Congressional Hearing On Predatory Lending Practices

The House Social Security Subcommittee is holding a hearing today on "Protecting Social Security Beneficiaries from Predatory Lending and Other Harmful Financial Institution Practices." The written statements of the witnesses are now available online. This excerpt from the testimony of Margot Saunders of the National Consumer Law Center may tell us what is in the works:

We understand that as the result of extensive discussions and negotiations between Treasury and the Social Security Administration, the other federal payment agencies, and the federal banking agencies,that a compromise regulation will be proposed in the near future. Our understanding of this compromise is that it will incorporate at least the following features:

Upon receiving an order to freeze a bank account pursuant to a garnishment or attachment, a bank will –

1. Review the electronic deposits made into the account in the previous 30 to 45 days (called the “look-back period”), to determine whether any are accompanied with the electronic designation for federally exempt funds.
2. If there are any exempt funds deposited into the account, then the total amount of exempt funds deposited within the look-back period will be multiplied by a factor (either 2 or 2.5, or some other number to be determined – this is called the “multiplier”).
3. The multiplied sum of exempt funds will be considered the protected amount – this amount of money will always be kept safe from freezing or attachment or garnishment, regardless of the flow of money into and out of the account.
4. Funds in the account which are in excess of the multiplied sum will be frozen and held pursuant to state law for disposition.
5. The recipient will be free to seek to protect all exempt funds over the protected amount using the standard state court procedure.
6. No garnishment fees assessed by the bank can be taken from the protected amount.

Wanta Snoop?

The Asbury Park Press, of all places, has posted a database showing the salaries of almost all federal employee as of 2007.

I know that federal employees may not like this information being so freely available, but that is part of the deal when you go to work for the feds. If you do not like it, there are jobs in the private sector.

Allsup Video

Allsup, a non-attorney group that represents Social Security claimants has posted this promotional video.

More Pressure In Buffalo

From the Observer in Dunkirk, NY:

With May 2008 statistics in, showing 723 new Social Security cases filed in the Buffalo-area office last month alone, the highest one month total this year, Congressman Brian Higgins (NY-27) is calling for swift action on the promised hiring of judges and staff at local Social Security Administration (SSA) offices. ...

“Local judges and Social Security staff are working hard, but until additional personnel are on the job they can’t put a dent in these numbers,” Congressman Higgins said. “We need immediate action to get the Western New York offices staffed at a level that provides local residents with the service they deserve from our government. Making people wait two years for an answer is unreasonable and unfair.”

Another Allsup Inspired Article On Backlogs

The Press Republican of Northeastern New York is running a story on the backlogs at Social Security that is obviously based upon a press release from Allsup.

SSNs Off Medicare Cards?

From the New York Times news service, although curiously I cannot seem to find it in the New York Times website itself:

Social Security officials, concerned about the risk of identity theft, are calling for immediate action to remove Social Security numbers from the Medicare cards used by millions of Americans.

But Medicare officials have resisted the proposal, saying it would be costly and impractical.

In a new report, the inspector general of Social Security, Patrick P. O'Carroll Jr., says "immediate action is needed."

"Displaying such information on Medicare cards unnecessarily places millions of individuals at risk for identity theft," O'Carroll said. "We do not believe a federal agency should place more value on convenience than the security of its beneficiaries' personal information."

SSI Newsletter

The Disability Benefits Project of Massachusetts Legal Services has released its 31 page SSI Coalition Newsletter for May-June 2008.

ALJ Loses Fight For Job

From the Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

For three years, Kelly S. Jennings ruled on disability claims for the Social Security Administration while simultaneously serving as an active-duty lawyer for the Army.

This week, a ruling determined the Atlanta administrative law judge can be removed from his civilian job for double-dipping. Social Security has also filed papers to recover more than $309,000 in back pay and interest from Jennings.

By dividing his time between jobs, Jennings could not give Social Security his full attention, which in turn contributed to the nation's mountainous backlog of disability claims, wrote William N. Cates, the administrative law judge who heard the case.

Jennings worked in Social Security's Atlanta North office, known as the agency's "backlog capital" of the country. With an average wait of 838 days, the office in May ranked as the slowest in the nation in resolving the appeals of people who say they are too sick or injured to work.

Jennings, who said he made more than $300,000 a year working for both Social Security and the Army, acted "purely for personal gain," Cates wrote. "Judge Jennings' dual employment and the ramifications thereof warrant his removal." ...

"We are pleased by the decision," Social Security Commissioner Michael J. Astrue wrote in an e-mail. "The irresponsible conduct of this employee shouldn't tarnish the reputations of our ALJs, who have helped reduce the disability backlog by increasing their productivity by about 10 percent in the past year."