SSA Employees Get Christmas Eve Off

     By order of the President, federal offices, including Social Security will be closed on Monday, December 24. I think federal employees would have been happier if this had been announced much earlier.

Andrew Saul's Nomination

     Andrew Saul's nomination to become Commissioner of Social Security for a term ending January 20, 2019, that's right, a month from tomorrow is still pending on the Senate's Executive Calendar, along with many dozens of other nominations. Unless there's unanimous consent from all members of the Senate, it's going nowhere in this Congress. If Saul is confirmed in this Congress he wouldn't have to leave office on January 20, 2019. He could hold over indefinitely until a successor is confirmed. Unless there's some agreement to advance Saul's nomination in this Congress, he'll have to be renominated once the new Congress convenes. He wouldn't necessarily have to go through a new confirmation hearing, however. It's just a matter of what the Senate Finance Committee would want to do. No opposition to Saul's nomination has surfaced but the number of nominations pending on the Senate Executive Calendar suggests just how slow the process can be in the Senate.

Merry Christmas

What A Surprise

     The user fee -- really a tax -- on attorneys and others who receive direct payment of fees for representing Social Security claimants will remain at 6.3% in 2018.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas

This is the White House. Melania says they look beautiful in person.

Merry Christmas!

Social Security Seeking Comments On Consideration Of Pain

     From an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking which Social Security will publish in Monday's Federal Register:

We are soliciting public input to ensure that the manner in which we consider pain in adult and child disability claims under titles II and XVI of the Social Security Act (Act) remains aligned with contemporary medicine and health care delivery practices. Specifically, w e are requesting public comment s and supporting data related to the consideration of pain and documentation of pain in the medical evidence we use in connection with claims for benefits . We will use the responses to the questions below and any relevant research and data we obtain or receive to determine whether and how we should propose revisions to our current policy regarding the evaluation of pain.

     Remember, Democrats will control the House of Representatives in three weeks. Could the Social Security Administration go ahead with something terrible? Sure, but don't bet on it. Even if they try, they probably can't complete action on it before January 20, 2021.

SSA Seeking Comments On Rep Payees

     From a request for comments posted by Social Security in today's Federal Register:

We are requesting information on the appropriateness of our order of preference lists for selecting representative payees (payees) and the effectiveness of our policy and operational procedures in determining when to change a payee. We are seeking this information to determine whether and how we should make any changes to our representative payee program to help  ensure that we select suitable payees for our beneficiaries.