Is This True?

     This comment was posted in response to my post about a representative payee problem in one case:

SSA has not even been reviewing the payee cases since at least January. I am one of the contractors that does payee reviews per the congressional mandate and SSA is not reviewing anything right now because they re-assigned all our people that review the payee cases. Our cases of misuse that we have done and our corrective action plans we've issued have thus far just been sitting there ignored. 

    Is this true? If so, this is a big problem brewing. 

Proposed Change In Public Assistance Household

      Last year Social Security changed its regulations to alter the definition of a public assistance household in ways that benefit Supplemental Security Income recipients. The agency has now submitted new proposed regulations to the Office of Management and Budget to alter what was done. We don’t have the text of what was submitted but I’ll take a guess that the Trump Administration wants to completely undo it.

     The odd thing about what has been posted is that it’s labeled an Executive Order but it certainly seems like it would have to be a change in the regs. Also, they don’t give prior notice of Executive Orders.

A Rep Payee Problem

     From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

On a chilly night in April 2023, Charlotte Walker got a text message. Her sister, 68-year-old Barbara Walker, was in jail and facing a felony.

Barbara's crime: starting a fire to keep warm. 

Charlotte was infuriated. Her sister, who has schizophrenia, should not have been living on the street at all.

Under an arrangement with the Social Security Administration known as the representative payee program, a staff member at the local nonprofit Outreach Community Health Centers was supposed to be assisting Barbara with housing.

That employee, Elizabeth Gabriel, was responsible for receiving Barbara's monthly disability benefit checks and using the money to help her secure food, medicine and housing. Since 2017, Gabriel had collected over $80,000 on Barbara's behalf, approximately $900 per month.

But over the past three years, Barbara’s siblings say their sister has consistently lived on and off the street while Gabriel has repeatedly failed to return phone calls, text messages and letters about their sister's care. They say neither she nor Outreach has provided insight into why Barbara was unhoused or how the funds were used. ...

 Outreach declined to comment on the Walker family's complaints, citing federal privacy laws. Gabriel did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

Turmoil In Social Security Management?

     This is from a couple of posts on Bluesky from @altssa.altgov.info who purports to be a current Social Security employee. I cannot vouch for this person but this fits in with what I’ve heard elsewhere:

Deputy Commissioner of Operations Stephen Evangelista will reportedly be back at work on Monday after having a confrontation with commish Frankie over changes being made to operations and changes they want to make to operations that Evangelista is almost certainly correct about being bad for … [post one]

SSA operations and staffing. Frankie apparently doesn’t like being told he’s wrong, so his reaction to being given data and facts about why his ideas are 💩 was to call Evangelista a “fucking liar.” Allegedly, of course. Sounds like a guy you definitely want to work for, amiright???? 😑😑😑😑 [post two]

You Can Almost Feel Sorry For Lee Dudek

     Here are some interesting messages from the Secretary of Homeland Security to then Acting Commissioner of Social Security Leland Dudek back in April. Note the stern, commanding tone of the messages. Note also the complete lack of legal underpinning for what is being demanded. These were posted by Social Security itself. By the way, Dudek, who apparently has a Twitter account, liked and retweeted my tweet about this. As always, click on the images below to view full size.

 

SSA CIOs Receive To Do List From GAO

      A letter from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) (footnotes omitted):

July 7, 2025

Mr. Aram Moghaddassi

Chief Information Officer

Mr. Michael Russo

Chief Information Officer

Social Security Administration

6401 Security Boulevard 

Baltimore, MD 21235

Chief Information Officer Open Recommendations: Social Security Administration

I am writing to you both with respect to your roles as the Chief Information Officers (CIO) of the Social Security Administration (SSA). As an independent, non-partisan agency that works for Congress, GAO’s mission is to support Congress in meeting its constitutional responsibilities and help improve the performance and ensure the accountability of the federal government. Our work includes investigating matters related to the use of public funds, evaluating programs and activities of the U.S. Government at the request of congressional committees and subcommittees or on the initiative of the Comptroller General, and as required by public laws or committee reports. Our duties include reporting our findings and recommending ways to increase economy and efficiency in government spending. The purpose of this letter is to provide an overview of the open, publicly available GAO recommendations to SSA that call for the attention of the CIOs.

We identified recommendations that relate to the CIOs’ roles and responsibilities in effectively managing IT. They include strategic planning, investment management, and information security. We have previously reported on the significance of the CIO’s role in improving the government’s performance in IT and related information management functions. Your attention to these recommendations will help ensure the secure and effective use of IT at the agency.

