Iowa County Proposes Aid To Those Waiting And Waiting For Action On Their Social Security Disability Claims

From the Daily Iowan:

A proposed addition to Johnson County's general-assistance program, which helps county residents experiencing financial crises, would assist those waiting to receive state Social Security disability benefits.

Under the proposed interim assistance program, as presented to the Johnson County Board of Supervisors last week, the county would help support citizens applying for benefits, providing monthly payments to those waiting for state approval. ...

Currently, individuals waiting on benefits do not receive money until their applications are approved. State reimbursement would go to the county rather than the individual under the new plan. The proposed program would provide immediate financial relief to those waiting for Social Security disability benefits.

Social Security Budget Situation

Let me start out by saying that I am no budget expert. In fact, the more I study Social Security's budget situation and the federal budget process, the more complicated it seems. Acknowledging that I may err, let me summarize what I understand the situation to be.

Social Security's Fiscal Year (FY) Actual Budget 2007 -- (October 1, 2006 to September 30, 2007) $9.3 billion

Social Security's FY 2008 (October 1, 2007 to September 30, 2008) Budget Request -- $10.44 billion -- a 13% increase over FY 2007

President's FY 2008 Budget --$9.6 billion -- a 4% increase -- little more than inflation

House of Representatives FY 2008 Budget Resolution Budget For Social Security--$10.11 billion -- a 9% increase over the FY 2007

Senate FY 2008 Budget Resolution Budget For Social Security -- I am still trying to figure this one out. I think it is similar to the House Budget Resolution, but a bit lower. I would appreciate it if someone who understands the process better can supply me with the Senate number.

These budget resolution figure, to the extent that I can understand it, is only a general guideline. The Appropriations Committees of the two houses of Congress must report out specific funding bills and those must be passed by both houses of Congress and signed by the President. Other agencies are jockeying with Social Security for appropriations, within the general guidelines set forth by the budget resolutions. In other words, Social Security's actual appropriaton for FY 2008 could go up or down from the figures suggested by the House budget resolution, but will probably be in the same ball park.

This certainly suggests that Social Security's FY 2008 budget will be much better than its FY 2007 budget, but that does not mean that all of Social Security's budget problems will disappear. Even the budget put forward by Social Security is likely to be well below what the agency needs to work down its backlogs quickly. Any agency must avoid offending the White House's Office of Management and Budget and Congress with budget requests which seem extravagant. Social Security's budget request for FY 2008 was prepared under the direction of Jo Anne Barnhart. She was never willing to pursue her agency's budget needs aggressively, so there is good reason to believe that, if anything, the budget she produced suffers from an excess of modesty, and Social Security is not going to get all of that.

What we can hope for at the moment is enough funds to stabilize Social Security's field offices, teleservice centers and payment centers, which are in a state of impending collapse, and to make some modest improvements at the Office of Disability Adjudication and Review (ODAR), which suffered a collapse in 2001 from which it has never recovered. Full recovery at ODAR (which should include a name change back to the Office of Hearings and Appeals -- everybody involved HATES the name ODAR) is likely to take many years.

Baltimore Sun On Jo Anne Barnhart, Michael Astrue and Martin Gerry

I have written before about the Baltimore Sun's lack of attention to the largest employer in the Baltimore area, the Social Security Administration. I have found it amazing that the newspaper ran no articles whatsoever about the nomination, confirmation or installation of Michael Astrue as Social Security Commissioner.

The Baltimore Sun has finally noticed Social Security. In the context of an article discussing "burrowing," political appointees seeking civil service positions before an expected change in government, the Sun finally mentions Social Security. The article does not mention any burrowing going on at Social Security, although that may be happening. Indeed, the mention of Social Security appears to be tacked onto an unrelated article. Still, the article does mention Michael Astrue, Jo Anne Barnhart and Martin Gerry. Here is an excerpt, which to my reading makes it clear that Martin Gerry was fired:

A longtime political appointee who oversaw the first wave of reforms to the nation's disability system is no longer employed by the Woodlawn-based Social Security Administration, agency spokesman Mark Lassiter said this week.

Lassiter declined to say whether Martin Gerry, who also served under Presidents Nixon, Ford and George H.W. Bush, resigned or was fired from his post. A spokesman for the agency's inspector general also declined to comment. A call to what is believed to be Gerry's Ellicott City home was not returned.

