House Ways And Means Committee Press Release

A press release from the House Ways and Means Committee (emphasis in original):

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The House Committee on Ways and Means held a hearing to investigate the large backlog of disability claims currently awaiting a decision by the Social Security Administration (SSA). In recent years, SSA’s workload has grown significantly due to the aging of the population and new responsibilities stemming from Medicare and homeland security legislation, yet the administrative funding SSA has received has been well below the level needed to keep up with this growing workload.

“Today, more than 1.3 million disabled Americans are waiting for Congress to do the obvious: find a solution,” said Income Security and Family Support Chairman Jim McDermott (D-WA). “We’re taking steps to fix this, because these disabled Americans deserve nothing less. The backlog in processing disability claims is a burden and barrier for disabled individuals who are waiting for critical cash assistance and health care coverage.”

The hearing focused on SSA’s backlog, its impact on applicants with severe disabilities who are awaiting a decision on their claim, and SSA’s plan to reduce the backlog.

"Due to this backlog, applicants who are suffering from severe disabling conditions often must wait for years with little or no income, and in many cases without health insurance," said Social Security Subcommittee Chairman Michael R. McNulty (D-NY). "No one can hear their stories without being convinced that we must fix this problem, and fix it soon."

Due to the combination of rising claims as the baby boom generation ages and prolonged underfunding, Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) disability claims backlogs have reached unprecedented levels.

"Perhaps no group has faced a greater challenge as a result of these backlogs than those who are applying for Supplemental Security Income," continued Chairman McDermott. "The SSI program is often referred to as the safety net of last resort for the disabled and elderly. These folks are being forced to wait for years when many don’t have sufficient resources to buy food for the next few weeks. Making matters worse, these people often don’t have access to health care coverage, either."

More than 1.3 million applicants for disability benefits are currently awaiting a decision on their claim, and total waiting times often extend into years. In addition, as SSA tries to address the backlog crisis, the agency is forced to divert its limited resources away from its day-to-day operations in field offices and payment processing centers in order to try to manage the disability backlog. The result is an increase in long lines, delays, busy signals, and unanswered telephones, and growing concern about closures of local field offices.

"The root of the problem is simple," said Chairman McNulty. "For too long, SSA has been severely underfunded. The consequences of prolonged underfunding also extend beyond the disability backlogs. Service to the public in SSA’s local offices across the country has also declined due to staffing shortages. Our constituents increasingly face long lines, busy signals, and other delays, and field office closures are a growing concern. We cannot allow these conditions to continue. The American people deserve better."

Notice that unlike Commissioner Astrue, these committee members do not blame Administrative Law Judges for much of the problem.

Charges Against Alleged Crooks Dropped

Remember the story from January about two really stupid crooks, or I should say, alleged crooks, in New York city who wheeled a dead man through the streets in an effort to cash his Social Security checks?

The charges were dismissed. There was not enough proof that the man, who died of natural charges, was dead at the time they wheeled him through the streets.

Astrue Blames ALJs For Backlog Discrepancies

I was unable to watch the entire hearing and missed this part. From the Houston Chronicle:

Nearly six years after a top federal official promised improvements in the way disability cases are handled in Harris County, a Social Security administrator told a congressional committee Wednesday that Houstonians get different levels of service depending on which office hears their case.

Under questioning by Rep. Kevin Brady, R-The Woodlands, Social Security Commissioner Michael J. Astrue acknowledged that wait times for hearings at an office in far southwest Houston are about 40 percent longer than at the downtown Houston office.

"It's our view that the issue with that office is a human issue," Astrue told the House Ways and Means Committee.

The commissioner chalked up the problem to hard-to-discipline, lifetime appointees.

He described three of the 11 administrative law judges in the southwestern office on Bissonnet as "historically very unproductive."

Calls to the Bissonnet office were referred to an administration spokesman, Mark Hinkle, who confirmed Astrue's testimony.

Hinkle would not give any further information, including the names of the judges, because, he said, "it is considered internal personnel matters."