Currently, SSA has 11 open recommendations that call for the attention of the CIOs. Each of these recommendations relates to a GAO High-Risk area: (1) Ensuring the Cybersecurity of the Nation or (2) Improving IT Acquisitions and Management. In addition, GAO has designated one of the 11 as a priority recommendation. Fully implementing these open recommendations agencies. They are highlighted because, upon implementation, they may significantly improve government operations, for example, by realizing large dollar savings; eliminating mismanagement, fraud, and abuse; or making progress toward addressing a high-risk or duplication issue. Since 2015, GAO has sent letters to selected agencies to highlight the importance of implementing such recommendations. Fully implementing these open recommendations could significantly improve SSA’s ability to deter threats and manage its critical systems, operations, and information. I have summarized selected recommendations here. See the enclosure for a full list, and additional details on the recommendations.

Ensuring the Cybersecurity of the Nation. SSA needs to take additional steps to secure the information systems it uses to carry out its mission. Specifically, we recommended that the agency fully implement all event logging requirements as directed by the Office of Management and Budget. Until SSA does so, there is increased risk that the agency will not have complete information from logs on its systems to detect, investigate, and remediate cyber threats.

Improving IT Acquisitions and Management. SSA needs to take steps to improve its IT operations, including developing a complete inventory of telecommunications assets and more consistently tracking software licenses. For example, we recommended that the CIO verify the completeness of SSA’s inventory of current telecommunications assets, and establish a process for ongoing maintenance of the inventory. Until SSA does so, the agency is more likely to experience delays and increased costs during telecommunications contract transitions. We also recommended that SSA consistently track software licenses that are currently in use and compare its inventories of software licenses in use to purchased licenses. Implementing this recommendation will allow SSA to take advantage of opportunities to reduce costs and better inform its investment decision-making.

Copies of this letter are being sent to the appropriate congressional committees and the Federal CIO. The letter will also be available at no charge on the GAO website at https://www.gao.gov. In addition, we sent a separate letter, related to agency-wide priority recommendations, to theCommissioner of SSA. 

If you have any questions or would like to discuss any of the recommendations outlined in this letter, please do not hesitate to contact me at marinosn@gao.gov. Contact points for our Offices of Congressional Relations and Public Affairs may be found on the last page of this letter. Our teams will continue to coordinate with your staff on addressing these 11 open recommendations that call for the attention of the CIOs. I appreciate SSA’s continued commitment and thank you for your personal attention to these important recommendations.

Nick Marinos

Managing Director

Information Technology and Cybersecurity

Commissioner Appears At 90th Anniversary Event

      A Twitter post by the Social Security Administration yesterday:

Today, Commissioner Bisignano spoke at the National Academy of Social Insurance (NASI) event to commemorate the 90th anniversary of Social Security alongside James Roosevelt III, grandson of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Rep. Danny Davis, and Rebecca Vallas, CEO of NASI.

Does He Even Bother To Reply?

      Democratic Senators Wyden and Warren have written the Commissioner of Social Security asking for answers about the sudden reassignments of front line agency employees to answering 1-800 phone calls at about the same time that many metrics of agency functioning have been removed from public view. 

Mass Deportation Not So Good For Trust Funds

      From a report by the widely respected Penn Wharton Budget Model:

Deporting unauthorized workers over 10 years cuts Social Security revenue, raises deficits by $133 billion (10 yrs) and $884 billion (30 yrs). The Trust Fund depletes 6 months earlier; 75-year deficit rises by 0.25% of payroll.

Robbing Peter To Pay Paul

    From Government Executive:

In recent days, the Social Security Administration and its newly confirmed commissioner Frank Bisignano have celebrated “key milestones” in its quest to improve customer service, citing its implementation of the Social Security Fairness Act and addition of new automated service lanes on the agency’s 1-800 number and website. …

But workers at the agency say that as the agency shrinks by an aspired 7,000 workers this fiscal year, management is simultaneously scrambling to triage escalating workloads, causing a communications whiplash akin to being “gaslit,” one said. …

Beginning last week, the agency involuntarily reassigned 500 field office customer support representatives to handle calls to the 1-800 number indefinitely and without notice. By Tuesday, that number had risen to 1,000 reassignments. …

They’re robbing Peter to pay Paul,” [said the leader of the union that represents most Social Security employees].“And it really invalidates [Bisignano’s] whole theory and vision that SSA doesn’t need any more staff and that AI—or other technology—will solve the customer service problems at the agency and on the 1-800 number.” … 

Bisignano’s email to staff on Monday included an additional bit of news: performance bonuses will be distributed next month. Though Bisignano said he “directed” their distribution, the bonuses were originally slated to go out earlier this year but were delayed during the tenure of then-acting Commissioner Leland Dudek. …

A Free Lunch That Only Costs A Few Trillion Dollars But It Will All Be Paid Back 75 Years From Now

      From an op ed piece in the Washington Post by Senators Bill Cassidy (R-LA) and Tim Kaine (D-VV):

… We propose creating an additional investment fund — in parallel to the trust fund, not replacing it — that would be invested in stocks, bonds and other investments that generate a higher rate of return, helping keep the program from running dry.


