A New Term -- Mega Disability Agencies

From the Texarcana Gazette:

A $9 million boost in federal funding will result in 150 new permanent jobs for an Arkansas state agency to process other states’ Social Security disability claims.

A legislative panel on Friday approved receiving the funds for the state Disability Determination for Social Security Administration.

“It’s manna from heaven,” said Sen. Steve Bryeles, D-Blytheville, before the request was granted without dissent.

Agency director Arthur Boutiette said Arkansas is one of five states to be designated as “Mega Disability Agencies” to handle other states’ claims.

“In the negotiations the last month or so, we told the federal government that we had some requirements of them,” Boutiette told lawmakers Friday. “This morning they did meet those requirements. These are new jobs for Arkansas, permanent jobs.” ...

The minimum salaries for the jobs will range from about $26,500 to more than $117,000. Typical starting salaries will be about $29,000. Boutiette said those will increase to $32,000 with satisfactory performance.

The agency currently has 281 employees.

Boutiette said the Social Security Administration asked Arkansas for help because nationwide, it is behind in processing about 750,000 claims.

“We’ve been No. 1 in the country the last four years in a row in quality,” Boutiette said. “We have one of the cheapest costs per case.”

Good thinking by Social Security and the state of Arkansas -- profiting from the foolishness of other states which have pointlessly furloughed disability determination employees during state budget crises even though the furloughs do nothing to help state budgets.

Probably Depends On How You Phrase The Question

From rasmussenreports.com:

Forty-nine percent (49%) of U.S. voters say working Americans should be allowed to opt out of Social Security and provide for their own retirement planning.

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 37% disagree and do not believe Americans should be able to opt out of Social Security. Fifteen percent (15%) are not sure.

A majority of voters under 50 say workers should be allowed to opt out. A plurality of those over 50 disagree.

Finding A Loophole

From Social Security Emergency Message 09-050:

The Social Security Protection Act of 2004 (P.L. 108-203) amended the Government Pension Offset (GPO) provisions to require that State and local government employees be covered by Social Security throughout their last 60 months of employment to be exempt from GPO. Prior to July 1, 2004, GPO did not apply if an individual’s last day of employment was in a position that was covered by both Social Security (under a Section 218 agreement) and a State or local government pension system.

The Educational Resource Center, Inc. (also known as John Wood Charter School or JWCS), located in San Antonio TX, hired 633 individuals to work for one day in order to meet the “last day” GPO exemption. SSA determined that work at JWCS did not qualify for Social Security coverage because JWCS had not entered into an approved 218 agreement between the State of Texas and SSA. Therefore, individuals who applied for their spouse’s or widow’s benefit after completing their “last day” at JWCS had GPO applied to their records.

The Attorney General of Texas was consulted and determined that an open-enrollment charter school, such as JWCS, is a governmental entity under Texas law. Since the Attorney General of Texas has rendered this decision, the State of Texas has taken the necessary steps to include JWCS in a Section 218 agreement that allows the entity to be covered by Social Security.

As an attorney, I have some appreciation for loopholes, but the involvement of the state of Texas in creating this loophole seems questionable to me.

I Understand The Target Practice But That's Still A Lot Of Ammo -- And Why Does OIG Need Shotguns?

From a contracting notice posted by Social Security on FedBizOpps:

Social Security Administration seeks to purchase ammunition for 39 Social Security Administration Office of the Inspector General’s locations. ...

Item: 357 sig bonded 125 grain jacketed hollow point pistol ammunition for law enforcement

Quantity: 209,000 rounds ...

Item: 12 gauge 00 9 pellet buckshot 2 ¾” for law enforcement (250 rounds per case)

Quantity: 25 cases ...

Item: 12 gauge rifled slug 2 ¾” low recoil for law enforcement (250 rounds per case)

Quantity: 31 cases

New Building At Reisterstown To Replace Metro West

From the Baltimore Sun:

Nearly 30 years after the Social Security Administration opened its $92 million Metro West complex on Baltimore's west side, federal officials are planning to move 1,600 employees from there to an office building to be constructed near the Reisterstown Plaza Metro station in Northwest Baltimore.

The GSA is seeking a private developer to construct a 538,000-square-foot office building and 1,076-space garage and lease it to the Social Security Administration.

According to state and federal officials, the building is needed by 2012 to accommodate 1,600 SSA employees who work in "functionally obsolete" space at the Metro West complex at 300 N. Greene St. About 400 more Metro West employees will be relocated to the Social Security Administration headquarters complex in Woodlawn, leaving none at Metro West.

