Driving Me Up The Wall In Two Ways

From Dave Lieber (who calls his column the Watchdog) writing in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram:

Ray Shuga, a retired truck driver in Fort Worth, twiddled his thumbs for about two years between the time he applied for Social Security Disability Insurance and the arrival of his first check.

"In Texas, there are so many people applying for disability, they are just way, way backed up," he says.

So he and his wife waited while the federal government tried to catch up with demand. Or at least catch up with them.

"We were counting pennies left and right," Shuga says. "We couldn’t buy anything, couldn’t do anything. My pickup had problems. My wife’s car had problems. But we got by."

In Texas, about 50,000 people are waiting to hear back about their initial application to get SSDI benefits, paid to people who are under retirement age but can no longer work because of a disability.

That number of applicants almost doubled in one year, the Social Security Administration says. ...

The Watchdog was alerted to the SSDI backlog by a representative of Allsup Inc., a third-party company that helps Americans file claims and in return takes a percentage of the initial retroactive payment if an applicant is successful.

Spokesman Dan Allsup says the Belleville, Ill., company has a 99 percent success rate when applicants stick with Allsup through the entire process ...

This drives me up the wall in two ways. First, I get many clients like this. They hear there are backlogs so they wait until they are destitute and desperate before filing a claim. These clients do not want to hear me telling them it will take another two to three years at best before they receive help. I suppose you can figure out the other part of this that drives me up the wall.

Replacing National Computer Center

From NextGov:

If the Social Security Administration's data center -- which stores 450 million earnings and benefits records -- suddenly crashed, the agency's operations would come to a near standstill for seven days, a top agency official told a House panel on Wednesday.

It would take SSA a week to transfer computer tapes to a commercial backup computer facility to recover the data, which the agency uses to issue Social Security numbers and administer benefits, Michael Gallagher, SSA deputy commissioner for budget, finance and management, told the Social Security Subcommittee of the House Ways and Means Committee. ...

SSA started building its own secondary data center in Research Triangle Park, N.C., in May. That center stores 400 million medical records used to issue electronic disability claims and also provides redundant connections to SSA offices nationwide, including providing them with Internet access.

But the North Carolina facility will not become fully functional until 2012 ...

While the agency works on a backup data center, officials are considering how to replace their primary data center, the 39-year-old National Computer Center at SSA's headquarters in Woodlawn, Md..

The 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act provided $500 million for the new data center, the largest single federal building project funded by the stimulus bill. SSA and the General Services Administration are conducting a search for a new site within 40 miles of the headquarters facility.

Building the data center on a site off the Woodlawn campus would be cheaper than building a new center on site, according to a Booz Allen Hamilton study released in February. Building a new center off campus would cost $748 million compared with $803 million on campus, O'Carroll said. ...

Rob Hewell, regional commissioner for the Public Buildings Service's Mid-Atlantic Region at GSA, told lawmakers the agency has looked at more than 150 potential sites for the data center and plans to purchase one in March 2009.

MSNBC On Claims Surge

From MSNBC:

According to the Social Security Administration, which runs the two main federal disability programs, new claims for disability benefits rose nearly 17 percent nationwide in fiscal year 2009, to 3 million. Disability filings are projected to rise another 10 percent in fiscal 2010, to 3.3 million new claims ...

Michael Astrue, commissioner of the Social Security Administration, understands the frustration of ... [those] who help disability applicants navigate the system.

“If I were in their shoes, I’d be concerned too,” Astrue said, acknowledging that his organization doesn’t have the best track record when it comes to processing claims in a speedy and efficient manner. In some parts of the country, disability applicants can wait years before they get a final decision.

“Where we’re having the biggest problems are states that have a combination of two things: One, the economy is very bad; and two, the state has embraced furloughs," Astrue said. "California, Wisconsin, Ohio are three of the states where we’re really struggling now.”

Wellness Programs For Social Security Employees

From a notice posted by Social Security on FedBizOpps.gov:

The Social Security Administration (SSA) is conducting a market survey to seek sources that can provide a comprehensive workplace wellness program for its 67,000 employees located nationwide. SSA envisions this Program to encompass two major parts-the first part being on-line services for health education to include, but not limited to, such topics as: fitness, nutrition, disease management/prevention, emotional/mental well being, stress, and safety. This on-line portion should be a "one-stop shop" for all services, information, and programs SSA offers to employees. The second part of this Program requires the services of professionally certified experts in fitness, nutrition and health to provide individualized coaching services to all employees as well as administer and support the online product for SSA employees nationwide.

Social Security Bulletin

The latest issue of the Social Security Bulletin, the agency's scholarly publication, has been released.

Hearing On National Computer Center

Two Subcommittees of the House Ways and Means Committee held a joint hearing yesterday on Social Security's project to replace its National Computer Center. The written statements for that hearing are now available online. I see nothing noteworthy in the statements but I will confess that I have not been following this as closely as some others, such as contractors, local governments who want the facility in their backyard, Social Security employees who may be assigned to work at the new facility, etc.

Number Of Social Security Employees Jumps

Below are the June 2009 figures for the number of employees at Social Security, recently released by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), along with earlier figures for comparison purposes.

• June 2009 66,614
  
• March 2009 63,229
  
• December 2008 63,733
  
• September 2008 63,990
  
• June 2008 63,622
  
• March 2008 60,465
  
• December 2007 61,822
• September 2007 62,407
• June 2007 62,530
• March 2007 61,867
• December 2006 63,410
• September 2006 63,647
• September 2005 66,147
• September 2004 65,258
• September 2003 64,903
• September 2002 64,648
• September 2001 65,377
• September 2000 64,521
• September 1999 63,957
• September 1998 65,629

What Is This?

A press release:

Former Space Shuttle Commander Rick Searfoss lays out in detail Attorney Eric C. Conn's qualifications to be appointed to the Social Security Advisory Board. Searfoss was number one in his United States Air Force Academy class and later went on to command the STS-90 mission on Colombia, which was the most complex scientific research mission flown to date. Presently Searfoss is a speaker in high demand as an inspirational speaker to corporations.

The Social Security Advisory Board is an independent, bipartisan board created by Congress and appointed by the President and the Congress to advise the President, the Congress, and the Commissioner of Social Security on matters related to the Social Security and Supplemental Security Income programs. Conn wants to be appointed by President Obama to this board.

Searfoss outlines Conn's qualifications to serve on the Board. Conn's law practice had modest beginnings in a singlewide trailer. Searfoss discusses Conn having been an Eagle Scout and having joined the U.S. Army out of high school. Conn's educational background is outlined from undergraduate through law school. Searfoss observes that Conn is a Mensan, which is an organization that only accepts those who have an IQ in the top two percent of the population. Searfoss discusses Conn's Gulf War service as a decorated company commander. Conn is board certified by the National Board of Legal Specialty Certification in Social Security Disability Law.

Conn launched his campaign in a video with legendary bluegrass singer Ralph Stanley and model/actress Amber Ettinger, more widely known as the "Obama girl." Stanley endorsed President Obama during his successful presidential campaign. Conn's law office has over 35 employees. Conn's law practice as of December 13, 2009 has processed over 2000 Social Security Disability and SSI cases.