The Effects Of Social Security Backlogs

Some excerpts from the Daily Star of Oneonta, NY:

Tammy Mott said she kept hearing "no" from Social Security when she tried to get disability assistance for her son, Erik Liddell.

Erik, 16, has a mitochondrial disease. It attacks the parts of his cells that make energy; there is no cure

It took about 18 months for the Motts to get a court date to appeal the denials. ...

"It was a huge relief at first [when we won]," Mott said. "We can get all his medications and not worry about the co-pays." ...

"We could pay our bills," she said.

Fraud In Florida

From the Bradenton Herald Tribune:

[Frank] Hagaman pleaded guilty in March to one count of mail fraud. During a six-year period, authorities said, Hagaman applied for and received disability benefits from the VA and SSA by fraudulently claiming that he was too disabled to work. But Hagaman was running -- and working at -- a landscaping business, the U.S. Department of Justice said. Hagaman concealed his income in part by using his wife and his son as nominees to receive the payments for the work he performed.

More On Senator Shumer And Social Security's Budget

I had posted earlier on Senator Shumer's recent press conference on Social Security's funding. Here are interesting excerpts from a recent story in the Press Republican (emphasis added):

Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) vowed to fix a Social Security disability system that he claims is "in shambles." ...

Schumer, who held a telephone news conference with upstate reporters on the issue, is calling for full funding of $10.44 billion for the disability system. He also wants to investigate the possibility of making Social Security Administration funding "off budget," so it will not be endangered by budget cuts each year. ...

Schumer said the underfunding could lead to up to 4,000 positions being cut from the agency, which would further burden the system and create longer delays for those waiting to receive benefits.

Office Closures

Auburn, New York will soon lose its Social Security field office. This is making the local Congressman and the local newspaper unhappy. Social Security blamed the closure on budget constraints as well as changing demographics.

One might expect occasional Social Security office closures regardless of the budget situation, as some areas of the country lose population and others gain. It is unclear whether budget constraints will lead to more Social Security office closures in the future. Office closures would make Congressional representatives unhappy.

Appropriations Vetoes Ahead?

From The Hill:

Appropriations lobbyist Gerald Warburg has the following message for clients awaiting federal money: Expect vetoes. ...

“I’ve told my clients to expect a veto on every single [bill], at least once,” said Warburg, executive vice president at Cassidy & Associates, which specializes in appropriations lobbying. ...

“Democrats aren’t likely to back down,” Warburg said, which could mean protracted budget fights in the months to come.

Latinos And Social Security

Hispanic Business reports on a study -- actually a series of studies -- by the UCLA Latinos and Social Security Research Project. The study found that Latinos will help subsidize Social Security benefits for other Americans in coming years, because Latinos have an average age of 26 while the average age of the population as a whole is 35. The study suggests that Social Security be shored up by devoting the estate tax to the Social Security trust funds and increasing the maximum amount of earnings subject to FICA. The UCLA studies are available from the UCLA Press.

AP Reports On House Budget Committee Action

The Associated Press has a report up on the House Appropriations Committee action on the Labor-HHS appropriations bill, which includes Social Security's Limitation on Administrative Expenditures (LAE), the term of art for Social Security's budget, since, technically, it is not even appropriated. Note the budget increases for other agencies. Note also that the Social Security Administration is not even mentioned. Note finally the veto threat from President Bush.

Lousy Budget News

The House Appropriations Committee"Chairman's Mark" for Social Security is now available. I am not absolutely certain that this is what the full Committee will report out, but it probably is. The Chairman's mark is only $100 million above the President' recommended budget for Social Security, rather than the $400 million increase contained in the budget resolution. If this is finally adopted, I am not sure that Social Security can keep backlogs and staffing shortages from getting worse. Significant improvement cannot be expected.

Note that other agencies fared much better. The Department of Labor budget, which is similar in size to Social Security's is increased by about $900 million over the President's recommended budget. The Health and Human Services budget goes up by about $5 billion over the President's budget. The Department of Education budget goes up by about $5.5 billion.

You may recall that Michael Astrue, the Social Security Commissioner, has been lobbying only for the President's budget. Even though Astrue is supposedly independent, he has been lobbying for a lower budget that what many in Congress want to give his agency. It looks as if Astrue's lobbying has had the effect he desired.