Lockhart Nominated To OFHEO

Bloomberg.com reports that James Lockhart, Deputy Commissioner of Social Security, has been nominated by President Bush to become head of OFHEO, the agency that regulates Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the federal housing corporations. There had been earlier published reports that Lockhart had declined the post. President Bush must now nominate a new Deputy Commissioner for Social Security for confirmation by the Senate.

This Day In History

The first U.S. Social Security checks were distributed on April 27, 1937, according to LMT Online.

Dating Over The Internet

The Social Security Administration has published final regulations dealing with the filing date to be assigned to claims for benefits filed over the internet. The issue arises because a claimant may start to file a claim over the internet, but not complete the process until a later date. The date of filing may affect the number of months of benefits to be paid to the claimant. The new rule indicates that normally Social Security will use the date that the claimant began filing the claim. This is consistent with Social Security practice when claimants use the telephone to start the claim. The new regulations also correct a small error in the existing regulations on widows benefits.

New Chief ALJ -- Acting

David Hatfield, an Administrative Law Judge who has been working in Pittsburg, has been appointed national Chief Administrative Law Judge at Social Security on an acting basis. He replaces David Washington, who will return to the hearing office in Minneapolis.

Presidential Order On Succession At SSA

The President has issued an order setting forth the following succession order in case the position of Commissioner of Social Security is vacant:

• Deputy Commissioner of Social Security
• Chief of Staff
• Deputy Commissioner for Operations
• Regional Commissioner, Philadelphia
• Regional Commissioner, Dallas

One has to wonder why the existing plan was pulled out of the drawer, dusted off and altered. It is hard to imagine anyone bothering with this unless there was a real chance that the plan would be needed in coming months, such as in January 2007 when Commissioner Barnhart's term ends.

Social Security's Semi-Annual Regulatory Agenda

The Social Security Administration has published its semi-annual regulatory agenda, showing the status of all regulatory proposals the agenda has on its table. There appear to be no surprises. The projected date for finalization of the proposal to add two years to each of the age catagories in the grid regulations has a projected final date of January, 2007, but these projections are often wildly inaccurate. Things usually take much longer than what is listed in the regulatory agenda.

Social Security Advisory Board Agenda

The Social Security Advisory Board (SSAB) has posted the following agenda for its meeting on April 27:

9:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. Katherine McCary, Vice President and

Program Manager for Accessing Community Talent (ACT)

1:45 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. Marion T. Silva, Chief ALJ, Departmental Appeals Board, Department of Health and Human Services and Perry Rhew, Chief ALJ, Office of Medicare Hearings and Appeals

Length of Time to Get a Hearing

Socialsecuritydisability.com has posted information on the length of time it is taking to get a hearing at the Social Security Administration listed by Hearing Office. The information was received in response to a Freedom of Information Act request. The news is not good. According to a separate press release, nationally, the average length of time was 485 days, in contrast to Social Security's modest goal of 250 days. Dayton had an average wait of 25 months and Miami an average wait of 26 and a half months. The shortest waits were in Colorado Springs, CO and McAlester, OK at 9 months.