British Plan To Return Disabled To Work Criticized

The British Prime Minister has proposed a plan that promises to return to work one million people drawing disability benefits under British Social Security. This has relevance to the United States since there have been steadily increasing complaints that U.S. Social Security is not doing enough to return disabled Social Security recipients to work. This goes along with a belief that if further return to work efforts were made that the costs of the U.S. Social Security disability program could be cut dramatically. In Britain, the plan to return disabled people to work has been predicted to save 7 billion British pounds per year.

A key part of British Prime Minister Tony Blair's plan is to draw a distinction between those who have the potential to return to work and those who do not and to give a good deal of return to work assistance to those who have that potential, as well as applying a good deal of compulsion to them. Such a plan would be attractive to many in the U.S. The British plan, which has not yet been implemented, is drawing criticism from a new study. The author of the study, Professor Richard Berthoud of the Institute for Social and Economic Research stated recently that:

The analysis [in the government consultation paper] shows a wide range of impairments among disabled people, with a gradual deterioration in job prospects across that range. It is by no means clear, from these data, where a dividing line could be drawn between those with realistic and unrealistic expectations. The paper does not explain how this judgment will be made. Nor does it say what will happen to disabled people who try but fail to find a job over a long period, even though they had been assessed as potential workers.

Online Signup for Direct Deposit

The Department of the Treasury and the Federal Reserve Banks have created a new system so banks and credit unions can sign up their customers online for direct deposit of regular government checks, including Social Security checks.

Statements At House Social Security Subcommittee Hearing

The written statements made by witnesses at the March 16, 2006 House Social Security Subcommittee hearing on Social Security numbers and Social Security cards has now been posted online. It is clear that the Chairman of the Subcommittee, Jim McCrery, has a huge interest in decreasing illegal immigration by imposing strict limits on the issuance of Social Security numbers and, possibly, in turning the Social Security card into a relatively tamper-proof national identification card. The workload involved for SSA in making the Social Security card relatively tamper-proof would be enormous and might make the agency into a very different agency.

Contract Hearing Reporters

Social Security has posted online a solicitation seeking contract hearing reporters to help out with Administrative Law Judge hearings.

Report on Social Security's Response to Katrina and Rita

A new report from the Social Security Advisory Board (SSAB) gives SSA high marks for its response to hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The SSAB report concludes:

Even in normal circumstances, the operations of the Social Security Administration directly and crucially affect the lives of millions of Americans. Over the years of the Board’s existence, we have been continually impressed by the commitment and expertise of the agency, its management, and its employees at all levels to providing excellent service to the beneficiaries who depend on Social Security. Last year’s hurricanes showed that commitment and expertise to be deep and solid. Service is what SSA does. Its employees both in the area and throughout the country volunteered to do whatever was necessary to assure that service to the public in the affected areas would continue. Agency management did not stop to worry about its constrained budgetary circumstances, but immediately deployed the resources necessary to meet the crisis. The agency and its employees, and especially those in the Atlanta and Dallas regions, have every reason to be proud of their preparedness, resourcefulness, and dedication in meeting the needs of the population they serve under the most trying of circumstances.

Bush Rejects Part D Signup Extension

The deadline for signing up without penalty for the Medicare Prescription Drug Benefits, Part D of Medicare, is May 15, 2006. Because of confusion over the plan, there have been calls to extend the deadline. The Baltimore Sun reports that President Bush rejected these calls while speaking at a gated retirement community in the Washington suburbs yesterday. Bush told the senior citizens that an extension of time was out of the question and urged senior citizens to sign up now.

Watch Senate Finance Committee Hearing

The Senate Finance Committee hearing yesterday on administrative challenges facing the Social Security Administration was digitally recorded and is now available as a streaming video.

Barnhart Testimony at Senate Finance Committee Hearing: New Regs Coming Soon

Commissioner of Social Security Jo Anne Barnhart testified today before the Senate Finance Committee. She stated the following in her written remarks concerning her proposal to alter the disability determination process:

During the comment period, SSA received almost 900 comments. We reviewed these comments very carefully. In fact, I met with my senior staff to consider all of these comments. And we have made changes in response. I am pleased to report that as of last month, the final rule was under review at the Office of Management and Budget, and we expect it to be published shortly.