Cardpunch Operators At Social Security

Happy Labor Day!

A Soundtrack For Social Security

From Social Security's History website:

Jim Czechowicz's Public Policy Parodies and Tributes

Jim Czechowicz is a Public Affairs Specialist (PAS) with SSA's Chicago area Regional Office. Jim lives in Minneapolis and is one of two PASs assigned to the state of Minnesota.

In his off time Jim is an accomplished composer and musician. Over the years Jim has composed two albums of parodies and tribute songs on topics related to the work of the Social Security Administration and its employees. Jim typically performs his songs for other SSA employees or as part of his public education efforts. His Social Security-related songs are for entertainment purposes only and Jim makes no commercial use of this material.

With Jim's permission, we are including three of his Social Security-related songs. (All material © Jim Czechowicz.)

---

Song 1: "Hope is the Anchor of Life" (mpg-4 format)

(This song is about the value of Social Security in American life. It takes its title from the motto of the old Department of Health, Education and Welfare, of which SSA was a part from 1953 to 1980.)

Song 2:"E-Dib Blues" (mpg-4 format)

(In an effort to speed the processing of disability cases, in January 2005 SSA launched an initiative to move to an all-electronic disability claims process, under the rubric of Electronic Disability (E-Dib). This is Jim's tribute to that innovation.)

Song 3:"Show Someone You Love" (mpg-4 format)

(In the Part D Medicare Prescription Drug program SSA has responsibility to assist claimants who might be eligible for a partial subsidy on their Part D premiums. This is known as the "extra help" procedure (see current policy/procedure here). This is a jingle Jim wrote in 2005 to promote this SSA service.

It's Different Over There

I look in from time to time at the Rightsnet board. This is a web board used by those who advocate for Social Security disability benefits in the United Kingdom. I see some similarities to the work I do, but every so often I see a thread that reminds me of the vast differences between the Social Security disability programs in the two countries. The thread on "use of bottle" is a good example of these differences.

Biden Picture Posted

I had posted earlier on the delay in posting pictures of Vice President Biden in Social Security offices, a problem that extended to all federal offices. This seemed odd since President Obama's picture went up shortly after the inuaguraton. I said at the time that the Biden pictures were reported to be on the way to federal offices.

I can now report that Joe Biden's picture has been posted in the Raleigh location of Social Security's Office of Disability Adjudication and Review (ODAR).

New Edition Of My Book Published

The 2009 edition of my book, Social Security Disability Practice, is now available for sale.

Didn't Know About This

Social Security is required by the Paperwork Reduction Act to publish in the Federal Register information about any new or changed requirement that any person or entity supply information to Social Security. As you might imagine, these notices are normally quite boring. They mostly concern new editions of various forms. Here is a recently published notice that concerns something quite different, not alarming or concerning, but a bit surprising:

Blood Donor Locator Service (BDLS)--20 CFR 401.200--0960-0501.This regulation stipulates that when blood donor facilities identify blood donations as Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)-positive, the overseeing State agency must provide the names and Social Security Numbers of the affected donors to SSA's Blood Donor Locator Service. SSA uses this information to furnish the State agencies with the blood donors' address information to notify the blood donors. Respondents are State agencies acting on behalf of blood donor facilities.

Baucus On Stimulus Checks To Prisoners

From Dow Jones Newswires:

U.S. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D- Mont., criticized the Social Security Administration for mistakenly sending $250 economic stimulus payments to each of 1,700 prison inmates.

According to media reports, SSA officials did not respond to inquiries from prison employees who processed the checks. Baucus, in a statement Tuesday, called the reports "troubling."

"SSA should issue a full report on this failure to respond to these requests in a timely manner. We made a concentrated effort to protect American taxpayers in crafting recovery legislation, and many correctional officials were doing their part to prevent an abuse of taxpayer funds," said Baucus.

Unwinding Part Of DSI

Before publishing a proposed regulation in the Federal Register any federal agency needs the permission of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), which is part of the White House. Social Security has just sent a proposal to OMB to partially unwind the Disability Service Improvement (DSI) plan that had been implemented in Social Security's Boston Region. DSI was the brainchild of former Commissioner Jo Anne Barnhart. DSI has proven to be unworkable, but it has remained in effect in the Boston Region. The part of DSI that Social Security proposes to unwind relates to appeals of Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) decisions. The parts of DSI relating to hearings would remain in effect in the Boston Region.

I do not understand why Social Security is not completely unwinding DSI.