 67, for investigation of indecent exposure, Rusnok said.