Astrue v. Ratliff Wiki

The SCOTUS Blog has started a Wiki for each case to be argued before the Supreme Court this term. One of these cases is Astrue v. Ratliff which is on the issue of whether attorney fees payable under the Equal Access to Justice Act (EAJA) belong to the Plaintiff or the Plaintiff's attorney.

The government is ordered to pay EAJA fees far more often in Social Security cases than in any other type of case. If the EAJA fee belongs to the Plaintiff, it is subject to offset for debts that the Plaintiff owes the federal government.

The case is set for oral argument on February 22, 2010. The certiorari stage briefs are available through the Wiki. The government's brief on the merits is also available. The opposing brief should be available in the near future.

Pay Up

According to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Social Security has 1,913 employees who owe federal taxes totaling $16,426,239. Social Security's delinquency rate, that is the percentage of its employees who owe federal taxes, is 2.99%.

Attorney User Fee To Remain At 6.3% In 2010

Attorneys and others who receive direct payment from the Social Security Administration of fees for representing claimants must pay a user fee. The user fee has been 6.3% for years but Social Security must determine on a yearly basis whether this percent should be reduced. Social Security will publish a notice in the Federal Register tomorrow saying that the user fee will stay at 6.3% in 2010.

Retirement Of A District Manager

From the Chattanooga Times Free Press:

Eleanor Jones has always thought Social Security workers get a bad rap.

And she hopes she has changed some people's minds after serving as district manager of the area's Social Security office for the past decade.

"Sometimes people think of the government as uncaring, but we are caring," said Ms. Jones, who plans to retire at the end of December. "I tell everyone to treat everyone as if they are your grandmother and leave them with their dignity." ...

C.C. Kennedy, assistant director of the district Social Security office, said Ms. Jones' retirement feels like the end of an era.

"It's been the golden years," she said. "She is kind, compassionate and caring. She cares about the employees and public service. I have looked forward to coming in to work every day working for her."

Social Security's Top Ten Contractors

Courtesy of FedSpending.org here are the top contractors at Social Security for fiscal year 2009, which ended on September 30, 2009:

IBM CORP.	$44,762,855
CA INC	$31,033,053
VION CORP	$20,268,560
DELL COMPUTER CORPORATION	$18,671,233
NANA REGIONAL CORPORATION INC	$12,341,548
PC MALL, INC.	$12,338,011
KONIAG INC	$10,131,412
COMPUWARE	$6,778,885
YORK TELECOM CORPORATION	$5,484,667
I. LEVY AND ASSOCIATES, INC.	$5,202,386

NANA is an Alaska native owned business. There have been questions asked about the appropriateness of contracting preferences given NANA.

Social Security Working On 75th Anniversary Plans

From the Social Security Update, a newsletter put out by the Social Security Administration:

Social Security’s 75th Anniversary

As we ring in 2010, we also will be ringing in the 75th anniversary of Social Security. On August 14, 1935, Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act into law. Since then, for 75 years, Social Security has been a cornerstone of our nation, touching the lives of almost every American at one time or another. We’re hoping that Congress will help us celebrate our anniversary by enacting legislation we proposed to name the Operations Building at our headquarters complex after former Commissioner Robert Ball.

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Effects Of Furloughs In California

From a report of the California State Senate Rules Committee:

Disability Programs. We found that by taking workers off the job as many as three days a month, furloughs have delayed tens of millions of dollars in monthly checks for people with long-term disabilities. Among our specific findings about the federal Social Security Administration disability programs:
• Federal disability benefits of $68 million to $99 million a year will be delayed for thousands of qualified Californians because furloughs have slowed the processing of applications.
• Each furlough day delays the processing of an estimated 1,476 applications for federal disability benefits, with a corresponding delay of $420,800 in benefits for blind, needy or disabled people.
• The backlog of applications for Social Security disability benefits in California is growing.
• An estimated 27,000 hours of labor per month are lost to furloughs in the programs that determine which Californians qualify for disability benefits.
• The average amount of time off taken by the state workers who determine eligibility for federal disability benefits increased by 47% between the third quarter of 2008 – before furloughs – and the same quarter in 2009.
• Furlough of the people who determine eligibility will cost the state between $18 million and $31 million a year in salaries and other administrative costs that would have otherwise been paid by the federal government – with a corresponding loss of at least $1.4 million in state income taxes.
• Federal officials have gone to court to argue that California’s furloughs hinder delivery of benefits that can prevent homelessness for vulnerable Californians.
• They have also warned California officials that federal regulations require states to avoid labor restrictions that impinge prompt payment of benefits.

California is furloughing disability determination employees even though their salaries are paid for by federal funds. Furloughing these employees saves the state government no money. In fact these furloughs worsen the state's budget situation since it reduces the taxes paid by those state employees. More importantly, the recipients of Social Security disability benefits do pay sales taxes and the money they spend provides for employment for others who do pay income taxes. There is no rational explanation for what California and several other states are doing.