Social Security Budget Picture Not Looking So Good

Things are not going well on getting the Social Security Administration an adequate budegt for the next fiscal year (FY), which begins on October 1. See the attached letter signed by the Chairmen and Ranking Minority members of both the entire House Ways and Means Committee and its Social Security Subcommittee. This letter was sent to their counterparts on the House Appropriations Committee.

So what is the problem? At first glance, this just looks like a nice letter to help get a good budget for Social Security. Let us go back. The FY 2007 Social Security budget is $9.3 billion. The President's proposed FY 2008 budget is only $9.6 billion. Social Security's requested budget for FY 2008 is $10.4 billion. A few weeks ago, the House and Senate Budget Committees seemed to be agreeing on approximately $10.1 billion for Social Security. There is no final agreement on a budget resolution and the budget resolution provides only rough guidelines on what the actual appropriations will be, but things were looking fairly good just a short time ago.

It is the Appropriations Committees which reports out the actual hard numbers which determine how much money each agency gets. Judging by this letter and particularly by its next to last paragraph, it looks as if we are at the President's number of $9.6 billion and merely hoping to get to $10 billion, instead of at $10.1 billion and trying to go up. The Appropriations Committees seem less inclined to give Social Security additional money than the Budget Committees.

What happened? Commissioner Astrue has been meeting with Appropriations Committee members. I am told that he is asking only for the President's budget proposal of $9.6 billion, even though his own agency asked for $10.4 billion. Astrue seems to be discouraging additional money for his agency, even though his agency had earlier asked for the money. Everyone else is advocating for $10 billion and up, except for the Office of Management and Budget and the Commissioner of Social Security.

I begin to understand why the House Social Security Subcommittee was so hard on Commissioner Astrue at the May 1 hearing. Dealing with Social Security's backlogs and staffing shortages appears less important to Commissioner Astrue than fealty to the White House. There have been rumblings for some time that Social Security as an independent agency has been a failure. This is more proof that Social Security Commissioners are not independent. Commissioner Astrue may need to worry about being reorganized out of a job if there is a Democrat in the White House after the 2008 election.

Aren't There More Important Things For Disability Advocates To Worry About?

From the Patriot-News of Pennsylvania:

Heidi Notario-Smull cringes every day when she drives along Cameron Street and sees one of the signs posted along the busy corridor.

The sign marks Asylum Run, a creek that starts in Lower Paxton Twp. and winds through the grounds of the former Harrisburg State Hospital in Susquehanna Twp., eventually emptying into Paxton Creek.

But it's just not a sign for a creek -- the name perpetuates negative stereotypes of people who live with mental disabilities, said Notario-Smull, an advocate specialist with the Disability Rights Network of Pennsylvania.

Her agency and a dozen more like it have been trying to get the creek's name changed to Recovery Run, which Notario-Smull said better characterizes the focus of today's mental health care system.

Diversity In Social Security's Workforce

Reginald Wells, Social Security's Deputy Commissioner for Human Resources and Chief Human Capital Officer testified before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform on the subject of workforce diversity at Social Security. His written statement included the following interesting table on race and ethnicity in Social Security's Senior Executive Service (SES) workforce:

Race/Etnicity	SSA†	Civilian Labor Force *
White	53.4%	72.5%
Black	28.2%	10.2%
Hispanic	12.9%	12.8%
Asian	4.2%	4.1%
American-Indian	1.2%	0.6%

† SSA workforce profile as of March 31, 2007

* CLF data based on 09/30/2005 OPM figures

Administrative Law Judge Pay

The Association of Administrative Law Judges has posted the current pay ranges for Administrative Law Judges (ALJs). Those applying for these positions may already know this, but those who are not may find it interesting. There are higher pay rates in some localities, but the following is the base ALJ pay:

AL-3/A	$97,100
AL-3/B	$104,400
AL-3/C	$112,000
AL-3/D	$119,400
AL-3/E	$126,900
AL-3/F	$134,200
AL-2	$141,900
AL-1	$145,400

Toledo Blade On Social Security Backlogs

Some excerpts from the Toledo Blade:

Far too often people with disability claims have petitioned the Social Security Administration only to wait more than a year for a hearing, and in some cases, much longer...

It's scandalous that there's such a backlog of cases. Nationwide more than 730,000 such claims are waiting for decisions, and 40,000 of them are right here in Ohio. The new commissioner of the agency, Michael Astrue, says at least another 160 administrative judges are needed to reduce the backlog. The additional judges would help him meet his goal of having the problem addressed "on my watch."

But Americans awaiting decisions are tired of empty promises. The last commissioner, Jo Anne Barnhart, also visited Ohio and promised to address the problem. That never happened, although the average length of time to get a hearing dropped slightly during her tenure, from 20.6 months in fiscal 2004 to 19.2 months last year.

Social Security Wants Good Production Values On Its Videos

From a notice posted by Social Security indicating the agency's intention to purchase a particular brand of video camera:

The Agency plans to award a commercial item Purchase Order for the purchase of one (1) Tiffen Steadicam Ultra 2 System, Model Number U2MZHORH8CPSG7.

