Continued Decline In Social Security Workforce

     The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has posted updated figures for the number of employees at the Social Security Administration:

• March 2018 61,487
• December 2017 62,777
• September 2017 62,297
• June 2017 61,592
• March 2017 62,183
• December 2016 63,364
• December 2015 65,518
• December 2014 65,430
• December 2013 61,957
• December 2012 64,538
• September 2011 67,136
• December 2010 70,270
• December 2009 67,486
• December 2008 63,733
• September 2008 63,990

     Did you fall for the fairy tale that a bigger appropriation to Social Security would result in better service? The increase in funding was slight and Republicans in Congress made sure that the increase would go to politically connected contractors instead of into hiring the personnel needed to get the work done. I think the attitude of Republicans in Congress to Social Security's ability to deliver service to the public ranges from indifference to an active desire to sabotage.

Eric Conn Client Getting "Three Hots And A Cot" But A Former Client Is Homeless

    From WYMT:

Thousands of former clients of Eric C. Conn have had their social security benefits taken away and are being scheduled for redetermination hearings to see if and when they can get those benefits back. While Conn is in prison with a roof over his head and food in his stomach one of his former clients is struggling to have even that. 

"I have nothing...I'm homeless right now and I have nothing," said Thomas Mullins.  ...

But nearly two years ago Mullins, who can not read or write, lost his benefits during a hearing where his only council was the Social Security Administration....

"They (Social Security Administration) told me I didn't need a lawyer and I went in front of them and they cut my benefits off without a lawyer," Mullins explained. ...

Mullins' oldest son, Jacob, says the situation has left his dad considering the unimaginable.

"I know that thoughts of suicide...he's talked with me about it..and it's just...I mean just hold on as long as you can," said Jacob Mullins.

Mullins says there is still hope as he has a redetermination hearing scheduled in September. ...

Congressional Hearing Scheduled On "Changes To Social Security Disability Appeals Process"

     From a press release:

House Ways and Means Social Security Subcommittee Chairman Sam Johnson (R-TX ) announced today that the Subcommittee will hold a hearing entitled “Examining Changes to Social Security’s Disability Appeals Process.” The hearing will focus on recent and planned changes affecting the Social Security Administration’s (SSA’s) disability appeals process, the metrics the SSA uses to evaluate process changes, and the progress the SSA has made to address the appeals backlog. The hearing will take place on Wednesday, July 25, 2018, in 2020 Rayburn House Office Building, beginning at 10:00 AM.

     Uh, what changes apart from the downturn in claims and appeals? I'm sure Lucia issues will be raised but that's not really a change in the "process."

Social Security Following Anti-Union Trump Orders With "Gusto, Joy And Clear Purpose"

     From Joe Davidson writing for the Washington Post:

President Trump's recent executive orders are a serious assault on federal labor organizations, but it is taxpayers who could become collateral damage.

Consider the Social Security Administration (SSA), which deals more directly with clients than most. It is on the front lines of the Trump-union clash, because officials there are enforcing his commands more aggressively than management at many agencies. Three orders issued in May sharply cut the time available for union officials to represent the workforce, restricted their ability to bargain collectively and sped the firing of federal employees. Another order, issued last week, would diminish administrative law judges, most of whom decide Social Security disputes involving recipients.

While the federal workforce and its representatives are the target of the orders, Social Security beneficiaries could be the victims, warned Max Richtman, president and chief executive of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare. He said the impact on them is  pretty direct and dramatic.  Calling agency employees  so dedicated,  he said that  when they re faced with a pretty hostile employer in the government executive in particular, their ability to perform their central duty is undermined and that will lead to a detrimental impact on Social Security beneficiaries. ... [I]mplementation [of the President's orders] is more like imposition and has been done with a vengeance, according to Witold Skwierczynski, president of AFGE's National Council of SSA Field Operations Locals.  SSA followed the Trump administration's executive order  guidance  with gusto, joy, and clear purpose,  he said.

But the administration s gusto and joy is a bummer for Social Security employees and that could be a drag for Social Security recipients.

Richtman and Nancy Altman, president of Social Security Works and chair of the Strengthen Social Security Coalition, cited the effect of Trump's actions on employee morale and the resulting impact on service.

Altman is particularly concerned about Trump s order that devalues administrative law judges (ALJ) by eliminating all but the most minimal requirements for new hires. Additionally, they would be selected by agency heads without first being vetted by the Office of Personnel Management as was the procedure. That makes the process more vulnerable to politicization. ...

ABA Opposes Schedule E

     From FCW:

A House lawmaker is looking to block a July 10 executive order reclassifying administrative law judges outside of the competitive service under a new appointment authority dubbed Schedule E. ...

Rep. Bobby Scott (D-Va.) is offering an amendment to an appropriations bill to prohibit the use of Office of Personnel Management funds in implementing the order. ...

Hilarie Bass, president of the American Bar Association, is opposing the order and supporting Scott's amendment.

"By giving agency heads sole discretion to hire ALJs who will be making determinations affirming or overturning decisions rendered by that agency, the EO has the potential to politicize the appointment process and interfere with the decisional independence of ALJs," Bass wrote in a July 16 letter to the leaders of the House Rules Committee, urging the adoption of Scott's amendment. ...

What Took You So Long?