The Association of Administrative Law Judges, the judges' professional organization, did not respond to a request for comment. ...

The average time between an appeal and hearing at the southwest office is 522 days, well above the national average of 503 days, the Social Security Administration says.

By contrast, the wait time at the downtown office is 374 days. ...

Under questioning from Rep. Sam Johnson, R-Plano, Astrue said judges nationwide have had "serious misconduct issues and serious productivity issues." ...

"There's no accountability," Astrue said, adding, "Many commissioners have given up trying to discipline administrative law judges."

Brady praised Astrue for his plain speech. "I've never heard a commissioner as candid as he was in identifying a personnel problem," he said after the hearing. "It's refreshingly candid."

CCD Budget Recommendation

The Coalition for Citizens with Disabilities (CCD), an extremely important umbrella group representing dozens of non-profits interested in disability issues, has issued its budget recommendations. Here is what they had to say about Social Security.

SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION
Limitation on Administrative Expenses
In millions
FY 2007 9,298
FY 2008 9,745
FY 2009 President's recommendation 10,327
FY 2009 CCD recommendation 11,000

Due to the serious consequences of the persistent and cumulative under-funding of SSA’s administrative expenses, CCD recommends that SSA receive for its FY 2009 Limitation on Administrative Expenses (LAE), at a minimum, the President’s request of $10.327 billion plus $240 million. However, in order for SSA to meet its responsibilities, CCD estimates that the agency needs a minimum of $11.0 billion for its FY 2009 administrative budget. This amount will allow the agency to not only significantly reduce the backlog, but also keep local offices open, provide adequate telephone services to the public, and maintain the integrity of its programs by performing more continuing disability reviews and SSI redeterminations.

Six Months For Cashing Dead Mother's Checks

From WTNH of Connecticut:

A federal judge has sentenced a Willimantic woman to six months home confinement for cashing her dead mother's Social Security checks.

Patricia Macha, 66, had pleaded guilty in January to one count of theft of government property.

Prosecutors say that between February 2001 and February 2007, Macha received more than $64,000 in Social Security benefits to which she was not entitled.

Macha has been ordered to pay full restitution at $50 per month, which will be deducted directly from her Social Security disability checks.

If my math is correct, it will take Ms. Macha over 100 years to pay back the money.

Confusing People In 15 Languages

The Social Security Administration has announced that it now offers information on the internet in the following 15 languages other than English:

Arabic
Armenian
Chinese
Farsi
French
Greek
Haitian-Creole
Italian
Korean
Polish
Portuguese
Spanish
Russian
Tagalog
Vietnamese

Italian, but not German? Portuguese, but not Japanese? Korean, but not Hindi-Urdu? Greek, but not Swahili? There are choices to be made. Perhaps they based it upon the frequency with which they encounter immigrants speaking a particular language. Perhaps, they are working on others.

Rick Warsinskey On Marketplace Radio

Rick Warsinskey, the former head of the National Council of Social Security Management Associations (NCSSMA), an organization of Social Security management personnel, was on Marketplace radio this morning, talking about Social Security's backlogs and budgets. You can listen to the piece online.

Excerpt From Written Statement Of Marty Ford

A very short excerpt from a much longer written statement by Marty Ford, Co-Chair of the Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities (CCD) Social Security Task Force, a large and important umbrella group representing many non-profits concerned with helping the disabled.

In addition, CCD also urges Congress to separate SSA’s LAE budget authority from the Section 302(a) and (b) allocations for discretionary spending. The size of SSA’s LAE is driven by the number of administrative functions it conducts to serve beneficiaries and applicants. Congress should remove SSA’s administrative functions from the discretionary budget that supports other important programs. The LAE would still be subject to the annual appropriations process and Congressional oversight.

I present this excerpt since I think this seemingly technical issue is of huge importance. There is likely to be a serious effort to remove Social Security from the budget or at least to remove it from the sort of budget limitations that apply to other agencies.