Social Security Appropriations Bill Markup Available In Streaming Video

The House Appropriations Committee is making its June 14 meeting to markup the Labor-HHS Appropriations bill available in streaming video. I had earlier reported that the bill had been reported out of committee, but it was only reported out of subcommittee. The markup session is to begin at 9:00 a.m.

Hearing Office Backlogs Report

The National Organization of Social Security Claimants Representatives (NOSSCR) has obtained lists showing the backlogs at each of Social Security's hearing offices. I have reproduced this above. Click on each page to see it in full size. These shows the length of the wait time in days from the time that a Social Security hearing office receives a request for a hearing until the case is disposed of, for each hearing office and for each of Social Security's regions.

As bad is it looks, this understates the backlog, since it only shows the wait time from the date a hearing office receives and logs in an appeal. However, each appeal must pass through a Social Security field office before getting to a hearing office. In most cases, the field offices must do a significant amount of data entry before sending the appeal on to a hearing offices. There are increasing data entry backlogs at the field offices which delay these appeals getting to hearing offices, making the hearing backlogs look less bad than they actually are. The field office data entry backlogs are four months and longer in some locations. As best I can tell, no one is keeping track of the extent of the data entry backlogs. Upper levels of Social Security management appear to be trying hard to ignore the problem.

McCrery And Rangel Working On Something

Some excerpts from a CNNMoney.com article:

Charlie Rangel [Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee] and Jim McCrery [Ranking Republican on the Ways and Means Committee and former Chairman of its Subcommittee on Social Security] are on a mission to rescue Social Security from bankruptcy. ...

Neither man is willing to disclose details on those options [that they are working on]. ... "It's been very quiet and it's going to stay that way," McCrery says of the proposals they are discussing.

One thing that is clear: the Bush White House will not play a big role, if any, in this effort. "McCrery and I know that we don't need the President to revive Social Security reform," Rangel says, pointedly. "The President is locked into private accounts and that ain't gonna fly," says Rangel. "[Reform] is going cost a trillion dollars; it's a political problem we have. You can have all the bipartisan cooperation you want, but if you don't find someone who's going to pay for it, you're not going to do it."

An Image From 1963

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.