The Reisterstown Plaza project will be one of the largest and most expensive federal office buildings to rise in Baltimore in years. The GSA has not disclosed a construction price, but using an industry standard of $200 per square foot, it would cost more than $100 million to build. It is expected to result in the creation of hundreds of construction jobs and to bring federal employees to a section of Baltimore that has been hard hit by the recession.

"This is not a stimulus project, but it will do exactly what stimulus money is meant to do," said City Councilwoman Rochelle "Rikki" Spector, whose district includes 6100 Wabash Ave. "It is really an economic generator for the next 40 years." ...

According to public officials, the 15-story tower and two five-story wings no longer meet the needs of the Social Security Administration for a variety of reasons, including technological inadequacy and the security risk posed by a sky bridge over a major highway. According to Gilliam, the GSA's goal is to "dispose of" the Metro West facility after the SSA moves out. One potential user is the University of Maryland, whose Baltimore campus is several blocks to the south.

What do those of you who work at Metro West think?

Social Security Number Issues

The Associated Press is reporting on an odd Social Security number problem. The Federated States of Micronesia is an independent nation. It has its own Social Security system and assigns its own Social Security numbers to Micronesians. The Micronesian Social Security numbers have only eight digits while U.S. Social Security numbers have nine digits. The United States has a treaty with Micronesia which gives the U.S. certain defense rights but gives Micronesia certain rights, such as receiving loans and grants from the U.S. after disasters. U.S. federal agencies collect Social Security numbers from loan recipients. When working in Micronesia they collected the Micronesian Social Security numbers. Some computer programs automatically assigned a "0" an the end of the Micronesian Social Security number to make it nine digits. Some of the Micronesians defaulted on their loans and then U.S. federal agencies started using debt collectors who tried to use the Micronesian Social Security numbers as if it were U.S. Social Security numbers. The debt collectors started trying to collect the debt from the U.S. citizen whose Social Security number was the same as the Micronesian Social Security number with a "0" added to the end. Credit reporting agencies were also notified. Apparently, there are 200 or so of these cases already. The problem has been around for years and no one seems to be doing anything about it.

Social Networking At Social Security?

I am curious about Social Security's policies on social networking sites. Are agency employees blocked from accessing sites such as Facebook and Twitter through agency computers? What websites, if any, are blocked on Social Security's network?

I realize that severe workload pressures at Social Security have to hold down the usage of these sites anyway, but there is still lunchtime and breaktime.

A Republican Congressman's Take On Social Security And Health Care

From the Tuscaloosa News:

Social Security could face a deficit within two years, according to U.S. Rep. Spencer Bachus [Republican] who met with The Tuscaloosa News editorial board Tuesday.

“The situation is much worse than people realize, especially because of the problems brought on by the recession, near depression,” said Bachus, R-Vestavia Hills, in an interview with the Tuscaloosa News editorial board.

Bachus, the ranking member of the House Committee on Financial Services, said most people seem unaware of the impending crisis. He initially said Social Security could face "default" within two years, but his staff responded later saying the Congresssman intended to say "deficit." ...

The solvency of Social Security, which provides pensions for people older than 65, has not played a major role in the current debate about health care in Congress. Bachus said it will not likely be addressed in any health-care bill the House eventually passes, although if a Social Security bailout is needed, it will invariably have an impact on government health-care programs. ...

“We could raise the retirement age, or in the worst case, cut back on some benefits,” he said. “But that is something we are just now beginning to get a handle on.”

Michael Jackson And His Mother And Social Security

From the Entitled to Know blog for July 27:

Chances are Katherine Jackson never imagined Social Security would be her only source of income. But truth be told…that’s probably the case for countless other Americans, rich and poor, who face retirement in a much different fiscal situation then they had dreamed. That’s why these short references buried in all the recent coverage of Michael Jackson’s death really caught our attention:

“Lawyers for the estate wrote: ‘We are informed that Mrs. Jackson was also financially dependent upon Michael Jackson and that other than extremely modest social security benefits, Mrs. Jackson has no independent means of support.’… Jackson’s children will receive Social Security benefits, which have been applied for but payments have not yet started. Their monthly stipends from the estate may be reduced, depending on much money they receive from Social Security, the filings state.”

Sounds like Mrs. Jackson might qualify for parent's benefits. I wonder if she has applied.

When Will Deputy Commissioner Be Nominated?

Barack Obama has yet to nominate anyone for Deputy Commissioner of Social Security, a job last held by Andrew Biggs on a recess appointment. It is seven months into this Administration, so it may be getting time for something to happen. However, the President still has not nominated anyone to head the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and that is obviously a crucial job.