The Steadicam Ultra System is necessary for SSA to continue a high quality of broadcasting and to prepare for the migration that is occurring as commercial and public broadcasting in the United States move to High Definition Television (HDTV). SSA is seeking to invest in technology upgrades that can support current work, while assuring a seamless move into HDTV when the time comes.

The purchase of a Steadicam system will provide a more fluid visual imagery for its recipients. The Steadicam system is a camera support system that will be worn by the camera operator, and will replace the traditional floor-standing fixed tripod or heavy dolly used in the past. This allows the camera operator to carry a full camera rig with excellent mobility and image steadiness, enabling shots that were difficult or impossible with older camera support technology.

I thought money was tight at Social Security, but, I guess there is always money available for "more fluid visual imagery."

What Would You Say To Michael Astrue?

I could not come up with a good idea for a poll this week, so I thought that I would just set up an open thread. Post your comment to respond to this question:

If you had the chance to meet with Social Security Commissioner Michael Astrue what would you most like to tell him or ask of him?

Survey Of Social Security Managers Shows Severe Staffing Shortages

The National Council of Social Security Management Associations (NCSSMA), an association of Social Security management personnel, conducts an annual survey of its members. The report on this year's survey is a depressing account of an agency at its all time low, barely able to continue operating. Here are some highlights (or perhaps lowlights):

• Recent funding for SSA [Social Security Administration] has been inadequate to provide for the immediate needs of the public. Only 6.6% of respondents thought that the SSA budget was sufficient to provide good public service. An overwhelming 87.1% disagreed or strongly disagreed that the budget was sufficient. The effects of the budget restrictions are most directly related to service delivery through inadequate staffing of FO [Field Office] and TSC [Teleservice Center] facilities, the front-lines of SSA service delivery.
• There is presently insufficient staff to keep workloads current. 79.0% of managers report that they do not have adequate staff to keep up with the work. 78.0% of the respondents to the 2005 NCSSMA Survey of Management also reported that their office staffing was inadequate. On average, managers estimate that they would need a staffing increase of 16.7% to provide adequate public service.
• Telephone service in Field Offices is poor. 62.9% of FO managers report that prompt telephone service is provided in their office less than half of the time. When provided a choice of possible fixes for poor telephone service, 88.9% of FO managers reported that additional staffing would be the best remedy. NCSSMA believes that the public still wants and expects reliable telephone service from their local Social Security Administration Field Office.
• Public waiting times in Field Offices continue to increase. In the 2005 Survey, 72.0% of respondents said that their staffing was not sufficient to maintain reasonable waiting times. This year’s survey indicates that the situation is even worse now. 81.5% of FO managers report that waiting times in their offices are longer now than they were two years ago. When asked to identify the main causes of excessive waiting times in their offices, managers listed inadequate staffing and the high volume of walk-in traffic significantly more than any other causes.
• Field Office and Teleservice Center staffing levels are at a critical point. In the last year, 64.1% of FO and TSC managers report that staffing has declined and in many cases the decline has been dramatic. 36.4% percent report a decline in staffing of at least 10.0% in the last year alone. To compound the situation, over 50.0% of the managers report that at least 26.0% of their staff (excluding management) will be eligible to retire by 2010.
• Deferral of Field Office Workloads has had no effect on work backlogs. For the last two years, some FO workloads such as medical Continuing Disability Reviews (CDRs) and SSI redeterminations of eligibility have been deferred. The deferral of this work, which invariably will lead to more and larger overpayments and subsequently even more work when completed, has been cited as a justification for the extremely limited hiring in Field Offices during this period. Additional workloads, however, have more than taken up those resources made available through the deferrals of redeterminations and CDRs. 84.1% of FO management report that the deferrals have had no practical effect on other backlogs because the work hours have been redirected to other mandated workloads.
• Systems upgrades/maintenance, especially in recent months, has been problematic and has resulted in service delivery problems and wasted resources. Since late November, Field Offices and Teleservice Centers have been plagued by systems downtime and unacceptably slow systems response times. This results in work being done twice, first on paper and then via transmission when the processing systems are available. 63.5% of managers reported that processing systems in their components have been unavailable or unacceptably slow at least four times per month. 59.8% estimated that they lost, at a minimum, 25 hours per week of production time due to systems problems.
• There is great frustration among Field Office and Teleservice Center management regarding implementation of the Medicare Modernization Act. The resource demands of SSA’s involvement in administering the Medicare Modernization Act have been vastly underestimated. The ongoing confusion regarding payment of Part D premiums and the blurred lines of responsibility among SSA, CMS [Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services], and the insurance companies has both bewildered and angered the public and makes SSA appear to be powerless to correct problems.
• Job satisfaction among management remains high. The dedication of the SSA workforce has long been considered a strength of the agency. Despite severe public service challenges faced by FOs and TSCs, job satisfaction among management remains high. 63.7% of management report that their job satisfaction is good or very good. The commitment of FO and TSC managers to the mission of the agency is also evident in many of the comments that are included in this report. Managers believe in SSA’s mission and are committed to providing the best service possible with the resources available.