Email from the Chief ALJ

Colleagues,

On June 21, the Supreme Court issued its decision in Lucia v. SEC, Case No. 

 17-130.  The holding in Lucia was narrowly tailored to SEC ALJs, and does not directly implicate SSA ALJs or our programs.  After analyzing the holding in Lucia and consulting with the Department of Justice, earlier today the Acting Commissioner ratified the original selection of incumbent SSA ALJs and approved their current appointments in the competitive service.  Moving forward, affirmation of the oath of office will be administered, and your e-OPF files will be updated accordingly to reflect these actions.

On July 10, 2018, President Trump issued an Executive Order 13843 (EO). This order addresses potential constitutional concerns with the ALJ appointment process without affecting ALJs  qualified decisional independence or altering the status of ALJ incumbents.  The EO provides prospective direction; therefore, the Acting Commissioner s actions to ratify the appointment of incumbent ALJs to their position in the competitive service is in accordance with the EO.

The Supreme Court once described our hearings operation as the largest adjudicatory system in the world.  At the heart of our massive and complex operation is each of you, who serve as the face of this agency for thousands of people every day.  Your dedication is a testament to public service and is critical to ensuring that our vital work for the American public continues uninterrupted.  Thank you for your service and dedication.

Patrick Nagle

Waiting In Atlanta

     From WGCL:

An Atlanta veteran who once served in the Navy is now living in and out of homeless shelters.

George Hocker reached out to CBS46 reporter Natalie Rubino after he'd been waiting two years for social security.

After his service, Hocker worked for decades as an executive assistant. But in 2009, he had his first heart attack.

"Recovered from that, went back to shortly after I went back to work I had a second heart attack," said Hocker.

He recovered from that too but he had a third heart attack. So in 2013, Hocker applied for disability with social security. At 55 years old he was denied.and couldn't find a job in his field.

Hocker then worked retail for three years until it became too painful to stand for long periods of time.

"I went to the doctor and found out I had peripheral artery disease on top of my coronary artery disease," he said.

His VA doctor told the SSA that Hocker couldn't work. Still he was once again denied disability benefits. So he went to the VA to for help.

"They said you have to actually become homeless before we can do anything for you," said Hocker.

But the head of the Social Services Department for the VA tells CBS46 they did provide Hocker with other resources.

"We provided all of those resources but it's the veterans choice whether they follow up or go with a or b."

Hocker says after he became homeless the VA placed him at the Salvation Army's shelter. Now he's desperately waiting for an appeal date with social security. ...

A spokesperson for social security also tells Natalie Rubino after hearing about Hocker's case, they've requested that his appeal court date be scheduled immediately.

Social Security Wants Software Purchasing Advice

     From Nextgov:

The Social Security Administration wants to spend less on tech and is looking for a vendor to help do its homework.

The agency issued a request for information last week for small businesses able to conduct market research on current software services and pricing, or what it calls “fair market value benchmark and optimization services.”

Citing cost-savings mandates in the Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act, or FITARA, and the Making Electronic Government Accountable By Yielding Tangible Efficiencies, or MEGABYTE, Act, the agency wants to have a better understanding of the software marketplace at any given time to inform buying decisions, including whether to renew existing licenses or purchase new ones.

As part of its duties, the winning vendor would be asked to produce a fair market value report on demand for a particular software or company. ...

Complaint About Tattered Flag Leads To Arrest At Social Security Office

     From an Arizona television station:

A disabled veteran was roughly kicked out of a Social Security office in Mesa after informing a security guard that the American flag flying outside the office was tattered. ...

"The flag means to me more than it does to a lot of people," said [Richard] Moriarty.

So when he saw a tattered flag hanging outside the Mesa Social Security office near Baseline and Country Club Drive, he was devastated.

"Each stripe was torn. It was in tatters," he described.

Moriarty felt like he had to say something. ...

Moriarty said he walked into the office and approached a security guard.

"I said, 'Do you know you need to take that flag down? It's desecrated,'" he said.

Moriarty offered to take it down for them and asked the security guard if he was a veteran. That's when the situation escalated and within seconds, the guard pushed Moriarty out of the office.

"I can't breathe!" yelled Moriarty in a video captured by a witness, Shivani Dallas.
Mesa Police arrived on scene. According to their report, the security guard claimed Moriarty initiated the conflict by pushing him in the chest. The 63-year-old is now charged with disorderly conduct and trespassing. ...

"Court-Packing" Coming?

     From Joe Davidson writing for the Washington Post: 

President Trump’s latest action upsetting the established order of the federal workforce has spawned a bevy of accusations that his move could politicize the administrative judiciary.

A Trump executive order says administrative law judges, who primarily work for the Social Security Administration, will no longer be hired by the competitive civil service process that is a mainstay of an impartial bureaucracy. Instead, they will be selected by agency heads who could pick lawyers who do not need the experience previously required. ...

John Palguta, a civil service expert who previously worked for the Merit Systems Protection Board and the OPM, said the order should not pose a problem if agencies act “in a responsible manner.” ...

Calling the order “a court-packing plan” and “the equivalent of placing a thumb on the scale of justice,” Marilyn Zahm, president of the Association of Administrative Law Judges, said “they are removing hiring based on merit and replacing it with a system that could lead to abuse and biased decisions.” ...