Commissioner Makes Ethics Pledge

A press release from Social Security:

Michael J. Astrue, Commissioner of Social Security, announced that he has voluntarily signed President Obama’s Ethics Pledge, an action required only of new political appointees in this Administration. Commissioner Astrue was confirmed by the Senate in 2007 for a six-year term.

“I gladly signed President Obama’s Ethics Pledge because I strongly support the President’s view that we serve only the interests of the American people. As the President has stated, ‘The American people deserve more than simply an assurance that those who are coming to Washington will serve their interests. They also deserve to know that there are rules on the books to keep it that way. They deserve a government that is truly of, by and for the people.’”

To view a signed copy of the pledge, click here.

New Rulings On Childhood Disability

On Tuesday, the Federal Register will contain six new Social Security Rulings on evaluating the disability claims of children, but the new rulings are available today.

• SSR 09-1p Determining Childhood Disability Under the Functional Equivalence Rule – The “Whole Child” Approach
• SSR 09-3pDetermining Childhood Disability - The Functional Equivalence Domain of "Acquiring and Using Information"
• SSR 09-5p Determining Childhood Disability - The Functional Equivalence Domain of "Interacting and Relating with Others"
• SSR 09-6p Determining Childhood Disability - The Functional Equivalence Domain of "Moving About and Manipulating Objects"
• SSR 09-7p Determining Childhood Disability - The Functional Equivalence Domain of "Caring for Yourself"
• SSR 09-8p Determining Childhood Disability - The Functional Equivalence Domain of "Health and Physical Well-Being"

I have no idea why there are no Rulings numbered two or four.

$1 Billion For Social Security

The text of the economic stimulus bill (page 178) that is nearly certain to be adopted today is finally available. The part that is relevant to Social Security is below. Many thanks to the White House, Congress and everyone who lobbied for this. We have a long way to go, but this is a great start on cleaning up the mess at Social Security.

SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION LIMITATION ON ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES(INCLUDING TRANSFER OF FUNDS)

For an additional amount for "Limitation on Administrative Expenses", $1,000,000,000 shall be available as follows:

1) $500,000,000 shall remain available until expended for necessary expenses of the replacement of the National Computer Center and the information technology costs associated with such Center: Provided, That the Commissioner of Social Security shall notify the Committees on Appropriations of' the House of Representatives and the Senate not later than 10 days prior to each public notice soliciting bids related to site selection and construction and prior to the lease or purchase of such site: Provided further, that the construction plan and site selection for such center shall be subject to review and approval by the Office of Management and Budget: Provided further, That such center shall continue to be a government-operated facility; and

(2) $500,000,000' for processing disability and retirement workloads, including information technology acquisitions and research in support of such activities: Provided, That up to $40,000,000 may be used by the Commissioner of Social Security for health information technology research and activities to facilitate the adoption of electronic medical records in disability claims, including the transfer of funds to "Supplemental Security Income Program" to carry out activities under section 1110 of the Social Security Act.

OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL

For an additional amount for the "Office of Inspector General", $2,000,000, which shall remain available through September 30, 2012, salaries and expenses necessary for oversight and audit of programs, projects, and activities funded in this Act

Hearing Processing Time Report

Above are thumbnails of the most recent report on average processing times at Social Security's hearing offices. Click on each one to view it full size.

I have one reader who keeps asking me to post these. Please note that I obtain these from the National Organization of Social Security Claimants Representatives (NOSSCR) newsletter. NOSSCR obtains the reports from Social Security. The newsletter containing this report arrived at my office by e-mail at 11:58 last night and I am posting it at about 9:45 this morning. There is no point asking that I post these earlier since I cannot post something I do not have. You might get them a few hours faster if you joined NOSSCR or subscribed to its newsletter if you do not qualify to join, but that is the only way you will get them faster unless your job gives you direct access to them.

Here is how the national processing times have changed over time:

• January 25, 2007 -- 508 days
• May 25, 2007 -- 523 days
• July 28, 2007 -- 528 days
• August 31, 2007 -- 523 days
• November 30, 2007 -- 500 days
• February 29, 2008 -- 511 days
• May 30, 2008 -- 523 days
• June 27, 2008 -- 529 days
• July 31, 2008 -- 530 days
  
• September 3, 2008 -- 532 days
• November 5, 2008 -- 476 days
  
• December 3, 2008 -- 480 days
• December 31, 2008 -- 480 days
  

$1 Billion For Social Security In Stimulus Bill?

A draft summary of the Conference Report on the economic stimulus bill circulating among Democrats shows $1 billion for Social Security, with it being equally split between the national computer center and the Limitation on Administrative Expenditures or LAE (which is the technical name for Social Security's operating budget), but is is unclear how that could be spent.

Social Security Web Services Get High Marks

From a Social Security press release:

The Social Security Administration’s online services have earned the highest overall score in the most recent e-Government Satisfaction Index. The Index, which is administered by ForeSee Results in conjunction with the University of Michigan's American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI), also gave three of SSA’s applications the highest scores in government. In a separate survey, Nextgov, a website devoted to technology and the federal government, listed www.socialsecurity.gov as one of the top five federal websites in its review of best online practices. ...

While the federal government’s overall average score is 74 out of 100, SSA’s overall score was 79, the highest in the federal government. ...

In recognizing the SSA homepage, Nextgov consulted web experts in government and academia and also did its own research and web browsing.

Is the timing of this press release -- just after the GAO report -- coincidental? Probably, but it does create an interesting juxtaposition.

Stimulus Bill Payment To Social Security Recipients Down To $250

The Senate version of the stimulus package had called for a special $300 payment to all Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) recipients. The Conference Committee version of the bill reduces this to $250, according to a press release from the Speaker of the House. No other word yet on provisions affecting Social Security.

Update: The Conference Report is supposed to be filed at 3:00 today.

Further update: There is a summary on the House Appropriations Committee website, but it does not include information about the Social Security appropriations. There is a note that "Bill text will be available later today at http://www.rules.house.gov/."

Final update: Read a set of questions and answers about what was finally passed.

GAO Report Continues To Put Astrue In Bad Light

I have posted about the Government Accountability Office (GAO) report on service delivery at Social Security. Hardly anyone pays attention to most GAO reports. (Sorry, GAO, but you know it is the truth.) This report, however, is continuing to draw attention from the press.

Government Computer News has an article that contains this little paragraph, which is not something that Commissioner Astrue is too interested in seeing in the media:

Online services so far have not produced a big benefit, SSA staff members told GAO. Relatively few customers use them, and because of erroneous or missing information on some online forms additional time is required by staff to contact customers to gather or correct information.

The Washington Post has a story out today with this quote from Commissioner Astrue:

Since becoming commissioner, I have repeatedly said we need timely and adequate funding in order to maintain the employee levels we need to serve the American public,... We have been aggressively simplifying processes and embracing new technologies in order to provide better service, but the continuing [budget] resolutions of the past three years have constrained hiring and damaged service delivery.

Astrue has repeatedly called for the budgets that were recommended by former President Bush, but those budgets were barely enough to prevent Social Security's workforce from declining. He has consistently failed to ask for enough money to increase the number of employees at the Social Security Administration and has consistently downplayed Social Security's staffing problems and the service delivery problems that the staffing shortages have caused. These are simply facts which make Astrue vulnerable to criticism. Astrue seems to be thin-skinned, pugnacious and self-righteous. His personality and his situation are a bad combination.

The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), a union that represents most of Social Security's workforce, has released a press release on the GAO report urging that Commissioner Astrue step down.