The economic stimulus bill just passed by Congress contains an extra $31 million in appropriations for the Social Security Administration, apparently to pay for the Social Security Administration's costs associated with implementing the rebates. H.R. 5140 §101(e)(1)(B). It is nice to see Congress thinking about implementation costs, for a change.
Feb 7, 2008
Social Security Recipients And Vets To Get Economic Stimulus Payments
From Reuters:
Democrats and Republicans in the U.S. Senate have reached a tentative deal on an election-year economic stimulus plan, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus said on Thursday."I think there will be an agreement to add the 20 million seniors and the disabled vets" to the bill already passed by the House of Representatives that would give rebate checks to millions of Americans, Baucus told reporters.
Asked whether the Senate deal was now in place, the Montana Democrat said, "essentially."
Baucus said the Senate could vote as early as Thursday on the package.
Astrue Op Ed Piece
Commissioner Michael Astrue has penned an op ed piece that is being provided to newspapers. Apparently, it is not drawing much interest since the only newspaper that I have found that has published it so far is the Red Wing Republican Eagle of Minnesota. Here is a brief excerpt:
He goes on to talk about his "aggressive plan" for reducing the backlogs.
I know from personal experience how difficult Social Security’s disability process can be. When my father was 52, he suffered a severe cerebral hemorrhage caused by a rare form of brain cancer. As I took care of the application for him, it opened my eyes to the complicated rules associated with our disability programs. ...
That’s why I’ve made improving the disability determination process my top priority. It is our most pressing challenge.
Congressman Wants To Prevent Field Office Hour Reductions
This seems to be a particularly hot issue in New York. From the Buffalo News:
It turns out that Congressman Reynolds' efforts succeeded. From the same newspaper a few days later:A congressman is trying to prevent the Social Security Administration from closing its local offices to the public for three hours every Wednesday so workers can concentrate on processing disability claims.Rep. Thomas M. Reynolds, R-Clarence, complained about the plan in a letter to Social Security Administration Commissioner Michael Astrue.
Social Security officials plan to begin a pilot project on March 1, closing field offices in Buffalo, Amherst, West Seneca and Niagara Falls for three hours each Wednesday. Officials have said the intent of the plan is to allow employees to catch up on a backlog of disability cases.
Other Congressman please take note.The Social Security Administration is rescinding a proposed pilot project that would have cut the hours of the agency’s Buffalo-area offices by three hours each week, Rep. Thomas M. Reynolds announced Wednesday.
Reynolds cheered the decision by Michael Astrue, the agency’s commissioner, to withdraw a pilot project that would have closed Social Security Administration offices to the public for three hours every Wednesday afternoon. The plan had been delayed once already and was to be implemented March 1.
Real ID Headaches Coming For Social Security?
I expect some sanity will prevail, but if not this could make it almost impossible for the Social Security Administration to do business in several states. From CNET News:
Starting May 11, Americans living in states that don't comply with new federal regulations could be barred from entering Washington's visitor center and collecting the complimentary maps and brochures--unless they happen to bring a passport or military ID with them.
That not-very-welcoming rule is part of a 2005 law called the Real ID Act, which takes effect in just over three months. It says that driver's licenses from states that have not agreed to Real ID mandates from the Department of Homeland Security, or which have not requested a deadline extension, can no longer be used to access "federal facilities."
Because the visitor center is in a government building that checks ID, it might just become off-limits to Americans with licenses or state ID cards from the following noncompliant states: Maine, South Carolina, Montana, Oklahoma, and New Hampshire. Fifteen other states and the District of Columbia have not decided whether to comply or ask for an extension, according to a survey conducted by CNET News.com over the last two weeks, meaning the fate of driver's licenses and state ID cards used by their residents remains uncertain. ...
Other effects of Real ID include: Social Security: Some Social Security offices are inside federal buildings, which means that Americans trying to replace a Medicare card or apply in person for government benefits could be inconvenienced. "In terms of getting into federal buildings, that wouldn't be something I could answer," said Mark Hinkle, a Social Security Administration spokesman who referred questions to Homeland Security.
Diabetes And Social Security
Anyone who is involved to much extent with Social Security's disability programs knows that diabetes is the underlying cause for many disability claims. It has been an article of faith that diabetics would suffer less disability if they controlled their blood sugar better -- and that diabetics who did suffer disability might be at fault for being poorly compliant with medical treatment. Well, maybe not. See this article from the New York Times:
... a major federal study of more than 10,000 middle-aged and older people with Type 2 diabetes has found that lowering blood sugar actually increased their risk of death, researchers reported Wednesday. ...
Among the study participants who were randomly assigned to get their blood sugar levels to nearly normal, there were 54 more deaths than in the group whose levels were less rigidly controlled. The patients were in the study for an average of four years when investigators called a halt to the intensive blood sugar lowering and put all of them on the less intense regimen. ...
Medical experts were stunned.
Feb 6, 2008
Stephen Barr On Social Security Budget
Stephen Barr writes the Federal Diary column for the Washington Post. Here are some excerpts from his column for February 6:
The president's budget mostly looks to the next year in a positive light. But there's some frank talk, too.
Social Security Commissioner Michael Astrue declared his agency "is now at a crossroads." Baby boomers are retiring and "we are facing an avalanche of retirement and disability claims," he wrote in his fiscal 2009 budget message released Monday. ...
Compared to other agencies, Social Security and Homeland Security are doing fairly well in the budget derby -- President Bush would give both a funding increase of at least 6 percent.
But it may take more than that. It's clear that many federal programs can only run smoothly when properly staffed.
Take Social Security. In recent years, the agency's field offices have lost staff, and waiting times for the public have increased. More than 50 percent of people who call a field office get a busy signal. At some offices, people who show up without an appointment often wait an hour or longer to be checked in, and then wait some more to see a claims representative.
"Without sustained, adequate funding, this situation will only worsen," Astrue wrote in his budget message.
The president and Astrue are not far apart on their requests to Congress. Bush's budget would provide $10.3 billion to cover administrative expenses at the Social Security Administration. Astrue has requested $100 million more, or $10.4 billion, to administer Social Security programs and benefits.
More would be better, according to nearly 50 organizations, including employee groups, that wrote the White House budget office requesting $11 billion for Social Security in fiscal 2009. The Federal Managers Association, for one, contends Bush's budget request does not provide enough funding to tackle a huge backlog, especially disability cases, at the agency.
In a message to employees yesterday, Astrue tried to be reassuring, saying that the 2009 budget "will put us in a better position to handle the onslaught of work we are confronting."
That's partly because Congress last year provided Social Security with $148 million more than Bush sought. Astrue said that funding will permit the agency to lift a hiring freeze, hire 175 administrative law judges and increase the number of call center employees.
Still, the staffing growth seems small. For fiscal 2009, staffing would go up by 351 full-time employees, to 76,821, according to the budget. That remains lower than in 2007, when 77,855 employees were on board.
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