More Coverage Of House Social Security Subcommittee Hearing

An excerpt from GovExec.com:

Astrue testified that Social Security has worked hard to resolve those cases in which applicants had waited 1,000 days or more for a hearing, and has cut that number from 65,525 last October to 17,966 as of last week. But he said that despite making a record number of decisions last year, the agency lost ground and has more than 730,000 cases pending.

He said that over the past several years, funding has been a greater constraint than the ALJ candidate roster. He said appropriations repeatedly have fallen short of the president's budget request, and that he has been meeting with appropriators to make the case for full funding in the next budget cycle.

He said the productivity of some of the ALJs, who essentially receive lifetime appointments, also has been a concern, and that the agency is working to modernize its systems and make better use of technology.

The agency hopes to hire 150 additional ALJs in the coming budget year. Pomeroy questioned whether that would be sufficient to handle the record backlog, urging the commissioner to "think more aggressively than that." But Astrue said 150 new judges would be a challenge to train in one year, and that funds for more hiring could be requested later.

Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones, D-Ohio, attacked Astrue for the agency's failure to fix the problem, and invited him to Cleveland to explain the problems to her constituents.

Describing the heartbreak he experiences facing impoverished, disabled constituents, some of whom wait three or four years for a decision on their case, Rep. Sander Levin, D-Mich., noted that about two-thirds of those appeals ultimately would be vindicated. "I don't know how you live with yourselves," he said to the witnesses.

Fraud Charge In Maryland

From the Baltimore Examiner:

A woman faces welfare fraud and theft charges for allegedly lying about her marital status to collect $12,000 dollars in government benefits on behalf of her son.

Ginger Kay Wilson, 44, also faces unrelated charges of dealing methamphetamine, maintaining a common nuisance and neglect of a dependent.

Brett M. Yonkus, a special agent with the Social Security Administration, said Wilson collected $12,041 between May 2005 and January of this year by falsely reporting she lived alone with her 2-year-old son.

When Wilson completed paperwork in February applying for her own disability benefits, she reportedly told a claims representative she had lived with her husband, Thomas, for seven years. The claims representative later found paperwork Wilson had filed within the same time frame for her son and noted the discrepancy.

Disability Benefits Restored

The Journal Star of Lincoln, Nebraska reports on Michael Rhodes whose Social Security disability benefits were finally restored after a five year battle. If only all such stories were covered by newspapers.

Upcoming Meetings and CLE

• May 1, 2007, Legal Services of New York Legal Support Unit CLE, New York, NY
• May 2, 2007, Indiana CLE, Indianapolis, IN
  
• May 2-4, 2007, NADE Regional Training Conference, Seattle, WA
• May 5-9, 2007, NADE Biregional Training Conference, Atlanta, GA
  
• May 7-10 2007, NADE Regional Training Conference, Atlanta, GA
• May 8, 2007, Social Security Advisory Board Meeting, Washington, DC
  
• May 14, 2007, Legal Services of New York Legal Support Unit CLE, New York, NY
• May 16, 2007, Legal Services of New York Legal Support Unit CLE, New York, NY
• May 18, 2007, State Bar of Michigan Social Security Section Meeting, Lansing, MI
• May 20-23, 2007, National Association of Disability Examiners Meeting, Stowe, VE
• June 8, 2007, Minnesota CLE on Social Security Practice, Rochester, MN
• July 12, 2007, PBI CLE, Pittsburg, PA
• July 23, 2007, Legal Aid Society, Nashville, TN
  
• September 10-15, 2007, International Social Security Association General Assembly, Moscow, Russia
  
• September 15-20, 2007, NADE National Conference, Sioux Falls, SD
• October 17-20, 2007, NOSSCR CLE, St. Louis, MO
• November 30, 2007, Legal Services of New York Legal Support Unit CLE, New York, NY
• April 8-11, 2008 NADE Regional Conference, Austin, TX
• June 4-7, 2008 NOSSCR CLE, Miami, FL
• October 15-18, 2008 NOSSCR CLE, Century City, CA

If you know of one that I have missed, please e-mail me at charles[at]charleshallfirm.com.

Washington Post On Social Security Subcommittee Hearing

Stephen Barr reports in his Washington Post column on the May 1 Social Security Subcommittee hearing.

Press Report On Today's Social Security Subcommittee Hearing

It is only a brief article, but any press attention is welcome. Dow Jones reports on today's Social Security Subcommittee hearing.

House Social Security Subcommittee Hearing

This hearing was held to investigate why Social Security had not been hiring more Administrative Law Judges (ALJs). After the hearing, some things are clear:

• Former Commissioner Barnhart had implied, if not stated explicitly, to the Subcommittee on several occasions that the problem in hiring more ALJs was that the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) would not give Social Security an updated register of candidates for ALJ positions. Representative Pomeroy read several statements made by Barnhart to the Subcommittee to this effect.
  
• A register was available from which Social Security could hire ALJs. At no point were there ever less than 1,000 names on this register. It was a very old register and not an ideal list to hire from, but it could have been used and was, in fact, used. Astrue admitted that the real problem in hiring ALJs was lack of budget.
  
• Former Commissioner Barnhart misled the Subcommittee. The ALJ register was never the reason for not hiring more ALJs. Budget was the reason.
  
• OPM gets the picture now that a new ALJ register is urgently needed and expects to have one by this fall. Social Security does not expect to hire more ALJs until the beginning of the new fiscal year on October 1, so the ALJ register should be no hindrance to hiring ALJs. The Subcommittee sent a strong message to OPM that they better have that new register ready on time or there will be hell to pay.

Beyond that, Commissioner Astrue talked about his plans for reducing Social Security's hearing backlog. He had little to announce. Beyond what is contained in the written statement that I have already linked, Astrue was talking about hiring 150 more ALJs in the next fiscal year and a total of 750-850 full time equivalents (FTEs) to help out with the backlog. Currently, there are 1,082 Social Security ALJs available to hold hearings. This would mean about a 15% increase in ALJs employed. Astrue pleaded that he could not hire more without creating problems in training and absorbing the additional ALJs.

Astrue made it clear that he wants to have some percentage of the new ALJs assigned to the Office of Disability Adjudication and Review (ODAR) central office in Falls Church to hold video hearings to help out with backlogs. He wants to explore moving more ALJs to Falls Church.

The Commissioner has some plans that are pending review at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) that he was unwilling to share with the Subcommittee.

Astrue wants to hold the line on the hearing backlog this year and work on the backlog next year.

Commissioner Astrue has been lobbying hard to get more budget for his agency. He had already met with three members of the Appropriations Committee and was planning to meet with another this afternoon. He said he was exhausted.

Representative Stephanie Tubbs Jones is a demanding and sharp tongued questioner. Commissioner Astrue is unused to dealing with such a person.

Astrue Statement At Social Security Subcommittee Available

Commissioner Astrue's written statement to the Social Security Subcommittee is now available online. I will give a summary of the oral testimony as soon as I can get to it.