More From The Oregonian

The Oregonian has posted several stories, including videos, on local people having Social Security disability problems and an online "game", entitled Not So Fast.

Employee Verification Amendment Act of 2008

From a Social Security Administration Legislative Bulletin (emphasis added):

On July 31, 2008, the House passed H.R. 6633, the “Employee Verification Amendment Act of 2008” by a vote of 407-2. The bill would extend the basic pilot employment eligibility confirmation program, now known as E-Verify.

Provisions that would affect the Social Security Administration are described below.

Extension of Program

• Would extend the basic pilot employment eligibility confirmation program for an additional five years, until November 30, 2013.

Protection of Social Security Administration Programs

• Would provide that agreements entered into by the Commissioner of Social Security and the Secretary of Homeland Security on or after October 1, 2008, shall provide funds to the Commissioner for the full costs of the Commissioner's responsibilities for the basic pilot program. Such responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

• Acquiring, installing and maintaining technological equipment and systems necessary for the fulfillment of such responsibilities (but only that portion that is attributable exclusively to those responsibilities); and

• The costs of responding to individuals who contest a tentative nonconfirmation provided by the basic pilot.

• Would provide that these funds would be paid quarterly in advance of the applicable quarter based on a methodology agreed to by the Commissioner and Secretary.

• Would require an annual accounting and reconciliation of costs incurred and funds provided under the agreement, with a review by the Inspectors General of the Social Security Administration and the Department of Homeland Security.

• Would provide that, in any case where an agreement has not been reached by October 1 of a fiscal year, the latest agreement would remain in force until a new agreement is in effect. However, the Office of Management and Budget would modify the interim agreement to adjust the funds provided to the Commissioner for inflation and the volume of queries.

• Would require, during such interim agreement, the Commissioner and the Secretary to provide notice of the failure to come to an agreement to appropriate House and Senate Authorizing and Appropriating Committees. Until a new agreement is in effect, the Commissioner and the Secretary would notify these Committees every 90 days of the status of negotiations.

But Wait, There's More!

There is another article in The Oregonian entitled Sick And Homeless, Man Gets SSI Benefits Days Before Dying. The final two sentences of the article:

But four days after his check arrived, a friend found Rutherford dead in his Gospel Mission bed. He was 58.

Social Security officials identified no next of kin to whom to award his benefits. The agency kept his money.

Staff Instructions On Informal Remands

Social Security has finally gotten around to issuing staff instructions on the "informal remand" process, also known as re-recon. After a request for a hearing before an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) some cases are sent back for what amounts to a new review at the reconsideration level. My understanding that only fully favorable decisions could be issued on re-recon is confirmed.

Oregonian To Run Piece On Social Security Backlogs

The Oregonian is planning to run a story on Monday on Social Security's backlog situation. The story is supposed to be on the paper's website already, but I have been unable to find it. Anyway, here are some excerpts from a copy that was sent to me:

Anyone who stands in line for Social Security disability benefits learns certain truths. The system is slow. It's wasteful.And it's often cruel.

Those who have tried to fix the system's immense backlog of claims know why: Congress and the White House have tried to run the agency on the cheap, starving a bureaucracy that must process 2.5 million disability applications a year.

Hundreds of thousands of American workers whose disabilities have pushed them out of the labor force wait in line for years before getting benefits -- if they live that long.

And in the Portland area, where Social Security runs one of the nation's slowest hearings offices, they'll wait even longer.

"It's hard to escape the conclusion that a system that's supposed to help people who are hurting works instead to wear them down and outlast them," says Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., who has worked to fix problems in the local office. ...

Social Security has spent much of the last decade trying to streamline the way it evaluates and winnows cases.

But the plans have scarcely made a dent and sometimes made matters worse ...

The man who heads Social Security, Commissioner Michael J. Astrue, says he's optimistic about a computer program now in place that sifts through claims, identifies clearly disabled applicants and moves them into a pool for quick approval. He's also pushing another fast-track measure that will -- as it rolls out this fall -- speed cases for people suffering any of 25 rare diseases or conditions. ...

The commissioner says he hopes the average claim that reaches the agency's judges can be completed -- from claim to decision -- in about 15 months by the time his term expires.

In 2013.

Update: Here is the link to The Oregonian article.

Major Set Of Articles In Atlanta Journal-Constitution

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution is running three stories on Sunday regarding the backlogs and other problems at Social Security. You can read them today.

Here is some excerpts from Atlanta's Disabled Often Wait Years For Aid:

Atlanta is arguably the worst place in the country to live if you are too sick or injured to work and have to rely on the government for help.

While Social Security hearing offices nationwide are clogged with claims from severely disabled individuals seeking benefits, the two Atlanta locations are known as "the backlog capital of the country."

The Downtown hearing office at Peachtree Center takes 769 days on average — more than two years — to resolve a claim. It has 9,145 claims pending.

The Atlanta North office on Clairmont Road is even worse, with a backlog of 12,497 claims and an average wait of 793 days, according to Social Security figures. Month after month, the two offices consistently rank among the slowest in the country for resolving claims.

The physical and financial health of many of people waiting will deteriorate.

Some will lose their homes and declare bankruptcy. Others will die. ...

"Over the last several months, the Downtown hearing office has gone hog wild on scheduling," said Robert Hughes, an attorney who specializes in Social Security cases. "I've gone from five hearings a month to five a day." ...

"It used to be very uncommon that you would have a claim where someone would die while their appeal was pending," [Rick] Waitsman [an Administrative Law Judge] said. "Unfortunately, that is becoming much more common. People are dying from what they are complaining of." ...

Astrue said he can't explain why Atlanta received less financial support, given the level of filings here. "All I know is it is a very bad practice and we have moved as quickly as we can to provide redress," he said.

He is pushing Congress for more money to open a third hearing office in suburban Atlanta.

Astrue pushing for more money for his agency? He has been lobbying for President Bush's budget for Social Security, which is less than what Congress has wanted to appropriate!

The other two articles in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution are MS Forces Woman to Go From Employee Of The Year To Living With A Friend and Unable To Work, Social Security Has Rejected Benefits For Woman.

Social Security Managers Newsletter

The National Council of Social Security Management Associations (NCSSMA), an organization of Social Security management personnel, has issued its July 2008 newsletter. One article title of interest: "Stop the eServices Bandwagon -- I Want To Get Off." There is also an article about video service -- not for hearings but for field office service delivery. The pilots are in Riverton and Cody, WY.

By the way, the newsletter contains a link to an organization that I had not heard of before, the Social Security Employees Activities Association. Did you know that there is a Social Security chorus? A Social Security band? A Social Security basketball league?

OPM Stops Taking ALJ Applications

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) started taking applications for Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) positions on Wednesday, July 30. The announcement said that they would take applications only until midnight of the day upon which they received the 600th application. It only too about a day and a half for them to get to 600. They stopped taking applications last night.