Gerry's departure, however, comes as new Social Security Commissioner Michael J. Astrue contemplates the agency's current strategy for streamlining the disability process - reforms that were a legacy of former Commissioner Jo Anne B. Barnhart. ...

Although Astrue has told Congress that he stands firmly behind Barnhart's goal of reducing the red tape and heaps of appeals from denied applicants, he has not committed to Barnhart's solution, which began in the New England region last year.

Awful Crime Alleged In Massachusetts

From the Associated Press:

Parents accused of killing their 4-year-old daughter with an overdose of prescription drugs had concocted symptoms of mental illnesses to qualify the girl for government benefits, a prosecutor said Tuesday. Michael and Carolyn Riley pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder charges Tuesday and were ordered to remain in custody without bail.

The Rileys' applications for Supplemental Security Income for their daughter, Rebecca, were twice rejected after government doctors examined her and found no evidence to back the parents' claims of bipolar disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD, Assistant District Attorney Frank Middleton said. ...

Rebecca's older siblings, now ages 11 and 6, already had gone to the psychiatrist, Dr. Kayoko Kifuji, and were diagnosed with the same disorders and were receiving Supplemental Security Income, the program administered by the Social Security Administration for disabled children.

Middleton said Carolyn Riley told Kifuji that Rebecca had "mood swings" and was "driving me crazy." Kifuji diagnosed her with bipolar disorder at age 3.

Carolyn Riley "continued to feed Dr. Kifuji fabricated symptoms," Middleton said. He said Rebecca's teachers, a school nurse, mental health therapist and neighbors and adults who lived with the Rileys all told a grand jury that "Rebecca showed none of these behaviors."

Social Security Attorney Fees And Bankruptcy

From the New York Law Journal:

The Social Security Administration does not have the authority to demand the return of fees it paid to an attorney who represented a disability claimant whose debts were discharged in bankruptcy, a federal appeals court has ruled.

The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the payment of $1,200 to the firm of Binder & Binder could not be undone by the agency even though the debtor disputed the firm's bill in her bankruptcy petition.

The ruling in Binder & Binder v. Barnhart, 05-6794-cv, was issued by Judges Roger Miner, Joseph McLaughlin and Robert Katzmann, with Judge Miner writing for the court.

Letter From Witold Skwierczynski To House Budget Committee Chairman

Witold Skwierczynski is the President of the National Council of SSA Field Operations Locals of the American Federation of Government Employees which represents 28,000 Social Security employees. He sent a letter today to thank the Chairman of the House Budget Committee for additional Social Security funding provided for in the House Budget Resolution. The letter is reproduced above. To see it at full size, just click on each page. The letter gives important information about the status of Social Security's budget for fiscal year 2008.

Senior ALJs Sought

I understand that the e-mail below went out early this morning:

From: Cristaudo, Frank
Sent: Tuesday, March 27, 2007 5:15 AM
To: #ODAR All RCALJs
Cc: Griswold, Nancy J.; #ODAR All RO Mgmt Team; #ODAR All HOCALJs; #ODAR All HODs; #ODAR HQ OCJ Exec Staff
Subject: Senior ALJs and Re-employed Annuitant ALJs

We need to know as quickly as possible the names of retired ALJs who would be interested in appointment as Senior ALJs or Re-employed Annuitant ALJs. We are being advised that a significant number of retired ALJs are interested in appointment as either a Senior ALJ or as a Re-employed Annuitant ALJ. Because of the urgency of this matter, I am copying the HO Chief Judges and HO Directors and asking them to let us know if they are familiar with any retired ALJs interested in re-appointment and to provide this information directly to the Chief Judge's Office with a copy to the ORCJ. The information should be sent to Vicki Norton who will have this information compiled for us. If you have any questions, please let me know. Thanks.

Frank A. Cristaudo
Chief Judge

Social Security Starting To Hire

The e-mail from Commissioner Astrue posted here recently said that Social Security had found some money to begin hiring some replacements for departing employees. Social Security has now posted online openings for 29 employees. This is, by far, the most openings that Social Security has had in many months, perhaps in years. Probably, there will be many more jobs posted in the near future as the agency does the paperwork to start the process of hiring new employees. As helpful as this is, all signs are that Social Security will be unable to keep its workforce from shrinking.