We estimate that it would take a $1.5 trillion up-front investment into the fund to get it going, and we propose giving the fund 75 years to grow. The Treasury would temporarily shoulder the burden of providing benefits to Social Security beneficiaries — but when the new fund’s 75 years are up, it would pay the Treasury back and supplement payroll taxes to help fill the future gap.

The result? The consistent delivery of Social Security benefits for generations of Americans, and a reduction to the United States’ long-term indebtedness by up to 20 percent. …

OHO Gets 41,000 Hours Of OT In June And Still Loses Ground

 

Click on image to view full size

Service Is Just Getting Better And Better!

      From a press release:

 Social Security Administration (SSA) today announced significant progress in its ongoing efforts to improve customer service while handling record transaction volumes. Key milestones include:

• Completing over 3.1 million payments to all who were entitled under the Social Security Fairness Act (SSFA) five months ahead of schedule
• Continuing to upgrade SSA’s telephone technology nationwide, deploying the platform to 841 field offices, representing 70 percent of field offices nationwide
• Reducing the average speed of answer (ASA) on the 800 Number to 13 minutes, a 35 percent reduction compared to this time last year and over a 50 percent reduction compared to last year’s annual average
• Optimizing technology on the 800 Number so that 90 percent of calls handled are now served via automated self-service options or convenient callbacks, minimizing hold times
• Implementing a new service model in field offices that has reduced wait times about 10 percent for all customers year-over-year
• Decreasing the initial disability claims backlog by 25 percent, from a record high of 1.2 million cases pending last summer to 950,000 cases pending today
• Achieving a historic low of approximately 276,000 disability hearings pending, with customers experiencing wait times 60 days shorter than last summer
• Upgrading the my Social Security online portal to provide uninterrupted, 24/7 access to customers starting mid-July …

Playing Games With Stats Doesn’t Answer The Phone

      From the Philadelphia Inquirer:

For a “real lesson in torture,” try calling your local Social Security Administration office with a question.

That’s what Marcia Chestnut, a 62-year-old former housekeeper from Philadelphia, sardonically suggests.

In February, Chestnut — who lives with various disabilities — received a notice from the SSA saying her benefits would be cut off by April.

To find out why, Chestnut phoned her local SSA office every weekday for two months. She’d get put on hold for four hours or longer, then the calls would be disconnected.

“Live people don’t answer,” she said. “You’re not getting anybody who’ll talk to you.” …

We spend a lot of time calling Social Security offices on people’s behalf — sometimes 15 times a day,“ [a local advocate] said. ”We’re on hold for hours, then get AI bots spewing random information you never asked for before hanging up. …

Congressional Hearing Scheduled

      From a press release:

House Committee on Ways and Means Chairman Jason Smith (MO-08), Social Security Subcommittee Chairman Ron Estes (KS-04), and Work & Welfare Subcommittee Chairman Darin LaHood (IL-16) announced today that the Subcommittees on Social Security and Work & Welfare will hold a joint hearing to discuss barriers to work and how policymakers can support opportunities for individuals with disabilities to establish, renew, or strengthen their connection to the workforce. The hearing will take place on Wednesday, July 9, 2025, at 2:00 PM …

     When they say “support”, they may mean “demand.”  Time limited benefits would be a possibility. That may be the next logical step for Republicans. Further work incentives are pointless. If you demand that they be half dead to get benefits, why are you surprised that they don’t go back to work? 

    Update: This hearing has already been postponed. No new date given. 

Another Data Point Suggesting That The Average Call Wait Time That Social Security Is Giving Out Is Wildly Optimistic

     A Las Vegas television station did its own checking on call wait times at Social Security and concludes that the 18.5 minute call wait time that the Social Security Administration is giving out is "wildly optimistic."

    I think this needs a Office of Inspector General investigation. 

Defining Deviancy Down

      The Washington Post has an article on the emails from Social Security to beneficiaries touting the passage of the “Big, Beautiful Bill.” Only at the end does it mention how wildly inappropriate the emails are. Apparently, they regard this as something only of interest to “left-leaning” groups.  It’s much the same with USA Today, CNN and NBC News. Apparently, the New York Times has taken off for the long weekend and hasn’t noticed the emails at all. By Sunday or Monday it may just be old news to them.

Happy Independence Day

 

Outrageous Abuse Of Social Security For Political Purposes

      I have trouble believing it but apparently Social Security sent out this e-mail yesterday to many Social Security benefits recipients. It didn’t go out to all of them. I’m on retirement benefits and I did not receive it. 

     This is wrong. It’s probably illegal. It’s misleading. The “Big Beautiful Bill” contains no provisions touching on the work done by the Social Security Administration.

Happy July 4th!