OMB Having Problems With Final Regs On Ticket To Work

All federal agencies must submit any regulations they wish to propose or to finally adopt to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), which is part of the White House, for approval before publishing them in the Federal Register. Usually, OMB approves Social Security regulatory filings in a few weeks at the most.

On February 11, 2008 Social Security submitted to OMB proposed final regulations that would change the Ticket to Work program. The proposal is still at OMB awaiting disposition after two and a half months. That is rather long for a Social Security regulatory proposal to remain pending. The delay suggests that OMB is having some problem with the proposed regulations. I have no idea what the problem is. It could nothing more than a small disagreement over the computation of whatever budget effect the regulations might have or it could be a more serious policy disagreement, but there is some sticking point or these regulations would have been out quite some time ago.

Court Rules For Blind Claimants

From the San Francisco Chronicle:

[A] federal judge in San Francisco ruled Wednesday that the Social Security Administration must accommodate the needs of blind recipients of benefits when announcing decisions that affect them.

Under the Social Security Act, the agency sends certified letters, makes follow-up phone calls, or takes other steps to communicate decisions to those who are receiving benefits solely because of their blindness, but does not accommodate visually impaired people who get Social Security because of their age or other reasons.

U.S. District Judge William Alsup ruled that the agency is also covered by an anti-discrimination law that requires the federal government to provide access to disabled people in all federally funded programs, including audio recordings, Braille and other aids for the blind.

Alsup gave the Social Security Administration the option of adopting regulations on visual aids or allowing the changes to be determined in further proceedings in a suit filed by the American Council of the Blind and eight individuals.

Social Security, Cobol And E-Cat

From Federal Computer Week:

The Social Security Administration plans to lessen its dependence on mainframe technology during the next decade or so and make many other information technology improvements during that time, SSA Commissioner Michael Astrue told the House Ways and Means Committee today.

The agency’s core systems comprise about 36 million lines of Cobol, Astrue said. “Given the huge amount of code we inherited,” he said, "it’s going to take some time” to shift to a more modern platform, but he promised to start the process. “I think the agency got comfortable with the Cobol technology,” Astrue said, and that now makes it more difficult to automate SSA operations. ...

Astrue said the agency wants to replace the disability determination systems used by the 50 states and four territories. SSA provides the systems, and the states operate them. Each system is different, and maintaining the separate systems is expensive and inefficient, he said.

“We’ve been negotiating with the states for about nine months” to obtain consensus on a single new system, Astrue said. “It will be an enormous step forward if we can do that.”

A new software tool called the Electronic Case Analysis Tool (eCAT) will help disability examiners collect the correct information faster, he said. An early version of eCAT was fielded prematurely “and failed miserably,” but a better development process and extensive testing should result in a different outcome next year, he said. ...

A new online application form for Social Security benefits will debut in September, replacing an 8-year-old form used by only about one in 10 retirees. The new, simplified form can be completed in one-third the time and with fewer errors, he said.

Visitors to SSA offices soon will go first to a kiosk where they will check in and register the reason for their visit. Also, waiting areas will have PCs where some visitors may be able to accomplish their business with SSA electronically ...

However, Sylvester Schieber, chairman of the Social Security Advisory Board, said eCAT development was not coordinated with the system’s users. “There appears to be a lack of a holistic electronic-systems strategy…linked to a well-thought-out process structure that is properly resourced and that emphasizes the interdependence of the operating components,” he stated.

Lack Of Space Argument Goes Over Poorly With One Congressman

At yesterday's hearing, Commissioner Astrue claimed that office space shortages were preventing him from adding more Administrative Law Judges. I think he was mostly talking about some particular locations, rather than generally, but it mostly sounded like a make weight argument to me. In any case, Astrue's comments about office space did not sit well with one Congressman. Here is a press release from Congressman Brian Higgins:

Congressman Brian Higgins (NY-27) was critical of comments made by Social Security Commissioner Michael Astrue at an April 23 congressional committee hearing in which the Commissioner suggested that it would be difficult to increase the number of Administrative Law Judges and support staff at the Buffalo Hearing Office because of insufficient available office space.

Just last week Congressman Higgins and Senator Hillary Clinton wrote letters to the Commissioner insisting on more Administrative Law Judges in the Buffalo-area hearing office. The Buffalo-area office service area includes: Erie, Chautauqua, Niagara, Genesee, Ontario, Monroe, and Cattaraugus counties. According to March 2008 statistics, it takes 669 days (nearly two years) for the average Western New Yorker to have their SSA case heard and processed in the Buffalo Hearing Office and each Administrative Law Judge in Buffalo has an average caseload of 895 SSD applicants.

“Persons with disabilities are waiting two to three years for their case to be heard and the Commissioner is worried about office space,” said Congressman Higgins. “We need the Social Security Administration to re-think their priorities.”

The Social Security Administration has announced 135 Administrative Law Judge appointments in Fiscal Year 2008. Ten have been assigned to New York: 3 in New York City, 2 in Queens, 3 in Syracuse, and 2 in Albany. No new judges have been assigned to Buffalo even though the backlog has been well-documented by the Social Security Administration itself.

“If the problem is office space, I would be happy to find them available space in downtown Buffalo tomorrow,” Higgins added, pointing out that according to a Militello Realty report on downtown Buffalo property, as of January 779,228 square feet of Class A office space was vacant in the immediate downtown area.

Congressman Higgins noted that staffing shortages aren’t exclusive to the Administrative Law Judges. Staffing at Western New York field offices have decreased substantially – by approximately 170 employees - over the past 25 years, even though the need for services has increased.

The Congressman has long supported increased funding for the Social Security Administration. In January, Congressman Higgins introduced H.R. 5110, the Social Security Customer Service Improvement Act which if enacted would provide Members of Congress with detailed information on the operation and staffing of Social Security offices in their districts and around the country. Members of Congress should have ready access to this type of information, not only because it is exactly the type of information necessary to measure the effectiveness of government agencies, but also because when citizens aren’t treated properly at their local Social Security office, they immediately reach out to their local Member of Congress for expedited assistance.

“The hard-working people of Western New York who paid into the Social Security system deserve better treatment from their government,” said Congressman Higgins. “We are talking about people here, not numbers, - people who deserve an answer, one way or another, so they can plan for their future and live each day without the fear and frustration these backlogs create. An immediate alleviation of these caseloads is essential.”

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.