Change We Can Believe In

Headline from the September 2008 newsletter of the National Organization of Social Security Claimants Representatives (NOSSCR): "SSA Budget Situation Looks Bleak." That was not an alarmist headline. That was just how things appeared at the time.

FY 2010 Budget Coming Next Week

The New York Times is reporting that President Obama will release his recommended budget for FY (Fiscal Year) 2010 next week. The 2010 fiscal year begins on October 1, 2009. Meanwhile, most federal agencies, including Social Security, are working under a Continuing Resolution (CR) for FY 2009 that freezes their expenditures at the previous fiscal year's rate. Social Security got a special appropriation of $500 million in the economic stimulus bill which helps a lot, but would still like to get a real budget for FY 2009. It is hard for the agency to plan in these circumstances.

Disgusting Tactic

From The Messenger of Fort Dodge, Iowa:

"This certified letter is your official notice that you are personally under attack."

Julia Markey, 86, of Fort Dodge, received a letter from the National Retirement Security Task Force Thursday that told her the Social Security Trust Fund didn't have money and that she could lose her Social Security checks.

That is, of course, unless she helped the National Retirement Security Task Force by sending it money so it could continue to lobby against the "liberal big-spenders" to ensure she can continue to get funds.

"And if I don't receive your generous $200 help within the next 168 hours, I may not have enough reserve battle funds to carry on this fight for your Social Security," the letter stated.

Blog Discussed On XM?

I have an anonymous report that a post on this blog was discussed on the political channel of Sirius XM radio. Can anyone confirm that?

Koniag Gets $100 Million Contract

The Baltimore Business Journal reports that Koniag Services, Inc. received a five year $100 million information technology support contract with the Social Security Administration. Koniag is replacing CACI International. Koniag will also be setting up an emergency backup center for Social Security in North Carolina. Koniag's website says that it is an Alaska native-owned company.

Some Sensible Talk About Obama's Plans For Social Security Reform

There has been a good deal of hand-wringing on the left over the prospect of the entitlements summit that President Obama has talked about. The idea is that Peter Orzag, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), is the mastermind of a planned raid that will dramatically cut Social Security benefits. Ezra Klein at The American Prospect gives what I think is a much more realistic projection of how this is likely to play out:

That, basically, has been Orszag's project: Talk a lot about the health care crisis and longer-term problems in the budget and get people to stop talking about an illusory crisis in a made-up program called socialsecurityandmedicareandmedicaid. Because what Orszag and [Nobel Pize winning economist and New York Times columnist Paul] Krugman both realize is that Social Security's unfunded liabilities only look like the sort of problem you need to "fix" if you're mixing it in with Medicare's unfunded liabilities. If there's an "entitlements problem" that requires an "entitlements commission" then that will cut Social Security and Medicare and Medicaid. If there's no "entitlements problem" and instead a health reform problem and some small questions about a politically electric program, then what you get is health reform -- which is also a way to slow Medicaid and Medicare growth without resorting to cuts -- and an end to the fear-mongering on Social Security. Orszag is one of the good guys here.

NASI To Get A Contract

From a procurement notice posted by Social Security:

The Social Security Administration (SSA) intends to negotiate a sole source agreement with the National Academy of Social Insurance (NASI) for the purposes of providing services to organize and conduct a 1-day policy research and education seminar that would examine the interactions between workers compensation and SSAs disability programs. ... In order to systematically collect and analyze state data, NASI has organized and heads a Workers Compensation Steering committee comprised of the nations leading experts in workers compensation policy and practice. This unique steering committee provides expertise needed to shape the data collection and review process, as well as the expertise needed to inform NASIs policy related discussions and analyses in the areas of disability and workers compensation. As a result, NASI has the unique expertise to provide the most comprehensive national aggregates and state level estimates of workers compensation costs and benefits, as well as the mechanisms to readily provide the best high level research and analysis as a result of the data they have collected. The seminar is to be conducted in the September/October 2009 timeframe.

Social Security To Begin Using Health Information Newwork

Social Security began obtaining medical records electronically from a hospital in Boston a few months ago. Federal News Radio reports that Social Security will soon begin obtaining medical records electronically from a Richmond, VA regional health information exchange.

You have to wonder when Social Security will begin getting medical records electronically from what used to be called the Smart Corporation, but which is now apparently called HealthPort.

Funny Business With Social Security Ruling

Here are some excerpts from Social Security Ruling 96-8p as it appears on Social Security's website:

Ordinarily, RFC is the individual's maximum remaining ability to do sustained work activities in an ordinary work setting on a regular and continuing basis, and the RFC assessment must include a discussion of the individual's abilities on that basis. ...

It is incorrect to find that an individual has limitations or restrictions beyond those caused by his or her medical impairment(s) including any related symptoms, such as pain, due to factors such as age or height, or whether the individual had ever engaged in certain activities in his or her past relevant work (e.g., lifting heavy weights.)

So what? The italics are in the original and official copy as published in the Federal Register, but not the bold face type. Adding bolding after the fact is inappropriate. Social Security can modify this ruling if it wants, but it is not supposed to do so surreptitiously. Lawyers take a dim view of this sort of thing.

More Openness Required Under Recovery Act

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has issued instructions for all federal agencies receiving funding under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). These instructions require an extremely high degree of public accountability and transparency. Here are some items that I found interesting:

• Starting March 3rd, agencies must submit weekly reports providing a breakdown of funding, major actions taken to date, and major planned actions.
• No later than May 1st, agencies must provide their “Agency Recovery Plan” that describes both broad recovery goals and the agency’s coordinating efforts.
• Starting immediately, agencies must ensure all funds provided by the Recovery Act are clearly distinguishable from non-Recovery Act funds in all agency financial systems, business systems (i.e., grant and contract writing systems), and reporting systems.
• To facilitate transparency and reporting, agencies should establish a page on their existing website dedicated to the Recovery Act (i.e., www.agency.gov/recovery), which will link to Recovery.gov and will provide a single portal for all agency-specific information related to the Act.
• Within one week of issuing this guidance, agencies must establish a dedicated page on their website for recovery efforts.

I do not think that Social Security is all that secretive an agency, but it seldom makes the effort to tell the public what it is up to. At least for the ARRA funds, Social Security will have to make that effort. It will be more paperwork for some at Social Security, but there will be people paying attention to that paperwork.

Social Security does not have its "Recovery" page up yet, but these instructions were just issued.