Update From Commissioner Saul

      An e-mail message to staff from Andrew Saul, Commissioner of Social Security:

Subject: Budget Update

    I am happy to report that the President signed the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, which funds our work through September 2020. Knowing our budget for fiscal year 2020 allows us to better plan hiring and make other funding decisions. Our approved budget is about the same amount as last year. This legislation also contained an average 3.1 percent pay raise for Federal employees, effective in January 2020.

    As I have said, our fundamental goal is to ensure timely and accurate service for the public. We will focus our funding on improving service and reducing wait times. We will build on our progress in reducing the disability hearings backlog and modernizing our information technology. We must also continue to protect the integrity of our programs by processing our medical continuing disability reviews as they come due for a review.

    We have already started efforts to maximize our resources for the front lines. I asked our leadership team to closely review all of our spending to identify any opportunities to reduce costs and to redirect any savings to our direct service operations. I have been visiting local offices to better understand your concerns and hear your ideas for improvement. Based on your input and feedback from systems experts, as well as the top reasons people contact or visit us, we are developing new, customer-centric automation to better support you and the public we serve. We are also enhancing our website to make it easier for people to find and use our online information and services.

    You handle an incredible amount of work, helping millions of people a year. Therefore, I understand that in addition to better tools and technology, you want more people to help you serve the public. I already approved 1,100 hires in the processing centers (PC) and on the National 800 Number. While we still need to work through the details of our budget, I intend to fund additional hiring in field offices, PCs, the National 800 Number, and the State disability determination services.
    Thank you for your hard work and dedication to public service. We have made progress. We are on track to meet our commitment to eliminate our hearings backlog next year. Our service on the National 800 Number is better now than it was this time last year. Yet, there is still more we need to do, and we will use this funding to continue to improve.

    Andrew Saul
    Commissioner

     Without knowing more, I wouldn't get a bit happy about the 1,100 hires. On its face that's a small number but there's a long history of Social Security Commissioners announcing hiring plans without mentioning that the hires weren't new positions, just replacements for workers who were leaving. Sometimes there's a net staff loss despite the hiring.

Social Security Employee Speaks Out

     A long time Social Security employee speaks out about the problems caused by Commissioner Saul's decision to open the agency's field offices on Wednesday afternoons. I hope she won't be punished. She's only speaking the truth.

It's OK To Be Sad At Christmas

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas

I Don't Know What To Make Of This

     I can track the top countries from which readers access this blog. Below is the list from yesterday. Notice one or more countries high on the list that surprise you? I've seen other days on which Ukraine, yes Ukraine, was listed as a country from which many have accessed this blog. I can also tell when people access the blog. Often there are a lot of hits in the middle of the night Eastern Time, like 4:00 a.m. I know that there are also quite a number of comments posted in the middle of the night.  It's hard for me to believe that it's all night owls.

• United States 3440 
• Brazil 2548 
• Russia 125 
• Unknown Region 103 
• Finland 33 
• Mexico 29 
• Canada 20 
• Portugal 18 
• Puerto Rico 12 
• France 7

Would This Be Workable?

     From Florida Daily:

Three members of the Florida delegation are championing a proposal to have state courts notify the federal government when guardians are removed in order to keep them from collecting Social Security benefits.

At the end of last week, U.S. Rep. Charlie Crist, D-Fla., introduced the “Senior Guardianship Social Security Protection Act” which will direct “state courts to notify the Social Security Administration (SSA) when a court-appointed guardian is removed for cause, so they can be blocked from collecting Social Security benefits on behalf of the seniors under their care."

Two other members of the Florida delegation–Republican U.S. Rep. Gus Bilirakis and Democrat U.S. Rep. Darren Soto–are cosponsoring the proposal. ...

     I wouldn't count on getting really good compliance if this is passed.

Merry Christmas

Proposal To Have AAJs Hold Hearings

     From a Notice of Proposed Rule-Making (NPRM) that will appear in tomorrow's Federal Register:

... We propose to clarify that an AAJ [Administrative Appeals Judge] from our Appeals Council may hold a hearing and issue a decision on any case pending at the hearings level under titles II, VIII, or XVI of the Act. Just as ALJs [Administrative Law Judges] have the authority to hold hearings on a variety of disability and non-disability claims, we would not limit the kinds of claims that AAJs could hear. AAJs would be required to follow the same rules as ALJs, and the hearings they hold would apply the same due process protections as hearings held by our ALJs. ...

     This is only a proposal. The public may comment on the proposal. Social Security must consider the comments. If the agency wishes to go ahead with final regulations, they have to submit them to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for approval. This is a process that ordinarily takes many months.
     I have heard recently that the Appeals Council is seeking "decision-writers." In the past, the category of employees reviewing Appeals Council filings and writing Appeals Council decisions has been called "analyst." Decision-writer is the job title for those writing decisions for ALJs. Hiring decision-writers makes sense if AAJs will soon start holding hearings but I don't see how that will happen, given the length of time it takes to go from the NPRM to final regulation stage. Could the AAJs start holding hearings under the framework of the current regulations?
     As a workload matter, this NPRM makes no sense. The ALJs are rapidly working off their backlog. I haven't seen any improvement in the Appeals Council backlog. I think you have to assume that there's something about ALJs that Social Security management doesn't like.
     By the way, this NPRM was cleared by OMB back in May. It's been sitting there, waiting for the Commissioner's approval for more than seven months. I don't think it's a coincidence that this gets published just before Christmas when it will get less attention.

Turning Them Down In Mississippi

     From the Meridian Star:

Amanda Evans sought Social Security Disability Income 20 years after being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis when her advancing condition made it more and more difficult for her to move around her Pearl home.

But it wouldn’t be until 2016, two years after applying, before an administrative law judge determined she was eligible for benefits. 

She had to go before a Social Security administrative law judge (the third level of appeal after initial claim and reconsideration). She had been denied on three separate initial applications and finally exercised her right of appeal on the third application. By then, she had to use a rolling walker to get into the courtroom. 

Evans said the judge looked at her and said, “I am so sorry that this has happened and no one has paid attention.” 

Her experience is not an uncommon one in Mississippi, which has the lowest rate of allowances for initial claims and reconsiderations among its neighboring Southern states, according to data from the Atlanta Regional office for the Social Security Administration.  ...

Mississippi also has a higher processing time for claims than what SSA considers reasonable, with the SSA field offices taking an average of eight days to determine financial eligibility for benefits, while the Mississippi DDS takes 76 days on average to make a medical decision. ...